Conference napalm::guitar

    I saw a mini Les Paul once in a store. The neck and headstock were
    about normal size, but the body was tiny, and it had only one
    humbucking pickup. I looked like it would be fun for traveling
    
    I also say a guitar in GP that had a folding neck. The neck folded
    back so it was against the body. It had some elaborate knife-edge
    hinge that kept the stings snug when the neck was collapsed. It
    looked great, but the list price on it was over $1000. The main
    reason for the high price was the fact it was a prototype, and they
    hadn't gone into full scale production yet.
    
    I guess you would have to do a lot of traveling to make one of these
    guitars worth-while. Of course, you would also have to have either
    a Rockman, or a Pignose to be able to use one of these.
    
    Mark Jacques
    

    RE: .0  An Austin Hatchet!
    
    Wow!  I have an Austin Hatchet too!  It's pretty nice and I've only
    seen three of them since I got it (two others).  Mine is a natural wood
    finish with brass hardware, nut, and Shaller tuners, as was one of the
    others, the third was a black with chrome hardware and a plastic
    nut.  I bought it because I was travelling a lot at the time and
    wanted something to travel with that wouldn't get trashed.  It
    certainly fit the bill.
        
    Vox made some little shortie guitars, if I remember.  I saw a VOX
    electric 12 string in a pawn shop once.  The neck was about 12 frets
    and the body about 1/2 normal size.   
    
    Greg

    
    
    .1 �  Mini Les Paul
    
    I *think* that on one of `Hearts' album covers (don't remember 
    the title) the two guitarists are holding mini Les Pauls.  
    Kinda cute :-)                                
         
    Oh yeah, I don't know if this is the right topic but WTF.  Whats
    a Washburn Jnr ????  I've seen a couple ads for them in Guitarist.
    
    -Tony                                                             

    Stewart McDOnald's sells a kit for a mini strat or a mini tele...
    since I seem to be traveling more I've been considering buying one
    to take on the aeroplane with me...
    
    dbII

    Is that a mini-Strat that Robert Cray is holding on the cover of
    "Strong Persuader"?  It always looked kind of small to me.
    
    /rick

    Re. .4 How much is Stewart Mac getting for one of those mini strat/tele
    kits. I guess I should send for one of their catalogues.
    
    Mark
    

    Didn't EVH play a mini-Paul on "Little Guitars"? I thought I saw
    a promo shot of him holding one.
    
    Alan S.

    re: .4  So, Dave, would you like to purchase a nice Austin Hatchet?
    
    Since I don't travel much anymore and very rarely play mine, I've
    been thinking of selling it.
    
    re: .7  I thought that EVH played a Chicita[sic] on "Little Guitars".
    
    Greg

    I saw an aritcle about Craig Chiquico in GP once. He was playing
    a Chickita guitar. He had found an old army-issued ammunition
    belt, and mounted his stomp-box effects and a rockman in the
    ammo slots. It made for a pretty neat portable practice setup.
    
    Mark Jacques
    

    the Stewart McD's kits are $149.00 or something like that...maple
    necks, the tele has one pickup and the strat had two....
    
    re: the travel guitar....not actually in the market right now...buying
    too much hardware stuff to fix a studio up in my basement...priorities
    
    another option that I've been considering is a kramer 2" thick acoustic
    with a gig bag, loaded  into the hang up closet in the airplanes...
    
    dbII

    From experience...the hanging bag approach is usually works well,
    however, there are some models of planes (especially for commuter
    runs) that have no hanging closet.  These require you to place hanging
    articles in overhead bins, many of which are small and might have
    other passengers gear on top of yours.  I've even had to fold my
    hanging bags in half to get them in some of the compartments (they
    just had clothes in them...).
    
    Good luck.
    Greg

    	If I am not mistaken, Robin Guitars makes a half scale electric
    with a strat shaped body and may be available in a 12 string as
    well. Expensive though, I believe these boogers go for around $700.00.
    
    It's a small world...
    DonH

    RE: commuter aircraft
    
    Yeah, but after my last experience with our favorite commuter airline
    I refuse to fly with them again...one way rent-a-cars from now on....
    
    But seeing as how most of my flights seem to be 747's or DC-10's
    the hangup closet is a viable option...
    
    dbII

    Yeah, no problem there, but sometimes you get stuck on a small
    (727/737) on connections.  That's where the problem comes in.  I
    wasn't (necessarily) talking about the very (16 pass.) planes. 
    
    Greg

    I do know that "Little Guitars" was recorded with a miniature guitar
    although I'm not sure which one.  I spent hours trying to cop that
    tune before I read about how it was done.  The guitar used was tuned
    to A instead of E because of the size.
    
    It's one of my favorite Van Halen tunes.  I love the rhythm guitar
    part.  (And also the "cheat" he used to get that flamingo strum
    sound on the intro.)
    
    Interestingly enough, Steve Morse has a duplicate of his "Frankenstein"
    guitar (the original blond Fender hybrid) that is a complete functional
    copy.
    
    There's a picture of the Micro-Morse guitar on the inner sleeve of
    the "Industry Standard" album.
    
    	db

	I don't know if these qualify as 'little guitars', but
	certainly the Steinberger's (I think thats the spelling),
	are very compact and portable. Easy to carry on planes, etc.
	You know, the ones with no head, and the tiny rectangular
	bodies (about 6"x8"). They make both 6 strings and basses.
	
	I was looking for an easy to 'take along' bass, and ended up getting
	a Steinberger copy, made by Honer. Real Steinbergers are a bit
	pricey (~$1k).  The Honer copy was about 1/3 the cost. Yeah, I thought 
	Honer just made harmonicas myself! The Honer uses lots of 
	Steinberger (or at least Steinberger licensed) parts, 
	has a full 24 frets, active electronics, and both low and high z
	outputs. 

	I'm quite happy with it. Not too bad to
	play, and real easy to transport. It came with a 
	nylon carry bag, that has a shoulder strap on it.

	I can carry the bass on my back, the Strat in one hand
	and a Boogie in another with reasonable success. 
	Now surely you can't do that with a Fender Jazzmaster!

	By the way, a friend of mine has a small Martin acoustic of some
	kind. Don't know the model number. It's almost small enough to 
	carry on a plane but he dosn't have a case for it.  Probably a bit 
	difficult to find a case to fit it. It's real cute, and I think 
	it's also quite rare.

    re: .17
    Martin has a model it makes on special order called the 5-17.  In
    Martin nomenclature the number/letter to the left of the dash refers
    to size and to the right to level of trim.  For a long time they
    made, from small to big, O, OO, OOO, and D.  But back in the 1800's
    they made 1, 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2, 3 and 5 with 5 being the very smallest.
    Guitars then were considered "parlour" instruments not "performing"
    or concert instruments.  Anyway, you can still get them to make
    a 5-16 or 5-17.  They are small and are nowadays refered to as "song
    writers" guitars - something to use while creating your latest hit.
    The ones that I've played (about 4 or 5) don't have a great sound
    but they make great travel guitars or guitars for kids to start
    with.  You CAN get a case for them.  If your friend wants one, have
    him contact the Mandolin Brothers on Staten Island, NY.  In fact,
    I was there in March and they had one - $950, these days.  Not cheap.
    Occasionally you'll see one for a lot less on the used market.
    
    Paul 
     

    
    	Stew/Mac now has an Explorer copy pocket axe.  Unlike the strat
    	and tele, it has a humbucker.  Looks like a fun kit to put 
    	together and they are the cheapest travel axe around for ~$150.