Ktone Travel Guitar
Ok, I admit it. I was seduced by the low low price. This Ktone travel guitar, found cheap on ebay, is apparently a knockoff of the Hofner Shorty. The Shorty gets reasonably good reviews, so I took a chance on this one. After a few minutes with the Ktone, it became very clear that the flaws in workmanship and detail far outweigh the price savings.
Turns out, sometimes you get exactly what you pay for… So, I’m now turning my attention to the significantly more expensive, but undoubtedly waaaay better Traveler Guitar Escape EG-1 Vintage. I had a chance to play it at a local GC, and this one looks to be a winner.
Here’s some pictures of the Ktone guitar, which start off promising and then go downhill fast:
June 13, 2011 @ 8:34 am
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steinberger or hohner licenced variations have a leg stop thing on them that flicks out so it can be played seated. my partners dad played one for around 16 years and gigged it heavily during that period, i personaly havent played it as it is a left handed, but he reconed that it is the best guitar for tuning stability, and he gigged it without backup, 3 refrets later and its now retired. the only issue ive heard is that the double ball ended strings are a pain in the neck to get
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September 13, 2011 @ 1:47 am
Hello John. I’m new to your pretty amazing homepage. found it while trying to find out what capacitors are for.
I travel a lot, a bit too much actually, and since I’m lefthanded, I can’t just borrow any old guitar when inspiration strikes. So I’m going to build a main guitar, but have it be short enough for onboard lugagge. I stumbled over strandberg guitarworks (http://guitarworks.thestrandbergs.com) and t was like the fog clearing over my own vision of what it should look like, fanned frets and all.
as a bonus, the lace alumitones are very interesting. It would actually be cool if you and your megabrain could check them out. Lace isn’t giving them enough love; they don’t have enough information on their homepage, and their are almost only distortion-drenched soundbytes of the humbuckers out there.
Anyways, I’m going to spend alot of time reading your blog and seeing your videos when I’m on the road again. Great stuff!
September 13, 2011 @ 11:13 am
Hi there,
Those strandberg guitars are nice! I see the logic and the ergonomics of fanned frets, but I’ve never tried them. Can’t imagine how they feel…
Have you seen the Novax guitars, http://www.novaxguitars.com as played by Charlie Hunter. (He’s insane! e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B7btsk6ASE )
Those alumitones are interesting. You’re right, they should have way more info on their website about them!
-John
September 14, 2011 @ 3:10 am
8o! He is really amazing! I’ve heard his name before, but wasn’t moved to do a search on him. His rendition of “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” is awesome!
I know Novax guitars, because they patented the fanned fret design (even if it’s almost ancient; I first saw them at the local museum’s collection of medieval and barock instruments). But I don’t really like the bodyshapes they come up with, because they don’t look any more ergonomic than a Stratocaster. They also do custom instruments, but their default design isn’t that travel friendly, meaning that their design for a travel-guitar will have to be a compromise between portability on the one hand and sound and ergonomics on the other.
What I like so much about the Strandberg guitar, is that it’s short, light and portable for other reasons than portability, so there isn’t the inherent compromise of other travel guitar designs. It’s light because he found that the light materials enhance the sound. It’s small because the thoughts he put into how to make an ergonomic instrument happened to result in a smallish instrument and not “how can I make an instrument that fits into the overhead compartment”
I’ve read a couple of reviews of fanned fret instrument, and the one review that sold me went something like: “We are no fans of fanned frets, but to our surprise, it felt very natural”
Now, the problem with these guitars, and the reason that they might not be the thing you are looking for, is of course that they are way too expensive for a secondary instrument that should only serve as something to noodle on when you’re on the road. But you have to admit that they look more ergonomic than the Traveler Guitar Escape or Steinberger, with or without the leg stop.
For me, my dream guitar toujour would be a Strandberg, maybe with the technology of the Tyler Variax and the Moog guitar chucked in there for good measure :p
September 14, 2011 @ 3:40 am
Oh yeah regarding the Alumitones: I did find a surprising amount of user information on German forums and apparently they sound breathtakingly horrible when they are coupled with other pot values than 250k, so beware. With 500k, the humbuckers apparently almost sound like a bad piezo. I personally am more interested in the Aluma 90
September 15, 2011 @ 4:25 pm
“Just a Closer Walk with Thee” : damn!!! i’m always dumbfounded watching him play. Saw him play live a few times with TJ Kirk, always an incredible experience.
I ended up buying a Traveler escape eg-1, with the larger body-shape, and it’s actually been a great guitar to travel with.
You may have to just build that dream-guitar some day! I noticed that Strandberg sells necks, so you might be able to put together your own….
-John
September 20, 2011 @ 2:30 pm
Just watched your review – and immediately felt reminded of my own Hoefner Contemporary Series Shorty. Also bought for around 80 Euros off ebay, the wood of the neck is crappy, usually used to heat the oven of the working hut this miniguitar was made in.
Its bridge does not allow any correct intonation, it sits not exactly in the right place. Also the screws do not stand correctly in their threads.
Fret ends have been so sharp, they even ripped the skin of my fingers while sliding alongside. I bought them a professional fretjob at my luthier’s.
Nor the tuners are able to hold tuning, they’re not even evenly mounted.
The whole guitar is a mess.
I am switching over to a G#-Guitar with only 3/4 scale, but it has not arrived yet.
But I still hope it’d be of better quality.
Hope, you ‘re happy with the Escape.
Rock on,
Jochen
September 20, 2011 @ 3:04 pm
Hi Jochen,
Sorry to hear it! This does seem to back up my theory that the K-tone is actually the same guitar as the Hofner. But I had thought the Hofners would receive better QC. I guess not…
Good lucky with the G#! I really wanted a full-scale neck, and I’m enjoying the Traveler.
Cheers,
John
November 1, 2011 @ 3:44 am
first off, i love the site! i’ve been working on my own guitars for almost as long as i’ve been playing (almost 24 years now), but it’s always nice to have videos to use as a “refresher course”. it’s also nice to learn new tricks that other people come up with when working on our gear!
as far as the Ktone, well, that really sucks. it’s been a long time since i’ve seen a guitar that poorly manufactured (and that’s counting the mid-90’s Indonesian Squiers and Ibanez’s!!!) the Traveller brand guitars are a MUCH higher-quality instrument, and i’ve enjoyed playing around on LP-style Traveller my local shop has. still, at almost $500, they are a bit pricey unless you travel a lot and plan on getting a lot of use of it.
about twelve years ago, i owned a Steinberger Spirit, and loved that guitar. it was made out of solid maple, but being as small as it was, it didn’t weight very much at all. the trem worked well (although they are very stiff since they use one large, thick spring), and had a lock to use it as a hardtail if you wanted (or if a string broke). mine was Korean-made, and very high quality: the only thing i didn’t like were the EMG Select pickups, which tend to be fairly weak and lifeless. that was an easy swap, though.
one of your previous commenters is right: all “L”-style Steinbergers (the “paddle shaped” ones) have a flip-down leg rest for playing seated. it works wonderfully, and i’ve always wondered why more makers of oddly-shaped guitars, like flying V’s, don’t use a similar contraption to make seated playing a lot easier. and when you stand, you just flip it up and it lays flush against the body and is hardly noticeable (it’s spring-loaded, so it won’t flop around). then again, knowing how Ned Steinberger’s mind works, he probably had the foresight to patent it early on!
anyway, when i bought my Steinberger Spirit, it actually cost me abut $550!!! but that was before Gibson bought out Steinberger, so i’m not sure if the quality has gone down, although the price has. i think they run closer to $350-$400 now, but there are always plenty available on eBay for a good price if you don’t mind a used one. the BIG thing you need to keep in mind about Steinbergers is that they use special strings with balls on each end. D’Addario, GHS, LaBella and a few other manufacturers make the strings, but sometimes it can be difficult to find a local shop that actually carries them (however, as much as i dislike GC, they almost always have at least D’Addario double-ball strings in stock, at least the stores here near Denver). but, if you order from a place like JustStrings.com, they always have a lot of different double-ball strings in stock, for very good prices. you can also find string adapters that allow you to use regular guitar strings on a headless Stein!
berger, but the cheapest adapters i’ve seen are around $35.
all in all, i still miss that Steinberger. it wasn’t one of the top-of-the-line older carbon fiber models, but it was great for sitting on the couch, taking to impromptu rehearsals or gigs, and generally just carrying around, and it was extremely well made. plus, my back loved it! i think mine probably only weighed around 6 pounds or so. finding strings wasn’t as difficult as i’d thought, and my local shop was happy to keep the D’Addario ones in stock for me at the time, because they ordered a ton of D’Addario stuff every month anyway and they knew i’d be in every few weeks to pick up a couple sets (this was a couple years before it became super-easy to find stuff like that online. pre-eBay!!)
otherwise, you might want to check out the Xaviere JTT models sold by GuitarFetish. they’re single-humbucker LP-shaped guitars, but they’re made with actual wood: alder bodies and bolt-on maple necks. they have a small, but regular headstock with regular tuners, string-thru body with TOM bridge and a nearly-normal scale length of 24″ (33″ overall). i have a friend that bought one, and it’s a surprisingly fun and well-made guitar, especially because it only cost about $120! while it is an Asian import and needs a little tweaking, the initial setup was minimal and no more than most other guitars need. he did have to run a file lightly over the ends of the frets a few times, but other than that, it was just your basic action setup out of the box. it also comes with a GFS humbucker (among us lovers of inexpensive LP-style imports, GFS pickups are considered very good sounding for import aftermarket pickups).
at least based on your Ktone video, his JTT is LIGHTYEARS better as far as quality is concerned. GuitarFetish also sells a small gigbag to go along with the guitar, for an additional $19 or $20, and it’s got “backpack straps” and two additional pockets: if i’m remembering correctly, the larger pocket might actually fit your iPad, so it would make a convenient little travel package!
overall, if you’re still looking for a travel guitar, the Xaviere JTT (at least the one that i played with) seems to be a pretty solid deal. i normally play Gibson-scale guitars, and i didn’t have any trouble getting used to the JTT’s 24″ scale, maybe just a minute or two before i totally forgot about it (although if you’re used to 25″ or 25.5″ scale lengths, you might want to use the next bigger string gauge so it doesn’t feel floppy). i’ve never personally ordered anything from GuitarFetish, but they have a pretty good reputation and a good return/exchange policy too.
sorry that was so long-winded, but i thought i’d just throw that out there without splitting it into three or four different replies.
November 1, 2011 @ 9:43 am
Hey Cat,
Thanks for the detailed reply. I ended up buying the Traveler EG-1 goldtop, and it’s obviously worlds better than the K-Tone. But you’re right, it was a bit pricey (even with industry discount). The fit and finish are excellent, the neck is nice, and the total size is outstanding. It’s about 10″ at its widest, and 28.5″ long with the ingenious headstock and tuner placement.
As with your Spirit, the pickup is a bit weak (and would be kind of a bummer to replace, after already spending this much).
It also has a built-in headphone amp with aux in, which is convenient though not particularly high quality.
I’ve never really liked the look of the Steinbergers, but I’ve also never played one, and that might win me over 🙂
I’ve bought some stuff from GuitarFetish and they were great. I’m not sure how I missed that Xaviere JTT when I was looking at travel guitars – it looks like a great deal. My only issue with it really is the overall length. At 33″, it is a bit longer than I’d like for travel. Still, that’s 5″ shorter than a full-size guitar. Also, at 6 pounds, it’s a couple pounds heavier than the Traveler. Body shape and fit/finish appear to be pretty similar to the Traveler. If I had seen this before buying the Traveler, I may have just picked one up 🙂
Thanks again,
John
December 6, 2011 @ 4:53 am
December 6, 2011 @ 4:55 am
February 14, 2012 @ 10:36 pm
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March 29, 2012 @ 9:25 am
Can someone please explain how to setup (lower the action, intonate and chang strings on a Ktone guitar). The setup and trem is different from steinburg guitars. If someone can point me in the right direction, that would be greatly appreciated.. thanks
March 29, 2012 @ 5:39 pm
Hey Jon,
I returned that guitar, so I can’t put my hands on it, but reviewing the pictures I posted above, I can see:
– the bridge has two large screws for adjusting string height. Loosen the set screw on the side, then adjust the big screws to raise/lower the strings.
– To adjust neck relief, remove the truss rod cover (plastic triangle with three screws next to nut, says “Ktone” on it) – adjust truss rod as with any guitar.
– To intonate, there are screws on each saddle facing towards the pickup, to move the saddle forward/back.
– And changing strings should be just like any other standard electric guitar.
For more info on any of those things, consider a book like Dan Erlewine’s “How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great”:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0879306017/planetz
-John
March 30, 2012 @ 3:36 am
This one is different than yours. The one i have is kinda like a knock off of the steinberger Synapse Guitar but the trem on the ktnone is different. I can’t seem to get access to the 2 points to lower the action on it.. Overall these guitar i have is well built but i need to lower the action on it as it feels like high wire fretwalk.. The ktone i have is similar to http://www.steinberger.com/tech20080004.html
Anyone know how to lower the action?
March 30, 2012 @ 9:55 am
Glad to hear that you got some reasonable quality from Ktone! I’m sorry I can’t help you with the Steinberger style setup- I’ve never worked with one.
Maybe Cat MacKinnon could reply, if he’s still following this thread.
-John
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here is the link to it in case anyone is interested:amzn.to\13Gvytc
February 28, 2014 @ 10:41 am
June 6, 2014 @ 3:12 pm
June 10, 2014 @ 11:57 am
actually in pretty decent condition to be honest. maybe because you got it
on ebay or something??
i’m not saying it a fancy guitar, but mine’s not quite that bad lol
August 29, 2014 @ 12:31 pm
reattach once you’ve arrived at your destination.. it’s what I do with one
of my strats and it’s trouble free
November 2, 2014 @ 10:35 pm
been searching for a travel electric. This is very helpful. Blessings.
steve
November 26, 2014 @ 6:15 am
neck looks nothing like the one you demonstrated,!!!everything is tight,no
loose parts.and it sounds really good for the price,i recommand this
fun,cheap guitar,and girls love it!!!!have a good day!!!
January 14, 2015 @ 6:49 pm
purchase? I am looking for a travel guitar as you are?
Ktone Travel Electric Guitar Review – Lincomatic's DIY Blog
January 25, 2022 @ 11:35 am
[…] posted a scathing review of the Ktone, complete with photos and a video. The guitar that .. reviewed was a disaster, with loose/unusable […]