Travel Guitars
Vagabond Guitars and Miranda Guitars lack
the selection of Traveler catalog, both produce their guitars predominately in-house
with only a few people involved.
Vagabond only features one guitar model,
available in a left or right-handed configuration. It is created with a traditional solid
spruce top, mahogany neck and rosewood
fingerboard and bridge. Producing one
model by hand has enabled Kevin Smith
to incorporate an intricate amount of
craftsmanship into each of his guitars. The
guitar’s unusual Florentine contour makes it
remarkably similar to a mandolin, but it is a
guitar through and through with laminated
birch sides and back and steel strings.
Every order includes an adjustable nylon
strap, cordura gig bag and an unconditional satisfaction guarantee.
el guitars find inventive ways to shed weight
and bulk, some people are quick to dismiss
the travel guitar as being less of an instrument. “A lot of guitar companies say they
are full-scale, but they are a full 22” scale
and it shouldn’t be said like that,” Oliver
emphasizes. Each of the builders clearly
stated in their individual interviews that they
are proud designers of full-scale guitars built
with traveling in mind.
changing woods (currently a spruce top and
mahogany neck), components, soundhole
placement and shape. Throughout all of
his experiments, Smith has searched for “a
remarkable, full-size and distinct instrument
to be respected by travelers, collectors and
professionals in the music industry.”
In fact, these luthiers are building for many
of the same reasons as those working in
larger instruments. “My goal was that if
you closed your eyes, you’d imagine play-
ing your old acoustic from home and we’ve
gone to great extents
to achieve that,”
It seems his efforts have paid off. With customer accolades spanning the globe and his
Vagabond used by Neil Young during live
performances, Smith has received a stamp
of approval that few companies can claim.
Miranda Guitars follows
Vagabond’s model of
limited selection and
in-house production, offering both
a steel string (S-
250) and a nylon
string (CFX-200).
In a show of true
design prowess,
both models lack a true
acoustic body, but make
up for it with a sturdy, skeletal
frame mimicking a full-bodied,
classical acoustic guitar. “I wanted
to have a guitar in a small package
and not a full-body acoustic because I
wanted to practice silently in any situation,”
says Miranda’s Phil Green. Players also have
the option of removing the acrylic heel
plate for a sleek cutaway feel, and purchasing tapping plates for the CFX-200 or a
pickguard for the S-250.
Help Wanted
Some luthiers are able to conceptualize
their perfect guitar, but others seek help
in refining their designs. After coming up
with several designs, Oliver and his team
at Traveler sought outside help in the
form of famous luthier, John Carruthers.
Before helping out at Traveler Guitar,
Carruthers had solidified his name
in guitar lore by creating
instruments for legends
like Jimi Hendrix,
Elvis Presley and
Robby Kreiger
of the Doors, to
name a select
few. Carruthers
applied his talents
and produced the newest
members of the Traveler family,
the Escape EG-I and Escape R-II. The
experience for the upstart entrepre-
neur was humbling.
A Miranda guitar packed
and ready to travel
Both models feature a lacquered mahogany neck and body, and are coupled with
a rosewood fingerboard. Green’s guitars
also go the silent route, including an
undersaddle pickup system, a line-in headphone jack and ¼” output. But perhaps
the guitar’s most notable attribute is the
ability to be broken down into two easily
transported, travel-friendly sections. Green
jokes that with his guitars, “players can be
one-minute luthiers.”
explains Green. “We’ve covered everything
to ensure its authenticity – the look, feel,
size, dimensions, minor details, and as
much as possible, the tone and sound.”
“We’d like to think that we know what
we’re doing and we just struggled with
constructing a new body style, but to have
[Carruthers] come up with the whole thing
in one day was phenomenal,” says Oliver.
“What he came up with in 24 hours was
something we couldn’t picture at all. John
got it done right away and with unbelievable
accuracy, balance, size and proportion. The
guitar just looked right.”
And although the uniqueness of Miranda’s
collapsible nature provides travelers with a
sleekly packaged instrument and other trav-
Art has even crept into the world of travel
guitars, a niche segment of the industry
motivated more by size limitations than
aesthetics. “When I’m building, I envision
my guitars as a work of functional art in
every respect, with fine fretwork and precise intonation, great sound and yet still
very stowable,” says Vagabond’s Smith.
He has developed and tinkered with his
Vagabond design for the last 20 years by
Besides seeking outside help from seasoned professionals, travel builders frequently solicit ideas for improvements
from their customer base. These avenues
of communication have directly and indirectly influenced several modifications on
their instruments. “Everything from our
initial prototype [the Pro Series] up to our
current selection is derived from customer
comments and requests,” says Oliver. “Not
one specifically, but we compile comments
