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Photo provided by: Makeev Guitars
Great products our often born out of necessity. Even more so, when it is a product that can impact how your travel preparation. Have you ever wondered where you will put your guitar, as you travel abroad? Did you forget about traveling with your closest companion due to travel constraints or guidelines? The Makeev “Easy Fold” guitar is the answer.
Interesting enough, I didn’t go into the review of the Makeev with a positive vibe. I never played a guitar that was compact, and basic. I considered several legit concerns before the review. I even wondered if the review of the Easy Fold guitar was going to be a waste of time and resources. These concerns were unnecessary, and un-applicable to this creative product by Makeev.
Ivan Makeev is the creator and owner of Makeev Guitars located in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The guitars are creative in design, portable and perfect for travel. Guitar Thrills Magazine received the Easy Fold Modern basic, other models include a bass guitar and customized models are available. The Basic as tested has a maple neck and fingerboard, alder body, a single humbucker pickup, volume, tone and a fine-tuning stop tailpiece.
The string ends are loaded through the top of the headstock then they travel over the bridge and through the tailpiece where they are cut off and locked down. The most innovative part of this guitar, and where it got its name from, is that the neck is attached to the body with an aviation grade aluminum neck joint. When you remove the Easy Fold guitar from its gig back simply move the neck down into alignment with the body and tighten the single neck bolt on the back of the body. When you’re ready to hit the road again release the set bolt and fold the neck back on to the body. The company has been in production since 2019 and continues to come up with upgrades and custom options along the way. The neck had a familiar C shape to it with a 12” radius with 24.75” scale and though the action could be lowered it was still very playable.
The basic version comes with a high output Humbucker pickup, with volume knob. You don’t get the full effect of what this small body easy fold guitar can do, until you hook it up to an amp. For testing purposes, I used the Marshall DS40 amp. I used the Xvive Wireless System to enhance the mobile feel of playing this guitar. I was quite pleased as it also enables me to sit at my desk and play while working as well.
If you don't have any special requirements for appearance and sound and need a tool to practice and play on trips – this is the option for you. The classic choice of wood, the familiar Gibson beaker and the simplest electronics.
Body material: alder.
Neck: maple + maple fingerboard.
Scale: 24.75" (628 mm).
Number of frets: 22.
Fretboard radius: 12".
Fret material: nickel silver.
Cavity for the pickup: Humbucker.
Electronics configuration: volume.
Electronics: Basic Taiwan (Alpha).
Nut material: plastic.
Protective coating: oil.
Body color: without color (natural wood).
Neck color: without color (natural wood).
Accessories: Basic Korea.
Toplock: zinc alloy.
Folded dimensions: diagonal 490 mm, length 450 mm, width 350 mm, thickness 42 mm
Guitar Thrills Broadcast
This is the model that we had the opportunity to review. There isn’t anything lacking in this easy fold guitar. The Easy Fold guitar only ways 4lbs the Bass model weights 5lbs. The guitar does not require special strings and they are held in position by a brass assembly at the end of the headstock next to the truss rod adjustment and above the bone nut. Surprisingly when you fold and unfold the Easy Fold guitar, the tuning isn’t that far off considering you are relieving all tension on the strings. The included backpack has nice padding and a USB port, plus plenty of room for capos, tuners, tablets and laptops on the road. The Easy Fold Guitar surprised me on the build quality although there were a few finish ripples. But priced at only $590 for the Modern Basic model as tested it is a true bargain. If you want to save a bit more money Makeev offers a BASIC model which does not include a tone control for only $550, but I recommend the Modern Basic. The company also offers an Easy Fold PRO with more upgrades, stainless steel frets and a lifetime replacement warranty for $1,104 and they have a Bass model too. If you want to customize your Easy Fold guitar the team at Makeev can create one to your exact specs, neck wood, body wood and many finishes.
The model we tested had a Maple finish. This is a small guitar shop creating fun and innovative instruments that are ideal for travel. Visit their website in the link below and unfold some great music on the road with Easy Fold guitars!
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