Customer Reviews

Traveler Guitar Escape EG-1 Electric Travel Guitar (Trans Black, Deluxe Gig Bag)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a person who travels quite a bit by airplane, and a travel guitar is a necessity if I don't want to check my guitar and hope for the best when I arrive at my destination. For that reason, I purchased a Traveler Speedster a couple of years back. I take it with me on all of my longer work trips which last a month or more. I've been very happy with the Speedster, and that contentment gave me the confidence to purchase the Traveler EG-1 to supplement my travel guitar stock.

It's interesting that this guitar comes with a Pocket Rockit headphone amp built in because I purchased a Pocket Rocket V2 for my other Traveler guitar. It works nice as a simple headphone amp, but I wish that the built-in Pocket Rockit had some of the features of the V2 - most importantly, the tuning feature. The lack of a tuning feature means that a tuner will still be required for those like me who do not tune by ear.

When I plugged my headphones into the guitar for the first time, the sound was very bad. My instinct was to blame the built-in amp, and I plugged into an external amp. It still sounded pretty cheesy. I decided that a pickup change was in order. I changed out the pickup with another, and now the guitar sounds wonderful.

The build quality of the EG-1 is both good and bad. Mostly everything on the guitar is put together and finished well. My guitar didn't have the best example of a flame top, but I can overlook that since the transparent finish isn't very transparent at all. The tuning pegs are inconsistent. Some are easy to turn while others are pretty difficult. When I changed the humbucker out, I was able to get a better look at its build quality. I've never seen a poorer humbucker. There's not one good thing I can say about the quality of the included pickup. Every element that goes into making a pickup from the wiring to the wrapping was abysmal. This is why I subtracted one star from this guitar. I would have subtracted more if installing a new pickup was impossible or difficult, but that wasn't the case.

As for portability, this guitar does not compare to the Speedster, but that doesn't mean it's not a good travel guitar; it just doesn't suit my travel needs. This guitar is about three inches wider than the Speedster because the Speedster has a section that can be broken down for a narrower footprint. The EG-1's case, while well-built and of high quality, is significantly larger than the Speedster. While its probably possible, I can not imagine putting this guitar in the typical overhead bin of a regional jet, much less under my seat. This is just my opinion on this. Others may be fine with its bulk, but I can see that the Speedster will be a lot less hassle on flights. Still, this guitar is good for car or train travel as it is significantly smaller than traditional-sized guitars. Also, a plus for this guitar and other full-scale guitars like it is that one is more likely to want to pick this up at any time to play versus grabbing a larger, heavier guitar and getting all set up with it. I think that this guitar's biggest quality is its accessibility, and whatever gets people to play more is a very good thing.

This is an amazing little guitar. The sound quality is good and it is sturdy guitar. Good for traveling

This is my second electric guitar, and it came in the mail today. I don't travel by air, but it's nice to have something to put in the car (and hook up to the stereo) on road trips. But what I love about it is how easy it is to pick up and play. I like the action on it better than that of the Speedster, and it has a nice feel to it. I play the mandolin and the ukulele, and it's easy to hold like one of those instruments.

The only downside to the guitar is the humbucker pickup. It looks like it's held together with electric tape, and I plan on replacing it. Other than that, the construction's great. I love the Traveler series, because I just get tired carrying around a full electric for too long, and because they simply put out good guitars.

The bag I don't like. I like that it has a space for sheet music and books, and the padding is solid, but it just looks low-rent. Also, doesn't a traveling guitar scream, "backpack"? How hard would it have been for them to add an extra strap in the back? Luckily, I found that it fits into one of my mandolin backpacks, and I'll use that.

But I'm focusing on the negative. I think this is a great alternative to the more popular Speedster, as right now, it's only $30 more, but it comes with the lovely headphone amp. Sure, the sound that comes out of it isn't going to match the sound from a 200-watt amp, but it's great for playing late night or early morning. Also, it looks like a guitar, and not a friggin' laser gun. Another option to consider is the EG-2. For $70 more, you get a slightly larger guitar, and two single-coil pickups instead of the single humbucker. I think I'm better off with the smaller guitar, and spending the extra $70 on a better pickup and a pedal effect or something.

All-in-all, I like it, and it's the guitar for me.

We've had this guitar since Jan 2010. It comes nicely packaged in a silver bag and high quality soft-shell case, not a dent nor scratch on the guitar itself. The build is very solid and professional. The flame top can barely be seen through the black finish, but it's there, you just have to look closely. Otherwise, it looks like a little black electric. The fingerboard action is pretty low, my husband did not have to adjust it all. No buzz in the strings when he plays it. The battery powered Pocket Rocket amp is very decent and capable for a portable all-in-one guitar (1/8" aux in, 1/8" headphone out, 1/4" out, switch for clean/distortion). He doesn't plug it into an amp, just plays with headphones. The wood used in the back of the fingerboard (which is smooth) could have better graining. Also, there is a Made in China stamp on the body, yes, it's not a sticker. My husband has bought a few guitars off Amazon, all made in China, and has been generally pleased, even impressed, with the quality and build of them (Washburn and Alvarez). He plays an old Larrivee acoustic. Overall, a fun and great little guitar!