Travel Archtops

[Victor Saumarez]

As we know from experience guitars and planes don't mix, so quite how the pros get to their gig with jazz box in tact in those far flung places is anyone's guess. There are two possible routes for the jazz guitarist, in the form of smaller overhead friendly archtops. One is the Andy Benedetto, and the other is the Gibson ES 140. Both are diminutive but not restrictive. In fact, their size has many advantages, one being ease of playing for the smaller person, or smaller hands. Being only 5' 8" myself this has an obvious appeal, as I sometimes struggle down the end of the neck towards the nut. Having had two guitars broken by airlines is another obvious appeal. Although these two guitars are very desirable, they are both pretty difficult to find, especially the Benedetto, so if you have one for sale let me know.

[Victor Saumarez]

Well I was in Pasadena a few months ago and stumbled across a new guitar store called Redzone off Colorado Blvd. There is a great selection of guitars not normally found in the bigger stores. And guess what I found? A great little travel archtop by the luthier John Ditrapani. It's a smaller body than an ES 140 or Andy Benedetto, but the scale length is normal. Cheaper to. Went to Europe with it and even low cost airlines didn't quibble. BTW, if you didn't know a law has been passed that airlines in the US cannot refuse a guitar as a carry-on. More info here