Travel Guitars and other Instruments for Vacation

The cold and dark season is over, you’re already making holiday plans. Wherever you are drawn to in the distance, as a musician you obviously don’t want to do without your instrument on the go. Music connects you with locals and travelers alike. Travel instruments suitable for carry-on luggage are ideal so that you can throw yourself right into the middle of the musical holiday hustle and bustle. Here is a current selection for your luggage.

Traveler Guitar EG-1 Custom

With its extraordinary electric guitars, the Traveler Guitar brand has been focusing on the requirements of travelling musicians for some time. The manufacturer focuses on small-format electric guitars with a stylish look, often based on the classics of electric guitar history. The headstock is often omitted, which means that the instrument is made a good deal shorter. For example, the EG-1 Custom, has a body that is blatantly and deliberately reminiscent of a Les Paul. The hardware is slimmed down, the electronics are not. The EG-1 Custom has an integrated tuner when the electronics are active, and there is also a headphone amplifier with clean, boost, overdrive and distortion settings on board. A cool travel guitar for mobile music nomads.

Traveler Guitar EG-1 Custom V2 Gloss Black

On holiday, with a Western guitar

The Harley Benton GS-Travel-E Mahogany has the potential to be a handy favorite instrument for the beach and campfire. The E-Acoustic scores with the typical mahogany sound, visually with the stylish woodgrain. The Western guitar is pleasantly assertive with pronounced mids and highs. Pleasantly warm, balanced and round, the sound is bigger than the guitar. And if you want it to be even louder, you benefit from the integrated pickup system, including tuner!

Harley Benton GS Travel E Mahogany

Practical and unusual: fold-up Western guitar

You have to come up with the crazy idea first, but actually it’s not really new: If the acoustic guitar is too big, just fold it up by taking off the neck! An example of such a well-functioning solution is the OF882C Acacia Acoustic from Journey Instruments. The 00-style guitar features a patented neck removal system that allows effortless disassembly and reassembly in seconds.

Journey Instruments OF882C Acacia Acoustic

Also, look outside the mainstream box

For those who like to experiment with a good portion of fun and humour, there are various instruments that have nothing at all to do with the usual mainstream. The holiday can become a musical journey of discovery with the Otomatone, the humanized mini synth in the shape of an oversized eighth note. If you travel with an Otamatone you’ll most likely meet some people who share you humour. Give it a try!

Otamatone Classic White

Handbag-sized guitar amp

Of course, amplifiers also need to go on holiday from time to time. The Boss Katana Air is really special among the compact ones. In addition to its low weight, the modeling combo for electric guitar scores as a completely wireless guitar amp including radio transmitter, unique sounds and effects. The powerful-sounding companion is equipped with a Bluetooth interface for jamming along via smartphone and co.

Boss Katana Air

Portable keyboards with holiday-ready mini keys

Even keyboard acrobats, from novices to advanced players, don’t have to do without the joy of music on holiday. Instruments must not be too big; you can’t fit a piano in your suitcase. A cool and inexpensive compromise are the rudimentary entry-level keyboards with mini keys. After all, the Startone BK-37 Mini provides you with 37 keys and 100 sounds (as well as rhythms) with which you can let off some steam. Battery-powered music fun for beach goers!

Startone BK-37 Mini

The ukulele: vacation-ready feel-good instrument

Hardly any other instrument has such sunshine flair as the ukulele. After all, it is a typical feel-good instrument with plenty of Caribbean and southern vibes. The uke is a real banger when it comes to making music on vacation. Of course, you don’t just want to shine musically, but also visually with a good dose of cultural awareness. No problem, the Harley Benton World-S Sunshine Ukulele has a nice design, with an artist motif reminiscent of travelling across the Atlantic. A real eye catcher!

Harley Benton World-S Sunshine Ukulele

Harmonica – suited for every occasion

Sentimental melodies by the crackling campfire! The harmonica can do that and more. Between maritime sounds and blues-heavy sounds, it can evoke wanderlust and longing of the heart. And the harp is so small that it doesn’t even come close to filling your hand luggage or backpack. It couldn’t be more pragmatic and simple. Actually, you could take several in different keys with you. A good and inexpensive solution for on-the-go: All 12 keys in the Harley Benton Blues Harmonica Set.

Harley Benton Blues Harp Set

Pocket trumpet – yup!

As a trumpeter, perhaps with your instrument, you want to hail a taxi at the destination airport; maybe even jam in the nearest club: A pocket trumpet can be your ideal musical accompaniment for this. Convincing in its handy, compact format, the TR5 Bb pocket trumpet from Thomann is still assertively loud. You will most likely not take a super expensive instrument with you when travelling. No need, the TR5 is an affordable and equally popular gold-finish trumpet, while being smaller than a standard women’s purse.

TR5 Bb pocket trumpet from Thomann

Got rhythm in your blood? Practice pad time!

Drummers constantly want to stay in shape, train their timing and hitting technique. It’s impossible to get a drum kit in your hand luggage, but a practice pad definitely fits. Even better if the practice pad is equipped with a metronome and/or a headphone output. The Millenium R1 12″ Metronome Practice Pad has both, as well as an integrated speaker, through which the tones can also be output loudly without headphones. The Beat Counter counts the number of beats; the rhythm can be set from 1 to 9 beats. Niiice!

Millenium R1 12″ Metronome Practice Pad

Your Feedback

We wish you a nice trip with music included. Let’s us know, with a comment, if you have other travel tips for musicians!