The only viable answer
The Voyage Air Guitar is the only viable answer for serious guitar playing motorcycle riders.
I have been looking for a guitar that I could take with me, when I ride my 2007 Harley-Davidson VROD. I have owned Baby Taylor, Little Martin and Composite Acoustics Cargo “travel guitars”. They can all be strapped to your back, but they all have three problems in common.
1. They all have shortened, but solid necks and headstocks. This means that the neck and headstock of the guitar, when strapped snugly to your back, will project above you head, making it difficult to tilt your head back, especially when wearing a helmet. The more “forward” your riding stance is, the more prevalent this problem will be. Walking through an airport, this isn’t an issue. Riding on a motorcycle, this can be lethal.
In addition, at high speeds, that protruding neck and headstock can catch the air and begin to twist and pull at the rider, in the wind. The faster you’re going, the more of a problem this can be. The turbulence these protrusions can cause at +80mph, can be substantial and unsafe. Anyone who has ever stuck their arm out of the window, while driving on the highway, knows how hard the wind can blow at those speeds. Imagine something the size of your arm, that is flat like sail, twisting around behind you. Not good.
The Voyage Air folds in half. It straps as comfortably to my back, as any knapsack would, with no protrusions or projections, enabling my helmeted head, to move freely left and right, as well as back and forth, safely.
2. The Taylor, Martin and CA are all 00 sized, or smaller, changing the voicing, playing position and neck feel. I always need playing time to recover the “feel” of any of these instruments, if I’m practiced up, on a standard sized guitar.
The Voyage Air is a full sized guitar that sounds normal, plays well, and feels right.
3. All three of the others, present problems with amplification. Advertisements aside, I will tell you that from a practical standpoint, it’s next to impossible to get a true, decent amplified sound from any of these other instruments.
The Voyage Air can have any after-market pickup system installed, producing amplified sound that is by design, up to par with any well made, full-sized guitar.
At the end of the day, for a serious guitarist who rides a motorcycle, there is no other alternative. Thank you for having the daring and innovation to invent a truly motorcycle-portable instrument, that can accommodate all of my needs as a player.
Wendell Choy
Honolulu, Hawaii
