The Martin Backpacker Travel Guitar is a unique, portable acoustic guitar designed by the legendary American guitar maker C.F. Martin & Co. This compact travel guitar features a smaller body shape and shortened scale length, making it easy to carry around and play on the go.

Despite its smaller size, the Martin Backpacker Travel Guitar maintains many of the qualities that have made Martin famous for crafting excellent acoustic guitars since 1833. Its innovative, proprietary design allows it to produce surprisingly full and resonant tones, similar to a high-quality standard acoustic guitar. The Backpacker Travel Guitar's smaller body shape and slim neck profile also make it very comfortable and easy to play.

Overall, the Martin Backpacker Travel Guitar offers an excellent balance of portability, playability, and rich acoustic tone. Its smart design and high-quality construction make it a great choice for travel, camping, and other situations where portability and space-saving are key factors. While compact, it retains the impeccable build quality and great sound that Martin is known for.

Construction

The Martin Backpacker guitar features an attractive distinct shape and construction that sets it apart from traditional acoustic guitars. The body is made of solid spruce with mahogany pattern HPL (high pressure laminate) back and sides, delivering a light and portable form factor while retaining the solid wood top tone you expect from Martin.

The guitar's smaller travel-friendly size is achieved through a tapered body shape. Though more diminutive than a standard dreadnought, the Backpacker still produces impressive volume and projection thanks to its solid spruce top. This tonewood lends the guitar a bright and lively voice perfect for fingerstyle playing.

The Backpacker's back and sides use Martin's proprietary mahogany HPL. This high-tech laminate mimics the look and tonal qualities of solid wood while providing strength and durability. The result is great resonance and sustain despite the thin profile required for a travel-ready build.

Overall the materials and construction allow the Backpacker to deliver authentic Martin tone and playability while weighing under 4 pounds. The innovative body shape and taper make this an exceptionally portable instrument perfect for travel and practice on the go.

Body Style

The Martin Backpacker has a small, unique body style designed for travel and portability. It measures just 35.25" long, with a total length of 51.75". The body width is 15" at the lower bout and 10.375" at the waist. The body depth is only 2.75", allowing it to easily fit into a backpack or suitcase when disassembled.

Despite the compact size, the Backpacker still has a full 24.9" scale length. The small body is made from solid mahogany, giving it a rich, resonant tone that belies its diminutive proportions. Martin's patented cross bracing system provides durability and sustain. Overall, the streamlined body style makes the Backpacker incredibly portable while retaining impressive volume and projection.

The compact, travel-ready body design sets the Backpacker apart from most other acoustic guitars. Many musicians appreciate having a high quality, full-scale length instrument that can be easily transported and stored. While Martin is renowned for their premium dreadnought and orchestra style acoustics, the Backpacker demonstrates their ability to create a great sounding guitar in a smaller, non-traditional form factor.

Musicians like the ability to have a real Martin guitar that can be taken anywhere. It's great for camping trips, vacations, or any time you want to play guitar but don't have room to pack a full-size instrument. Many owners of the Backpacker compliment its resonant tone and volume, which exceed expectations for such a small-bodied guitar. The solid wood construction and smart bracing allow it to sound fantastic unplugged.

Some people even use the Backpacker as their main acoustic guitar. The compact body size makes it very comfortable to play while still providing rich Martin tone. The shorter scale length reduces string tension, making it an good choice for younger players and those with small hands. While unconventional, the Backpacker's unique body style offers practical advantages for portability and comfort.

If you're looking for another travel-friendly acoustic guitar option, check out the Taylor FB02006016005151000. This compact, short-scale guitar has a stylish Florentine cutaway for easy high fret access. The smaller Grand Concert body size makes it very portable while still delivering impressive volume and sustain. Like the Backpacker, it's an excellent choice for players who want a high quality acoustic for travel and easy transport.

The compact size and portability of the Martin Backpacker make it an excellent choice for travelers who want to bring a guitar along without the hassle of transporting a full-size instrument. Many guitarists appreciate having such a portable option that still delivers impressive tone and playability. While the Martin Backpacker has its limitations in sound projection and volume compared to a standard dreadnought, it packs an impressive sonic punch for its petite frame.

For guitarists looking for other travel-friendly options, the Washburn EA15ATB-A is an excellent choice. This slim parlor-style acoustic has a reduced body size for easy portability, yet still produces a rich, balanced tone. The EA15ATB-A features a solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides, with a mahogany neck and rosewood fingerboard. The slim neck profile and low action facilitate quick, comfortable playing. While not as compact as the Martin Backpacker, the Washburn EA15ATB-A provides an impressive blend of portability, playability and projection - a great option for guitarists who want robust sound in a streamlined package.

Neck

The Martin 11GBPC has a neck made of stratabond which is a laminate of multiple thin sheets of wood glued together. This makes the neck very strong and stable.

The neck has a width of 1 11/16" at the nut which is a comfortable width for most players. It's not super wide but not super skinny either.

The neck profile is a modified low oval shape which provides a nice rounded feel in the hand. It's not too chunky but also not super thin. There's enough meat on the neck to allow for comfortable gripping and chord forming.

The neck joins the body at the 14th fret which is a classic design seen on many steel-string guitars. This provides good balance between the neck length and body size.

Overall the neck on the Martin 11GBPC is very playable with a comfortable and rounded profile. The stratabond construction makes it strong and stable as well. It's a great design for a travel guitar neck. The neck is an important part of any guitar. It must balance playability with stability and durability. Martin has achieved that balance well with the 11GBPC model. The stratabond laminate build provides strength while the profile shape offers comfort. This allows for easy chord changes and fretting hand movement up and down the neck. Many players appreciate the feel of a rounded, oval-shaped neck compared to flatter modern profiles. The width at the nut is a key factor too, as too wide or narrow can affect comfort and technique. Martin found a nice middle ground width here. The 14-fret neck joint is a proven design that works well for balance and access to higher frets. Overall the 11GBPC has a great neck for a travel-sized instrument.

If you are looking for a high quality classical guitar, check out the Ibanez PF2MHOPN. This model from Ibanez offers great value in a beginner to intermediate level classical guitar. It features a spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and mahogany neck for balanced tone. The body is a traditional fan-braced design optimized for nylon string tension and response. The neck has a shorter scale length of 25.6", making it very playable for those with smaller hands. It comes equipped with D'Addario Pro-Arte nylon strings for optimal sound quality. Tuning is stable thanks to the open gear chrome tuners. The guitar has a beautiful stained violin sunburst finish that looks very elegant. Overall the Ibanez PF2MHOPN packs a lot of quality and value into an affordable classical guitar. It's an excellent choice for new classical guitarists or experienced players looking for a high quality secondary instrument. The comfortable neck, great tone, and attractive appearance make this a recommended classical guitar.

Fretboard

The Martin Backpacker has a fretboard made of solid East Indian rosewood. Rosewood is known for its rich, warm tones that pair nicely with steel strings. The fretboard has a radius of 12 inches, which strikes a nice balance between playing chords and soloing. The flatter radius facilitates chord shapes and improves intonation across the neck. The fretboard contains 20 frets in total, allowing access to a wide range of notes across multiple octaves. The rosewood material and ample number of frets give this travel-sized guitar a surprisingly full tonal range.

Hardware

The Martin Backpacker Classical Guitar features quality hardware to match its excellent construction and sound. The tuning machines are Martin's own Sealed Chrome Minis, which provide smooth and accurate tuning in a compact configuration that matches the travel-friendly nature of this instrument.

The bridge is a sleek rosewood design that transfers vibrations efficiently from the strings into the top of the guitar. This helps produce a rich, balanced tone across the tonal spectrum. The bridge pins are made from black plastic, which some players may wish to upgrade to ebony or bone for even greater resonance. However, the stock pins perform admirably and help keep costs down on this moderately-priced guitar.

Overall, the hardware components on the Martin Backpacker Classical are well-chosen for their intended purpose as part of a lightweight, durable travel guitar. While not as ornate as what you may find on more expensive classical guitars, they get the job done admirably.

Electronics

The Martin 11GBPC has powerful electronics that deliver great amplified tones. This guitar features a Fishman Sonitone pickup and preamp system.

The pickup accurately captures the warm, rounded sound of the Martin construction. It produces balanced lows, clear mids, and crisp highs. The pickup is discreet and does not interfere with the guitar's natural acoustic resonance or feedback properties.

The Sonitone preamp gives you control over your amplified tone. It has volume, bass, mid, and treble controls so you can shape your sound. There's also a phase switch to help eliminate feedback at higher volumes. The preamp runs on a 9V battery so you don't need any external power source.

Overall, the electronics allow you to easily amplify the Backpacker for live performances or recording scenarios. The pickup captures the true Martin acoustic tone, while the preamp provides tone shaping options. This is a great amplified acoustic system for travel guitars.

Sound

The Martin Backpacker Classical Guitar produces a bright and crisp tone, thanks to its combination of solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides. The all-solid wood construction allows the guitar to resonate freely, projecting the complex overtones associated with classical guitars.

Despite its small size, the Backpacker Classical punches above its weight in terms of volume and sustain. The spruce top delivers excellent clarity in the high end, while the mahogany back and sides provide a balanced midrange and pleasant low-end response. This guitar was designed for the traveling musician, giving you concert-quality tone from a compact package.

The Backpacker has impressive dynamic range, allowing the player to go from delicate, fingerpicked passages to aggressive strumming. It handles both melodic lines and accompaniment chords with aplomb. Overall, the Backpacker Classical Guitar produces a bright, balanced tone that belies its portable size.

Playability

The Martin 11GBPC has excellent playability thanks to its compact size and lightweight build. Despite its small stature, it maintains the same standard 25.4" scale length as a full-size classical guitar. This helps produce the warm, resonant tones that nylon strings are known for.

The action on the 11GBPC is very comfortable straight out of the box. The strings sit low and close to the fretboard, making them easy to press down without excessive finger effort. The neck has a satin finish that allows for smooth gliding up and down.

In terms of balance, the 11GBPC feels very stable and balanced to hold. The backpacker shape with the small body pressed up close to the neck creates an instrument that sits nicely against your body. The weight is also concentrated around the bottom strap button for optimal balance. This allows you to play comfortably whether standing up or sitting down.

Overall, the playability of the Martin 11GBPC is excellent. The comfortable action and balanced design make it a very playable travel classical guitar. Players will feel right at home strumming this guitar as they explore the world.

Pros and Cons

The Martin Steel String Backpacker Travel Guitar has a lot of positives as well as some drawbacks to consider.

Pros

• Ultra-portable and lightweight design makes it easy to travel with and play anywhere. The compact size fits easily in a backpack or overhead bin.

• Quality construction and materials, including a solid spruce top, for great sound and playability in a small package. Martin is known for its excellent build quality.

• steel strings provide brighter, louder tone than nylon strings, good for a wider variety of music genres.

• Comes with a padded and protective bag for storage and transportation. Very durable and well made.

• Attractive, minimalist visual design that looks great. Distinctive Martin style and aesthetics.

Cons

• Smaller size limits volume and bass response compared to a full-size guitar. Don't expect a robust, booming acoustic sound.

• Steel string tension requires more finger pressure than nylon strings. Can be tiring to play for long periods.

• No electronics means it can't be plugged in for amplification. Purely an unplugged acoustic.

• Higher action and less playability than a premium full-size acoustic. The compromise for the smaller body size.

• Not as rich and complex tone as larger Martins. Lacks some depth due to tiny body.