Best Travel Guitars for 2025 [Our Reviews and Comparisons]
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If you are a guitarist filled with wanderlust, you would be looking for a compact guitar that you can lug around easily. You might be the proud owner of a Martin dreadnought, but you know it is an ordeal to travel with a full-sized guitar. Today there are many travel guitar in the market which feature a compact size and great sound quality. These can easily fit in the trunk of the car if you are riding shotgun or in an overhead compartment of the plane if you are flying.
Here is a list of best travel guitar that feature portability and easy playability.
Read Related Reading: Best Acoustic Guitar Pickups
Comparison Table
Product | Features | Latest Price |
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1. Martin LXK2 Little Martin Koa [amazon fields=”B0002F5792″ value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B0002F5792″ value=”button”] |
2. BT2 Baby Taylor [amazon fields=”B007CSXUNM” value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B007CSXUNM” value=”button”] |
3. Cordoba Mini M Travel [amazon fields=”B00V3A5SDA” value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B00V3A5SDA” value=”button”] |
4. Taylor GS Mini [amazon fields=”B007IVUOXM” value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B007IVUOXM” value=”button”] |
5. Journey OF660 [amazon fields=”B01A5U4BTA” value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B01A5U4BTA” value=”button”] |
Our Best Travel Guitar Reviews and Comparisons
1. Martin LXK2 Little Martin Koa
Product Highlights
Martin is one of the best guitar manufacturers in the world boasting legendary clientele including Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash. One nontypical acoustic guitar from its product lineup is the Martin LXK2 Little Martin Koa, which is the smallest guitar the company has ever made.
Three inches shorter than a regular Martin guitar, the Little Martin is a 3/4-size guitar. Designed for travelers and students, the guitar may be small but it has a great tone, good quality, and flexibility.
Features
Little Martin features a well-balanced tone coupled with crisp and clean highs. With enough low-end response, this acoustic guitar can deliver more bass compared to other 3/4-size acoustic guitars in this price range.
This might not be the best option if you are a professional guitarist. However, if you travel a lot and love fingerstyle, then this guitar is for you. Its body is compact enough to comfortably place on your knees and play without a strap. Coupled with the padded gig bag case that accompanies the Little Martin, the guitar is extremely useful to enjoy music in transit.
What We Like About Martin LXK2 Little Martin Koa
Little Martin is great for travelers and beginners because of its compact size and reasonable price.
What We Don’t Like About Martin LXK2 Little Martin Koa
Unlike other guitars, the Little Martin doesn’t have a solid wood body.
PROS
- Compact
- Can withstand humidity
CONS
- Not a solid wood body
2. BT2 Baby Taylor
Product Highlights
If you are a guitarist you know it is a dream to own a BT2 Baby Taylor known as one of the most popular modern mid-range parlor guitars today. These guitars remain a favorite among traveling guitarists. The BT2 Baby Taylor is a compact 3/4-size parlor guitar featuring a dreadnought body that is a cost-effective option for beginners as well as travelers.
Features
BT2 Baby Taylor possesses the usual Taylor tone – clear, well-defined, and the resonance is loud. After playing on it for a while you will notice that the guitar has a darker earthier tone. This mellow toned guitar is apt for simple practice as well as basic recording.
A versatile guitar, BT2 Baby Taylor can suit a wide range of scenarios ideal for beginners and travelers. The tone and the build quality attracts pro-guitarists as well.
What We Like About BT2 Baby Taylor
It is an impressive acoustic guitar combining excellent tone quality and portability.
What We Don’t Like About BT2 Baby Taylor
This guitar does not survive well in the heat. If you want the guitar to last a long time you are going to need a sponge humidifier to prevent it from desiccating.
PROS
- Compact
- Comes with a backpack style carrying case
CONS
- Doesn’t stay in tune for a long period of time
- Doesn’t suit fingerstyle players
3. Cordoba Mini M Travel
Product Highlights
The Cordoba Mini M Travel might look like a student guitar or a ukulele, however, this tiny guitar holds more worth. This is a travel-sized classical guitar choice for many nylon string players. The guitar with its wide neck and good string spacing is a blessing for travelers as well as beginners.
Features
The Cordoba Mini M has a unique body size but feels and plays like a full-size guitar. The full-width classical neck on the guitar gives you plenty of space to maneuver even though it is small. Fitted with a solid spruce top paired with mahogany back and sides, the guitar provides perfect sound and playability. Loud enough to please your eager audiences.
This guitar is the perfect companion for all your road trips. Simply toss it in the car as it is stored in the included gig bag which lets you easily lug it around and even fit it in the overhead compartment of an airplane.
What We Like About Cordoba Mini M Travel
Cordona Mini M is a travel-sized acoustic guitar which is portable as well as impressively loud.
What We Don’t Like About Cordoba Mini M Travel
Fingerpicking sounds better than strumming. Actually, the guitar sounds crummy when strummed.
PROS
- Loud sound
- Compact
CONS
- Hard to keep in tune
- The quality of the gig bag could be better
4. Taylor GS Mini
Product Highlights
The Taylor GS Mini is a down-sized Taylor GS-shaped acoustic guitar with its own acoustic voice. Though the sound lacks in the bass it is both appealing and musical. Taylor has a reputation of making guitars that are both easy and comfortable to play and this guitar follows that formula.
Features
The Taylor GS Mini is a good parlor sized guitar that sounds warm and resonant with a nice bottom end. The warm clear tone of the guitar favors the midrange more but you won’t be disappointed with its bright trebles and decent bass. The distinct midrange gives a punch to the jazz chords.
Coming to the highs, the pickup responds to a broad frequency range contributing to sparkling highs, some low bass, and middle cut to produce a modern acoustic tone.
What We Like About Taylor GS Mini
Flatpicking the strings contribute to crisp and clear notes adding clarity to the melody produced. This guitar suits blues and jazz tunes.
What We Don’t Like About Taylor GS Mini
If you try playing a busy melody, the bass begins to break up. Therefore, the guitar is better suited for playing solo or in a small group.
PROS
- Excellent build quality
- Easy playability
CONS
- Doesn’t suit busy melodies
5. Journey OF660
Product Highlights
The unique feature that elevates the position of Journey OF660 in the market is the fact that it is made of carbon fiber. Therefore, issues like humidity, temperature, and moisture are taken care of. The carbon fiber also makes this guitar lightweight, portable, and durable.
Features
Constructed from carbon fiber and comes equipped with a pickup. The carbon fiber gives the guitar a prominent acoustic timbre. It produces a distinct bass, chunky midrange, and emits a metallic growl for your blues tunes.
What makes this an excellent traveling guitar is the wing nut feature located at the back of the guitar that helps you to separate the neck of the guitar. Once you pop off the neck it becomes very easy to store the guitar into tiny spaces.
What We Like About [Product Name]
The Journey OF660 is a great companion for travelers and gigging musicians because they can easily bundle the guitar in an overhead compartment or the trunk of the car. It is also easy to assemble and versatile, making it perfect for performance and practice.
What We Don’t Like About [Product Name]
Compared to a wood guitar, the treble has less sparkle.
PROS
- Resistant to humidity and temperature changes
- Detachable neck
CONS
- Trebles have less sparkle
Final Verdict
We choose the BT2 Baby Taylor as the Best Travel Guitar due to its easy playability and portability. The guitar features great tonal depth that is both clear and well-defined. The characteristic tone makes it apt for simple practice as well as basic recording.
Travel guitars are often smaller in size than the regular guitars. Make sure that the material of the guitar can withstand humidity and temperature changes and is also lightweight. You should also be wary of the tonal quality of the instrument that you are purchasing.
I hope the listicle helps you find the right travel guitar!!
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