The wildcard…and I love it! The Yamaha ‘silent’ guitar plays and sounds great…

ONCE the routine stuff’s out the way I make up a meal plan and shopping list for the coming week…then we head into Glasgow.

As well as the weekly shop, we’re on a mission to explore the possibilities for a flying with a second guitar.Either a folding guitar or something that has a neck that can be bolted/unbolted and stowed in a suitcase.

First stop is Jimmy Egypt’s on Great Western Road. He has a wood-bodied Journey guitar that has a detachable neck and fits in a complaint cabin bag. I like it, but Margaret’s not convinced. Also, I’d prefer something that can go in a suitcase (we’ll already have a National guitar checked as normal) and our hand/cabin baggage allowance is spoken for.

Next up is Fender acoustasonic tele. The ‘cheaper’ player edition. It’s fantastic and pretty lightweight. Downside is the bolting and unbolting the neck to get it to fit in a. checked bag.

Next stop is GuitarGuitar, mainly to see how the £100 EastCoast telecaster sounds through an acoustic amp. It has a P90 pickup in the neck position and although not the best guitar in the world its sound is passable. Like the acoustasonic it would need the neck bolted/unbolted but the main deterrent is that it weighs a ton.

Finally I try the ‘wildcard’ – a Yamaha silent guitar. It’s a bit of an oddity but as soon as I hold, play and hear it I’m smitten. It’s nothing short of brilliant. Cheaper than the acoustasonic player by a few hundred quid too. But…although the body frame comes off, the main part of the instrument is 98cm long which is pushing it a bit size-wise for a checked suitcase, even fitted diagonally.

It’s down to an acoustasonic (player edition) tele or the Yamaha silent. We’re still deliberating,

In short, the Yamaha is a bit of a one trick pony, may cause a ‘size’ issue but is cheaper – the acoustasonic is more versatile, more expensive and has the inconvenience (and maybe has;e) of having to bolt/unbolt the neck.

Of course the easiest option would be to put two Nationals (signature model and a resolectric jnr.) in their Reunion Blues continental voyager bags (which are good enough to be checked in their own right) in a flight bag for golf clubs, The combined weight is less than 23kilos. However, everywhere I look, ‘the rules’ state that any oversize ski/golf etc bags must only contain the relevant sports equipment and no personal effects our accessories. I can’t see any reason why…and we’ve not been able to get an answer…

And before anyone asks, neither ourselves nor any promoters/bookers can afford (or are willing to pay for) us to take any more than two checked bags!