At the Wolverine Knife Collectors Club show here in Michigan this January, a bunch of us brought our instruments and made some pretty good music during the show. We had a great time. The (awful) pic below was published in the Club newsletter-
from left to right, David Krauss (author), Don Cowles (custom maker), Brian Harrison (custom maker). There were many others, including Brian's band from Michigan's upper peninsula, but I think this is the only pic that got taken. LOTS of guitars, banjo, fiddle, and mandolin- a great time indeed.
http://www.cowlesknives.com/forumpix/bluegrass.jpg

I didn't know you played guitar, Don.

I'll have to start bringing my mandolin to knife shows... There was some good Celtic music going on at the New England ABS Hammer-in and I was bummed I didn't have my mandolin, or my tenor banjo... or my bouzouki!

The local shows are really the only ones where I feel comfortable brining my guitar; flying with it has become out of the question. That kills me, since Johnny Stout had his at the Spirit of Steel show a couple of years ago, and I couldn't join in... arrrgh.

That's why I like the mandolin... :) Took it all over England / Scotland / Ireland clipped onto my backpack.


My bouzouki ( octave mandolin ) even has a neck that comes off. Green Mountain Guitars, a subsidiary of Breedlove makes them with one small body and a bunch of interchangeable necks / bridges. There's guitar necks, octave mandolin and a 5-string banjo neck ( which sounds cool on a guitar body... ) Anyway- if yer looking for a good travel guitar they're relatively inexpensive.