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Where to Find Free Sheet Music for Guitars

As you begin to learn to play the guitar, you want to find sheet music for the songs you want to play. The good news is the internet is teeming with sites where you can search for music, and much of that music is free. Free guitar tabs are submitted to sites by thousands of users all over the world. On the down side, that means some of the free guitar tabs are bad. The key is to go to sites that are popular for featuring free sheet music that ranges from good to exceptionally accurate. As community-based sites, some of the free guitar sheet music sites have rating systems for users to vote for tab versions they like.

Ultimate Guitar

This free guitar tabs website is easily the most popular among the guitar sites. As of December 2018, the website has a little more than 1,100,000 free sheet music for guitars. With such an immense collection of tablature, you can find sheet music for your favorite songs in different arrangements, versions and even genres. Apart from the user submitted tabs, you can also find official tabs, sheet music for bass, ukulele and backing tracks for pro users.

The Guitar Lesson

If you’re still in the process of learning how to play the guitar, then this website would be a good place to look for music. Not only does it have tons of free video tutorials you can watch at your convenience, it also has a large collection of free sheet music for guitars you can download and print out. The only catch is that you have to give them a “Like” on their social media pages to access some of the tabs. However, it’s just a small inconvenience in exchange for free lessons and tabs.

Guitar Tabs

Another good website with a large collection of free sheet music for guitars, it has a no-frills, straightforward homepage. You can immediately type the song to get its tabs, scroll down the collection of top 25 sheet music or browse the most recent updates. One of the downsides to this site is it doesn’t have a print feature on the actual tab page. You have to copy and paste the sheet music into a document if you want to print it.

Guitare Tab

This is somewhat similar to the previous entry, with the only difference being that the homepage also displays top community-rated tabs. It may not look like much, but it provides you with an alternative source of free sheet music.

This site is like Google for guitar sheet music. It also has a straightforward homepage that is smartphone friendly where you can do your search. One obvious advantage of this site is you can search for the guitar tabs and then practice anywhere as long you as you have your phone, an internet connection and your guitar with you.

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Pro-Series Standard

Available Exclusively at

Pro-Series Standard - Maple and Pau Ferro is backordered and will ship as soon as it is back in stock.

The Pro-Series represents Traveler Guitar’s original production model and remains a standard of innovation and design for travel guitars. The proprietary In-Body Tuning System uses standard tuning machines relocated into the body, eliminating the need for a headstock. You get the same full-scale playing experience you’re used to on an instrument that’s substantially shorter and lighter than a typical full-size electric.

•Audio Output: STANDARD 1/4 IN. JACK •Batteries: N/A •Body: EASTERN AMERICAN HARD MAPLE •Body Thickness: 1.5 IN. •Body Width: 5.25 IN. (LAP-REST STOWED) •Construction: NECK-THROUGH-BODY •Electronics: PASSIVE ELECTRONICS W/ 3-WAY PICKUP SELECTOR, VOLUME/BLEND/VOLUME CONTROLS •Fingerboard: BLACK WALNUT •Finish: ANTIQUE BROWN SATIN FINISH, NATURAL SATIN, MATTE BLACK •Frets: 22 MEDIUM 
•Gig Bag LxWxH: 30 X 7.5 X 3.5 (IN.) 
•Hardware: CHROME 14:1 GEAR RATIO (CLOSED GEAR) 
•Headphone Amp: NONE, PASSIVE "STETHOPHONE" •Instrument Input: NONE 
•Neck: EASTERN AMERICAN HARD MAPLE 
•Neck Radius: 15.75 IN. 
•Neck Width at Nut: 1.75 IN. 
•Overall Depth: 2 IN. 
•Overall Length: 28 IN. 
•Pickup(s): TRAVELER UNDER-SADDLE PIEZO AND ALNICO SINGLE-COIL 
•Scale Length: 24.75 IN •Strings: D’ADDARIO EJ15 •Weight: 3 LBS. 8 OZ. 
•Weight in Gig Bag:4 LBS. 6 OZ.


Traveler Guitar's Operating Hours

Traveler Guitar is open Monday through Friday, from 9am - 4:30pm Pacific Time. We are closed Saturday and Sunday and all major holidays.

We ship Monday through Friday from our Southern California headquarters. Orders placed by 1pm California time Monday through Friday will ship the same day.

Shipping Policy

Traveler Guitar only ships within the United States and APO/FPO addresses. For International Customers, check our International Dealers Page for a dealer near you.

Free Shipping on Guitars

Free shipping is limited to standard ground delivery within the 48 contiguous United States and APO/FPO addresses. Excludes drop ships and any items with fixed shipping rates. Entire order must ship to a single address. Does not apply to prior purchases or open orders and cannot be combined with any other offer. Customer may be responsible for shipping costs on returned merchandise. Promotion may be modified or terminated at any time. Valid online at travelerguitar.com , by phone, or mail. Other restrictions and exclusions may apply.

Some discount codes do not apply to B-Stock, parts and other already discounted products.

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Customer may be responsible for shipping costs on returned merchandise. For more information, see our full Terms and Conditions.

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For three decades Traveler Guitar has been providing musicians quality guitars and basses made for the road.

Full 24 ¾ inch scale. Fits in airline overhead bins.

Plug In. Practice anywhere

The Pro-Series comes equipped with an acoustic piezo pickup, an electric single coil pickup, and a standard 1/4-inch output jack. Use them independently or blend them together. Plug the Pro-Series into your favorite amp, recording device, or headphone amp and practice anyplace, anytime.

Stethophone. The one and only.

Practice silently. No batteries required. The Pro-Series still comes equipped with Traveler Guitar’s classic Stethophone.

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Standard strings. Standard tuners. Use your favorite set of strings on all Traveler Guitars.

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Every single Traveler Guitar comes standard with a compact, custom gig bag so you can protect your investment at no additional cost.

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The Pro-Series in airline overhead bins, it’s under 4 pounds, and less than 2.5 feet long. That means the Pro-Series goes anywhere you do.

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Best travel guitars 2023: top acoustic and electric travel guitars for portability and performance

Top travel guitar choices and buying advice for musicians on the move

Us guitarists are supremely lucky – we already play an instrument that we can take and play anywhere with us. But the best travel guitars enhance and refine that concept further to offer the ultimate in portability without compromising on tone and playability. 

Whether you want a more compact guitar to take with you on holiday or work trips, or are simply looking for something smaller for playing at home, there are some high quality choices out there for all budgets. We’ve selected the very best and they’re a surprisingly varied group of guitars – from full-scale electric guitars to ¾-size acoustic electrics.

There’s a good reason for this variety; a travel guitar needs to be portable, of course, but how it achieves that can be decided by a number of factors. We’ve taken them all into consideration with our choices for the best travel guitars you can buy right now. You can find our top picks below, and if you need any further guidance, head straight for our buying advice section at the bottom of the page.

Best travel guitars: Guitar World recommends

Over a decade after the design’s launch, the Taylor GS Mini-e Koa is still a benchmark when it comes to travel guitars. Now including Taylor’s Expression System with on-board tuner, it’s a great guitar for home, away, gigging, recording, songwriting… it could easily become your favorite.

The Yamaha CSF3M is a rarity; a travel acoustic guitar featuring solid back and sides at a very competitive price. Like the GS Mini, it sounds much bigger than its smaller scale implies and combined with a comfortable, roomy neck experience, it’s another travel guitar that’s great for a wide range of players and needs. 

That said, the Little Martin LX1E and Guild Jumbo Junior also have a lot to offer from some big-name brands on a relative budget.

Best travel guitars: Product guide

1. yamaha csf3m.

Our expert review:

Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

Although Yamaha doesn’t market its CSF series explicitly as ‘travel guitars’, they have created a class-leading example with this short-scale folk electro-acoustic guitar . Solid woods and a 105mm body depth combine to set it apart from much of the competition.

We found a rich tonal character and impressive projection with a 16-inch radius neck that feels roomy and works well for both fingerstyle and chord work. The Yamaha passive piezo pickup here offers no onboard preamp but impresses with a pleasing reflection of the CSF3M’s strengths.

Rounding out the package here is Yamaha’s hard bag to provide a reassuringly protective case for a guitar that should provide you years of inspiration, at home or on the go.

2. Martin LX1E Little Martin

A firm favorite of Ed Sheeran – although he has made a move to Lowden in recent years – the Martin LX1E is Martin's pint-sized offering (and one of our top picks for the best 3/4 acoustic guitars ), delivering the outstanding built quality you’d expect from the acoustic giant and a quality amplified sound. 

This guitar is made with a solid Sitka spruce top and high-pressure laminate back and sides, as well as a composite neck. It may not have the elegant looks of the D-28 or HD-35, but it is incredibly strong and damn near indestructible. This mighty little guitar will undoubtedly handle any of the harsh conditions bestowed upon it. 

Read our full Martin LX1E Little Martin review

3. Taylor GS Mini-e Koa

Taylor’s GS Mini was ahead of most of the pack when it launched in 2010, and it still stands up as a masterful design from the company’s design wizard Andy Powers. It’s a benchmark example of a guitar that sounds far fuller than its dimensions – aided by the slight arch of its back. 

With spruce and mahogany options proving popular, the Koa stands out for the visual clout of its dramatic figuring. A solid top, layered back and sides, sapele neck and ebony fingerboard provide a rich tonal recipe here. With Taylor’s Expression System preamp system (including a handy tuner) and the high quality included gigbag rounding out a superb package for one of the company’s best value models. 

Left-handed models are available too – yay! 

4. Guild Jumbo Junior

Guild knows a thing or two about acoustic guitars, specifically the jumbo-bodied variety. Here, we get Guild’s iconic jumbo, but shrunk-down to a more portable format. It’s got a solid Sitka spruce top, and mahogany back and sides – the former arched to aid in resonance and projection. 

Adding to this, the JJ comes equipped with a Fishman AP-1 system so you can plug-in for gigs and quick recording. Tonally, it’s a punchy little strummer with some classic looks from an iconic brand.

5. Yamaha SLG200S Silent Guitar

The Silent Guitar is an unusual proposition with a detachable frame for folding down. It’s also designed to be plugged in for amplification or via headphones – it makes very little acoustic sound of its own. This has the advantage for quiet practice but the Silent Guitar’s SRT and pickup blend system also shines via a PA or acoustic combo live for surprisingly organic tones to mimic a real acoustic being mic’d. 

Its low action, 43mm nut width and slim neck will suit electric guitar players, if they can accept its untraditional looks. Onboard chorus and reverb further enhance the SLG200S’s usability as a travelling companion. 

6. Blackstar Carry-On

Blackstar have made a guitar!? Yes indeed, the guitar amp company joined forces with fellow Brits Gordon Smith Guitars on a down-sized electric; 20.7-inch scale with a ukulele -sized body is certainly compact but the result stacks up comfortably well with a full-size neck.

It’s a one piece body and neck design to aid resonance and we really like design touches like the tortoiseshell-like plastic binding and the playing comfort of the matt neck, sides and back. It’s also great to see a coil-split on the humbucker pickup for tonal versatility through an amp – you can even buy the Carry-on as a package with Blackstar’s Fly3 mini amp.  

Read the full Blackstar Carry-On Deluxe Pack review  

7. Traveler Guitar LTD EC-1

Another collaboration between two successful guitar brands, Traveler already have a formidable reputation for electric travel guitars and ESP build some of the finest guitars for heavy rock and metal around with its EC series; the LTD EC-1 is the combination of those skills.

The full-scale singlecut model first surfaced in 2016 and is now available in Vintage Black with gold hardware – a Traveler design calling card is to cut down on overall length by placing locking tuners within the body design. The pickup here is an ESP-designed active humbucker, so it’s ideal for higher gain tones and cutting lead work with the inbuilt headphone amp. It even features a bevelled cutaway for higher fret access. 

8. Yamaha APXT2

This is the third entry for Yamaha on this list, but we felt it needed to be included. Yamaha has taken their ever-popular APX and shrunk it down to create the APXT2. This 3/4 sized acoustic is one of the smallest on this list, measuring in at only 34 inches, and will happily fit in most traveling situations. 

The onboard pickup is surprisingly good on the APXT2 and offers a tone far greater than the unplugged sound. The preamp also comes with a handy built-in guitar tuner , meaning you don't have to pack any extra gear. The satin finish not only looks great but is very smooth to play. In fact, the whole neck is very familiar, and if you have played Yamaha guitars in the past, then you'll get on with how this feels. It also comes in a range of different colors, just like its big brother, the APX500. 

So if you are a fan of the APX series or are looking for a unique-looking travel guitar, then it's worth checking these out. 

9. Sheeran By Lowden S03

Whatever you think of Ed Sheeran’s music, he has great taste in luthier’s. George Lowden actually designed the Wee Lowden travel-size guitar for the songwriter and their friendship blossomed into a full series of guitars in 2019.

The S03 had a refresh in 2021 – the ‘S’ stands for small body and the latest 24.8-inch scale model features a solid cedar top but with a rosewood and mahogany layering at the back and sides this time. An impressively full sound is matched with the quality of the LR Baggs VTC system for plugging in, and with the cutaway design this is one of the best travel-size acoustics for live performance. 

Read the full Sheeran By Lowden SO3 review  

Best travel guitars: Buying advice

What makes a great travel guitar.

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. 

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. 

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?

Absolutely, and many acoustic travel guitars include inbuilt pickups and preamps to allow for this. Ed Sheeran is one of the most famous living guitarists on the planet and uses a small-scale travel guitar onstage and in the studio. He likes them so much he’s even got his own series of them now.

Even electric travel guitars designed for headphone practice can be used with amps if you wish, so they could be a great choice for travelling to jams or impromptu gigs with. 

What is the best travel guitar for me? 

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. 

Find out more about how we make our recommendations and  how we test  each of the products in our buyer's guides.

How we choose products

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.

When choosing what we believe to be the best travel guitars available right now, we combine our hands-on experience, user reviews and testimonies and engage in lengthy discussions with our editorial colleagues to reach a consensus about the top products in any given category.

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.

Read more about our rating system, how we choose the gear we feature, and exactly  how we test  each product.  

Related buyer's guides

• The best acoustic guitars for beginners
• Freshen up with the best acoustic guitar strings  

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Rob is the Guitars Editor for MusicRadar , handling news, reviews, features, tuition, advice for the strings side of the site and everything in between. Before MusicRadar, he worked on guitar magazines for 15 years, including as Editor of Total Guitar. He's currently set aside any pipe dreams of getting anywhere with his own songs and is enjoying playing covers in function bands.

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Best travel guitars 2023: Top acoustic and electric guitars for musicians on the go

Out top picks for practicing your guitar on the move, wherever the road takes you

Best for tone

Best for volume, best for value.

• Best Strat-alike
• Best electric
• Best full-scale
• #1 acoustic-electric

Best for portability

• Best solid wood
• Buying advice
• How we choose

1. The quick list 2. Best for tone 3. Best for volume 4. Best for value 5. Best for Strat players 6. Best electric travel guitar 7. Best full-scale travel guitar 8. Best acoustic-electric model 9. Best for portability 10. Best solid-wood travel guitar 11. Buying advice 12. How we choose products

As guitar players, our passion and joy shouldn’t have to stop the second we leave the house or the practice room. Sometimes, when you’re on the go; whether that be travelling for work or just for fun, you want to be able to take your music with you. That’s where the best travel guitars come in.

Travel guitars are smaller, more compact instruments that are easier to take on the road. If you’re heading out on a road trip, and space in the car is tight, a travel guitar will fit in a much smaller gap than a full-size guitar. Some of them even pack down into a rucksack so you can take them on a plane as hand luggage.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re more into playing acoustic or electric, we’ve picked out the best travel guitars currently on offer to make sure that the music doesn’t have to stop when you hit the road.

Looking for epic deals on music gear? Check out all of this year’s biggest savings over on our Black Friday music deals page. If you’re in the market for a new travel guitar, we’ve got all the best offers on our Black Friday guitar deals page. 

Chris Corfield is a journalist with over 12 years of experience writing for some of the music world's biggest brands including Orange Amplification, MusicRadar, Guitar World and Dawsons Music. Chris has spent years writing about and testing guitar gear for MusicRadar, in addition to nerding out about everything from synths to microphones, DJ gear and music production hardware.

Best travel guitars: Quick list

Want to cut to the chase and find out exactly which we think are the best travel guitars on the market right now? Below, you’ll find a round-up of our top choices. You can jump to a more detailed review of every pick, along with our price comparison tool to help you find the best deals.

This ¾-sized dreadnought comes with all the quality and projection you’d expect from one of the acoustic world’s biggest names, just in a size that can be hauled around anywhere without breaking your back. Or, indeed, your wallet. 

Read more below

The Martin Backpacker has a unique body shape, that’s for sure, but coming from a name like Martin you can rest assured this guitar will perform brilliantly. What surprised us was the volume and projection this little guitar pumps out, thanks in part to the solid mahogany used in the body.

The Steinberger Spirit GT-Pro Deluxe definitely fits the travel guitar bill due to its distinctive size and shape. Despite the smaller body, the Spirit GT-Pro Deluxe features a scale length of 25.5”, making the actual playing area larger than that of a standard Les Paul.

You can instantly see those famous Stratocaster outlines of the pickguard, the three single coil pickups and the control knobs. Yet the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed anything on the body that isn’t underneath the pickguard has been shaved away, leaving a guitar which is 35% lighter and 14% shorter than a regular Strat.

This is a short-scale travel electric guitar featuring a single mini-humbucker, two-piece poplar body, bolt-on neck and fairly sturdy tuners. It doesn’t pack down any smaller than it is, though it’s very compact already and if you really needed to, you could always take the neck off, if you were packing it up in a suitcase for example.

The Shorty provides full scale-length familiarity which, when combined with the tiny body, makes for a comfortable playing experience. The single humbucker at the bridge is meaty enough to blast out your favourite riffs, while you’ll feel instantly at home with the classic maple/rosewood combination neck and fingerboard.

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The Traveler Escape Mark III comes equipped with plenty in the way of tools and toys, and it all comes in 26% shorter and 10% lighter than a standard dreadnought. The Escape Mark III features tuning pegs within the body itself, which means it has no need for a headstock and is instead strung in reverse.

This handy, foldable acoustic is great for players who want something quality but affordable. It’s got a solid spruce top and layered mahogany back and sides. You can get a great tone from it, whether you’re playing with a pick or with fingers. It’s dynamic, and while it might not be as loud as a full size guitar, can still throw out a good amount of volume.

This is one for serious acoustic players. It bears a hefty price tag, but you can get some serious tones from this guitar. Boasting a solid red cedar top and solid African mahogany back and sides, the Furch Little Jane yields a beautiful, rich and balanced tone with a good amount of projection. 

The best travel guitars right now

MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.

Below you'll find full and detailed write-ups for each of the best travel guitars in our list.

1. Taylor Baby Taylor

Our expert review:

Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

If the more outlandish styles of travel guitar aren’t for you, maybe the Baby Taylor will be. This ¾-sized dreadnought comes with all the quality and projection you’d expect from one of the acoustic world’s biggest names, just in a size that can be hauled around anywhere without breaking your back. Or, indeed, your wallet. 

The Baby Taylor would be the perfect option as a second (or third) guitar in anyone’s collection, designed to be stashed in the included gig bag and taken anywhere. Players with larger hands may feel a bit cramped navigating the 22.75” scale length, but for the majority of people the Baby Taylor is easy to recommend.

2. Martin Backpacker

We weren’t lying when we said travel guitars can jar a bit visually. The Martin Backpacker has a unique body shape, that’s for sure, but coming from a name like Martin you can rest assured this guitar will perform brilliantly. What surprised us was the volume and projection this little guitar pumps out, thanks in part to the solid mahogany used in the body.

Originally launched in 1992, the Martin Backpacker has carved itself a nice niche in the world of travel guitars, and its exceptional build quality means it will last for many more years to come.

3. Steinberger Spirit GT-Pro Deluxe

While not officially marketed as a travel guitar, the Steinberger Spirit GT-Pro Deluxe definitely fits the bill due to its distinctive size and shape. The classic Steinberger ‘headless’ design is correct and present, making the same bold visual statement of its more expensive stablemates, yet the decision to use wood over composite materials makes the whole thing more cost-effective and suited for travelling. 

Despite the smaller body, the Spirit GT-Pro Deluxe features a scale length of 25.5”, making the actual playing area larger than that of a standard Les Paul. It’s also pretty rare to find neck-thru bodies at this price point, which all adds up to a decent value instrument regardless of how you end up using it.

Best for Strat players

4. traveler travelcaster deluxe.

It’s called ‘cognitive dissonance’. That conflict you feel when something you know to be right is challenged. The Traveler Travelcaster Deluxe is a relative example; to look at it, you can instantly see those famous Stratocaster outlines of the pickguard, the three single coil pickups and the control knobs. Yet the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed anything on the body that isn’t underneath the pickguard has been shaved away, leaving a guitar which is 35% lighter and 14% shorter than a regular Strat. 

Weighing in at only 5 lbs, the Travelcaster Deluxe may take some getting over visually, but in use it provides that same Strat experience, the same 25.5” scale length and the same tonal versatility of those pickups. If you can get over the cognitive dissonance, it may just be the perfect travel guitar for you.

Read the full Traveler Travelcaster Deluxe review

Best electric options

5. blackstar carry-on travel guitar st.

This is a short-scale travel electric guitar featuring a single mini-humbucker, two-piece poplar body, bolt-on neck and fairly sturdy tuners. It doesn’t pack down any smaller than it is, though it’s very compact already and if you really needed to, you could always take the neck off, if you were packing it up in a suitcase for example. 

It plays great and the shorter 20.7” scale length doesn’t take long to readjust to - younger beginners might find that they can fret chords and make stretches between frets more easily too. The mini-humbucker covers a lot of ground, so will suit any musical style you can throw at it. Whether you’re playing clean or super distorted, this little thing can really pack a punch! 

There is a more expensive version that’s around double the price with some upgrades, but in terms of value for money, we feel that the Blackstar Carry-On ST is one of the best travel guitars around. 

Best full-scale experience

6. hofner shorty travel guitar.

The Hofner Shorty has been around since the 1980s, and has long been a favourite for players looking for a portable electric they can travel with. It provides full scale-length familiarity which, when combined with the tiny body, makes for a comfortable playing experience. The single humbucker at the bridge is meaty enough to blast out your favourite riffs, while you’ll feel instantly at home with the classic maple/rosewood combination neck and fingerboard.

Sure, it’s not going to win any awards for tone, and you’re unlikely to see them used on album-of-the-year contenders, but as an inexpensive way to add a bit of portability to your line-up the Hofner Shorty is well worth consideration. 

Best of both worlds

7. traveler escape mkiii mahogany.

Choosing a travel guitar doesn’t necessarily mean compromising on your needs. The Traveler Escape Mark III comes equipped with plenty in the way of tools and toys, and it all comes in 26% shorter and 10% lighter than a standard dreadnought.

The Escape Mark III features tuning pegs within the body itself, which means it has no need for a headstock and is instead strung in reverse. The onboard electronics are both extensive and useful too, with an under-saddle Shadow NanoFlex piezo system, tuner, aux-in and studio headphone out making for quite a comprehensive setup for the traveling player.

8. Journey Instruments PJ410N

This handy, foldable acoustic makes for one of the best travel guitars for players who want something quality but affordable. It’s got a solid spruce top and layered mahogany back and sides. You can get a great tone from it, whether you’re playing with a pick or with fingers. It’s dynamic, and while it might not be as loud as a full size guitar, can still throw out a good amount of volume.

It fits perfectly inside the included padded rucksack, and can be assembled in 20 seconds. Simply put the neck into position, snap it in place and lock it from the back of the body. Then you’ve got a guitar with a 23” scale ready to play. It’s great for experienced players who want something that sounds good while they’re on their travels (the bag will fit under many airline seats), but also makes for a great beginner guitar for kids . 

Best all-solid option

9. furch little jane lj-10.

This is definitely one of the best travel guitars for serious acoustic players. It bears a hefty price tag, but you can get some serious tones from this guitar. Boasting a solid red cedar top and solid African mahogany back and sides, the Furch Little Jane yields a beautiful, rich and balanced tone with a good amount of projection. 

The guitar can be folded down and fit into a rucksack (included). The headstock, neck and body are separate from one another to save space but can be assembled into one piece very quickly and easily. Once the neck is locked into position using Furch’s proprietary assembly system, it’s ready to play and will even go back in tune. 

The included rucksack is well padded and will ensure that it’s protected enough on your travels. Travel acoustic guitars seldom sound this good, and to be fair the price reflects that, but it really is one of the best out there. 

Best travel guitars: Buying advice

What is a travel guitar.

Essentially, a travel guitar is a guitar designed with portability and mobility as its key function. This will usually mean the guitar has a significantly smaller body or weight, and they often boast creative solutions to common issues like tuning or storage. From conception to construction, the travel guitar is designed to be thrown in a bag and transported anywhere, everywhere, and all those places in between. 

Standard-sized guitars can be, as we know, too large, too heavy or too delicate to carry around for long stretches, so travel guitars offer a specialist tool for those specific situations. Realistically, you’ll not find too many studio musicians reaching for the travel guitar to nail that perfect tone, but then that’s not what they’re for. Portability, size and weight are order of the day here, and it helps that there are travel guitars on the market today which also nail that other crucial element; tone. 

What makes travel guitars different?

At first glance, the sight of a dedicated travel guitar can jar a little. Often, they have quite striking aesthetic differences from regular guitars. Like looking at something you know, only quite different. Manufacturers employ all kinds of measures as they seek to reduce the overall size and weight of the guitar, and it’s not uncommon to see guitars without headstocks, or with radically different shaped bodies, or even no body at all. Yet a guitar still has to function, so there is still the need for tuning pegs, a bridge, and other essential components.

What are the key features of travel guitars?

There are two major schools of thought when it comes to travel guitars. One is to take a regular sized guitar and zap it with a shrink ray, keeping the same proportions relatively but in a smaller overall package. This approach ensures the instrument retains its familiarity, and also makes them attractive to younger learners.

The other approach is to redesign the instrument completely, perhaps taking the tuning pegs and installing them in the body. Of course, such radical design changes can create other problems, so you may see these compensated for with the inclusion of detachable arm and leg rests, for example. While these guitars may look unfamiliar, the playing experience should be largely the same as a regular guitar. Scale lengths, fret locations and pitch will be the same, even if the physical form of the guitar is quite different.

Are travel guitars playable?

If you’ve never had the chance to play a travel guitar, you may be looking at the best travel guitars in this list and wondering if it’s playable in the same way as a regular guitar. The good news is that yes, absolutely they are playable. In the same way that jumping from the thin neck of an Ibanez RG-style electric to a 50’s style Stratocaster neck may take a bit of readjustment in your technique, so too will the leap from a regular to certain travel-sized guitars. It’s not difficult to adjust though. You may also have to sit differently to accommodate the smaller body, but as these guitars are inherently lighter in weight, this shouldn’t cause too much of a headache. Or, more accurately, backache.

Electric or acoustic?

All of the best travel guitars will either be electric or acoustic. Electrics do tend to be thinner, as the body doesn’t need to resonate as much to get a good sound, although it’s worth remembering that you’ll need an amp to get the most out of it. The body of a travel acoustic will normally be deeper, but as a result of this you can get a fairly loud sound without any amplification.

What do I get when I spend more?

The quality of the best travel guitars does vary, and as you might imagine, it does go up as you spend more money. As the price increases, you’ll likely find better hardware, which can not only help keep the guitar in tune and playing nicely, but can also improve how it sounds too, increasing resonance and sustain.

On electrics, you’ll find better quality pickups - these will be more dynamic and have a wider frequency range so you’ll get more detail and clarity. With travel acoustic guitars, you’ll get better quality, and even solid woods which will give you a better, more responsive and richer sound.

Who might use a travel guitar?

The breadth of today’s range of travel guitars means there is a guitar to suit most playing styles and genres, so the quick answer is that yes, there is a travel guitar for everyone. In terms of scenarios, travel guitars are, as their name suggests, designed to be taken places ordinary guitars cannot reach. 

Small enough to fit on your back as you scale a mountain, or taken on a plane as part of your hand luggage, travel guitars give players the freedom and convenience of being able to play anywhere, at any time. For that, we applaud them. Let’s examine some of the best travel guitar options available today.

Can you buy travel guitars for children?

Travel guitars, as well as being the perfect accompaniment to a musician on the go, can also make for great instruments for children. If you’re looking for one of the best travel guitars to get a kid started on their guitar playing journey, then look for one that has a shorter scale length. This will mean that the notes are closer together and will be easier for small hands to fret. 

Scale length and string gauge

Speaking of short scales, the gauge of strings you use is also worth considering. The strings on a guitar with a shorter scale will feel slinkier - they will be easier to bend and to some players may even feel too loose. One way to combat this is to use thicker strings, so something like 12s on an electric might make them feel a little more like 10s on a full size guitar. Though, if you’re just starting out then the thinner, slinkier strings might be better so they don’t quite hurt your fingertips as much.

How we chose the best travel guitars for this guide

Here at MusicRadar, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing, creating and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything music gear 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. 

When choosing what we believe to be the best travel guitars available right now, we combine our hands-on experience, user reviews and testimonies and engage in lengthy discussions with our editorial colleagues to reach a consensus about the top products in any given category.

First and foremost, we are musicians, 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.

Find out more about  how we test music gear and services  at MusicRadar.

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Chris Corfield is a journalist with over 12 years of experience writing for some of the music world's biggest brands including Orange Amplification, MusicRadar, Guitar World, Total Guitar and Dawsons Music. Chris loves getting nerdy about everything from guitar and bass gear, to synths, microphones, DJ gear and music production hardware.

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• MOOV Travel Guitar
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Moov Travel Guitar

The smallest, silent, foldable, professional travel guitar with the unique sense of a real guitar body. this is the future of travel guitars, 38 cm total length when folded.

73 cm total length only, even when it is unfolded

Headless design.

4 x less volume*

Less than half gross weight*, no worries about transportation, no extra seat on the airplane, *of a normal guitar in a hard case.

One, Two, Three, Get Ready… Play!

The assemblage of moov travel guitar is really a piece of cake..

Real guitar feel

The most important thing for building your technique is a good playing position.

• Four independent brackets 
• Precision 3D geometry 
• Two different angles of the brackets for all playing postures 
• Real sense of the depth of the guitar’s body 
• No more incorrect posture 
• No ill effects on your technique

MOOV Travel Guitar geometry 360º

All the answers are here.

No need for a footstool

When you are on the move, we can all agree, it’s better to travel light. With MOOV Travel Guitar you don’t need a footstool. The bracket that touches your leg is extendable and it allows you to adjust the guitar to your desired height.

✓ Height adjustable bracket for the left or right leg ✓ Different height positions ✓ Non-slip surface

Totally silent travel guitar

Don’t worry about bothering other people around you when practising. MOOV Travel Guitar produces the minimum possible sound you can get.

• Minimal design for minimum acoustic sound
• Practice and fun anywhere, anytime!

Sound for professionals

MOOV Travel Guitar is equipped with a versatile, high quality electronic sound system

• Dual source piezo & mic preamp
• Blending system with independent mic volume & tone
• Fine tuned 3-band EQ (Bass, Middle, Treble +/-12db)
• Phase shift
• Powered by a 9V battery
• Low Battery LED indicator
• Two independent outputs for headphones & Amp/Mixing desk

No feedback, even with overdrive!

Due to its’ design MOOV Travel Guitar is highly resistant to feedback even when you play with overdrive like an electric guitar.

Watch the video!

Strap buttons

Do you have a strap? We have the buttons! 

• Totally natural feel even if you play standing up
• True stability like on a normal guitar

The ” NV S BLE” guitar

All models now available in black colour. discover it.

Normal string tying

We are not going to change your habits.

• Tie the strings normally, exactly as you would do to a classical or acoustic guitar
• The same bridge shape you are used to but on the head

A Travel Guitar made of High quality materials

The great sound and precision functionality are a result of the highest quality materials..

A foldable guitar needs a foldable bag 

• Foldable extension with clip
• Carried folded or unfolded
• Soft belts for the shoulders
• Individual compartment for the brackets
• Two extra internal pockets
• Two grips for horizontal or vertical holding
• Thick foam for maximum protection
• Side and bottom hard plastic pads
• Water resistant

Make your personal MOOV Travel Guitar with the advanced customisation and engraving options

• Orientation (Right/Left handed)
• Fretboard type (fretted/fretless)
• Fretboard design (flat/curved)
• Fretboard dots (front/side/both/none)
• Fretboard scale
• Laser engraving on the back side

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