Martin Steel String Backpacker Travel Guitar with Bag

This guitar is not a toy. I played the guitar for some thirty years. Most of that time was spent playing on my Guild F-50. Seven years ago, I got married. One year after that, I put the guitar down, and I haven't touched it since. I recently came to the conclusion that I am somewhat a fraction of the man I was when I made music. I decided to bring music back to the front burner. I work in the aviation industry and fly all over Europe - all the time. Carrying luggage is a drag, and there are restrictions regarding size and number. This Martin Backpacker is absolutely the best option available - short of hiring a master luthier to build for me a quality instrument in miniature. After six years away from playing the guitar, skill, theory and creativity have eroded to a level which can only be described as sad.... Now, I've had this Martin Backpacker for just short of one month. It has already been to London, Oslo (twice), Tel Aviv and Dublin. I have no difficulty with carrying and safe stowing. Incidentally, the guitar is quite tough. I joke about it by calling it my "club." I would not want to be hit with it; I can assure you, and here is the relative comment: This guitar sounds pretty damned good - period. Don't expect the sound of an SJ-200 or something. It does serve the ear though - enough to get the job done while forced to be away from your first instrument...whatever that may be. The "job" to which I have just now referred is the task of practicing scales, learning and reawakening lost theory (see Desi Serna), playing (and singing to) a few old songs et cetera. Intonation is exact. It stays in tune. The action is just a bit high above the tenth fret, but this is not really a problem considering the overall benefit the Backpacker delivers. Martin does offer replacement saddle blanks at 1/16th inch increments that can be secured by calling their customer service number found on the documentation included in the guitar shipment. It's funny to hold at first, but you'll figure it out and make it work. Desire and necessity will conquer if you're serious about improving your guitar knowledge (or just plan having fun playing what you have mastered) while you're in places where your big "Super Jumbo" or J-45 shouldn't go. The guitar is not manufactured in Pennsylvania. It is manufactured in Mexico - NOT China...may the saints be praised! The quality is refreshingly very good...I was quite impressed. The instrument comes with an equally impressive, padded, bag-style case that has a shoulder strap and attached pouch about 12x6x2 inches. If "Made in America" is important to you, don't let the Mexico thing turn you away. Hey, that's the "global" thing...I don't much like it, but that's where humanity is headed. At least it's not made in China..., if it were, I would not have made the purchase. Pricing on this is ridiculous. Most places on the web price it at 299 USD. Stay clear of that ridiculousness. Now, I'm not some big fan of Amazon. Sometimes Amazon serves my interest; often it does not. However, I bought my Martin Backpacker from Amazon, and it arrived five days later -- shipping and tax free. I paid 167 USD flat. I've been nothing short of completely satisfied, and the price, in my view, was beyond fair. Like I said..., ridiculous. The documentation supplied indicates that the instrument may be waxed using a paste-style wax. I plan to do the waxing when I finish this month's work schedule and return home. When I am contemplating how the wax might affect the instrument, I get this impression that it could then be submerged in water, removed, shaken and meticulously wiped down..., and it would suffer no appreciable damage. It's a pretty nice little tool - this Martin. On a final note regarding this evaluation: Using only this little Martin, during those periods when not directly engaged in developing my fretboard theory, I have been working on my mastery of one very important instrumental piece which is close to my heart. Nearly one month of playing only the little Martin, the subject of this evaluation, I am quite close to mastery of "Embryonic Journey." It is a track on the old LP "Surrealistic Pillow." Now...how well do you think this guitar serves? [Update: Call me "Jorma Kaukonen"...it's been awhile since I wrote this review, but since I was writing another on a different product, I thought it would be fun to add, here, that I have mastery of "Embryonic Journey." I don't owe this to the Backpacker Guitar...I owe it to hard work, but this little guitar made it possible. Good stuff.] Buy the guitar for yourself.

I ordered this guitar as I tend to travel a lot, and I just returned to playing regularly. I read plenty of reviews for the travel guitars in this price range, and I went with the Martin. There's so much good to this guitar, it's hard to find the negatives. At only two pounds plus some change, this little guy is super light and easy to carry. The packaging is solid and sturdy, and when I opened the Martin box, the guitar was packaging in a padded bag. I tuned it up, and with a little stretching, it kept its tune within a few hours. Despite being a bit odd looking, the backpacker is easy to adapt to. I'm not sure if folks need a reminder: this is a travel guitar. It's designed to be small, so that comes with a price tag. 1. The strings are great--it comes with Martin strings, and they sound great. 2. The sound on this is phenomenal. I've been playing on el cheapo I picked up a few years ago, so this was like heaven. Yes, it does sound a bit "pluckier" than your average guitar, but not in an annoying way. It's a great fingerpicking guitar, but I can only strum with decent ability right now. 3. Yes, you lose some volume. Look at the size of this thing: physics, folks. But it's almost magical in the way it projects, and if you strum strong and loud, you'll definitely get plenty of volume for travel. 4. The action is NOT high. Maybe someone got a weird one, but the action is perfect and low. Having played on a nightmare for the last few weeks, this is incredibly easy to play. The fret board has a solid, natural feel, so the transition was very easy. 5. The strap solves the ills of the heavy neck. It's super neck-heavy, no question, but the strap, properly adjusted, fixes the problem. I find it a bit more comfortable to stand with, or to sit on a stood with, but either way, you'll be able to play. Hand placement is an issue for the right side, but I figured out a way that works just fine for me. 6. You can't been the price or portability on this little guy. He's sweet to play and listen to, and he's perfect for travel. I would highly recommend for experienced or beginner musicians. Lots of fun, and a great purchase for its intended purpose.

I've wanted a travel guitar for some time. The price on this item was too good to pass up, so I took the jump. I couldn't be more pleased. Having read most of the reviews, I want to clarify a few things. ***You are not buying a full-sized guitar, so realize going into this that the travel guitar will not sound like a normal sized guitar. You don't get the same resonance and the bass tones aren't as rich. This is because you are sacrificing a bit of tone quality for a more convenient travel size. That being said, this guitar sounds INCREDIBLY well for it's size, and I was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality and how well crafted the guitar is. The action is low, the tuning knobs are tight, and everything looks and feels solid when you play. I bought both of my kids 1/2 sized guitars for Christmas that were about half the price of this Martin and they look and feel like toy guitars compared to this. The quality of this guitar is Martin, 100%. ***Some people complained about the tuning knobs and action. My guitar came just how I like it right out of the box. Each player has a preference, of course, but this guitar suits my needs just fine. ***Yes, it's small enough to travel with, but the neck is normal width, so you don't have to tweak your muscle memory when playing it. ***The body shape is a bit difficult to get used to, and I can understand how this would be an issue if you've only played traditionally shaped acoustic guitars. But, if you're ever played an oddly shaped electric (I played a Gibson Flying V for years), then the adjustments you have to make to play this traveler are not bad at all. Plus... it's a travel guitar. Compact size is the name of the game. Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase. I waited a long time before pulling the trigger, but I'm so glad I finally did. Many times I've traveled without a guitar because I haven't wanted to check it into baggage claim. This one is small enough you can easily find space in an overhead compartment on a plane. So stoked for my next trip to travel with this little gem.

This is the worst musical instrument I've ever played. (For the first week). I was extremely disappointed with the backpacker initially. I have a little Yamaha Guitalele, and it sounds pretty good out of the box. It's also fun to play. I bought the backpacker because I wanted a legitimate guitar for weekend trips; it's hard to sing along when every song is five frets or higher. The guitalele also felt too fragile. Unfortunately, when I opened the backpacker, I hated it. The sound was extremely poor; The bass strings lacked volume, the treble were too jingly, and the the whole thing would not tune correctly. There was also a severe issue when playing with a capo; you couldn't! None of my capos tuned the strings evenly; something about the neck geometry pulled the bass strings too high, so any chord was severely out of tune. The saving grace of the guitar was the strings. Martin strings, once they stretch out, sound excellent; they really carry the guitar now that they've worn in. And the capo was solved by intentionally misusing it: if you place the bass end of the capo *directly* on the fret, and angle the rest, it can be placed in tune. So, all of my issues are solved. Now I'm left with a decent-sounding guitar that's remarkably small. It's an excellent fit for a weekend trip, and the comfortable neck is a bonus. The only quibbles left are that the build quality is pretty poor, and that the balance is remarkably bad; you *must* play with a strap. All-in-all, good buy, though a price-point of $135 is probably closer to fair.

I bought this to take with me on a vacation to europe and for the odd business trip for practicing. It traveled nicely on the europe trip. I was apprehensive about how well it would fit in the overhead bins, but it fit very easily. I made sure the loosen the strings before traveling just to avoid any issues w/ air pressure or other bags. However, I've found this guitar to be so enjoyable to play, I actually play it as often, if not more often than my go-to full-sized acoustic. The small form factor and low action (with extra light strings) just make it so easy to play. No doubt, the unique body style takes a bit of getting used to. For starters, you definitely need to use the strap, as balancing on your knee won't work. For the same reason, i lose some leverage for barre chords that I otherwise enjoyed with a full-size, but some of this is made up for with the aforementioned playability. It is worth mentioning that the body shape also restricts "anchoring". I've found (although I never realized it before) that for certain songs, typically fingerstyle arrangements, I like to anchor my pinky finger in the neighborhood of where the pick guard would be to aid with accuracy. But with the small profile, there is no place to anchor, so I've been forced to change my style of play somewhat. In the end, this may be a good thing since I've found that freeing myself from anchoring allows me to play more loosely and with more speed. The sound is definitely different, kind of a cross between a guitar and a ukelel. However, I find that for my style of play, which is to say I practice by myself in preparation for my eventual world premier and subsequent skyrocket to super-stardom, the sound is just fine.

I am taking a trip to India and wanted a backpacker for its great portability. I had one of their old models when I last spent time there, but left it in the woods a few years ago and was making do with a cheap 3/4 size guitar. I own two real Martins -- D-28 and 1-21, both vintage, a 1954 Gibson SJN, and a great custom made steel acoustic, so I have plenty to play around the house. The first thing that I noticed with this new guitar is that it just feels better than the old, smaller backpacker which I loved. The sound is richer, and it plays nicer. This guitar must be played with a strap, but it is not true that you must stand to play it -- it works just fine in my easy chair when I watch sports -- where my regular guitars will not fit. I find that I am playing it several hours a day rather than my "real" guitars because of this convenience and because it is fun to play. I like the sound for itself; although it is not big like a full-sized vintage guitar by any means, it is fun to listen to, at least for the player. These guitars are cheaper than when I bought my first one, and I can say that I am 100 % satisfied with this purchase. Later: OK -- so I did take it to India for 5 weeks. Easy to carry, goes in the overhead bin, and not a minute's trouble. It even stayed in tune admirably in the humidity of Goa, India, after having been used in arid Edmonton, Alberta, for a couple of months. I played a lot by myself and a bit for groups of people. The tone was fine, and I gave away the extra strings I took because I felt no need to change them. The real deal!

My recent grad is heading to college. She plays guitar but she's not at a point where she or I want to invest a lot of money in a really nice guitar. She will also have limited space in her dorm room to store it. Finally, teens and young twenty-somethings are not always super careful with how they care for their stuff. For these three reasons, I decided to go with this guitar as a gift. She loved it! It's small enough to pack easily into a dorm room or to take to a music festival and it's inexpensive enough to not worry about what temperature extremes and humidity will do to it. Two things you need to know-1. Don't expect it to sound like a full sized guitar. It's well made out of high quality materials but the sound box has been sacrificed out of necessity to make it small enough to pack. The tone and volume are very different than other guitars but using a pick will get you enough volume to be heard by a small group (like around a campfire). 2. The strap is nearly a necessity because you can't balance it on your leg while you play like you can with a full sized acoustic guitar. The beautiful figure 8 curve in a full sized acoustic guitar allows you to rest it on your leg while playing. This doesn't have it. If you are used to sitting without a strap while you play, it will take some adjustment to play this guitar comfortably. For me, it was only a matter of an hour or so. No big deal.

The first thing one notices about this particular guitar is its unusual shape. It certainly does fit into some small spaces. Frankly, it’s a cute musical instrument. It’s very lightweight too. I’m happy with it! This guitar actually sounds pretty good, not a full guitar sound, but perhaps something in between banjo and guitar. The shape makes it a little awkward to play while seated, so I recommend using the strap and standing while playing. The guitar projects sound a little better than I expected it to as well. It took a little bit of getting used to due to size and shape but it’s actually very easy and fun to play. Obviously, not a concert quality instrument, but one that would be happy to go on a camping trip with you.

遊び用なら良いです

I bought this little guitar to take with me on business trips and am so happy that I did. The size is perfect for travel... and I don't know what the naysayers are talking about when they diss the sound... because for a small travel guitar it sounds great. It's a little bit more tinny but the point is to have a guitar that you can take with you for practice. Another thing about this guitar, it is solid and well built. Because of the body shape, it does take some getting used to though. The balance is one sided but if you use the strap that came with it though... you'll be good. As for how it arrived... it was well packaged and in perfect condition. It arrived when it was supposed to have arrived. I highly recommend this little guitar to those that need a practice guitar for the road.

It is what it is. Tiny, portable, cool. Of course it doesn’t sound like your dreadnought. Of course it doesn’t project. What it does is hide away nicely, and stay in tune very well. The neck is an baseball bat, it’s not easy to hold either. For what it is, it’s perfect, wonderful, and solid. In spite of its drawbacks, I absolutely love this little guitar.

期待どおり。Little Martinも愛用していますが、小さいのに、音量もあり満足しています。ネックは確かに厚いですがそれもバランスとしてありですね。 カバーは長方形で斜めがけのストラップがついています。

口コミや他の人のレビュー通りです。小型で、そこそこの音色で、満足してます。次のキャンプに持ってゆきます。