vagabond travel guitar

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The Vagabond travel guitar is a sweet little thing that is, happily, back in production again. You may be able to find a used one, if some unfortunate soul is forced to part with theirs, but I wouldn't count on it.

The Vagabond is smaller than a Baby Taylor; bigger, more robust, and better-sounding than a Martin Backpacker; and better looking than both of them put together (in my opinion).

The body is a striking, asymmetrical shape with a bit of a cut-away on the bottom (where you would expect it) and joining the neck smoothly in a sort of teardrop shape at the top. It has a solid spruce top, laminated sides and back, and a mahogany neck. It has exactly the same scale length (24.5") as my full-sized Martin; the neck is the same width but a little thicker. The total length is 33", but it will fit diagonally in the same space as a folded garment bag, so you shouldn't have any trouble on airplanes.

Compared to a full-sized guitar the bass is, of course, pretty weak. The sound on the high end is remarkably solid, though, so if you fingerpick it will easily fill a living room or other small venue if the audience is paying attention. I got the optional piezo pickup in the bridge -- plugged into the house sound system you can't tell that it isn't a dreadnought.

Minor Problems

I had to ground the strings to prevent hum: I did it by doubling-up a chunk of #12 solid copper wire under the strings behind the bridge, and connecting it to the sleeve of the jack. There's another problem with the active pickup (Martin Thinline Gold) -- the battery is inside the body and devilishly hard to get at even after you've taken off the strings.

Perhaps the biggest problem these days is the case, a blue nylon gig bag that looks exactly like a gun case (actually, they may have changed the case; I got mine about 8 years ago). I had a custom gig bag made for it recently that's much friendlier-looking.

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Vagabond travel guitar

Vagabond [Internet archive link]

Vagabond travel guitars, New York USA

Established 1981 – website was available till 2014.

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One comment.

A very fantastic Guitar, not only for traveling. Sounds excellent too if you plug it in. (:

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Travel Guitar

Travel GuitarA reader named Seth left me some good words in a comment or two so I followed the backlink to his website Etribe.com and was impressed by what I found: instructions and schematics for building your own travel guitar.————–Wade from Vagabond Journey.com in Budapest, Hungary- July 30 2008Travelogue — Travel Photos ————–“I envision a [...]

A reader named Seth left me some good words in a comment or two so I followed the backlink to his website Etribe.com and was impressed by what I found: instructions and schematics for building your own travel guitar.

————– Wade from Vagabond Journey.com in Budapest, Hungary- July 30 2008 Travelogue — Travel Photos ————–

“I envision a distributed production network where each person can build as little or as much of a guitar as they please, with minimal tools, and be compensated somehow through an online guitar/parts/bank, in either finished guitars, parts for guitars, money or other medium of exchange.”

-Seth from Etribe.com

These travel guitars are small, hollow bodied, light, do not have a headstock, and could easily fit into a rucksack. I have met many travelers who bind themselves down with big and bulky full scale guitars. I look at them and think about what a burden it must be to carry around something so large and unweildy, which invariable occupies the use of an entire hand and arm. Likewise, I also meet many wanderers who say that they would love to be able to travel with a guitar if they were not so bulky and large. It is my impression that Seth’s little travel guitars may be a good alternative to both scenarios.

Links to previous travelogue entries: Hostel Life in Budapest Bomb in Budapest Chinese Four Tigers Market in Budapest

Travel Guitar * Travel Blog Directory * Vagabond Journey.com * Travel Photos *

About the Author: VBJ

VBJ is currently in: New York City

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Previous post: Hostel Life in Budapest

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Post Stream

The next project that will take me around the world.

What my next big project could be all about.

On Shutting Down My NYC Film Company

And getting ready to move on.

World Travel Is Dirt Cheap … If You Don’t Have Any Baggage

Apparently, the ultimate travel hack is to be able to travel with nothing.

The Next Destination Could Lead Into My Next Era Of Travels

Where I go next could determine my geographic whereabouts for the next five years.

On Finding The Next Big Project

I know it when I know it.

The Solar Eclipse That Wasn’t: Fieldnotes From The Path Of Totality, Rochester, New York

We traveled to the place where I grew up to watch the total solar eclipse. It was kind of like that scene in Spaceballs where they’re combing the desert.

Traveling To Rochester To Watch The Solar Eclipse Of 2024

Traveling into the traffic inferno of a solar eclipse.

20 Years Of Travel Blogging

A look back at two decades of Vagabond Journey.

What Happens When Travelers Get Stuck In A Place

I found a really special kind of place but it may be time to be moving on.

Happy ‘What Have You Done Lately?’ Day

Getting back on the path.

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View our wide range of instruments including carbon fiber travel guitars, wood acoustic travel guitars, and stellar travel ukuleles

Overhead Collapsible Carbon Fiber Travel Guitars (12)

Overhead and First Class Collapsible Wood Travel Guitars (22)

Overhead Electric Travel Guitars (5)

Overhead Collapsible Travel Basses (5)

Ergonomic Touring and Student Guitars (6)

Journey Ukuleles (5)

Electronics & Pickups (7)

Instrument Cases (10)

Parts and Components (31)

Strings & Accessories (16)

Journey instruments.

Journey Instruments specializes in premium grade travel guitars, acoustic travel guitars, acoustic electric travel guitars, carbon fiber travel guitars, collapsible guitars, ergonomic guitars, folding guitar, guitar flight cases and instrument cases designed for optimal comfort and portability.

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Martina armour.

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Overview of our products, overhead collapsible travel guitars.

Journey Instruments® launched in 2012 with our Overhead® series collapsible ergonomic acoustic travel guitars in both wood and carbon fiber . No longer do you need to buy an expensive guitar flight case to have a great guitar when you travel by air. Our collapsible travel guitars employ our patented removable neck mechanism for complete assembly in 20 seconds! Our Overhead® acoustic travel guitars are available in carbon fiber and wood. They employ a thicker Manzer© wedge body that makes them super ergonomic and results in a surprisingly big tone for such a small travel guitar body. These travel guitars come equipped with passive piezo pickups and are available in steel string, classical, and a 27” scale acoustic carbon fiber travel basses. The OF660 collapsible carbon fiber travel guitar series is arguably the best acoustic travel guitar you’ll ever find. If you’re looking for a packpacker acoustic guitar, a carry-on travel guitar, or just a great sounding small-bodied acoustic guitar that’s a joy to travel with, look no further.

First Class Collapsible Travel Guitars

Our First Class guitars are the ultimate acoustic travel guitars for musicians looking for a stage-worthy acoustic travel guitar experience. These premium travel guitars feature our modern ergonomic wedge guitar body with arm bevels and premium appointments applied grand auditorium, parlor guitar, and Torres classical guitar body formats. They also feature our upgradeable passive under-bridge pickups and convertible roller-case backpack gig bags.

RoadTrip and Journey Junior Guitars

Our RoadTrip™ and Journey Junior™ ergonomic guitars are fixed-neck student and touring guitars with our wedged guitar body that enables easier fretting for beginners or musicians with wrist injury or shoulder pain. These are a great value for gigging musicians and students looking for big tone in a small, expandable package.

Travel Cases and Gig Bags for Guitars

We design our instruments and cases together, so that the travel case is not a mere afterthought, but a core part of the entire travel guitar experience. For the Overhead travel guitar series, this means you can fit all your gigging accessories into the patented gig bag that fits into standard carry-on dimensions of major airlines. Our guitar gig bags designed for our Journey Junior™ and RoadTrip™ series travel and touring guitars fit most 36″ to 39″ travel guitars and have a plethora of pockets, daisy chains, and straps that can expand to accommodate tablets, pedals, stands, and cables.

J-uke Ukuleles and Ukulele Travel Cases

Our ukuleles include pickups and a full-featured ukulele travel case. The US490CTE , a thin bodied travel ukulele at only 22 inches total with the case is our most popular model. Our J-uke travel ukulele gig bags are equally expandable, come with rain covers, and can clip on to any other bag and accommodate gear and stands as well.

JourneyTek™ Passive Piezo Pickups

Finally our JourneyTek™ premium acoustic pickups are featured in most of our products and employ an upgradeable passive piezo pickup system with German-Made piezo elements for unparalleled transparent amplification of your instrument’s natural tone. These under-bridge passive piezo pickups are the best value around for transparent acoustic instrument amplification. We see many artists installing our pickups on vintage and premium hand-made acoustic guitars and ukuleles. Click Here for an independent on Youtube.

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Claudia Looi

Touring the Top 10 Moscow Metro Stations

By Claudia Looi 2 Comments

Komsomolskaya metro station looks like a museum. It has vaulted ceilings and baroque decor.

Hidden underground, in the heart of Moscow, are historical and architectural treasures of Russia. These are Soviet-era creations – the metro stations of Moscow.

Our guide Maria introduced these elaborate metro stations as “the palaces for the people.” Built between 1937 and 1955, each station holds its own history and stories. Stalin had the idea of building beautiful underground spaces that the masses could enjoy. They would look like museums, art centers, concert halls, palaces and churches. Each would have a different theme. None would be alike.

The two-hour private tour was with a former Intourist tour guide named Maria. Maria lived in Moscow all her life and through the communist era of 60s to 90s. She has been a tour guide for more than 30 years. Being in her 60s, she moved rather quickly for her age. We traveled and crammed with Maria and other Muscovites on the metro to visit 10 different metro stations.

Arrow showing the direction of metro line 1 and 2

Moscow subways are very clean

To Maria, every street, metro and building told a story. I couldn’t keep up with her stories. I don’t remember most of what she said because I was just thrilled being in Moscow.   Added to that, she spilled out so many Russian words and names, which to one who can’t read Cyrillic, sounded so foreign and could be easily forgotten.

The metro tour was the first part of our all day tour of Moscow with Maria. Here are the stations we visited:

1. Komsomolskaya Metro Station  is the most beautiful of them all. Painted yellow and decorated with chandeliers, gold leaves and semi precious stones, the station looks like a stately museum. And possibly decorated like a palace. I saw Komsomolskaya first, before the rest of the stations upon arrival in Moscow by train from St. Petersburg.

2. Revolution Square Metro Station (Ploshchad Revolyutsii) has marble arches and 72 bronze sculptures designed by Alexey Dushkin. The marble arches are flanked by the bronze sculptures. If you look closely you will see passersby touching the bronze dog's nose. Legend has it that good luck comes to those who touch the dog's nose.

Touch the dog's nose for good luck. At the Revolution Square station

Revolution Square Metro Station

3. Arbatskaya Metro Station served as a shelter during the Soviet-era. It is one of the largest and the deepest metro stations in Moscow.

Arbatskaya Metro Station

4. Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station was built in 1935 and named after the Russian State Library. It is located near the library and has a big mosaic portrait of Lenin and yellow ceramic tiles on the track walls.

Lenin's portrait at the Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station

5. Kievskaya Metro Station was one of the first to be completed in Moscow. Named after the capital city of Ukraine by Kiev-born, Nikita Khruschev, Stalin's successor.

Kievskaya Metro Station

6. Novoslobodskaya Metro Station  was built in 1952. It has 32 stained glass murals with brass borders.

Novoslobodskaya metro station

7. Kurskaya Metro Station was one of the first few to be built in Moscow in 1938. It has ceiling panels and artwork showing Soviet leadership, Soviet lifestyle and political power. It has a dome with patriotic slogans decorated with red stars representing the Soviet's World War II Hall of Fame. Kurskaya Metro Station is a must-visit station in Moscow.

Ceiling panel and artworks at Kurskaya Metro Station

8. Mayakovskaya Metro Station built in 1938. It was named after Russian poet Vladmir Mayakovsky. This is one of the most beautiful metro stations in the world with 34 mosaics painted by Alexander Deyneka.

Mayakovskaya station

One of the over 30 ceiling mosaics in Mayakovskaya metro station

9. Belorusskaya Metro Station is named after the people of Belarus. In the picture below, there are statues of 3 members of the Partisan Resistance in Belarus during World War II. The statues were sculpted by Sergei Orlov, S. Rabinovich and I. Slonim.

10. Teatralnaya Metro Station (Theatre Metro Station) is located near the Bolshoi Theatre.

Teatralnaya Metro Station decorated with porcelain figures .

Taking the metro's escalator at the end of the tour with Maria the tour guide.

Have you visited the Moscow Metro? Leave your comment below.

January 15, 2017 at 8:17 am

An excellent read! Thanks for much for sharing the Russian metro system with us. We're heading to Moscow in April and exploring the metro stations were on our list and after reading your post, I'm even more excited to go visit them. Thanks again 🙂

December 6, 2017 at 10:45 pm

Hi, do you remember which tour company you contacted for this tour?

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