Wisetrips Travel Blog

For Valentine's Day, Inna decided to treat me to a fun evening of guitar music at International Guitar Night at the Villa Montalvo . International Guitar Night (IGN) is a celebrated touring acoustic guitar festival that showcases some of the world’s most inventive and expressive guitarists. Founded in 1995 by Brian Gore, IGN brings together a rotating lineup of virtuosos from diverse countries and mus…

Inna decided to purchase tickets to  Kasia Smolarek's Classical Guitar concert at De Anza College's Visual and Performing Arts Theater (VPAC).  When we arrived at De Anza College, we had difficulty finding the VPAC because I had programmed 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd. (instead of the  Visual and Performing Arts Theater ). Even though we arrived at 19:21 for the 19:30 opening, we still had to drive another 9 minutes. We w…

To enable practicing guitar while traveling, I purchased the Sonicake Travel Guitar QGT-01 . It was 30% off during the Amazon Black Friday sale ($209.99) and seemed like an excellent alternative to the Yamaha SLG200s series of silent travel guitars. It had received positive reviews on YouTube and was worth trying. I had tried two Donner Travel guitars previously: Hush I Pro and Hush C, but was not satisfied with their handling or sound. …

For silent practice and travel, I decided to purchase the Donner Hush C Nylon Electro-acoustic guitar  from Amazon. This guitar can be easily disassembled, fit into a minimal, thin travel case, and be brought with me on flights. It has a built-in headphone amp, powered by a removable 9V battery. According to Donner: 【Comfort & Versatility for All Players】With a 46mm nut width, C-shaped neck, and smooth satin f…

As I started playing more classical guitar music on my Yamaha FG830 acoustic (metal-string) guitar, I ran into difficulties with the narrow string spacing common to most metal-string acoustics. Unlike modern acoustics, classical guitars are strung with nylon strings, spaced farther apart to allow more space for plucking. I decided that to perfect my classical guitar technique, I really needed to learn on a classical, nylon-…

PRS SE CE 24 – Overview The PRS SE CE 24 combines elements of PRS’s USA-made CE line (notably the bolt-on neck) with the affordable SE series made in Korea (by World Musical Instruments). It’s a modern take on a classic PRS workhorse—versatile, playable, and elegant without the Custom 24 price tag. Key Specs FeatureDetailsBody Mahogany (back) with Maple top, Flame Maple veneer N…

For silent practice and travel, I decided to purchase the Donner Hush I Pro Electro-acoustic guitar. This guitar can be easily disassembled, fit into a tiny, thin travel case, and brought on flights with me. It has a built-in headphone amp powered by a lithium battery that lasts up to 8 hours. According to Donner: PLAY WITH STYLE - DONNER breaks the mold and lets you explore. 1 HUSH I PRO Guitar=18 effects(5 Modulati…

After some deliberation, I decided to learn to play a new musical instrument - an acoustic guitar. I researched available guitars on Craigslist but found nothing worthwhile. I purchased a brand-new (and highly rated)  Yamaha FG830 acoustic guitar from Amazon.com for $349. Although I used to play the piano, I have no prior experience playing guitar, so I decided to find the best available online lessons. I received the gu…