Journey Instruments OF660M Overhead Carbon Fiber Review

Easy Care & Go Anywhere

I purchased this guitar a couple years ago for traveling between Tucson, Arizona and Maui, Hawaii. I'm amazed at how the guitar is not impacted by changes in humidity and is always in tune. The frets are smooth and the size and shape of the guitar makes it comfortable to play. If you're looking for a guitar that's easy to maintain and travel with, this one is a great choice. It… read more is worth the money. Mahalo,

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A joy to play

I have yet to actually travel with this guitar, and I've only had the neck off twice, so I can't vouch for the system's ruggedness. I also haven't played it through a PA so I can't say how good the pickup system is but it sounds nice through my little desktop amp. I can say though that this plays and sounds great for my gentle finger picking and all purpose noodling. The carbon… read more fiber construction seems to give it an unusual level of clarity and sustain and the neck- well, the words comfort and confidence come to mind... This won't replace your D-35 or other such sound cannons, but I think I could be happy with this as my only acoustic.

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Love it!

This thing lives up to everything they claim it to be. It's not perfectly in tune when you connect the neck back but it's close enough. They send an extra saddle if you like lower action and that helped out alot! The action is perfect, but my favorite thing about this guitar is the intonation is perfect up and down the neck (I'm very picky about this). Compared to other carbon fiber… read more guitars, with great specs, this thing isn't that expensive in my opinion.

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Great little guitar that can do it all!

With a road trip imminent, I decided to take a chance on the Journey Overhead after reading all of the positive reviews. This little guy is light, incredibly comfortable to hold, and has a full-size neck - so there's no "weirdness" found on other travel guitars. Yes, the head is a bit shorter to keep it compact, but that makes no difference whatsoever. The compact body produces… read more a nice sound, especially with the elongated sound at the top of the body. It sounds good plugged in too. One very nice surprise was the Grover mini LOCKING tuners! These aren't mentioned in the description, nor are they detailed in the specs. I was happy to see that Journey has up-specced their product - THANK YOU! Also included is a "high" bridge, suitable for heavy strumming or slide guitar, and a "low" bridge. Swapping them out takes about 30 seconds. As always, the support from my go-to rep, Charles Cummings, was fantastic. His attention to detail and expert advice was spot-on! Two days after talking to him about the guitar and making my decision, it was in my grubby hands.

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Amazing

this is the first carbon fiber guitar that I have owned, the sound is a little different because of that but the sound grows on you. and this guitar can go anywhere, I do a lot of travel from ship to plane to car and this one guitar can go every where with out issue... I use to have to spend most of my available play/practice time tuning and adjusting the truss rod on wooden guitars...… read more this one does not have those issues, take it out of the bag, connect it, maybe tune it a little and off you go.

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Fantastic (travel) guitar!

I have to admit I was a little skeptical at first but this guitar has completely won me over. I've had mine for six months now and played it several times a week. The beveled armrest and the scalloped back make this guitar incredibly comfortable. In fact, it's so darn comfy that I find myself grabbing it over my Taylor or Yamaha guitars, especially when I want to sit on the couch… read more and just noodle around. Of course it doesn't have the fullness of sound or richness in tone of my solid body guitars, but for what it is it sounds darn good. The fact that I can bring it anywhere and not have to worry about humidity or temperature changes, let alone getting caught out in the rain make this such a practical and enjoyable guitar to tote around. I've traveled internationally with my Journey guitar several times and it is a breeze to carry around especially in comparison to any other guitar. That I can wear this guitar as a backpack is so unbelievably convenient. And when I have other luggage it's easy to lay on top of my roller bag.The downside I've come across is when to plug this in. The feedback generated from playing when plugged in pretty much makes doing so impossible. But then again when would you really ever try to play live with this? Overall I am incredibly happy with his guitar and would highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to travel with a full-size guitar. And really who does? I know from having done so for years that is a real pain in the butt. This thing eliminates all of that hassle, sounds great and is a blast to play. Hope this helps if you are trying decide on a travel guitar. I can't recommend it highly enough if you're in the market for a travel guitar.

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Remarkable

Heading out of the country for a few days and needed a travel guitar. Got on the net and found this one. Got it out of the box and attached the neck and the darn thing was almost in tune. Not what I expected. It really is almost as loud as a Tennessee flat top. I play a D-35 and an SJ200 and this thing can hang. The thing that I find the most remarkable is the sustain. This… read more thing rings for days. Guess it's the material but this has more than double maybe triple the sustain of my other guitars.

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Much more than just a travel guitar!

I purchased the Journey OF660 because I wanted a guitar that I could easily take with me on an airplane. The big surprise for me was that this guitar sounds amazing! The sound is much warmer than what I expected from Carbon fiber. The lows are very reasonable for a guitar of this size and the volume is perfect. The quality is second to none. The bag is so easy to carry and store… read more in the overhead compartment of the airplane. Big kudos to Journey!

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Took this up a mountain

This past weekend I was able to take my new OF660M up to the top of Scotchman's Peak in Sandpoint Idaho. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. To be able to play a guitar at the top of a mountain with no other sound was first and formost a religious experience. There was rain in the air and snow on the ground, yet I didn't have to worry about this beauty warping.… read more And for an 8 Mile hike, I couldn't even tell I was lugging a guitar on my back. I'm 6'6 and 290 pounds (used to be over 400), so in no way an athlete, but I promised myself when I broke the 300 mark I'd buy one of these guitars and climb a mountain with it. I accomplished both things and it wouldn't have been possible without this guitar. But beyond the amazing hike, this sounds amazing as just a general guitar. I have a taylor 700 series and a Custom Grant Batson acoustic and honestly I'd put this up against them any day of the week. Its a little more snappy but the bottom end is huge and the treble still shines. I can't say enough great things about this. If you are on the fence, don't be. It wont disappoint.

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Excellent guitar, not just for travel.

I bought one of these burnt orange matte guitars from Sweetwater a few months ago on special order. I have lots of guitars, but I also have a thing for travel guitars and wanted to get something in the carbon fiber arena for hot summer days in the car, playing outdoor gigs and keeping on the couch in the winter (without a humidifier). I like that this is a full scale neck and I… read more figured if I'm going to get a carbon fiber / travel, I might as well get something that I can really travel with, so I settled on this guitar with the removable neck. I used it for a gig shortly after receiving it. It sounded great with the internal pickup. Since then, it's been my everyday guitar at home and for lugging around during the winter. It plays and sounds really nice. I don't even think of it as carbon fiber anymore. It's just one of my guitars. It's got a great look and it's really easy to play as well. I like that it came with a second saddle. When I first received it, the action was a bit high and I was assuming I'd have to shave down the saddle as I do sometimes with new guitars. Instead, I found they included a shorter saddle for those who like a lower/normal action. I also like that it has a truss rod - something some other carbon fibers don't have. It gives just a bit more control over slight action issues. Finally, I like that the neck is removable, but I didn't always want to remove it just to take it with me in the car, so I wanted to get a regular gig bag that would fit well. I bought the Gator 4G Series Gig Bag - Mini Acoustic Guitar (also from Sweetwater) and it fits perfectly. You might be able to find a better fitting git bag if you are able to try many out, but I bought this gig bag based solely on specs and it's a great fit. The guitar doesn't move around inside at all. I figured I'd mention this if anyone else is looking for a normal gig bag so you don't have to remove the neck all the time. I figure I'll only remove the neck if I actually fly with this thing.

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