Voyage-air comments

Steve in FLA

I was surprised at how much bass response it has and would love to hear
one of these made with a rosewood body. (my favorite wood for a guitar)
It's sound actually compares very favorably to any non-foldable
conventional guitar. I'd also like to hear it with a pick-up system
installed.

It plays just like any conventional guitar. No compromise on the
fingerboard or the size of the frets. It has a fullsize bridge which
uses conventional pins to secure the strings and both bridge and
fingerboard appear to be made of rosewood.

The workmanship and finish on the guitar are both excellent and there
is a very attractive mother of pearl rosette inlay around the sound
hole.

This is a wonderful alternative to the travel guitars we see marketed
which really do not have the tone or playability of a conventional
guitar.

I see this as a viable alternative for the working/traveling musician
who wants to avoid the hassle and risk of checking a guitar in this
time of increased security scrutiny and reluctance of the airlines to
accommodate traveling musicians.
 

Roger in Arizona

I'm Harvey's first Voyage-Air buyer.  I've had it for almost 18 months, and
am sold on the concept.  I've traveled with no problems at all, either with
TSA or the airlines, and never have to worry about some ham-handed baggage
handler.

Mine came with the original hard case, which fit the overhead bins quite
nicely, but was very heavy.  Had to be careful when getting it out of the
bin so as not to bonk anyone.  Harvey sent me the soft case when they became
available, and it's much easier.

The sound is wonderful.  I much prefer the Leach over my Martin OM-21 for
fingerstyle work.  I did have to ask Harvey to replace the small headstock
with one a little larger so I could grasp the tuner knobs.  Fat fingers,
here.

Once I had this one in my hands, I sold four Martins that I didn't need.
 

Deb in Massachussetts

The Voyage Air D came with me to the UK and it was absolutely superb! I
cannot express enough how simple it is to just carry the thing on the
airplane, put it in the overhead, buckle up and worry about which movie
I was going to watch.
As for playing...it was a dream!!! I did have some issues with the 12
frets since I have a few songs where I capo on the sixth and seventh
frets, but I was able to adjust quite nicely. But it sounded wonderful
and I received many many nice comments on it. I had asked Harvey to take
the electronics out of it as I knew I was playing acoustic at most every
gig. There was one gig (insert brag here: I opened for Ashley Hutchings
in Saltaire, Yorks) where a pick-up would have been nice, but we just
mic'd the guitar and again, it sounded wonderful.

I think if there was a common thread that occurred regarding the V-A it
was how superb the craftsmanship is and even though the thing does fold
up, it's an excellent instrument through and through. I was (and am)
proud to have had the opportunity to carry it around with me.

I am going to be very sorry to give this guitar back to Harvey. I really
and truly love it and took the "guitar stress" away from traveling on
the Aer-O-Plane. The anxiety of wondering if the guitar will arrive when
you do, not being able to carry it on, etc. etc....you all know the
stories, horrors and potential scenarios was just absent from the entire
flying experience.
 

Donna in Massachussetts

...One last thing that I must mention is the Voyage Air that Harvey Leach
loaned to Arlene for the week.  I am so impressed by that guitar!
What an amazing concept - Arlene kept it in the case so that I could
see how it folds up, and we put it together - and that baby can sing!
The tone really was surprising - there was so much depth - the guitar
just rings.  I love it, Harvey, and I think you are absolutely
brilliant to have come up with such a wonderful little guitar that is
"flyer friendly".  It is the "creme de la creme" in travel guitars!

Jim in Texas

Harvey sent me a Dread model about a month ago, to try out on some of
my backpacking trips.  So far, I haven't had the chance to get it out
into the wilderness, but it has travelled to several gigs, gatherings,
and friends houses.  I even took it with me last week when we met a friend. 
I am glad I took it, because Tom's car was so full of
guitars that there wasn't enough room for another "full size" guitar.
The Voyage-air fit great!  (And it sounded wonderful, too.)

I hope to get it "out there" into the wilderness in the next few
months, so look for some more reviews at that time.

Harvey, do I have to give this guitar back?  I kind of like it!
 

Steve in Oregon
 
Those of you who attended EC9 (yes Norm, 9!) noticed I had a new guitar
with me.  It was a Leach Voyage-air, Model C, 12 fret.  It arrived just
before I had to leave for Virginia.  Harv built it for me as one of the
batch of demo guitars he was sending out for review.

I picked redwood for the top and walnut for the back and sides because I
knew these were his favorites.  What I didn't know was that he had picked
out some beautiful examples of each.  I was truly amazed at both the
sound and looks of the guitar.   To me the combo has deep, clear lows, soft mids and highs
that won't get lost.  It's a great fingerstyle setup.
It was very interesting going through security with it.  They actually stopped the
belt going through the scanner and the TSA guy called others over,
yelling for them to "come check this out"!  I only had to open it when I
flew out of Washington (DCA).  The TSA guy there said he'd never seen
anything like it.
It rode in the overhead back and forth across the country.  The
protection of the backpack and my heart, got tested when someone grabbed
their suitcase out of the overhead and also pulled the guitar out with
it.  The guitar fell all the way to floor of the plane with a very solid
"thunk".  I checked it out after I got off the plane and it was fine, no
damage at all.  I did make sure I was present the next time though.  :-)
It has a wonderful tone that suits my style perfectly.  I installed a K&K
pickup in it the day before I left and it sounded awesome through the sound system at EC. 
 I got a lot of comments about how easy it was to play. 
The nut is capped to keep the strings in place when the neck is folded
for travel.  The Voyage-air is a high performance, high quality, hand
made, custom guitar that fits in the overhead of a plane with no hassles
or worries.  It is not a "Travel" guitar. 

The neck design allows you to adjust the neck angle as well as the
relief.  No more neck reset/shave the bridge/lower the saddle problems. 
Since I play with a thumbpick and a heavy right hand, I raised the action
by tweaking the neck angle screws.  Normally, I would have had to shim
the saddle up.