Stewart Electric Travel Guitar - Stow-Away (Red)

Out of the box the strings were tangled so badly that I could not connect the neck to the body. Had to take it to the shop and get it re-strung. It came with no instructions on how to assemble

Before I get to the instrument, in order to give you some confidence in my review, you should know that I am a professional, having toured with Sonny Rhodes, Larry Garner, Filmore Slim and Joe Louis Walker. I also designed and built a few tube amps under the trade mark, Hep Cat Amps®℠ from 1996 through 2005. I was excited when I saw an instrument on an episode of, "Shark Tank”, which had a folding neck design for travel. But, when I did a search for that instrument, I not only found it, but this one, as well, with a neck that actually detaches and stores inside the guitar’s body for travel - BRILLIANT - if it actually plays and sound good. Even though I've retired from touring, having a vacation home on the island of Isla Mujeres, Mexico, 12 miles off shore from Cancun, I fly with my guitar a lot. And, while I do always manage to get it in the overhead, I'm constantly hassled about it & always in fear of the day I'm unsuccessful, and my favorite instrument, a custom built, "Novax® Fan Fret", has to be checked. So, I decided to try one, and let me say, I wasn’t disappointed! A few years ago, I tried a smaller 'travel' guitar actually made by Fender®, but the playability was garbage & the basically 3/4 size seemed like a toy to me. The tone was not at all satisfactory, either. Enter the Stewart travel guitar. It plays very well, with decent action. It definitely does NOT feel like toy, or even like a travel guitar! A couple of plusses are the action, the playability & the use of, “Graphtech String Saver®" saddles. I'm able to set the action quite low without fret buzz, and was able to do so without having the frets dressed. The only negative I could find in the playability is that the fret dress at the edge of the neck could have been a bit better, but I really don’t feel them when I play it. Tonally, it’s not bad, either. There is a bit of unusual resonance in the body that will come out if you pick the open high ‘E’ string without muting the other strings, but I really don’t notice this when playing it. Basically, it sounds like what it resembles, a Fender® Strat®. It might benefit from different pickups. Pickups and tone are a very personal thing. I rarely find any guitar’s pickups to be totally satisfactory and usually wind up changing one, or more, of them out. I’m not sure I’ll do it with this guitar, though. It sounds pretty freakin' good as it is! Many players might just like the tone. One thing is certain, at only $600.00, there's room to modify, eh?! If you travel with your instrument, I highly recommend the Stewart™ Travel Guitar!

With nowhere to go when the pandemic struck last year, I decided to play the guitar after 40+ years of not picking one up. In May 2020, I bought a Schecter electric guitar. But since I travel a bit, I also searched for travel guitars. I tried a few (acoustic and electric). My search ended when I found the Stewart Stow-away Travel Guitar. I bought the black with pearl pickguard and standard single coil. The guitar looks beautiful. Action and playability are fantastic and so is the sound, even from this “60+ year-old newbie’s” strumming. It is fun to play. And the assembly/disassembly is a snap. It comes with a padded case that can be used as a backpack (the straps are hidden inside a back pocket). I absolutely love the Stow-Away. More importantly, Jim’s customer focus and service is outstanding.

I’m an airline pilot and travel a lot obviously. This guitar is good guitar even compared to my high end guitars. The fact it breaks down to such a small package for travel. WOW! I have a traveler guitar I have used for about 2 years and it’s not even in the same league with the Stewart. My American strat would win out in a heads up comparison but it’s still close. If you need a travel guitar this is it.

My Husband loves this guitar. He took it to work with him out of town and he said it’s a nice guitar and easy to carry around through the airport.

The search for a real travel guitar is over. This guitar is gig worthy. The neck is full size and well made. The body is a little smaller that a stratocaster. Assembly and disassembly is a snap. The electronics are high quality and the sustain/resonance of the guitar is as good as any I own, and I own many. This guitar is perfect for airline travel, or any travel, or using it on gigs at home. I have owned several travel guitars (backpacker, EG-1, Chiquita, to name a few). I sold each of the previous travel guitars because they are shaped and feel like toy guitars. And, none of them sounded like the Stewart travel guitar. One more thing, the guitar looks beautiful. The attention to detail and quality control is obvious.

I absolutely love this guitar. I have tried several and this is by far the best of them; by far. It is super easy to assemble and dissemble. It stays in tune, and perhaps most importantly it looks, feels and sounds great! Has the same feel as a real full size guitar (because it is one!). This is the first satin neck guitar I got, and I was a little worried I would not like it. But I love it, it is super smooth and fast. I travel so much for business I was never able to improve my skills; now I finally can. Thank you Jim. Oh, and by the way, Jim is awesome and has the best customer service I have ever seen.