Price Paid for Martin Backpacker : $150 USD (used)
Description of Martin Backpacker : Made in Mexico. Straight acoustic, tiny, unique instrument. Neck and body are of a single piece of mahogany, solid spruce top and rosewood fingerboard. Nice quality Martin closed tuners. Pegged bridge. This is the tiny bodied A shaped travel guitar - has been described as "oar shaped."
Tone of Martin Backpacker :
Comments: Very bright, without much bass - to be expected. I like the bass sound though... kinda funky. For this small a body, the sound and resonant feel are surprising and neat. Not to be compared with full sized instruments - it is rated based on what it IS, which is a travel guitar.
Quality of Martin Backpacker :
Comments about Martin Backpacker : Overall quality is superb, in craftsmanship, finish and detail. The setup, however, was lousy - with inappropriate strings and very high action. A set of ultra light Elixers and some saddle work corrected this. Averages out to a 5. This would be a solid 8 or maybe even a 9 if it shipped with proper setup.
Overall Opinions of Martin Backpacker :
Pros: It does what I bought it for magnificently. I have been carrying a Steinburger as a rugged travel instrument to practice on, but it cannot be heard. This is audible, and taking even less space than the Steinburger solid body and MUCH lighter. (Like the Steinburger, you CAN paddle your canoe with it.) It is an ""office"" guitar the rest of the time, living in a place I would never leave any other quality instrument because of wild fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Great bang for the buck at $150 US!
Cons: It takes some getting used to. It isn't a full-sized acoustic, and doesn't pretend to be. If you can't handle the bizarre body shape and the imbalance because of the neck mass, buy a Baby Taylor or a Papoose.

Submitted by:
Pete Celano (celano@ic.net)
Playing Experience:
over ten years
Musical Tastes:
alternative blues classical classic rock folk jazz

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