Journey Instruments – FC522 Classical Guitar
First Class-ical FC522 travel guitar, solid cedar / solid pao ferro
YouTube Video Review Link

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I’m at it again, having fun with the First Class-ical FC522 by Journey Instruments. It’s a collapsible travel guitar with solid cedar top and solid pao ferro back with full gloss finish on body, and satin finish for the neck. Influenced by a traditional Torres shape and bracing for a fairly traditional sound. Usually travel guitars are small and not ideal for practicing but this one is pretty much full size which is fantastic (see my note below on scale length). It collapses into a great roller carry-on case with retractable aluminum handle – which has room for all your gear, perfect for flights. Overall great value for the price of $999 USD via their site. The mellow warm tone will be appreciated by most.

What I liked

The arm rest/bevel feels great and looks even better
Assembly is super fast and easy, takes about 30 seconds (not counting tuning)
The design effort is awesome, it looks cool and works super well
Piezo amplification will be useful for people playing amped gigs
Nice mellow sound and balance, good for the price and a travel guitar
Solid wood top and back is nice to have for sustain and tone
Guitar action and setup was great right out of the box, I didn’t need to do a single adjustment. That in itself is super impressive.
Small feel of the instrument and body is perfect for me (I’m short)
Finishing and workmanship is generally high quality, especially for this price range
Price is great at $999 USD

Things to consider

Advertised as full size scale length of 650mm but I measured it at 625mm. It’s 650mm to the tie block but guitars are measured from nut to saddle, which is always what is expected for scale length. That said, I like small scale lengths and it feels great so I consider this a plus and they should advertise it as a plus. For the average person it will still feel pretty much like a full size.
Only goes up to a high A (the normal is a B, sometimes a C nowadays). This is fine though, it’s a travel guitar so no big deal. Intermediate plays won’t notice/care most likely.
I liked the sound overall but not much ‘pop’ response on upper strings. Still, well balanced though. It’s a great travel guitar but don’t expect too much in a hall.

Journey Instruments Promo Paragraph

The First Class-ical FC522 is an amazing collapsible performance-ready travel guitar with solid cedar top and solid pao ferro back with full gloss finish on body, and satin finish for the neck. It’s super ergonomic with a robust Manzer© wedge and traditional Torres sized body. With a standard 52mm nut and 650mm scale, the traditional Torres shape and bracing make this guitar sound a rich and full as a performance grade classical guitar at more than twice this price.! Barre chords are easy, and the body shape makes for hours of playing without shoulder fatigue. It collapses to carry-on dims of 22*14.8*9 inches in our roller carry-on case with retractable aluminum handle – which has more than enough room for all your gear. Premium appointments make this guitar a gem for classical guitarists who need a ultra-portable quality sounding classical guitar that is stage ready and plays like a dream!

Full Specs and Info