Washburn Rover Travel Guitar

I really love this thing! I love to sit and strum in the evenings at home, but I expecially love to sit and strum when I get a break from work. Packing my full-size guitar into the minivan, with luggage, two kids, and a wife, is just tough. This little thing alleviates that problem. I can take this thing to the beach, to the mountains, or wahtever. I can sit on the balcony, or by the pool, and not have to worry so much about handling my big standard acoustic. It sounds really good thogh. You obviously lose a little bass because of the smaller body, but it still sounds great.

My 17-year-old son thinks this guitar is awesome. He travels a good deal, to visit his girlfriend who lives in another state, and he also camps out with his Boy Scout troop in all kinds of weather. The guitar has held up nicely, even with rough treatment. The backpack/case is substantial, but the whole thing is still lightweight. He mentioned the tinny sound that some other reviewers mentioned, but also said that it's not as bad in front of the guitar as it is for the player. He is a member of a Christian Rock band, and he uses it for practice when they don't take time to set up all the electrics and gear. Based on how much he's used it, just since Christmas, I think it is well worth the price, a great value.

It seems that several reviews mention the "tinny sound" and that it's "hard to hold." Well yeah, I guess to a certain extent I'd have to agree with both of those statements but really people, this is a travel guitar. It's meant to be backpacked across Europe or into the woods camping. You don't want to lug your $1500 Martin into places like that so you make compromises. Compromise #1: Somewhat "thinner sound"..goes with the thinner body. Agreed. Compromise #2: "tinny sound", see compromise #1. Agreed.
Overall bottom line is that if you want a very well made instrument that has quite acceptable sound that you can easily take into some hard to get to places, this little rover would be hard to beat. Sling this baby over your back and rock on.

Quite a lot of fun, this little guy is light and airy and plays as such. The carrying case and extras (strap, picts) make this an easy purchase for someone who would like to take a guitar on little trips. Easy to tune and easy to play right out of the box, but don't expect a big sound. While I'd recommend the electric Traveler guitar for better play and sound for a small travel guitar, you're going to pay triple what this Rover will cost after buying an effects filter and cables and mini-amp.

So for cost and purpose, this is a good purchase.

Ain't going to get on stage with this dog. BUT, If you need to work finger positions, run chords, or just tinker & you need to carry a less than full size guitar - It's pretty darn good. Frets are NOT spaced the same as a standard acoustic.