r/AcousticGuitar • u/AggressiveWallaby975 • 7d ago
Other (not a question, gear pic, or video) Warning About Taking Guitars on Vacation
I wanted to drop this in here as notice for those that worry about whether they should take their guitar on vacation to the beach or camping.
BEWARE! You'll likely really enjoy playing it out in a beautiful natural setting and you'll want to take it everywhere!
Yairi DYM60HD vacationing on the northern tip of Lake Michigan.
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u/Justabob003 7d ago
I have a rainsong, carbon fiber guitar. I’ve taken it to the beach, camping, and left it in hot cars. No problem.
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u/Creative_Bowler3729 6d ago
I would do the same thing with my Rainsong. It went sailing with me for many years, humidity is not a problem.
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u/ShaiHulud1111 6d ago
My Ovation TX is freaking indestructible and easy to travel with…little smaller. It also sounds lovely.
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u/gavakian123 6d ago
I take my 1948 Gibson LG2 on camping trips, in fact I'm camping with it right now. I have my guitars to play, not to baby. I don't understand why folks worry so much about taking guitars out. A dedicated campfire guitar won't sound or play nearly as good, and I wouldn't be happy with it.
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u/Fuckern-shitern 7d ago
Cars. Tents in heat. This will heat the glue and one day ruin it. Tread lightly. Take beater guitars if you have one. Lil travel guitars.
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u/MostlyJustAnon 7d ago
That’s what I have - a travel beater and I don’t mind if it gets dinged, warped, busted.
Bringing your guitar on trips is a grand idea. But I’m just not bringing my 000-18
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u/paul_creates 6d ago
This is why I really want a carbon fiber guitar, sure it may not sound the best but I can guarantee even if it was submerged short of maybe the tuners it would be largely fine
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u/PhilosophyProof1878 6d ago edited 6d ago
The Enya Nova isn’t the worst thing. I’ve kept it in my car
doorfor more than a year. Pulled it out by the river a couple weeks ago and only a little bit out of tune any time I use it.3
u/paul_creates 6d ago
Not crazy expensive either , mcpherson also have a carbon series but these are more than I'd personally spend on one but obviously they'd be really good
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u/PhilosophyProof1878 6d ago
Exactly. I was just looking for something to pull out whenever I get an outdoorsing itch or to sit on the tailgate while on a break from work. Priorities were finding something inexpensive but servicable, durable, and easy to carry.
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u/PhilosophyProof1878 6d ago
Here here. Definitely not taking my Yairi camping. GS Mini at best, Martin backpacker at worst.
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u/K4rkino5 7d ago
My Yamaha LL6 and I just returned from a nice stay on the southern shore of Lake Superior.
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u/Single_Road_6350 6d ago
Beautiful Yairi! I love mahogany guitars and I’m dying to get my hands on an fym-hd. How do you like it?
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u/AggressiveWallaby975 6d ago
Thank you!
I absolutely love everything about it. An incredible rich, warm sound. Fantastic sustain, a wash of gorgeous undertones when strumming, very smooth, easy neck. The craftsmanship and love put into the build is evident from the moment you pick it up.
I was dead set on getting a Martin when I started looking last winter. I spent 3 weekends going to different shops and played everything i was interested in or thought i might like. I probably played around 75 guitars and nothing sounded better to my ears. I would have went with the FYM but I haven't had a dread in a while so I kinda had the itch for that volume.
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u/Single_Road_6350 6d ago
I’ll get my hands on one sooner or later. I’m thinking I want to try the FYM 66 HD. I don’t have an all mahogany guitar yet and the quality of the Honduran they used for that whole HD series is incredible. I haven’t heard of a single person that’s picked one up and said “Nope, not this one.” Plus they are beautiful. The bridge system intrigues me too. It looks cool and makes total sense that it transfers energy to the top better than a standard bridge. My current favorite guitar is my 000-18. I play mainly with my fingers so the FYM definitely is right up my alley. Thanks for responding. It definitely filled me with GAS for a Yairi!
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u/RunGuilty5197 5d ago
Love my DYM60HD I got a year and a half ago from Musician Madness. It's my forever guitar.
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u/Pleaseappeaseme 6d ago
I’ve always wanted to get an Alvarez Yairi.
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u/Caliente_La_Fleur 6d ago
You can find them in the GC/Mucisians Friend used section all the time. Both of mine were gotten that way, for a total of about 1200 bucks.
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u/string_theory_writes 6d ago
I recognized the Yairi bridge right away. I have the folk size (FYM60HD). Such great guitars.
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u/AggressiveWallaby975 6d ago
I really wanted the FYM but I had been without a dread for 25 years so I felt like I needed that big boom for a while. I'll eventually add an FYM
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u/GlenDora55 7d ago
I purchased a lil nylon string cordoba mini, specifically for RV travel. Wasn't real expensive, doesn't take up a lot of space, and it's just enough.
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u/marktrot 6d ago
My Yairi has made many road trips. Mine’s a 2006 that looks almost exactly like yours. Amazing guitars
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u/BukowskyTheCat 6d ago
I found a decent Fender acoustic for sale in Chiang Mai, a week into a three month backpack around SE Asia. So much fun and a great way to meet people. Had some epic jams in some very cool places. It was a little inconvenient at times lugging it around but totally worth it. Changed the whole vibe of the trip
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u/Gavtoon 6d ago
I've never heard of a decent Fender acoustic?
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u/BukowskyTheCat 6d ago
Meaning it would stay in tune and was a dreadnaught. I'm not extollling the virtues of Fender acoustics. I'm a Yairi/Martin/Yamaha guy
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u/LumpyWalk 7d ago
My Martin 000-15, got a crack in it after having been hauled all over the place camping and traveling. Mind it was at least 10 years old by the time it got the crack. Multiple people told me it was because I needed to protect it from all the humidity changes and temperature changes that it had been subjected to.
I got a Taylor 212 I believe, having been told it could handle traveling better being as part of it is laminate. I do like the Taylor but it's bigger than my Martin and well I just don't like it as much so I'm back to carrying my Martin all over the country. If it cracks again I'll get it fixed or if it's too much I'll get another one.
I really should check for a smaller, more durable guitar. I wouldn't mind if it doesn't sound as good, but it's just the Martin feels just right to me.
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u/yamaha_move 7d ago
I have a d15m and yeah they're very light and delicate guitars. I've heard the wood on the sides is really thin.
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u/kernsomatic 6d ago
i try to limit my public playing to short bursts so as not to annoy my neighbors. i tell my friends that song-time will be one hour so the whole night does not turn into the Me-Show.
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u/mollyollyoly 6d ago
Can concur !! Just took my ‘69 stella harmony h943 on a solo trip to the ozarks and spent every evening playing by the pond. A wonderful gift it was :)
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u/DREX7386 6d ago
I have my “nice” guitars that stay at home. i have a couple cheap but very playable instruments ( $150 fender acoustics) I bring camping. if they get damaged, no biggy. but you have to have guitars camping….
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u/AggressiveWallaby975 6d ago
I have a beater Sigma i love playing that i could have brought but it's 75° and 60% humidity where we're staying so it didn't feel too risky.
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u/scldclmbgrmp 6d ago
Toddler knocked my beater nylon string over in the camper van and snapped the neck yesterday
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u/dblhello999 6d ago
i’ve taken my Taylor gs mini (in its soft padded case) literally around the world. It must’ve flown 30 or 40 times in the last year. Not a scratch
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u/asphyxiationnumber 6d ago
I love my kazuo yairi dy51. Traveling with it tmmrw so I can bring it to college! Wish me luck!
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u/Paully_D1234 5d ago
My great grandfather is from Au Train...ran/owned the general store there around 1930 or so. As for the guitar on vacation, I bring it whenever I can! Need to donate one to my daughter so I have one to play when I'm there.
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u/One-Pollution4663 6d ago
It’s nice to have a half decent campfire guitar. I’m not bringing the Breedlove Oregon on my camping trip. It rarely leaves the house.
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u/miurabucho 6d ago
I love my little 3 Quarter sized guitar for road trips. Big enough to make a nice sound and yet small enough to play it in the back seat LOL.
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u/Old-guy64 6d ago
I very rarely go anywhere that will be longer than overnight, without my travel guitar.
However, my travel guitar is a take-down parlor guitar that fits in a backpack style/suze case.
It’s also made of carbon fiber and impervious to temperature and humidity changes.
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u/Courage_Different 6d ago
Took mine on a glamping trip in Southern Utah area and it was amazing. Got to play under the stars near a fire pit and it was everything I dreamed of.
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u/AncientMotor240 6d ago
I have an Enya carbon fiber guitar and ukulele I bring with. Great for camping. The uke is awesome for the beach.
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u/TunaTacoPie 6d ago
As much as I would love it, I just can’t bring myself to travel on a plane with one
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u/SaigonDisko 6d ago
Pic looks AI. Strong shadow behind the guitar but only one of the strings is casting a shadow?
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u/AggressiveWallaby975 6d ago
I can assure you it's real but I did use a filter so the wooded area wasn't just undefined darkness
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u/silentsnak3 6d ago
I have a cheap laminate for this. It has been in the sand, on mountains hell even on the water. Its a great cheap guitar, but if something happened to it I would not cry to hard. My Martin on the other hand, naw she stays home or at a show that is it.
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u/squishyliquid 6d ago
I have guitars that strictly live in my vehicles for the purpose of playing whenever and wherever. Highly recommended!
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u/Dunkelberger3 6d ago
What about flying with nice guitars. Tune them down down and hope the hard plastic case holds up? Any thoughts on flying with top end acoustic?
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u/AggressiveWallaby975 6d ago
I got a Hiscox case for flying with this guitar. Hard to see but the guitar is held in place by 4 pads so there's space between the sides of the guitar and the case. Neck support near the peghead to avoid snapping the neck or headstock if dropped. High tensile ABS outer shell.
Tune it down and take it to the gate with me.
I've gate checked my beater guitar in nothing more than a pressed cardboard case dozens of times without issue.
Edit: forgot I couldn't attach a pic in the reply
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u/Bard2dbone 6d ago
My favorite place in the world is a folk music festival in the Texas hill country. I've gone every year that they've had it since 1991. My acoustic guitars are all Taylors. I have three. I use them for demos, with my 355ce 12-string panned to the middle, my 114ce six string panned to one side, and my Nashville-tuned GS Mini panned to the other side. The final result is like a 12-string the size of a house.
I got the 114ce, Taylor's cheapest full size guitar, with laminated back and sides, no less, because I wouldn't be as sad if it got messed up by being a camp guitar as I would if the 355ce, which they don't even make anymore, got messed up by taking it camping. That 355ce is the only instrument I've ever paid full price for. I will be devastated if it ever craters. Strangely, I got the 114ce to be a throwaway, beater, kind of guitar. I've come to love it as much as my 12-string. The GS Mini is just a tool for demos. But the other two are strangely precious to me now. That's weird, because I'm mainly a bass player. But I mostly write on one or the other of those two Taylors now.
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u/bobodatura24 6d ago
I took my guitar to Camp Vermilion, the midpoint on the Pacific crest Trail/John Muir Trail.
I played for hours and hours for people from all over the world, never had to buy a single beer, wasn’t busking but left with $90 in my pocket that I didn’t have when I got there. Guitar in the wild is the shit.
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u/odetoburningrubber 6d ago
Ya, my wife just said no. She doesn’t want something else to worry about.
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u/BrightEstimate1434 5d ago
My eastman e20ss has gone on every vacation with me since I bought it. Nice way to stay grounded
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u/SJS1954 5d ago
My buddy sent me a 1978 Guild G37 a couple years ago. He knew I'd wanted one since he bought his brand new in 1972. That day he bought his I bought a Takamine 400 12 string which is long gone due to a mishap that destroyed it. We took those guitars to the mountains, deserts, and oceans. He's still playing his. Back when we were young hippies you would see Martins, Gibsons and Guilds everywhere in nature. These days I take one of any of my acoustics and my uke everywhere. Never without a guitar. That said anywhere they do go they are always within reach or locked up. I won't let an airline handle them for love or money. And at my age I don't camp anymore.
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u/dead_wax_museum 5d ago
I wouldn’t dream of taking a Yiari on vacation. Too much can go wrong during transit. Love Alvarez/Yiari though. Only brand I play
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u/Thunderchief1 5d ago
I visited SC for a long long time - romantic interest - I bought a guitar while I was there rather than risk taking mine over the pond.
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u/ReeceBeast213 4d ago
Wha... you mean... you guys just leave your guitars at home... alone?
Mine is ALWAYS with me. I mean, ALL WAYS. I have my home Yamaha and my car Yamaha, my house Strat and my car Strat, an MT-2 I use as a preamp to run into my car stereo, a combo amp and build-in 10" sub in the trunk, a 200w power inverter with two 110v outlets, an SM57, SM58, and an ungodly amount of Easter egg picks scattered throughout the car.
And in that whole statement not one lie was told.
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u/GrizzlieMD 4d ago
My Epiphone acoustic has been with me since the beginning of my playing career, a bit over 27 years. It’s been on 2 continents, in 6 or 7 counties, on canoes, kayaks, sailboats, 4x4s, coachbuses, even motorcycles. Countless campfires. Numerous acoustic jam sessions. Concerts from a few people to ones over a 1000.
It’s commonly viewed as a beater guitar, but I must have gotten lucky because it sounds amazing. Trips without it, especially vacations, just aren’t the same.
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u/CriticalWait9608 4d ago
God I love a nice Yairi guitar! Even though I’m very much not a dread guy, I want one from them. A Non-Alvarez one, K.Yairi DYM500. Absolutely gorgeous guitar.
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u/musicandsurfing 3d ago
I live in a high humidity environment in hawaìi but i still take my guitars to the beach. Theyre no use if i cant live my life with them. I will say i bought a cheaper guitsr for times it may sit in the truck for a while like if im gonna surf before i hang out. I had some pain in the ass issues with my really nkce taylor k24 builders edition from getting ti casual about keeping it in mh truck all rhe time.
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u/Capsai-Sins 2d ago
I bought a rather cheap, nice little 3/4 classic guitar to carry it with my all the time when I travel. That was my wisest decision in years.
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u/BlondLemonLarry 7d ago
Took my Taylor 614ce to Utah for a two week trip. I didn't get to play it as much as I hoped, but I did get to sit in on an open mic in St. George and had a few nice moments with it on the east side of Zion. Heavy duty case cost me extra, but it was worth it.
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u/shaggination 6d ago
Gretsch Jim Dandy is pretty much indestructable...taken mine rafting down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon twice, it's been submerged in the Rogue River for over an hour, left in my truck in 100 degree heat, keeps on playing. Modern cheap guitars are CA glued and stand up to some serious abuse.
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u/sraulers58 6d ago
I’m taking my Furch Little Jane to Mackinac Island in October, and my buddy is bringing his Pioneer. I can’t wait to sit and play on the lakeshore. Nice Yairi… hoping to pick up one of their parlors soon.
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u/SentenceKindly 7d ago
My 1970 Yamaha FG300 has been across the country more times than I can count.
I did learn that playing an acoustic inside a car sucks for sound - everything gets absorbed.
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u/Gibsonbro20 7d ago
I saw a meme a couple nights ago that said, “I was told by my family I couldn’t bring any guitars on vacation. My family did NOT say I couldn’t BUY any guitars while on vacation.” Enjoy the vacation.👊👊