TiHabanero

Other than guitars, harmonica and mouth harps, what musical instruments do folks here bring with them on tour?

PedalingWalrus

Ukulele. In theory… got the carrier figured out and did daytrips with it but not multiday tour yet. Would need another mysician to go with to make it work well

Nyah

Flute and tinwhistle. I also play fiddle and mandola but have yet to try to bring either of them. I saw someone offering a banjo carrier but got no response when I inquired about it for the mandola.

mdarnton

For the hardcore..
https://www.mundomusicgear.co.uk/products/airpannier

mev

From the name, I thought someone had figured out how to turn a pannier into a bagpipe

rifraf

Thanks for the link.
Been toying with taking up the mandolin and had been wondering how I might haul it around, and this looks like a definite contender

mdarnton

FWIW, I carry around violins, and I have a cheap and thin backpack that compresses into one of its own pockets that works, as well as sometimes in a pannier. Mandolin cases are smaller, so either would work fine. In both cases I use a strap to make sure the violin won't jump out on the way.

Yan 

Too bulky unfortunately, even compact instruments. The only ones that can work are harmonica and the flute variants. Water and crash damage are also issues.

tcs

Another thread on this:

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/9...s-touring.html

tcs

Somewhere I ran across a tongue-in-cheek bike touring rule list that included a prohibition on bringing an instrument you were not proficient on.

tcs

Cyclotourists can - and have- schlepped along all manner of instruments.


(image credit Bonnie Wong)

Harmonicas have been by far the #1 instrument in discussions past. Sure: simple system flutes, fifes, folk flutes, recorders, pennywhistles, Native American plains-style flutes, ocarinas, pan flutes, etc. Jaw harps. Perhaps melodions (hmm...bulky) for the keyboard player. Something you can sing along with as you play? Kalimbas, concertinas.


June Siple, Hemistour (from National Geographic May '73)

70sSanO

About 15 years ago I transitioned from guitar to ukulele and never looked back. Apart from missing the low end strings on a guitar, there is hardly anything I can’t play on a uke. The chord shapes are the same as a guitar and the fret stretches are insane.

I haven’t toured with a uke, but I’ve ridden with one. Both Outdoor and Enya make polycarbonate carbon ukuleles in soprano (21”) and concert (23”). They are pretty impervious to weather.

I don’t own either of those brands, but I do have a carbon fiber tenor.

John

dgodave

9 piece double bass drum kit with 42" gong.

PedalingWalrus

yeah. I have a a CF Blackbird tenor

70sSanO

Very nice uke. I had a Clara and have a KLOS tenor. The Ekoa is not as indestructible as carbon fiber.

John

Nyah

This carrier would probably be the best way to carry a well-protected stringed instrument that's at least as small as a banjo:
https://theradavist.com/rambler-bags...-banjo-packin/

If anyone gets a response from the maker, please post about it here.

staehpj1

This old thread from way back when was mine. It was interesting in that it lead to me building a few hundred travel sized dulcimers (actually ranging from full sized to tiny) and strumstick like instruments (some strung and fretted like a dulcimer, some like a guitar, and some various hybrids). It became more like a business than a hobby and tried to take over my life I wanted to be retired and it seemed to be a full time business. I intended to market a few of them to backpackers and other travellers, but the market for them seemed to be more the general muscian community and there was a good bit of demand. I wound up shipping them all over the world and fought to keep it a hobby. The goal was always to limit the number of orders. I finally decided that if I kept building at all I was not going to win the battle to keep it a part time hobby so I just stopped taking orders recently.

Also a bit oddly I the founder of this particular incarnation of the instrument never took one on my tours or backpacking other than in the car for the coast to coast drive a couple times. If you should look up my facebook page for the instruments, please don't comment or post on it always generates a flurry of interest and I have a hard time saying no (but I will). I leave it up and open mostly to service past customers.

MAK

I see that it's rated to 140kg. Handy if you need to lug 308 lbs. or 616 lbs. if you get two. I can hear the twang of spokes exploding.