My Martin Backpacker Guitar

(A page about my Backpacker acoustic travel guitar, including a large collection of Backpacker links.)

I'll tell you a story ...

One summer night found my neighbor Mary at my door, desperate over an assignment due the next day: she had to make a three-minute film of someone teaching something, and as her husband had gone off somewhere unknown, she now wanted me to be the subject, and according to her teacher's obnoxious rules no children, animals, computers or clutter would be allowed in the film because they were supposedly too confusing and/or distracting. (I think the teacher would have a nervous breakdown if she ever saw my house. :-))

We went over to Mary's house, where her first idea was to have me teach how to peel a banana. This was something her teacher had mentioned as an example, but I really balked at the idea of making a total fool of myself on film by taking three minutes to peel a banana.

Her second idea was that I should teach how to plug an old electric guitar into a little battery-powered clip-on practice amp. This did not seem to offer us three minutes worth of material either, but hey, I know: I'll go get my Backpacker guitar instead -- I know I can talk about it for at least three minutes!

So the following is more or less how the film went:

"Hi, my name is Tané, and I'm going to tell you some things about my guitar and teach you how to plug it into an amp."

"This is the famous Martin 'Backpacker' travel guitar, the most popular and well-known travel guitar. Backpacker guitars have been all over the world, and even out of this world -- people have taken them up on the space shuttle, to Antarctica, to the North Pole, to Mt. Everest base camp, and so on. I personally have taken this one across the country to Connecticut and back a couple times, with the only 'complication' being that some people see its long, thin black case and think 'gun'."

"I like to joke that it weighs about as much as a bag of chocolate chips, but it actually weighs about two pounds. Between the light weight and the small size it's almost like playing an air guitar -- like the body is just not there. I think this would make it a good guitar for young people because there's not the huge body to reach around. I've also read about a historical reenactment guy who uses one, because the Backpacker is unusual-enough looking that people who aren't familiar with it assume it's some sort of period instrument when seen in that context (though of course it's much cheaper and easier to play)."

"Some people who don't like the Backpacker say that it both looks and sounds like a canoe paddle, but I think it's very pretty, and that the small size gives it a nice kind of banjoesque sound." [plays some chords]

"This model of Backpacker has a built-in pickup down here where the strap connects [I point the bottom of the guitar at Mary while she zooms in], so you can plug it into an amp, which makes it sound like a really loud, full-size acoustic guitar."

*** To be continued ***
*** I'll type in more of this story sometime later when I'm in the mood, assuming I haven't forgotten it all by then ***

The rest of the story ...

In this section I'm going to talk about various other matters that didn't make it into the above story.

I got my Backpacker on eBay in January of 1999. I do believe in supporting local music stores (and there are some very good ones here in Santa Cruz that do get some of my money), but at the time I found the deal the guy was offering impossible to resist.

As a young teenager I would sometimes accompany my classical-guitar-teaching friend to a music store and watch/listen to her trying out the acoustic guitars. Yamaha, Gibson, etc. were OK enough guitars, but according to her Martins were the ultimate. So now many years later, I can play my own little Martin and think fondly back to those days. The Backpacker may be the lowest-priced guitar Martin puts out, but it's still beautifully made with careful attention to detail.

When making this web page I chose this particular wood background for the text (and adjusted its RGB balance to give it a warmer, redder tone) so that it would look as much as possible like the "top wood" of my Backpacker. But there's a fair amount of color variation and even type of wood variation from Backpacker to Backpacker -- when I saw one in a music store a few weeks ago I was really struck by what pale top wood and dark fretboard it had compared to mine. Around the same time I wrote to Martin asking what wood was used for the fretboard -- it wasn't named on their specs web page and didn't look like the rosewood fretboards on some of my other guitars.

Here's what I heard back from a very helpful Martin representative who I have since pestered with other questions as well:

The Martin Backpacker uses two different type of wood for the fingerboards. The first type is a reddish-orange wood named Paduak or Paduach. It is an African wood. The second is Morado. It is a Bolivian Rosewood. It has various shades of brown stripping.

So I guess the Paduak/Paduach is what I have.

While I don't generally play my Backpacker through an amp at home (more typically I would be sitting with it in the back yard, or in the kitchen playing a board game), in the living room I occasionally play it through my Fender Blues Junior (a nice basic little tube amp), and I also have a "Beatnik Burgundy" (!) Danelectro HoneyTone mini-amp (of the battery-powered belt-clip variety), that I take along with the Backpacker on trips mostly because other people have a lot of fun with it. As I had said above, IMHO hooking it up to an amp makes it sound like a loud, full-size acoustic guitar.

I got a note asking if I knew which guitar stands were appropriate for the Backpacker -- my only experience with this is that I have all my guitars hanging on the wall by means of "String Swing" guitar hangers (a short yoke attached to a block of wood). With the Backpacker I loop the strap over the yoke and then have the neck going up through the yoke, so that even though it kind of looks like it's hanging by the headstock, it's actually hanging by the strap.

More later ...

How to hold a Backpacker

The Backpacker's very light weight and slim shape make it easy to carry around, but unlike heavier, larger-bodied guitars neither its weight nor its shape serve to hold it in place while playing. At its worst, it can tip and slide all around, especially if you're sitting down and not wearing the strap, or you may find yourself using your hands and/or arms in ways that hold the Backpacker firmly in position but restrict your motion for playing. The standard Backpacker party line is just to Always Wear The Strap, but recently I had two strapless experiences :-) that I found very interesting and which I wanted to describe here, so here goes:

I was playing a Backpacker belonging to another person, who had the strap hitched way too high up for me to be able to comfortably wear and play it. Not wanting to mess with his preferred strap adjustment I was experimenting with different ways to sit, hold and play it, and what I came up with was to sit with one foot on the floor, the other leg bent so that my ankle rested on top of the first leg's knee, and the Backpacker held firmly in place by both legs so that it stuck up almost vertically.

I found this a really interesting way to play. My left arm, not being used to being held up so high while playing, would get tired pretty quickly, but my right hand and arm seemed to have much more freedom of movement than they do with more-standard playing positions. Usually when playing a guitar I have my right arm resting on it one way or another, but holding the Backpacker this way my right arm was totally free to make all kinds of swirly dramatic gestures while playing. I was really enjoying it.

Shortly afterwards I wound up taking an unexpected four-day cross-country train trip. Fortunately, I had my Backpacker along. Unfortunately, I did not know as many train songs as I would have liked to when finding myself in such a situation. :-) Anyway, despite train seats being larger than airplane seats there is still not room to have a guitar neck sticking out to the side when sitting next to another person, so I once again found myself seated as described above, with the Backpacker's neck sticking almost straight up. Once again it worked very nicely.

Fall semester of 2005 I took a beginning classical guitar class at the local community college, and because I don't have a classical guitar and am used to taking my steel-string Backpacker all over the place, yes, I took it to class every week. I faithfully rested my left foot on the footstool like all the other students even though because it had no curve to rest on my leg this had absolutely no effect on the Backpacker. So what I did do to hold it steady was to loosen the strap so that the end of the backpacker would be low enough to brace it against the inside of my right leg.

Here are some other pages I've found with suggestions (other than the standard Always Wear The Strap) for keeping your Backpacker stable while playing it:

Jed Marum's So What Do You Do With A Backpacker? page recommends tying the strap to the head of the guitar.

The Backpacker Classical Guitar Page seconds that recommendation, and also includes a letter from "a reader" who inserted BB-filled beanbags into the end of his Backpacker to help it stay in position while playing (though this would seem a little counterproductive if you wanted a lightweight travel guitar).

Matt Baker modified the strap to make a kind of stand that would "sit" on a seated person's leg.

"GuitarWingz" attach to your Backpacker's strap buttons to create an outline of a full-sized guitar body -- your choice of Dreadnought, Cutaway or Strat styles -- but unfortunately the company is currently for sale and their products not available.

The January 2006 issue of Martin's "The Sounding Board" newsletter includes a picture and description of the "pop-apart" plywood support Ed Rossi built to make his Backpacker "more stable while sitting and playing in his favorite easy chair".

And the July 2006 "The Sounding Board" includes a picture of the small stand Bud Strickland attached to his Backpacker to make it "more comfortable for classical positioning".

I should also note that for some people the Backpacker's small size and weight make it much easier to hold and play -- to quote from the January 1999 "The Sounding Board":

We have also seen a tremendous amount of interest and sales of Backpacker guitars to practicing Music Therapists because of its light weight, portability, and price. Practitioners have used it with clients who are bedridden and have even enabled folks who are physically challenged, or in wheelchairs, to be able to play the guitar again because they don't have to wrap themselves around a large-bodied Dreadnought. Some of the success stories we've heard have been nothing short of miraculous.

More Backpacker info and links

Check out Martin's online edition of its "The Sounding Board" newsletter. Every issue ends with a "Backpacker Stories" section containing stories about and photos of people who've taken their Backpackers to interesting places (the links in the "I'll tell you a story ..." section above all go to issues of "The Sounding Board") -- check them out and maybe send in a photo/report of your own!

Martin introduced the Backpacker in 1991, and they are now manufactured at Martin's Navojoa, Mexico plant. Here are Martin's official pages listing the specs for the Steel String Backpacker, Classical Backpacker, Backpacker Mandolin, and now-discontinued Backpacker Ukelele. You can take a look at Martin's official timeline page to see how the Backpacker fits into the history of Martin guitars. And check out Martin's PDF catalog page for the different backpacker models, featuring this story of "The origin of the Martin Backpacker":

One day in the early 1990s, [Martin Chairman and CEO] Chris Martin was perusing the craft booths at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. An unusual guitar designed by luthier Robert McNally caught his eye and ear. Chris felt the instrument had enormous potential, and Martin Guitar entered into a collaboration with Bob McNally to manufacture and distribute these unique instruments.

Backpacker-designer Bob McNally also designed its relative the Strumstick. Check out his comments on Backpacker design choices in a letter written to Acoustic Guitar Magazine. And here's a picture of Bob McNally with all the Backpacker models, that guitarist Chris Newman took during a Martin factory tour.

Here's a nice Classical Backpacker page by someone whose name doesn't appear anywhere on the page, among other things featuring some discussion of making hard-shell cases for the Backpacker.

Musician's Friend's backpacker pages include large numbers of customer reviews of all the different models, plus being a good place to buy one if your friendly local stores don't carry them.

zZounds also has a page of user reviews of the steel-string Backpacker in addition to selling it.

Amazon.com also has some customer reviews of the steel-string Backpacker in addition to selling it.

Peter Widenmeyer's German Classical Backpacker page features detailed descriptions, photos and maintenance information auf Deutsch.

Jed Marum wrote a long article about his "rewired" (different string gauges and tunings) Backpacker "Emily".

Check out jazz guitarist and strolling minstrel Gerry Gessie's Ambassador of the Martin Backpacker page.

Harmony Central has some pages of detailed user reviews of both the Steel-string Backpacker and Classical Backpacker.

"Better Guitar"'s great Backpacker page features a detailed review followed by many user reviews.

Henry Matthes wrote a Backpacker review for the Wholenote On-Line Guitar Community.

MusicianREVIEW.com has many reviews of the Steel-string Backpacker and one of the Classical Backpacker.

The "NBC Internet Consumer Reviews" site features some Classical and Steel String Backpacker reviews.

Playboy Magazine's Backpacker review kind of cracked me up: Be a "Wandering Jimmy Page wannabe"! Impress "hiker chicks"! Etc. etc.

About.com has a page for Martin Backpacker reviews, but there's only one review there so far.

Frank Ford's FRETS.COM Museum Martin Backpacker page has some pictures and description. BTW, there is also a Backpacker Mandolin -- see this FRETS.COM page for more information.

This John Jennings page features a photo of him playing his Backpacker.

Mister Mac the pirate plays a Backpacker.

Ani DiFranco tours with a Backpacker in addition to many other guitars -- scroll down this page to see a picture of her playing it at a Not In Our Name benefit concert.

Recording artist Ravi traveled around Europe with his Backpacker -- here you can see two pictures of him with it.

Jon Anderson of Yes has been touring with a Backpacker modified to be a MIDI guitar with a viola headstock -- scroll down this page a bit to see a picture and description of it.

Singer-songwriter Bobby Sweet has traveled around the world with his Backpacker -- on this page you can see pictures of him with it in Nicaragua and Mali.

Bill Thompson performs at birdwatching festivals with his Backpacker -- he has a blog post about his guitar and how it was accidentally smashed, and another about how it was repaired.

The Dandy Warhols did a "mini-radio tour" featuring "mini" instruments including a Backpacker.

Here you can see Carole Nelson of Irish jazz/pop/celtic band "Zrazy" playing a Backpacker.

Joe Sacher has been working on creating a waterproof bag for his Backpacker.

Chris Register's "Traveling Musician's Delight" is a nice Backpacker review in the context of his travels through North and South America.

I had mentioned above how some people see the Backpacker's "long, thin black case and think 'gun'" -- well, read Willet's story of what happened when someone had that thought and reported him to the police!

For that matter, local guy Sean Monterastelli used a hardshell rifle case to carry his Backpacker on a cycling trip from Alaska to South America, but when his group got snowed in in Montana he started wishing there was a rifle in there instead.

Bass Backpackers?

I went to an Ani DiFranco concert here in Santa Cruz on July 3, 2001, where she did her encore song on a Backpacker. She's kind of short, enough so to make the Backpacker look bigger than usual to me in comparison, which gave me a weird feeling -- I kept thinking "wait a minute, that looks like a Bass Backpacker." :-)

Sometime after that I got a letter from John Cafarella in Australia:

I've recently bought a fretless bass that looks exactly like a backpacker. It is just a little longer, so it's actually a short scale base. It's fitted out with a decent bass piezo pickup too.
 
I've recently fitted it with a stainless steel spike about 1 1/2 feet long that screws into the end, so I can play it upright bass style. Way cool!

When I asked him whether it was custom made or a general commercial product, he said that as far as he could tell it was custom -- he had bought it second-hand in a local music shop, and there was no ID on the headstock or elsewhere.

And check out this picture from the July 1999 issue of Martin's "The Sounding Board" newsletter, featuring a jam session with "the world's last stone-age tribe on Irian Java, New Guinea in East Indonesia."