When traveling, space can be tight. Still, we all want to get our practicing in when we can. Which brings me to my review of two travel guitars—and a bass—from G-Sharp.
G-Sharp originated in Norway but recently moved to Pleasanton, Kansas, which makes its guitars more accessible in the U.S.
Before I dive into each individual instrument, note that all the models feature a 20.75-inch scale length, hideaway push/pull volume knob, solid mahogany body, maple fretboard, truss rod, gig bag and a single coil soundhole pickup.
There’s a strap button on the left; the input jack on the right doubles as another strap button, making these friendly to left- and right-handed players. To access the truss rod, you’ll have to unscrew the three pickguard screws and lift the soundhole cover.
G# Guitar: It’s not just a clever brand name—it actulally refers to the tuning of the instrument, which is tuning is G# C# F# B D# G#. It's as if you capo’d the fourth fret of a guitar in standard tuning. All your chord shapes remain the same. In my clip, I finger-picked the G# overtop of an acoustic, then added some gain. Shown below in Black with red pearloid tuners.
Prototype Bass: While this model isn’t yet perfected, I was still happy to take it for a test drive. Similar to the G# model, the bass is tuned to A D G C. The higher tuning gives it a very playable string tension. It comes with light-gauge Rotosound strings, .30-.85. It's shown below in Wine Red finish. For the clip, I tried to capture the dynamic range from a picked rock tone to a palm-muted thump, and finished up with some help from a Boss OC-3 Octave pedal.
Standard Guitar: If all you’re after is a smaller guitar, there’s an OF-1 model tuned to standard E A D G B E tuning. If I may quote Bo Diddley in saying, “You can’t judge a book by looking at the cover.” I hit the single coil pickup hard with plenty of gain and open D tuning in the beginning of Clip 3. With a low noise floor and a full sound, I doubt in a blindfolded listening test anyone could tell this isn’t a full-sized guitar. Shown below in Natural Mahogany finish.
Web: g-sharpguitars.com
Price: $375 with gig bag
You can't believe everything you read on the Internet, but Billy Voight is a gear reviewer, bassist and guitarist from Pennsylvania. He has Hartke bass amps and Walden acoustic guitars to thank for supplying some of the finest gear on his musical journey. Need Billy's help in creating noise for your next project? Drop him a line at thisguyonbass@gmail.com.
