For musicians who are constantly on the move, the dream of bringing their music anywhere is often met with the practical challenges of instrument portability and durability. Traditional bass guitars, while offering rich tones, are notoriously bulky and susceptible to environmental changes, making them less than ideal for travel. Enter the Travel Bass Guitar – a solution designed for musicians who refuse to compromise their passion while exploring the world. Among the innovations in travel instruments, carbon fiber travel bass guitars are emerging as a game-changer, offering unparalleled resilience, playability, and tone in a compact form. This article delves into why a carbon fiber travel bass guitar might be the ultimate companion for your musical journey, focusing on instruments like the OB660, which exemplifies these advancements.
The Advantages of Carbon Fiber in Travel Bass Guitars
Traditional travel instruments often face compromises – smaller bodies can mean weaker sound, and cheaper materials can lead to tuning instability and damage from temperature and humidity fluctuations. Wooden instruments, while cherished for their tonal qualities, are particularly vulnerable to these travel hazards. Carbon fiber changes the equation. Unlike cheaper instruments that might incorporate minimal carbon fiber for marketing purposes, high-quality travel bass guitars like the OB660 utilize a significant percentage of woven carbon fiber. This results in instruments that are not only lightweight but also exceptionally strong and stable.
Durability and Temperature Stability for Traveling Musicians
Imagine leaving your bass guitar in the car trunk on a hot day or trekking through varying climates. A traditional wooden bass could warp or crack under such stress. Carbon fiber, however, boasts remarkable temperature resistance. The high carbon fiber content in instruments like the OB660, ranging from 65-75% in the body and neck, ensures structural integrity even in extreme temperatures. This resilience is a major advantage for commuting musicians and adventure travelers who expose their instruments to diverse environments.
Enhanced Resonance and Sustain
Beyond durability, carbon fiber enhances the sonic qualities of a travel bass guitar. Contrary to the misconception that carbon fiber instruments sound sterile, high-quality carbon fiber construction contributes to a surprisingly warm, woody, and articulate tone, as seen in the patented soundboard of the OB660. The density and stiffness of carbon fiber also translate to superior resonance and substantially longer sustain compared to instruments made from less advanced materials or those with lower carbon content. This means your notes will ring out clearer and longer, enriching your playing experience even in a travel-sized instrument.
Ergonomic Design for Comfortable Travel Bass Playing
Travel should be about exploration and enjoyment, not physical strain. The design of the OB660 carbon fiber travel bass prioritizes ergonomics, understanding the needs of musicians who might be playing in various settings, sometimes for extended periods.
Manzer Wedge for Reduced Wrist Strain
One of the standout ergonomic features is the Manzer© wedge design. This innovative angling of the guitar body allows the natural weight of your fretting arm to assist in pressing down on the fretboard. This seemingly small detail significantly reduces wrist stress, especially during long practice sessions or performances while traveling.
Beveled Edges for Enhanced Comfort
Comfort extends to the body contours of the OB660. Arm and rib bevels are incorporated to soften the edges of the instrument where it rests against your forearm and ribs. These bevels eliminate sharp edges, making the carbon fiber travel bass exceptionally comfortable to hold and play, whether you’re seated or standing.
Scoopaway Cutaway for Upper Fret Access
For bassists who explore higher registers, the OB660 features a scooped cutaway. This design maximizes access to the upper frets, allowing for comfortable playing in these ranges. Crucially, the scooped cutaway is carefully engineered to maintain an internal volume comparable to a non-cutaway travel bass, ensuring that the instrument doesn’t sacrifice tonal depth for playability.
OB660: The Premier Carbon Fiber Travel Bass Guitar
The OB660 carbon fiber travel bass is more than just a travel instrument; it’s a performance-ready bass designed for portability without compromise. Several key features contribute to its status as a premier travel bass guitar.
Optimized Scale Length and Playability
The 27-inch scale length of the OB660 strikes a balance between acoustic volume and playing comfort. Similar to a Gibson Les Paul, this scale length provides good acoustic projection while maintaining lower string tension, making fretting more comfortable, especially for extended playing sessions. The 1.75-inch (44 mm) nut width and shallow C neck profile further enhance playability, accommodating a wide range of hand sizes and playing styles.
Patented Removable Neck for Ultimate Portability and Customization
A game-changing feature of the OB660 is its patented removable neck design. This innovative mechanism allows for the neck to be detached in under 20 seconds, significantly reducing the instrument’s size for packing and transport. Beyond portability, the removable neck also offers fine-tuning of the neck angle. This allows musicians to adjust the action for different playing styles – a lower action for lighter playing or a higher action for techniques like heavy slapping. This adaptability is a significant advantage for bassists who play multiple genres and require varied string setups.
Premium Components for Superior Sound
The commitment to quality in the OB660 extends to its components. It features premium appointments typically found in higher-end instruments, including 18:1 precision tuners for accurate and stable tuning, authentic bone nuts and saddles for optimal tone transfer, ebony bridge pins, and D’Addario® round-wound phosphor bronze strings known for their warm and balanced acoustic tone. These premium components work in harmony to deliver a rich and resonant sound that belies the instrument’s travel-friendly size.
Uncompromising Tone in a Travel Bass Guitar
Tone is paramount for any serious musician, and travel should not necessitate sacrificing sound quality. The OB660 carbon fiber travel bass is meticulously designed to deliver a full and rich acoustic tone despite its compact dimensions.
Rich and Full Acoustic Tone
Careful orchestration of materials and design elements contributes to the impressive tone of the OB660. The unidirectional carbon fiber top, the mixed twill and proprietary layup blend of the back and sides, the offset soundhole, and even the bridge and fretboard materials are all chosen and engineered to maximize tonal output and quality in a small instrument.
Reliable and High-Quality Electronics
For amplified performance, the OB660 is equipped with JourneyTek™ proprietary passive piezo pickups. These high-output, German-made piezo elements provide a transparent and balanced representation of the instrument’s acoustic tone without requiring batteries. The reliability of these pickups is even highlighted by a remarkable anecdote of an artist performing live with an OF660 (a similar model) after it was submerged in water for hours – a testament to the resilience of both the instrument and its electronics. For bassists seeking more tonal control, an active stereo bass pickup upgrade is also anticipated, further enhancing the versatility of this travel bass guitar.
The Ultimate Travel Companion: Overhead™ Travel Case
Completing the travel-ready package is the patented BG001 Overhead™ collapsible travel bass backpack case. This case is specifically designed for the OB660, featuring premium materials and conforming to standard carry-on dimensions (22*14*9 inches). It provides excellent protection for the instrument while also offering ample space for accessories like pedals, cables, laptops, and tablets. Traveling with the OB660 and its Overhead™ case elevates the entire travel bass experience, making it seamless and enjoyable.
In conclusion, the OB660 carbon fiber travel bass guitar redefines what’s possible in a travel instrument. It proves that you don’t have to compromise on tone, playability, or durability when you need a bass that can go anywhere. For musicians who value both their craft and their wanderlust, investing in a high-quality travel bass guitar like the OB660 is not just a practical choice – it’s an investment in taking your music to new horizons.
