You can trust Guitar World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test. All travel guitars are portable and all the guitars are great to play; but all excel in different ways. For example, some are going to be better for gigging with, while others are great for practice with headphones. So consider what you need from a travel guitar; do you want an acoustic or electric guitar? Would you like to use it for recording? The best news is whatever your needs, we’ve got the right travel guitar for you in this guide. Electric travel guitars can usually plug into guitar amps and PAs but some have their own inbuilt amps to use headphones with, making them all-in-one practice tools. Can I gig with a travel guitar? First and foremost, we are guitarists, and we want other players to find the right product for them. So we take into careful consideration everything from budget to feature set, ease of use and durability to come up with a list of what we can safely say are the best travel guitars on the market right now. Using the chorus on its own, I dialed in a pretty convincing 12-string effect that sounded great for a tune like Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” The reverb was surprisingly natural-sounding and, when used judiciously, it added an attractive shimmer to arpeggiated passages and lead lines. Also, the handful of people I played the guitar for were quite mesmerized by the unexpected sounds emanating from it.

At the same time, the always-diverse Yamaha has been spreading its TransAcoustic electronic technology from higher-end guitars, like the LL we reviewed in 2016, to less expensive guitars, including the dreadnought-sized FG-TA, which has also received scalloped bracing. Their compact form makes them easy to carry and allows them to be stored without taking up much space. Try taking a CSF series guitar with you the next time you head out, and see just how enjoyable playing in a natural setting can be.We thought that the f actory setup was just about perfect, too. The action was low, but never buzzy which allowed us to explore more delicate playing styles without worrying about whether we were properly fingering notes. Included with the Yamaha CSF3M is a hard bag so you can protect your guitar during transport and storage. Here at Guitar World, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything guitar and bass related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our guides. Registered office: V12 Retail Finance Limited, Yorke House, Arleston Way, Solihull, B90 4LH. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

A travel guitar’s portability can be due to a smaller body, lighter weight and shorter scale (this is the distance from the guitar’s nut to its saddle) but a guitar can still be great for carrying around with you and have a full-scale. If you are interested in receiving this coverage for longer than one year, you have the option of purchasing additional years of the Performance Warranty. The pricing is as follows:

Big ideas from this small-bodied travel acoustic guitar

Read more about our rating system, how we choose the gear we feature, and exactly how we testeach product. Related buyer's guides Finishing off the guitar is some quality hardware including a urea nut for enhanced sustain, SLG type tuning machines for precise and secure tuning and a Rosewood bridge facilitating great transfer of vibration from the strings to the solid Spruce top. Includes Hard Bag

The tuners were die cast sealed units that performed perfectly. They allowed for easy fine tuning, and held pitch perfectly during our time with the guitar. Also helping with the tuning stability were the factory fitted Elixir Nanoweb strings.

Yamaha CSF3M Vintage Natural with solid top, back and sides

Having said that, acoustic travel guitars tend to have a shorter scale and smaller bodies to be portable, but they will still be tuned and play like a regular guitar. Indeed, the best travel guitars we have selected in this guide all shine for their playability as well as tone so they don’t take much getting used to.

NEW products: 4% of the current new selling price to double the warranty from 1 year to 2 years. 4% for each additional year.We really did fall in love with the Yamaha CSF3Mduring this review. The playability far exceeded that of any other parlor guitar we’ve had the opportunity to test, and it was just incredibly apparent from the moment we unboxed it that this had come from a manufacturer that cares deeply about its products and the customer experience. Find out more about how we make our recommendations and how we testeach of the products in our buyer's guides. How we choose products