Picking out the best travel electric guitar that is small enough to put in a backpack and take on an airplane but still plays great is tough. Most of the time you end up sacrifices playability for portability.
That doesn’t always have to be the case though. After playing tons of different electric guitars, we’ve found the smallest, lightest and most portable electric guitars that still play and sound amazing.
See which one you should add to your collection.
Top 3 Electric Travel Guitars
Contents
- 1 Top 3 Electric Travel Guitars
- 2 Top Portable Electric Guitars for Traveling
- 3 Our Opinion
| Electric Travel Guitar | Model | Price |
|---|---|---|
 |
Stewart Stow-Away | CURRENT PRICE |
 |
Traveler Solid-Body Electric | CURRENT PRICE |
 |
Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light | CURRENT PRICE |
Top Portable Electric Guitars for Traveling
Below is a list of the best travel electric guitars that portable, play great, and will fit in your backpack!
- Stewart Stow-Away Electric
- Traveler Solid-Body Electric Guitar
- Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light
- Traveler Speedster Hot Rod
- Shredneck STVD-CS Travel Electric Guitar
- Anygig AGN-SE Portable Electric Guitar
Stewart Stow-Away Electric Travel Guitar
There’s no doubt that there are several guitar brands out in the market today such that standing out is almost impossible. Stewart has however managed to create a niche in which it can stand out and be counted among the legends.
The Stow-Away Electric Travel Guitar from this brand brings new meaning to convenience and portability. Imagine a full-size electric guitar being classified as a travel guitar.
Stewart managed to create a full-size guitar that can be folded down, packed into the included back pack travel case, taken on a trip and then reassembled for top level performance. It achieved this by making the full scale neck detachable.
Fully assembled, this is a good quality guitar. The body is made of alderwood while the neck is made of maple with amaranthus fretboard. The hardware that comes with it are also designed to support its unique design. One of this is the clip-joint which plays a major role in the detachability of the neck.
For electronics, it is loaded with three single coil pickups and these are controlled using a 5-way pickup switch, a volume knob and two tone knobs.
Pros
- Portability – Lightweight and very portable.
- Playability – Offers impressive playability.
- Tone – The tone is impressive enough.
Cons
For the price, there is certainly room for upgrades on the pickups based on personal preference.
Recommendation
This is easily one of the most outstanding travel guitars you will find. You get to enjoy portability on a full size guitar without compromising on playability and tone.
Traveler Solid-Body Electric Guitar
Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light Electric Guitar
When a brand is named Traveler Guitar, you can really not expect anything but guitars that meet the requirements expected of travel instruments. This brand has shown that this name was not chosen in error. Its products have shown that the name choice was deliberate and well thought out.
A look at the brand’s Ultra-Light Solid-Body Electric Guitar say’s so much about what the brand is all about. We are talking about a full scale guitar that measure a mere 28 inches in length with a weight of just 3 lbs. This has been achieved with a design that reduces body size and does not require a headstock.
The 24 3/4″ Scale neck features a neck-thru design that ends just at the nut line. What about the headstock? By embedding the tuning machines within the body, the need for a headstock ceases to exist.
Understanding that players may feel different while playing such a small bodied electric guitar, a detachable lap rest is included to give the guitar more body for those who want to rest it on their laps.
It comes with a dual-rail humbucking pickup that comes with no controls but is very easy to use.
Pros
- Portability – It is very light weight and portable.
- Electronics – It comes with a dual-rail humbucker.
- Playability – It’s easy to play.
Cons
- Body Design – Requires a lot of getting used to.
Recommendation
This is a guitar that you can easily travel with anywhere. It may however be better used as a leisure guitar than a gigging one.
Traveler Speedster Hot Rod Travel Guitar
Once again, we are looking at another product from Traveler Guitar, a brand that has focused entirely on designing and producing guitars that are compact enough to make traveling with them easy without compromising on performance quality.
What we have here is the Hot Rod from the brand’s Speedster series. This guitar is a bit different from the model we reviewed previously. While it maintains the brands unique placement for the tuning machines which makes the need for a headstock not applicable, its body design is a bit different.
Unlike with the Ultra-Light series, the brand here looked at the bare necessities of a guitar body and ensured that those necessary rests and contours were made available. Though it does not have a full body, you have a place to rest your arms and you can also rest the guitar on your laps. This makes it easier for more people to feel comfortable playing it.
The body and neck are all part of a one-piece design made of maple and it’s powered by a dual-rail humbucking pickup.
One interesting feature of this guitar which truly makes it great for traveling is the built-in headphone amp and output which means you can have a personal jam by simply plugging your headphone in.
Pros
- Portability – Lightweight and compact.
- Electronics – Includes a built-in headphone amp with clean, boost, overdrive and distortion.
- Playability – It’s quite easy to play.
Cons
Given its price and use, there’s really nothing much to complain about.
Recommendation
This guitar is not just perfect for travelling; it is also great for playing or rehearsing on the go.
Shredneck STVD-CS Travel Electric Guitar
If you are familiar with the name Shredneck then you will know the product it is known for. It’s more of a practice tool for keeping up with practice when there is no actual guitar available. However, this brand has taken its success further by adding to its array of products a range of travel guitars.
What we are looking at here is the STVD-CS Travel Guitar. What’s special about this and what differentiates it from other travel guitars? One of the very first things you will notice about this guitar is its scaled down LP-style body. You may be tempted to think that it is a kid’s guitar but it’s not.
A look at the 3/4 inch scale neck will show that it is designed for adults. The body is made of solid nato while the neck is made of maple with a rosewood fretboard which holds 22 frets.
A look at the electronics section reveals two humbucking pickups controlled by a 3-way pickup selector switch, a master volume knob and a master tone knob. With its flamed maple photo top over which a Cherryburst finish is applied, it does look really lovely.
This guitar weighs just 5.5 lbs. and measures 33 x 9.5 x 1.75 inches.
Pros
- Portability – It weighs just 5.5 lbs.
- Electronics – Comes with two humbuckers.
- Playability – It offers good playability.
Cons
For the price and use, not much to complain about.
Recommendation
If you need a travel guitar that retains a traditional guitar shape as much as possible, then go for this.
Anygig AGN-SE Portable Travel Electric Guitar
The Anygig brand is focused on delivering travel guitars that offer everything you want in a travel guitar which cover portability and ease of play. Its selling point is however that it seeks to achieve all of these without adversely affecting the guitar or player’s performance.
The AGN SE is a nylon string model that is great for the classical player or anyone who loves the softer tone and feel of nylon strings. In line with the brand’s objective, this guitar comes with a full scale length – 25.5 inches. This is however not something that is very obvious when you first look at the guitar.
The body design is such that the tuning machines are placed within the small body. It therefore does not have a headstock and this further reduces its size and bulk.
Aside from its compactness, it aims to deliver good quality sound with the single Anygig Piezo pickup. It however does not have any on-board controls.
As far as travel guitars go, this is one guitar that offers extreme portability and still manages to maintain a full size scale length, something that many other travel guitars cannot achieve.
Pros
- Portability – It is very portable.
- Performance – With is full scale length, play will not be limited.
- Build – It is well built.
Cons
- Playability – Because of its design, it will require some getting used to.
Recommendation
If you need a travel guitar that offers portability without messing with the guitar’s scale length, this guitar may really interest you.
Our Opinion
It’s been an interesting even if brief journey through the world of travel guitars. We’ve looked at some interesting designs and features all aimed at making travel guitars more functional. Having carefully reviewed these five offerings, we must now make our choice.
Considering factors such as portability, playability and performance, we chose the Stewart Stow-Away Electric Travel Guitar as our Top Travel Electric Guitar. We believe that it offers the best combination of portability, playability and performance.
