Voyage-Air at the Cayman Islands

Recent Voyage-Air convert Eric Berg sent us this note about his adventures with his new Voyage-Air guitar at the Cayman Islands:

"The picture was taken at Sandy Cay on Grand Cayman a few weeks ago. I was part of a crew that was sailing a 37' Island Packet from Key Largo to the Panama Canal.

"I am very much enjoying my Voyage-Air. I purchased it last December, with this trip as well as future travels in mind.

"Needless to say, the environment aboard a sailboat isn't ideal for a guitar. It's wet and salty, high humidity, bumpy, and cramped for space.

"I am fortunate in that I own a number of nice acoustic guitars ( Martin OM-42, a 000-18GE, a D-35, and a Custom Shop 000-28, a Santa Cruz 00-28, and several vintage Yamaha FGs). I even bought a Calton case for traveling, but it's so heavy it was a pain to lug around. More to the point, I wasn't keen on subjecting any of my $2000+ guitars to the harsh marine environment.

"The entry-level VAOM-06 seemed to be just the ticket. The backpack case was the deal clincher.

"I had read about Voyage-Air guitars on the Usenet newsgroup , and knew that many of the forum participants reviewed them favorably. As there are no dealers in my area, I purchased mine on faith and word of mouth.

"I have not been disappointed. In fact, quite the opposite. While I wanted the portability and ease of conveyance in a travel guitar, I didn't want to sacrifice tone and playability.

"I am happy to report that my VAOM-06 has exceeded my expectations on all counts.

"In fact, I've taken the guitar to a number of jam sessions and received numerous compliments on its sound. When I fold it up at the end of a session, the look on people's faces is priceless.

"Just this past weekend, someone remarked that I've been bringing my Voyage-Air to jams more frequently than I have my other Martin guitars. Hmmm.....

"So, in a nutshell, that's my story. Congratulations to all of you on a wonderful, innovative product. I wish Voyage-Air continued success, and I will be certain to continue to be a "good will ambassador."

Regards,
Eric Berg

300Guitars.com Revisit

Last December, the guitar-nut website 300Guitars.com did a review of the amazing Voyage-Air VAD-06 Songwriter Dreadnought. You can click here to read the review. At the time, we mentioned that review here on this blog, and passed along our kudos and thanks.

Not surprising to us... is that Billy Penn (who runs the shop at 300Guitars.com) really likes the Voyage-Air Songwriter Dreadnought... so he's been following the news about Rusty Anderson playing a Voyage-Air on stage with the Paul McCartney band.

Billy Penn recently posted an update about the VAD-06 on his 300Guitars.com website, and here's a part of it:

• "They (Voyage-Air) are great guitars never mind the fact that they fold up (literally) for travel. The quality is excellent, sound superb, play like buttah and oh did I mention that they fold in half for travel…..? This is one of the products that comes along every once in a while and blows you away!

Thanks Billy. Click here to see the article on the 300Guitars.com website, where Billy's posted an extended video of the Voyage-Air guitar on stage with the Paul McCartney band.

Warren Haynes goes Voyage-Air

Warren Haynes is one of the hardest-working musicians in the biz. He's on the road all the time, playing everywhere with a variety of bands, and overall his music is just plain GREAT.

Numerous bands have claimed Warren - past and present. He's played with bands like: Government Mule, Allman Brothers, The Dead, and Greatful Dead’s bass-meister: Phil Lesh.

Notorious for sharing the stage with other musicians, Haynes has played with Dave Matthews, Kid Rock, Jimmy Herring, Jackie Greene, metal icon Jason Newsted and South African Vocalist Vusi Mahlasella. Whoa!

Still never heard of him? Warren Haynes has been named the 23rd greatest guitarist of all time (out of the top 100) by Rolling Stone magazine, and YES - that's a frackin-hard 'Top 100' list to break into!

In addition to performing, Haynes composes hit songs. Garth Brooks teamed up with Haynes to co-write a number-one hit that stayed on the charts for twenty weeks.

His Voyage-Air guitar? It's a VAOM-1C (OM-style, Premiere Series) and he keeps it on his tour bus. It's packed and ready to go wherever he does.

Cool guy. Great music. Voyage-Air? YES. Click here for Warren's website.

Voyage-Air on Facebook

By request, we've expanded our web presence to include an all-new Facebook page. On this new page you can find detailed pictures of our various guitars, as well as specifications and other information.

We'll also be posting picture albums from the various events attended by the Voyage-Air team, as well as short videos. Sign up as a Fan, and you'll see all the latest news and postings related to Voyage-Air - it's free!

There's also a discussion forum getting started on this Facebook page, and there will be some neat news and tips there for sure.

Click here to check it out!

Voyage-Air 'Wows' Reviewers at Guitar Player Magazine

Guitar Player Magazine - the most widely circulated guitar magazine in the United States - just now printed a full review of the revolutionary Voyage-Air VAOM-2C guitar in the monthly Gear Bench Test section of the magazine.

Dave Hunter was in charge of the review, and had this to say: "I'm a cynic by nature...so I was prepared to rip the VAOM-2C all up and down the shop. But you know, the major or immediate flaws just weren't there. In short, right from the start, the neck folded into place, locked, and voila, I had a full-sized guitar in my hands." Other comments from his review:

• "It (the guitar) yields a rich, balanced voice when attacked with a flatpick for either rhythm or lead work, with a firm, solid bass, sweet highs, and plenty of volume."
  
  
• "Played fingerstyle, it's still lively enough to pop out the notes, and it projects well even when you're not laying into it."
  
  
• "All in all, though, the VAOM-2C is extremely well rendered, both as a travel instrument and a guitar in general."

Whoa! You know what? Dave Hunter, and Guitar Player magazine confirmed what dozens of professional musicians around the world already know: the Voyage-Air Premiere Series guitars are stage-ready, recording-grade, 100% professional instruments that are easy to pack when you're on the road.

Ask Rusty Anderson, who played the same VAOM-2C guitar on stage with the Paul McCartney band on their European tour last December. Ask any of the Voyage-Air Artists / Endorsers: John Oates (of Hall and Oates), Zac Brown, Brad Paisley, Steve Miller and more.

Click here to see the entire Guitar Player Magazine article.

Echoes from the Shark Tank

It was last summer that Voyage-Air guitar was featured on the hit ABC-TV show Shark Tank, where Jeff Cohen, co-founder of Voyage-Air, was given a chance to raise investment capital to grow the company. That show helped put the new folding guitar before the public nationwide.

However, many were surprised that Cohen turned down the offer and walked from the Sharks. Recently, America's Best magazine, devoted to small business and entrepreneurs, did a story on the Shark Tank experience, fishing for comments from Cohen in particular.

"There’s something powerful about saying no. I actually did want to do a deal with them if they would have made me a reasonable offer than it would have been great. The deal was just so bad..." said Cohen.

Click here to read the whole story.

Delbert McClinton Goes Voyage-Air

Triple-Grammy® Award winning artist Delbert McClinton chalked up the 2006 Grammy for "Best Contemporary Blues Album", and has been recording and on the music scene since the 60's. He's penned such hits as "Two More Bottles of Wine" for Emmylou Harris, and "B Movie Boxcar Blues" used on the Blues Brothers' Briefcase Full of Blues album. Last August, he released his latest album Acquired Taste to rave reviews.

In recent years, Delbert has been organizing and hosting a series of 'Blues Cruises' - a week at sea on a luxury liner with a huge roster of Blues notables.

Owning and driving a Smart car, Delbert appreciates things that fit into small spaces - especially the full-size Voyage-Air dreadnought guitar!

"The fact that you can tuck it away is a pretty big deal" said Delbert of his new Voyage-Air dread. "It's also a big deal to unlock it and have it play so well. This Voyage-Air Dreadnought, this is a really warm guitar. It's got songs in it... I can feel it. My son (Clay) latched onto this guitar right away, and on the cruise, took it back to his cabin and started writing songs on it. He really liked that you could carry it around and it plays so good!"

For more about Delbert McClinton and the upcoming Blues Cruise in January, 2011, check his website at www.delbert.com