alexkhan
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2014 7:18 am Post subject: The Ultimate Traveler's Rig |
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Greetings from tropical Jakarta, Indonesia as I finally take a much-needed day off at a pleasantly luxurious hotel before I start work at a huge guitar factory tomorrow. These trips are always fun for me and it's just great to get out of the States and see other places, cultures, and people every several months.
I've always enjoyed coming to Indonesia since the 90's. It's hot and humid in that tropical manner but it's not stifling or muggy. The people are very friendly and I always feel relaxed here compared to the dizzyingly fast pace of northeastern Asian nations like China, Korea and Japan. Don't get me wrong; I always enjoy visiting those nations as well but it's a little more like visiting Hawaii here.
Traveling these days for GC isn't like when I traveled a lot for Fender in the 90's. Back then, there was no widespread Internet use or free high-speed WiFi at the hotels. Now I can keep myself quite occupied in the hotel instead of going out with the factory people until 2am and getting silly drunk and stuff like that every night.
I do travel with a plethora of Apple gadgets that keep me very well connected for both business and personal uses - including doing Skype or FaceTime with the family. All the gadgets these days are so light and portable that I travel lighter than ever before and don't bother with paper files and folders anymore. Plus, my entire music, movie, eBook and magazine libraries travel with me so I never ever get bored during the long flights (at least they're all business class now), layovers at the airport lounges, or in the hotel rooms.
What's really cool now is I can also enjoy playing the guitar in the hotel rooms (or even at airport lounges with headphones) and not be encumbered with something heavy and bulky to carry around. I now travel regularly with the Traveler UltraLight electric guitar with a blade humbucker in the bridge position along with my iPads and the Bose SoundLink Mini and it's an amazingly great rig - something I could not have even imagined 10 years ago.
The entire rig of the Traveler guitar, the iPad mini, and the Bose speaker weighs less than a typical solid-body guitar. It runs on battery power for 10+ hours and is as loud as one would need it to be in a hotel room. It is indeed a great time to be a guitar player who travels as much as I do. I can truly appreciate this more than the plethora of boutique gear out there: I can actually get around the world with it without any hassles or extra bulk and weight.
The Traveler guitar (manufactured at the Yako factory in China) is 3 pounds and sounds and plays surprisingly well. It's a little bit of an adjustment going to its 24.75" scale for a 25.5" guy like me, but it's actually easier to play. The Positive Grid JamUp Pro and BIAS apps on my iPads are truly awesome. I store a bunch of loops to jam along with and that's much more fun than just noodling around alone. The Bose SoundLink Mini is an amazing little piece of technology. It sounds so big and clear.
Here are some pics from my latest journey through Asia and of the ultimate traveler guitar rig. I really can't think of anything more compact, light, effective, and useful to have so much fun playing the electric guitar while on the road. Cheers!
Getting settled in at another hotel in Guangzhou, China.
After a 15-hour flight, this is a most welcome sight.
A little private garden outside the bath facilities is a nice touch.
After getting refreshed, I'm eager to start jamming on this little rig. That's the iPad Air sitting on a Belkin keyboard with the JamUp Pro running my favorite patch. The cable is a 3-ft Evidence Audio Reveal (gotta keep everything as compact, light, and short as possible!).
Nice view of the hotel pool.
My work in China done, I'm ready at the hotel there to move onto Indonesia with my little rig. I travel very light. The luggage is around 35 pounds and my backpack would be 7~8 pounds with all the little gadgets. The guitar, of course, is a little over 3 pounds including the bag.
Ah, now it's the heart of downtown Jakarta, Indonesia.
Taking a little break at the hanging garden part of the hotel before starting the hard work at the factory the next day.
Gotta keep answering the emails and stay pace with what's going on back home after the workday...
A few views of the room and downtown Jakarta as the Traveler guitar beckons to be picked up and played...
Time for some Sunday morning jam! _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc. |
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