Traveler Guitar Escape Mark III - Natural Mahogany Reviews

Bought this (Escape MK III Mahogany) to allow practice while traveling, having recently started formal lessons after decades of "learn as I go" guitar playing. Tried several other travel size guitars which were either too small and sounded like a banjo and awkward to hold as well or were not small enough and as loud as a regular acoustic guitar. This little guy looks weird without a headstock, and the tuning keys are in the body so that takes some getting used to. But the sound is simply amazing whether you play without headphone (about the same noise level as an un-amped electric guitar but with much better sound) or with headphones (built in amp, 1/8" jack, sounds just like an amped electric guitar). Travel by car is simple, and recently traveled by airplane and took as carry-on and was easy to take along. Great for practice at night after day full of excursions. Playing in first fret is a little awkward but nothing to worry about. Great action. Truly great sound. So happy I bought it.

This axe can jam.

This was probably the most life changing piece of gear I have ever purchased in my 29 years of playing guitar. How many of us simply do not play or practice enough because of work and family. Have you ever wanted to play but the thought of dragging everything out and plugging in stops you? Or do you feel you have to sneak off in a dark place to play so you do not disturb your family (wife especially)? Then this instrument is the answer. At first glance I thought it was a joke and too small but then I realized the genius. I can play this guitar on lunch break in the driver seat of my car (in park of course)! In fact please see the photo of my setup. I can bring the guitar, a Zoom AX4 processor,capo,3.5 adapter (for jamming with Iphone)and 10 foot 1/4 cord in a Thule Power shuttle (Available online but I work at Thule). Even better you can actually plus in junk earbuds and MP3 (via 3.5mm) directly into the guitar and jam that way (and it sounds good too). The best part is that I can sit in the living room across from my wife and play without disturbing her while we watch TV-the sound unplugged is good probably a little quieter than an unplugged electric-strumming hard will annoy the wife but I feel I have made more time to play in the last week that I have in years.I also included a photo to show how small this thing is compared to full size instruments. No if Traveler would just come out with a baritone version of this guitar! I have tried many other "travel guitars" such as the baby Taylor (too nice to travel) and Martin backpacker but this is a superior instrument. In addition being a solid body it is less prone to environmental issues and stays in tune perfectly (think camping and hiking anyone?) All in all this may not be for everyone but it is literally the answer to all of my excuse to why I haven;t been playing as much as I'd like to! And IAN LEMBERG is AWESOME-this is my third guitar purchase from Sweetwater within the last year and he has been amazing! Thank you Ian, Sweetwater and Traveler Guitars!

Bought my Traveler to practice on and love it , very fun and a great sound . BEST sales and service experience i ever had . GREAT GUYS !!!

Guitar is great. Wood scratches exceptionally easily, even the neck. I recommend applying a cost of polyurethane and sanding down with 3000grit paper to a glide smooth surface. Even my thumbnail can chip chunks from the wood.

Also, tuning keys are a pain in the bum for restring. I recommend an 11/16 star bold socket on a power driver (slow mode!!!) to make it easier.

I love this little Traveler even less so for traveling at the moment but a good practice guitar in a sitting area when I need to be more quiet. The sound is quite good through the headphones My only complaint, which I ended up fixing by using an external tuner is that the built-in tuner does not, so far, keep it in tune accurately. Once I tune it with an external tuner the internal tuner thinks I am slightly off-tune but it is not. That said, I think if they put an internal tuner it ought to be accurate but it would not be the first guitar where I used an external one to check. It's just the first one where I'd say it shows it as incorrectly that I no longer compare the two and use the external tuner.

I got the Escape Mark III I ordered a month ago. Finally I have found a small travel guitar that I enjoy playing and have difficulty putting it down once I start playing. It gives great sound through the earphones and when put through a PA. I owned another type of travel acoustic guitar before but the sound was horrible plus its very light box made handling difficult when playing. I am really pleased with the Mark III. I, however, had to smooth off the upper front edge of the main body with sand paper so the sharp edge would not cause discomfort to my arm as it swings.