I’ve got a 7 week trip to the UK and Ireland coming up in August-September. Seven weeks of no practice would not be good, so I looked at buying a travel guitar. I decided the only one that would suit me was the Traveler Ultra-light. But I couldn’t justify the price tag for something that would only get occasional use. So I decided to build something similar.
Having built an acoustic guitar before, I knew I didn’t want to make the neck. Too much work. So I bought a used SX strat copy for AUD95 on Facebook Marketplace. I removed the neck and all the hardware and built a body from plywood. The only critical dimension is the distance from the nut to the bridge saddles. I moved two of the tuners to shorten the neck. I made and installed brass inserts into the neck to allow it to be repeatedly broken down and reassembled (we will be taking seven flights during the trip).
It’s setup with the same strings and action as my Fender strat. It’s neck-heavy, so the strap is a must, even when seated. The mahogany legrest is designed so the guitar sits in exactly the same place as my Fender strat.
The black guitar is the donor SX. The new one is “Hotlips Red”
haha,and this mini will? besides its only for 2 months. much easier than building a guitar, toting it around, then hoping the airlines doesn’t crush it. and no amp.
To clarify, there’s nothing wrong with the guitar Andrea. It sounds sweet.
However, the rabbit hole I’m currently stuck in is blues improv in the style of B.B. King. That means lots of string bending. The 9-guage strings I had on my strat were shredding my fingertips, so I fitted 8’s to both guitars.
I can’t believe how much softer the 8’s are. I can manage 1 ½ tone bends easily. But I’ve got a bit of work to do before I’m ready to post a recording of me playing.
