10 ways to continue playing during your holidays

From Guitars Exchange we would like to offer you 10 ways for you to continue with your hobby of playing guitar and not ‘split temporarily’ because of the small amount of space in your suitcase.     

We are going to give you five ways to plug your instrument in and five ways for your instrument to fit into your suitcase or in your car without you having to buy a bigger suitcase or a van.  

Where to plug in during your holidays:  

1. You travel everywhere with your computer because you need it to keep in contact with your work, ‘reality’, or because you haven’t finished the last series of HBO or Netflix. Well here you have the first and easiest solution: Amplitube 4. A full range of amps, speakers and high quality digital effects on your computer for little over 100 euros. The sound is incredible that you can get out of a guitar with software like this. It seems that the sun is setting again on the period of the valves. The digital is increasingly more reliable. Highly recommendable.    

     

2. You want to disappear from Planet Earth completely, you don’t watch television, you don’t read the news online and so neither do you take your computer with you. There is no problem… because what you do take is your mobile phone. The company IK Multimedia makes it as easy as connecting your cellphone to your iRig and this allows you with one gadget to connect your guitar to your mobile and from that to use your earphones so that your parents, partner or neighbour don’t need to tell you to turn down the volume. If you are only taking your mobile it is the easiest solution.      

     

3. You belong to a race from another time, you are the last of the bohemians, you live anchored in the decade of the 50s and you are not interested in any later technology such as the internet or those disgusting apparatus called mobile telephones… but you are dying to plug in your electric guitar somewhere and that it produces a clean sound or is saturated by your amplifier that even you, a person who is distant from the daily noise, continuing desiring on your holidays. Well years ago Vox made things easy for you with their distinct versions and sounds for the pleasure of their Vox Amplug consumers. It is similar to the iRig but without a mobile in between. You plug it into the guitar and from there you can find a connection for your headphones. It is as simple as that and with a tone based on the legendary sounds of the brand with which you can play for hours and hours without getting tired.     

     

4. You go on holiday but you have the hope that perhaps someone gives you the chance to play in their beach stall, bar or beach attic but you can’t take your gear with you… Well here you have the Vox MV50, one of the latest marvels that we have had the chance to test and that has left us open mouthed. This gadget weighs half a kilo and produces 50 watts, with a sound much more than acceptable for less than 200 euros. Of course it also has an exit for headphones so that you can play at home just in case your opportunity doesn’t arrive this summer – but if you finally receive a call and they offer you your much desired gig on the beach with this gadget you go more than prepared.    

   

5. Not without my combo. You are incapable of leaving your guitar at home and you will never plug it into something digital and you don’t carry an amplifier. Well the Blackstar HT-1R MkII Combo is one of the best possible solutions. One of the most famous home amplifiers in recent years: this 1 watt ampli with an eight inch speaker is a quality brand on the market that would make any guitarist happy and that does not take up too much space in the boot.       

   

Which guitar should I take?    

1. Harley Benton Travel Guitar
For a little over 100 euros they allow you to leave your Martin D45 at home without the damp and bad weather during the summer and at the same time you can practise scales and sing love songs by the side of fireplaces wherever you are. We are not going to stop talking about the quality of woods or construction but instead here put the stress on how this guitar really sounds; we refer you to the audios on Thomann’s webpage if you don’t believe it.     



2. Córdoba Mini M
Even smaller than the above but with a solid top. This mini instrument converted into a travel guitar of the Córdoba Brand is the most achievable solution for the classic, bossa or flamenco guitarist, if you cannot transport your main guitar.    

   

3. Thomann Baritone Guitarlele Black Oak  
With the size of a baritone ukelele but with six strings like the guitar comes this hybrid which we recommend only in cases of extreme need to ‘practice your fingers’ during your holidays, as it is neither one thing nor the other - and we are classicists.      

   

4. Taylor GS Mini  
You are going on holiday, you accept that you cannot take your favourite guitar but you don’t feel like making a sound that is not magnificent. Well this is for you: the Taylor GS Mini. Guitars Exchange has already recommended this to you many times, because we love it. It has a great sound and good construction, within a body scale of 597 mm. The choice for the demanding guitarist, even on their holidays.    

   

5. Traveler Guitars Electric Ultra-Light TR   
Not without my electric guitar. You completely refuse to take your acoustic on holiday with you but your boot is packed full and your guitar and amplifier won’t fit. Well if you don’t mind how it looks this Traveler Guitars Electric Ultra-Light TR by Traveler Guitars could resolve your problem. If it is true to say that its design isn’t precisely a Gretsch White Falcon what we can say is that it is ‘almost’ the size of the headstock of a White Falcon - making it a guitar that is easy to transport in very small spaces.