Now THAT is brilliant!

And it still looks good too.

This is far from the first folding guitar. I remember a 60's era model that would fold and even keep the proper tension on the strings while folded.

I'll have to dig through some books at home to see if I can dig up a pic.

UGH! As a guitarist, I can say this thing will never be accepted. The way that the strings contact the body (the bridge) and the neck contacts the body (neck joint) are considered very important aspects of sound quality, as these joints transfer, and therefore effect the vibrations of the body and strings. Building these joints out of ALUMINUM is just as unforgivable as building a trumpet out of tin.

oh and 3k for a axe if questionable quality. You can pretty nice top of the line regular Gibson for that much or less.

Jozer99,

I completely agree with the last 2/3 of your post. Everything you have stated is absolutely true when it comes to a good sounding guitar. Each and every point is right now.

However, I have to disagree with your first sentence. It'll probably be just as accepted as the backpacker acoustics that show up more and more in guitar mags. This guitar isn't a concert guitar, its a practical practice guitar.

I own 5 guitars and I could never bring myself to let anyone of those be checked luggage on a plane. If any one of those were to be damaged, I'd be heartbroken.

This guitar is the perfect response to that. I could easily through this in a suitcase or backpack to take with me as I travel. Yeah sound quality won't be as good as my 1952 Gibson, but hey, its only me and the walls of my hotel room.

I applaud this and love seeing more and more innovation in the guitar world.

I always love the pictures of the pretty people usning the product. Especially the chick with anxiety looking back... then ROCKING OUT!!!

And Jozer99, I would seriously doubt it is intended for a true guitarist, as such would recognize all the same points you mention. Perhaps for a shlub with disposable (or daddy's disposable) income... trying to look a part... or the same guy who want's to upgrade from thee old backpacker guitar.

No guitarist would buy this. I'm fine with my full size guitar. The whole reason you carry around a guitar is to look cool and you can't do that with a lame folding one. I bet that string rolling thing doesn't support all string sizes either. Plus I'm sure that will wear out your strings much quicker.

Should I mention that guitar looks horrid and you can buy a limited edition replica Hendrix strat for that price? In fact if you want to compair price for what you get. You could get a valve state full stack and head. A sweet giant mixing board. State of the art monitor speakers. The most expensive digital drum set. A really awesome synth or workstation piano. Pick any of those over this piece of junk.

You'll look just like the people in the pictures playing it. Like an idiot who doesn't know how to play guitar.

3K is a lot of dough for a guitar - I guess there are a lot more airplane pilots/ametuer guitarists out there to start up a company around this.

I think the Steinberger style guitars are pretty portable, and they end up sounding pretty good too.

Yeah, this is pretty much crap-tastic.

I too am a guitarist and I can't think of any reason why a musician would buy this thing. There's no way that guitar can stay in tune and sound good, for the reasons already mentioned.

And the price is just absurd. I MIGHT pay that much for a custom-shop, 10-top Paul Reed Smith, a Jimmy Page "Stairway" model dual-neck SG, or indeed, a Hendrix reissue Strat. But for this POS? Not in a bajillion years.

And with a flick of my wrist, I dismiss it utterly...

$3370?!?

Yeah, travel guitars are a poor replacement for the real thing, but at that price I could buy several very nice guitars with hard cases and figure out how to get one on a freakin' plane.

At that price they are not going to get your average traveling minstrel buy one.

I think this is aimed towards the same people who buy 350k diamond studded craptops.

Don't you still have to carry the amp?

useful for cleaning the dust between the pickups and under the strings. That's as far as the use goes though. Doesn't look *that* good either IMO.

I find it interesting that there are so many critics that haven't even played it yet have the expertise to critque it. Sure the looks may be important to many of you but the true test is how does it sound and play at that crazy pricetag.
so ctitics:
"are you experienced?
Uh-have you ever been experienced-uh?"

I haven't so who know's if this thing is worth it's price tag.

anfauglir says:

"Don't you still have to carry the amp?"

Key point what good is an electric with out the amp. Most tiny amps usaully suck too

I could get a PRS custom for that price... I'm impressed with the design of the joint and bridge though.

I agree with all the other guitar players. This thing is irrelevant and can only come off as a novelty item. You would get a real pianist those roll-out keyboards, just like you wouldn't buy this for a real guitarist.

"...you *wouldn't* get a real pianist those roll-out keyboards..."

We critique new tech every day without first hand experience with the actual item - that's what we're here for.

This guitar won't sound better than a quality guitar of half the price... probably can't. Using a roller for the bridge might not be a big deal, but a neck that is properly tensioned and aligned both under stress and under no stress is a tough thing to do. And the anchor point for the strings at the head end is going to wear on the strings (they have to be held by something other than the post which means they are going to bend)... unless this uses very non-standard strings which would of course greatly increase the "maintenance cost".

Just seems that there are way too many potential points of wear or failure.

Wow.
I thought the thing looked cool and was a good idea, but you folks bring alot of excellent points to bear.
That mechanical stuff IS going to affect the sound isn't it?

Maybe if it transformed into a boom box, then into a rapid fire machine gun, it just might be cool.

Until then, I'll stick with guitars whose necks won't collapse while I'm wailing to some angst driven bass line.

Apparently, my angel really isn't a Centerfold...

I'll be suprised if they sell 100 of these things. This is a solution without a problem. If someone is about to plop to 3 grand for a piece, they're gonna be focused on good sound and playability, not to mention reliability. Who wants to bet that all that funky oversized hardware for the folding mechanism is gonna make this guitar feel, look, and sound like a hunk of shit in any real guitarists hands?

Plus, I don't think I've met a guitarist who doesn't like getting looks from people as he/she walks down the street with a case that unmistakably contains a gigfiddle.

@Boognish (Props on the ween reference, BTW)

Just because we haven't played a guitar doesn't mean we can't critique it. Obviously, comparing two Les Paul guitars of the same make and condition, I could not say just from looking at them which would play better. However, in a clear cut case like this I can make a judgment with a good amount of confidence. If I see a burned out wreck of a car sitting abandoned by the highway, I can feel fairly confident that a brand new Ferrari would drive better.

This guitar was OBVIOUSLY not designed by guitar enthusiasts, who would know that messing with the bridge and neck joint are the two things most likely to destroy your tone. Playing a guitar who's only string and neck contact to the body is through an aluminum pivot is going to sound like playing a guitar made of balsa wood, there will be NO sustain or tone. Plus, repeatedly re-tensioning the strings is a sure way to break strings and insure the guitar will not keep in tune.

This is nothing new. Pete Townsend had a whole bunch of guitars that folded. (though this one probably sounds better once it is unfolded)

once again i must remind the gizmodo community of the thousands of people in this world that have money to burn. no matter how stupid or expensive a product may be, there will still be plenty of people to buy it.

i'm still working on a folding wheel barrow that can fit in your pocket.

$$$ cha'ching! $$$

true, this will likely effect the sustain, etc but IT'S A TRAVEL GUITAR. Unless you are flying to a recording studio, this is probably going to be just fine for the road warriors out there that want to play in their hotel room and plug into the many flavors of amp simulators out there (like the korg pandora). $3k though is fsking insane. Apparently swedish guitar players aren't the low rent bastard guitar players I hang out with.

I'm a lapsed guitarist and while I see a lot of other guitarists bagging on this thing, it's worth noting that this is a travel guitar...not a session/performance guitar. Although they DO make the mistake of suggesting that upon unfolding the thing, you're ready to "jump on stage" - it would be totally serviceable as a practice guitar while traveling. You aren't as concerned about tone and sustain when you're just working on scales or playing with ideas for a new song. The one thing I will agree on is the price, though...outrageous. Obviously it warrants a steep price for the technology involved, but I'd just as soon go buy a custom PRS than this and deal with the inconvenience of a hard shell travel case.

You would be much better off just buying a cheap used squier stratocaster or jackson etc., and taking the neck off when you travel. It will fit in your overhead bag. You can buy a used cheap squier stratocaster or jackson etc., for less than $100.00

A little setup will be necessary when putting the neck back on but it doesn't take very long. I have done this may times.

If it breaks or gets stolen it is no big deal.

The centerfold guitar is a joke. It would have all of the same problems as taking the neck off of a real guitar. The centerfold guitar costs as much as my Custom Shop Les Pauls. What a rippoff!!!

Another idea would be to buy a cheap guitar when you get somewhere for a $100.00. You could go on a lot of trips and buy a cheap guitar and throw it away when done to make up for the cost of the centerfold guitar.