Travel Friendly and Gig-Ready Gear for 2025

I’ve been in Manila since November and up until a few days ago, haven’t had enough time spent playing guitar.

Why?

Because I don’t have a guitar with me.

Why?

Because bringing my guitar along would take up too much space.

And in a place like Manila where space is at a premium in a condo, it would be very impractical, irresponsible and downright inconsiderate of me to impose on more space than what we are already taking up in my sister’s single bedroom unit.

There are 4 of us living in this tiny condo right now and even if Lyle is still technically a baby, he still counts as one full person.

So, I’ve made up my mind that this won’t happen again in the future.

The next time we come over as a family, we better have our own place, whether we rent it or own it. We already checked out Urban Deca Homes Ortigas and although it is a bit tiny, it seems enough to live in if ever we do decide to live in Manila.

My wife just has to make up her mind if she really wants to pursue putting up an aesthetics clinic or become a professional gamer (because that mobile war game she’s playing seems to be taking up most of her time these days).

Me? I can transfer anytime because my work as an SEO Specialist is still in demand and the company I currently work for has confirmed that I can change my base of operations provided I just send an email to inform them of my change of address.

The next thing on my mind is make sure my gear can easily be transported from one point to another without any issues.

Which brings me to the next thing: buying a travel-friendly guitar and a multi-fx pedal that’s not as humongous as my Zoom G5N (but can still perform as well as it does).

And you know by now that I am always searching for instruments online right? SO I came across a few guitars that I would like and probably one of the most intriguing multi-fx pedals recently introduced to the market today.

First Up the Donner Hush X

For years, my love for the Steinberger Spirit form factor has not diminished one bit. It’s just that it’s so hard to come across one and even harder to afford one.

Oh I’ve considered getting some Steinberger spirit guitar kits offered on Lazada but held off on actually purchasing one because I might get massively disappointed with it. There are a few videos of successful builds but I don’t think I can pull it off the way they were able to.

There’s also the RJ Guitars Shark that was popular way back when I was a teenager but it’s long been discontinued and there is no real news out there that theyt’ll bring it back.

I kinda don’t like the Strandberg and Kiesel ones because of their form factor (and price, I don’t have that much to spend)

Which ultimately led me to discovering the Donner Hush X that was released way back in 2023.

To be honest, the form factor isn’t something I like but for its purpose, as a travel guitar, I think, it will work.

It’s small enough and it collapses into an even smaller form once you remove the metal frames that gives it a guitar-like silhouette. I’m still on the fence though and I should do some more research on it but this might be the closest answer to my travel-friendly, gig-ready, gear aspirations.

My Zoom G5n. A Tough Act to Follow.

After I got my Zoom G5n, no other piece of equipment came close to entering my mind that could replace it.

Sturdy, abuse-ready form factor?

Yep. This thing is built like a tank! I mean I wouldn’t throw it around but if it accidentally does fall, I’m quite confident that it will survive.

Sound options?

Check! The built-in patches sound good enough to play onstage with. And I can choose to play it in patch mode or like a pedalboard with individual pedals to stomp on.

Expression pedal.

Yep. Although I don’t abuse it as much as others would because I rarely do use a wah or a volume pedal in my set-up, the expression pedal is still a welcome feature on the Zoom G5n for me. Plus I have a Mooer Wahter and Redkid for my wah wah needs.

Can Act as an Audio Interface

One of my main considerations ever since I got a Zoom G2.1nu was that the multi-fx unit should be able to connect to a computer for recording purposes.

My Zoom G5n was the last big musical item purchase I made before the birth of my son. And it has served me well through a lot of gigs and musical situations.

If only it wasn’t too darn big.

And heavy.

If not for those two things, or my eventual realization that the Zoom G5n was that massive, my love for it would remain unchanged.

I mean I still love it.

And I have no doubt in my mind that I will still love it for years to come and probably won’t let it go that easily.

But my back really, really, really has a huge dislike for it.

And it’s not really that travel-friendly. So, I’ve been looking at some stuff online and just recently came across the Soniceake Pocket Master. And on paper it looks really good. In fact, maybe too good to be true.

But if it is real, then it could be the answer to my back problems.

The Sonicake PocketMaster

The Sonic Cake Pocket Master is relatively new gadget on the market today and it seems to promis a lot of things.

And that’s what makes me wary.

But the price on this thing is so tempting.

Imagine having an entire pedalboard that fits in your pocket that will only cost you around Php4,000.00

Yeah.

You read that right.

It’s a multi-fx unit that costs less than $100!

Too good to be true?

Probably.

But then again, years ago, Korg was able to release the Pandora which was kinda like the same thing, so I’m leaning on believing this thing exists.

Other considerations why I want this Pocket Master thingie to be real is because it has everything I would need that can be found on the ZOmm G5n sans the expression pedal. Yeah, it can be an audio interface.

And I find it hard to believe that something so small can do so many incredible things!

But I would love to get my hands on it soon.

Conclusion

With the Donner Hush X and the Sonicake Pocket Master, I could say I have something that is travel-friendly because these things are tiny.

I’d probably need a small amp too but that shouldn’ t be a problem. Or I could just stick to practicing with headphones on.

I already have a wireless guitar system so I can cut down on the need for cables between the Donner Hush X to the Sonic Cake. Or the sonic cake to the amp. Maybe I can set up a small or shirt cable like a patch cable to connect the Donner Hush X to the Pocket Master.

Ah but these are just musings for now.

Oh Santa, is it too late to ask for these things inside my Christmas stocking?

Happy New Year everyone and soon… Happy Valentines!