Lightweight/compact budget electric - what would you choose?

[Jonrh98]

Looking to get back into electric (as a gigging bass and acoustic player). I want something lightweight and relatively compact. I will be playing primarily clean fingerstyle and leads in an acoustic duo, plus some jazz chord melody stuff at home and maybe some occasional driven sounds when recording. Playability is number one priority for me - in terms of sound, it just needs to be full and warm without excessive muddiness. The options I've got in mind are below (with a budget of roughly 400 gbp, maybe just over), any insight/experience with them would be great as none are in stock to try near me.

 

Steinberger GT-Pro:

Pros: Compact and with a gig bag, love the HSH configuration. Cons: The trem would be locked and left, the requirement for double ball end strings is annoying but at least they're stable and I could add the converter for normal strings if needed, and I've heard of QC issues out of the factory.

 

Donner Hush-X:

Pros: Also compact and with a gig bag, locking system is secure and uses regular strings, headphone amp for practice without needing to have my modeller plugged to an outlet. Cons: No humbucker in the neck is a little disappointing, I have no experience with the brand, all the bells and whistles suggest the general quality may be lesser.

 

Ibanez S521-MOL:

Pros: Slim body and lovely playable Wizard III neck, versatile switching including parallel neck humbucker and SS mode, brand that I am familiar with and trust. Cons: Less compact than the others, no locking tuners (would add to the cost if I installed some), no included gig bag (further added cost).

 

Any insight based on experience would be really welcome.

[randythoades]

I have no experience of any of those specific options, but not sure why it needs to be quite so compact if you are playing at home or in a regular duo where you are already taking acoustic, PA etc.

 

The ergonomics of a compact guitar are definitely a compromise and generally make it less easy to play and certainly less comfortable. The Ibanez is just standard electric sizing, so something like a Squier Strat might be a better option for clean and jazz style playing. I don't think you would need to upgrade to locking tuners for that sort of material.

 

If it needs to be compact for the sake of transportability (I ride a motorcycle so really appreciate the ease of transporting a smaller instrument), ones I have tried are the Blackstar Carry-On and the Traveller Ultra Light. Both seem more compact than the Donner. Both were good and quite a bit less £. Very acceptable sounds and fine to play standing up but I found uncomfortable to play seated as the shape just didn't feel natural, particularly on the Blackstar.

 

I had both and sold both and just went back to a standard guitar size as I now have use of a car too, but if I had to choose one to keep it would be the Blackstar. Much easier to carry with a gig bag on a bike with cables and preamp etc in top box. Felt more 'guitar like' and doesn't look as space age as the Traveller / Donner style

[Dad3353]

2 hours ago, randythoades said:

I have no experience of any of those specific options, but not sure why it needs to be quite so compact if you are playing at home or in a regular duo where you are already taking acoustic, PA etc.

 

The ergonomics of a compact guitar are definitely a compromise and generally make it less easy to play and certainly less comfortable. The Ibanez is just standard electric sizing, so something like a Squier Strat might be a better option for clean and jazz style playing. I don't think you would need to upgrade to locking tuners for that sort of material.

 

If it needs to be compact for the sake of transportability (I ride a motorcycle so really appreciate the ease of transporting a smaller instrument), ones I have tried are the Blackstar Carry-On and the Traveller Ultra Light. Both seem more compact than the Donner. Both were good and quite a bit less £. Very acceptable sounds and fine to play standing up but I found uncomfortable to play seated as the shape just didn't feel natural, particularly on the Blackstar.

 

I had both and sold both and just went back to a standard guitar size as I now have use of a car too, but if I had to choose one to keep it would be the Blackstar. Much easier to carry with a gig bag on a bike with cables and preamp etc in top box. Felt more 'guitar like' and doesn't look as space age as the Traveller / Donner style

 

I'd echo the above ^^. 

[repoman]

I love Ibanez but there's a problem with that S521.  That jack socket is in THE WORST PLACE.

[Jonrh98]

13 hours ago, randythoades said:

I have no experience of any of those specific options, but not sure why it needs to be quite so compact if you are playing at home or in a regular duo where you are already taking acoustic, PA etc.

 

The ergonomics of a compact guitar are definitely a compromise and generally make it less easy to play and certainly less comfortable. The Ibanez is just standard electric sizing, so something like a Squier Strat might be a better option for clean and jazz style playing. I don't think you would need to upgrade to locking tuners for that sort of material.

 

If it needs to be compact for the sake of transportability (I ride a motorcycle so really appreciate the ease of transporting a smaller instrument), ones I have tried are the Blackstar Carry-On and the Traveller Ultra Light. Both seem more compact than the Donner. Both were good and quite a bit less £. Very acceptable sounds and fine to play standing up but I found uncomfortable to play seated as the shape just didn't feel natural, particularly on the Blackstar.

 

I had both and sold both and just went back to a standard guitar size as I now have use of a car too, but if I had to choose one to keep it would be the Blackstar. Much easier to carry with a gig bag on a bike with cables and preamp etc in top box. Felt more 'guitar like' and doesn't look as space age as the Traveller / Donner style

The primary reasons for going for a compact option are:

- I live in a limited space which already houses a number of instruments, and I want something I can easily store away.

- I want something I can happily sit and pluck away at on the sofa without having to weild around a big heavy body.

- I want something lightweight for longer standing gigs as I play a LOT on my jazz bass and it takes a real toll on my back.

- I live in a city centre, and while I do drive, many of my gigs will be me walking to the venue or travelling by tram with my guitar, modeller, mic and stand plus cables, so a smaller and/or lighter unit is a benefit.

 

I'd considered the blackstar but no neck pickup is a no go for the sounds I want unfortunately. 

 

Funny you mention a strat - my MIM was a brill guitar which I unfortunately had to sell a while ago to fund a house move, but I want something now with humbuckers ideally. 

 

The locking tuners thing certainly isnt a must for me, it's just a preference as I end up restringing on the move a lot, and across all my instruments it becomes tedious far too easily.

 

The difference in playability with a compact guitar is my biggest fear, which was why the Ibanez stood out to me.

[Jonrh98]

7 hours ago, repoman said:

I love Ibanez but there's a problem with that S521.  That jack socket is in THE WORST PLACE.

For sure - I played an SR bass for a long time and the weirdly angled recessed jack was a pain in many ways - looks like it might feed up nicely to loop around the strap button though.

[Dad3353]

45 minutes ago, Jonrh98 said:

...with my guitar, modeller, mic and stand plus cables...

 

Why do you need a neck p/u if you have a modeller..? 

[Jonrh98]

16 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

 

Why do you need a neck p/u if you have a modeller..? 

an amp modeller, not a guitar modeller - I would need a neck pickup for exactly the same reason that someone playing into an amp might want one. 

 

The ability to switch pickups would be a big plus within the duo too, for moving between rhythm picking parts and solos or leads

[randythoades]

9 hours ago, Jonrh98 said:

The primary reasons for going for a compact option are:

- I live in a limited space which already houses a number of instruments, and I want something I can easily store away.

- I want something I can happily sit and pluck away at on the sofa without having to weild around a big heavy body.

- I want something lightweight for longer standing gigs as I play a LOT on my jazz bass and it takes a real toll on my back.

- I live in a city centre, and while I do drive, many of my gigs will be me walking to the venue or travelling by tram with my guitar, modeller, mic and stand plus cables, so a smaller and/or lighter unit is a benefit.

 

I'd considered the blackstar but no neck pickup is a no go for the sounds I want unfortunately. 

 

Funny you mention a strat - my MIM was a brill guitar which I unfortunately had to sell a while ago to fund a house move, but I want something now with humbuckers ideally. 

 

The locking tuners thing certainly isnt a must for me, it's just a preference as I end up restringing on the move a lot, and across all my instruments it becomes tedious far too easily.

 

The difference in playability with a compact guitar is my biggest fear, which was why the Ibanez stood out to me.

All valid reasons for wanting small and portable, I have been through this exact process (except for the storage space issue) but you will have to accept the compromise:

 

If you want the compact shape for easy storing and carrying then the Ibanez is out, it is a full size standard guitar. If the Ibanez is acceptable due to it's increased playability, which I wholeheartedly agree with, then you can choose any standard size model. Sitting and playing on the sofa will be much nicer than on the travel guitar.

 

I also have back issues so I have moved back to guitar from bass. I went round loads of the shops with a set of scales to find the lightest I could. Different guitars in the same model range weight surprisingly different. Ended up with a Squier telecaster at 3kg. In the end I just built my own Esquire guitar out of the parts using an even lighter body from eBay (made out of paulownia) and stripped the parts off my Squier. Weights just under 2.3 kg. You could do the same and literally chop off the cutaways, or drill holes through it etc to save more weight as well as using lightweight tuners and hardware and discarding superfluous extras.

 

I have also played gigs seated on a bar stool to relieve pressure on my back - I felt a bit silly but no one commented.

If weight is the main requirement for a new guitar then the traveller skeleton type guitars are possibly the best option, but none have the pickup requirement you need. What about something even more cut back like the Aria Sinsonido or Yamaha Silent guitar type thing? Or maybe a Danelectro? My Vintage ZIP les paul juniors are a completely hollow sandwich in the Danelectro style and weight less than 2.5kg.

 

A decent gig bag with shoulder straps is really convenient to travel with in city centre and spread most of the weight across the shoulders so I don't think standard size is an issue.

 

The Donner model you indicate also doesn't have a neck pickup, it has a strat type middle pickup and a bridge humbucker which still won't give you the sound of a neck humbucker. You could always add another pickup in the neck on any of the models but it would add weight.

 

Plus (and not wanting to start any argument...) How much would you actually use 2 pickups? You can do a lot with just the tone knob or EQ on amp or an EQ pedal. I never have a problem getting a fatter clean sound or a spiky lead sound using presets on my multi effects with just one pickup on my tele. As you will know from your jazz bass, balancing pickup outputs is an art and often the EQ setting that sound good on one pickup sound terrible with the other. I would suspect that many people find one general sound and stick with that, just changing it up with the controls on the guitar (like I do) or by using EQ, pedals or presets.

 

Ultimately, it would be up to you to consider which compromise you are willing to accept or not.

[Dad3353]

You can do a lot with a Thinline Tele Deluxe, but for compact, it's hard to beat the Hofner Shorty guitars. Everything that full-sized will do, for much less than £200. It ticks all the boxes you need, I think. Worth a look..?

 

Thomann : Hofner Shorty Deluxe ...

[Crusoe]

SLG200 Series - Overview - SILENT guitar™ - Guitars, Basses & Amps - Musical Instruments - Products - Yamaha - UK and Ireland ?

[Mark Downy]

You can try the ZAD80CEOM AURA by Zager. I own one and it is superb, great playability, great sound, good for gigs. Nice size, the OM is compact than the full size so fits me great

[randythoades]

19 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

You can do a lot with a Thinline Tele Deluxe, but for compact, it's hard to beat the Hofner Shorty guitars. Everything that full-sized will do, for much less than £200. It ticks all the boxes you need, I think. Worth a look..?

 

Thomann : Hofner Shorty Deluxe ...

That looks like a great solution. I haven't seen one of these before.

[randythoades]

13 hours ago, Mark Downy said:

You can try the ZAD80CEOM AURA by Zager. I own one and it is superb, great playability, great sound, good for gigs. Nice size, the OM is compact than the full size so fits me great

The OP already has an acoustic and is looking to get an compact electric for under £400

[EdwardMarlowe]

I have a Steinberger Spirit I bought nearly twenty years ago. Mine is the GU type - the ones shaped a bit more like a guitar. It's also one of only two left handers I've ever seen in the UK. It was privately imported waaayyy back when they were being sold by MuiscYo. It was completely counterintuitive in some ways - totally *not* my aesthetic style - but at the time I wanted a guitar I could transport easily in hand luggage, and this hit the spot. There are a lot of travel type guitars that achieve being compact by reducing the scale. The Steinberger has a 'proper' scale (from memory, I think it's more Gibson than Fender), with a full size neck. The size reduction is achieved by the headless design, and the body being significantly smaller. (More so with the paddle ones.) 24 frets was interesting to try (I'm very much a 21 frets or GTFO guy, though being left handed I often have to compromise and accept that ugly little 22nd fret overhang on a Fender type). The headless set up while ,frankly, to my eyes utterly fugly, can't be faulted in terms of ease of tweaking the truss, and it stays in tune, especially in a gig bag, like no other guitar I've ever owned (and I've had some great ones on that score). The hardware is good stuff - particularly impressed with the bridge. The push-in arm works very well, it's stable, returns to pitch beautifully. The little leaver arrangement that renders it a de facto fixed bridge otherwise is clever and also works wonderfully well. All done and said, I can't fault it at all. If Fender made one that just, well, looked a bit more like it came out of the 50s, I'd consider it. It's a cracking guitar that plays like a full-size one but has the overall physical size of a banjo.
That all said, I'm going to be selling it over the next few months. I have too many guitars, want others, and need to sell some stuff to realise both space and the funds for buying them. If I had limitless space and funds, though, I'd probably keep it around. I still think it's ugly, but I really warmed to it as a piece of design, and it is nice to play. The Brompton bicycle of guitars...