Tune Up: The Traveling Musician

posted in: Features • Reviews & Playlists

Tune Up has been about staying up to date on gear and learning how to use the equipment you own as efficiently as possible. Now that we’ve reached the end of our road here, it’s time that you equip yourself with the tools to hit the road yourself and let your music be heard. One thing that we haven’t really touched on a whole lot is portability. There’s a whole range of instruments, amps and accessories designed for use in remote settings and for easy transport. Therefore we thought it would be a fitting way to end this column by sending you off with some knowledge about what gear you can take with you.

Traveling Guitars

Traveling guitars are becoming standards for certain brands. Acoustic guitar giants like Martin® and Taylor® both make their own, and the construction of these has really come a long way. What had at one point been a cheap type of guitar has now become a well-crafted and rich-sounding instrument. Martin® makes a steel string “Backpacker” that has a unique, thin shape. This guitar lacks a little in fullness but often plays quite well. On the other end of the spectrum is the Baby Taylor®, which is essentially a mini dreadnought-shaped guitar. This actually has a surprisingly full sound and the feel to go with it.

There are also electric guitars and basses that are designed to occupy less space. It’s no surprise that the Traveler® brand has become famous for their headless guitars with small bodies and cut-out handles ” perfect for the street entertainer and traveler alike.

Traveling Amps

We’ll divide this category into two segments ” pocket amps and portable PA’s. Pocket amplifiers have become something of a novelty and aren’t used for performance or recording at all, although they are convenient for practicing. To achieve better sound and even more portability, we’ll recommend a headphone amp. C Tech® makes a really diverse line of amps catered to specific instruments.

Portable PA’s, on the other hand, pack a lot of punch despite their size. Some of the bulkier models contain a mixer/amp as well as separate speakers on stands. While they can fold up, this can sometimes be a bit of a production. So, for that reason, we like the battery-powered amps offered by Crate®. They cater to acoustic guitars, keyboards and microphones. The amps look like a standard monitor/amp, but have more inputs and exclusive controls that work well for remote settings. The “Taxi” models offer a wide set of styles and input specifications, as well as distinct EQ’s for each input. To top it off, they’re small and the speakers are optimized for PA-style use.

So the next time you’d like to head out on a trip, perform on a busy street or even just play somewhere where you don’t have access to electricity, keep this gear in mind. We hope we’ve brought you some helpful tips in our Tune Up series. Remember ” there’s a lot of gear out there. The best piece of advice you can follow is to do your research and make an educated purchase. Keep everything in mind and make sure you know how to use your gear to all of its abilities. You’ll be happy with your results.