The last in our look at a few of the travel guitars available to the discerning, jet-setting axe-man/axe-lady.

Simultaneously the most traditional and most unusual guitar of our series, the Voyage-Air range of travel guitars feature a ‘foldable neck’.

As you can see, the neck is hinged. You unscrew a knurled bolt to loosen it (the bolt doubles as a strap-button) and fold the neck down to the body, effectively halving the length of the instrument. When you want to play, reverse the process and tighten up the bolt.

Easy.  And pretty clever.

There is a range of Voyage-Airs, in different styles and specifications, each with their unique, patented Folding Neck-Hinge System.

At the entry level, there is the VAD-06 and VAOM-06 – a dreadnought and OM-style guitar, respectively. Both feature a solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides (laminated, we think).  The necks are mahogany and the fingerboards and bridges are rosewood.

To prevent the strings flapping about all over the place when folded, Voyage-Airs feature a ‘Captured Nut’ – essentially a nut with holes through it instead of slots (right).  There is also a zero-fret installed to help with any limitations this may cause.

Scale length is 25.5″ and the 06 models are slightly more compact than their, more expensive, siblings in the range.  Schaller -style tuners – with removable buttons – provide the tuning and a compensated saddle is installed as standard.

All of the instruments come with a dedicated carrying case designed to fit the folded instrument.  While you could argue that they made the packed instrument shorter by making it wider, as you can see, the folded and packed instrument can even be carried on your chopper.

It’s an interesting idea this.  For all intents and purposes you have a full-sized, traditional, wooden acoustic guitar that’s much easier to handle when travelling.

Prices for the VAD-06 and VAOM-06 are $899 from Voyage-Air’s web site.  If you’re in the market for something portable but a bit more traditional, it may well be worth some consideration.

Incidentally, Voyage-Air are promising electric guitars in the new year.  Keep your eyes peeled.