Headless travel guitar

[papaschtroumpf]

I'm considering buying a *cheap* headless guitar for travel. something I can actually pack surrounded by clothes in a checked-on suitcase.

Headless makes a lot of sense to me, a lot less risk of knocking the tuning machines.

A real Steinberger made of composite materials would be great, but doesn't qualify as cheap.

 

This Ktone qualifies: http://www.amazon.com/Ktone-String-Lucite-Electric-Headless/dp/B00F3LB9OM/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_1_2 but I can't find any good reviews. I don;t care for the acrylic body bu could live with it.

The Epiphone Spirit http://www.amazon.com/Epiphone-GTPROSBK1-Solid-Body-Electric-Guitar/dp/B001R2TIL2/ref=pd_sim_sbs_267_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=05WTTGXHQ1Z2FTJQZ5X1 would be my next choice. Those do seem to get decent reviews, but are already a step up in price.

 

I never use a tremolo so I don't really care about it, I'm ok with locking it to stay in tune.

I'd prefer single ball strings. The KTone specifically says it does accept them, I think the spirit requires double ball end strings?

[JRicoC]

I have and can highly recommend a Traveler EG-1. It looks like Traveler has expanded its lineup recently, so you'd have lots of choices. Unfortunately, it looks like the EG-1 has gone up significantly in price the last three years, and now sells in the $450 - $550 range, versus the $350 I paid when I bought mine. I carry mine onto flights; it fits easily in overhead bins and TSA agents have seen enough of them by now that they don't flinch when one's placed on the x-ray belt ...

[knotty]

I dont think I could play a headless guitar, It would just put me off too much.

 

[Hard Truth]

I have been happy with my Spirit. No airline has rejected it as carry-on and it has taken a lot of abuse. If they haven't updated the bag for it since I bought it 12 years ago, I recommend putting some foam or other soft material inside the bag at the body end because there is little padding there.

[epi56ebony]

I love my Traveler EG-1 and I hardly ever fly.

[papaschtroumpf]

I got to play a hohner gt3 yesterday and I thought it sounded pretty good. Looks like they don't sell them anymore.

Not sure how different they are from the spirit, but if the spirit sounds as good, it really is not a bad guitar.

[papaschtroumpf]

I ordered a Spirit over the weekend, taking advantage of the holiday discount. I got the Deluxe (neck pickup is a humbucker) because the standard was out of stock.

I had read several time that the hohner GT3 and the Spirit where the same thing, but after doing some research online, I think this is not the case. The hohner wiring is different, not only it has a per-pickup switch instead of a 5 way, but it also has a push-pull to change pickup phase and a resistor network for tone control.

I'll let you know what I think.

[WRGKMC]

I've has a Steinberger spirit for a good 15 years now. It makes a great travel guitar and it sounds good as a regular guitar too. Its one of the only guitars I've owned that I can play an entire set, set it down, pick it up for the next set and its still in tune.

 

The cool part is, you can lock the trem, tune it, unlock the tram, then tighten the springs with a knob so the trem tuning matches the trem lock tuning.

 

Mines getting pretty old now. I did one refret already and the trem blade that sits on the bridge pin was worn enough to have the trem block rub on the side of the wood route. I fixed it by epoxying some metal over the blade to build it up. The only other alternative is to buy a new bridge but those cost nearly as much as the guitar did so I''d be better off just buying another one.

 

Thay are allot of ful to play though. You wouldn't think such a small guitar gets such a big sound. The neck through body makes it very stable.

 

The big thing is the strings. Labella is the only one who makes the decent double ball strings. D'Addario makes some that are cheaper but they really don't feel right. The string tensions are not right for the instrument.

 

Some other items to mention. Be careful with the set screw which locks the saddles in place. It would be a good mover to find another one as a backup in case the original starts to strip. I had the allen screw strip out on mine and would up having to drill it out, rethread it with a larger one. Not fun at all.

 

You can buy an adaptor that lets you use normal single ball strings. They may be herd to find, but you can use normal strings and lock them down at the head instead of using double ball which cost double.

 

Lastly, the guitar is designed for two basic string gauges, 9's or 10's. If you try and go heavier the trem springs really cant handle the heavier gauge. You'll get the longest life out of the trem using 9/42's. I always used 9/46's which is in between the other two. I like a little heavier bottom myself and like the top strings more flexible.

 

 

Don't even think about 11's or 12's The instrument cant handle those so if you're a heavy string guy you'll need to get used to lighter gauges.

The neck is very cool though once you get used to not having any headstock. The neck shape in nearly identical to my Les Paul and having 24 frets comes in handy.

[papaschtroumpf]

great advice thanks! I tend to gravitate towards 10s because they sound best on my Dot, I do have 9s on my strat, so I'm OK with limitation.

I ordered 2 sets of D'Addario double balls (ESXL110) because I found a sale for $9 a piece, so I guess I'm "stuck" with those, I don;t want to waste them (I'm cheap). I'll try the LaBella next time (I think they also sell them under the steinberger brand).

Since my normal set of strings is sub-$5, I may look for the converter that lets you use any strings, since at $5-$10 saving per string set, it will pay for itself pretty quickly.I haven't looked so not sure how hard to find they are.

 

I've read that the pins on the R-Trem wear out too easily and that someone makes (used to make?) stronger replacements, so I may look into them if I relaly dig the guitar. I'm not much of a tremolo user and this will be my guitar for travel and noodling around at the office, so maybe I don't really need to worry about it. http://www.headlessusa.com/steinberger-screws sells steinberger screws, I would expect they would work for the spirit saddles.

 

I can't find a manual, did yours come with one? I found generic info about how to set-up, change strings, etc... but I can't find info about how the 5 way switch is wired. I assume positions 2&4 are humbucker+single coil, or is the humbucker split for a virtual single coil + single coil? (I'm actually hoping for that). I think that's where the hohner is superior, more pickup combinations. If the humbuckers are splittable at all, I would probably consider a push-pull pot to chose full humbucker or split (I actually have that combination on my Nighthawk reissue).

 

I'm getting a Vox amPlug 2 Classic Rock headset amplifier to go with this. it's really pretty cool, it has built-in effects, line-in, etc... to play quietly in a hotel room.

[Jazzer2020]

I have been happy with my Spirit. No airline has rejected it as carry-on and it has taken a lot of abuse. If they haven't updated the bag for it since I bought it 12 years ago' date=' I recommend putting some foam or other soft material inside the bag at the body end because there is little padding there.[/quote']

 

Great topic!

I'd like to pick the brains of some who have replied.

 

Hard Truth, the main air carrier in Canada is Air Canada.

They are very strict with their carry-on sizes/weights.

The limit in length for a carry-on is 21.5".

 

How would you pack a 30" guitar into a 21.5" bag?

 

 

 

[Jazzer2020]

I love my Traveler EG-1 and I hardly ever fly.

 

Epi56, I realize that the tone of these guitars probably can't rival the tone of a full size guitar, but what is the tone like with just having the bridge pickup?

I only use the neck pickup on my electrics and go for a mellow jazz tone.

Thanks!