portable guitar with built-in amp/speaker?

December 16, 2007 3:42 PM

Can you recommend a travel electric guitar with BUILT-IN AMP/SPEAKER? (more inside).

Which one have you liked and why? Should have built-in ability to do decent rock/metal distortion. Doesnt have to be loud, but should sound and play decently. For personal use in hotel rooms when travelling.

Would be best if it can run on batteries, but plug in is fine too.

posted by jak68 to media & arts (16 comments total)

(p.s., full size from a real guitar company would be best, tho i'd consider smaller ones or more generic ones so long as they're functional!).
posted by jak68 at 3:49 PM on December 16, 2007

Squire makes a mini stratocaster with a built-in speaker, you can find it here. As its a mini, it should be a little easier to travel with.
posted by jjb at 3:50 PM on December 16, 2007

I also dimly recall ibanez having a line with built-in speakers at one point, though that coule be the lack of sleep talking.
posted by jjb at 3:51 PM on December 16, 2007

This isn't quite what you're asking for, but if it were me I'd use a regular guitar with a mini amp like this one. I've used that amp and it sounds pretty cool -- plus it has a headphone jack.
posted by ludwig_van at 3:52 PM on December 16, 2007

Why not use guitar headphones, which means you could rock as hard as your hearing will allow, but not upset your hotel neighbors?
posted by DenOfSizer at 3:53 PM on December 16, 2007

If you might consider to ditch the speaker, I'd say: bring your own guitar (or a good, compact guitar you're comfortable with) with a portable amp simulator like this one or this one and play with a decent pair of headphones. As good as it can be, a 2" cone is nowhere near a full stack of full-sized speakers cranked to 11.

If you feel the speaker is a necessity instead, this little guy will bring you hours of joy, doubling as a preamp/booster with a regular amp, and also to loudly drive a larger speaker cabinet.
posted by _dario at 4:02 PM on December 16, 2007 [1 favorite]

Denofsizer - i sometimes play for my travel mates ;) so built in speaker would be most convenient. Besides, headphones mess up my hair ;P
posted by jak68 at 4:09 PM on December 16, 2007

The Fernandes Nomad series travel electrics are great, but I'm not sure whether they make them anymore. You can pick one up on EBay. They play great, and sound as good as you can expect. They are also compact for travel, though they do not have a super short neck (the little body is what makes all the difference re: size).

But I would just take a regular electric and a Smokey Amp. I love mine, and I record with it quite a bit, too. It's fantastic. It sounds a million times better than one of those little Marshall or Fender mini amps.
posted by The World Famous at 4:09 PM on December 16, 2007

hmmm, the price is right on the smokey amp; I suppose I could velcro it to the guitar ;) I guess I'll think about that one.
posted by jak68 at 4:16 PM on December 16, 2007

I'm not sure why it needs to physically be on the guitar. I just slip the Smokey amp in my back pocket and it works great. Or you could velcro it to the strap.
posted by The World Famous at 5:00 PM on December 16, 2007

I can't vouch for it, but Pignose makes this guy.
posted by malocchio at 6:23 PM on December 16, 2007

Nthing getting a small practice amp. Think about it: this is your chance to get a short-scale guitar (reissued Fender Mustang, anybody?) that will have some real use beyond just travel-jamming.
posted by tmcw at 6:45 PM on December 16, 2007

thanks for the ideas everyone. I guess I'll consider a travel amp. The fender mustang looks nice too. ;)
posted by jak68 at 8:13 PM on December 16, 2007

I can't vouch for it, but Pignose makes this guy.

I can vouch for it; it's a quite amazing little beast.
posted by No Mutant Enemy at 1:47 AM on December 17, 2007

My former boss had one of those little pignoses, and he loved it. I heard him noodle on it all day and it sounded pretty nice.
posted by Doctor Suarez at 12:16 PM on December 17, 2007

the pignose looks beautiful too. I'll prolly go with the mustang or the pignose guitar. I think i'm too wedded to the idea of a 'built in amp'. So convenient -- just pick it up and play.
posted by jak68 at 10:17 AM on December 19, 2007