Years later after playing my first PRS, I realized it's 25" scale was a nice balance between the Fender and Gibson camps, and was something I really favoured.
A few years later I got a Fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar in for a review. To jog your memory, HERE is a link to the review I did for it.
I dug the short 24" scale length, the Fender neck shape, and the humbuckers. It was fun, and finding fun in small packages is key. Mazda Miata's, Apple Mini computers. USB drives, Multi tools, are great examples of fun and functionality in a small form factor.
One of my pipe dream guitars is a Fender Mustang. They have done some great new versions recently, and offer up the mix of classic and modern with some versions with humbuckers. The price is a reasonable $499 list price, and has a 24" scale length. Even better is Squire has a HH version for $149. One cool thing about a shorter scale length is generally a smaller instrument, and makes it a good candidate for a travel guitar. All of the above instruments are great, but might be too big to be considered a travel instrument.
Ibanez makes some cool guitars, and in the 1980-1990's I really dug their RG series. I Imagined myself with one in my teen years, with day glo colors, ripping it up like Steve Vai. Unfortunately I'm no Steve Vai, and even their Low end RG series guitars were well out of my reach, especially wallet wise when I worked in a supermarket part time. One of my fellow bag boys had a all black RG, with a maple board, and I have to say I was so envious of that guitar.
Recently I did notice some player buying the Ibanez Mikro Guitars, and modding them with better pickups, with some coil tapping options and using them as travel or busking on the subway guitars. It's like a mini RG. I know they're meant for students or small children. With a list price of $150ish means it's not that expensive and the 22" scale is pretty short, even at standard tuning. Allan Holdsworth-ish reaches would be hyper easy.
They come in a few interesting colors, and the rosewood fretboard model comes with the classic "metal" shark tooth inlays that were the more desired in the halcyon days of metal. There's even a Paul Gilbert version, and there is a Destroyer variant. Those might be out of my comfort zone shape/aesthetic wise. I think I'd aim for the maple fretboard model, just to squeeze a bit more high end out of it.
A set of coil tappable humbuckers with push pull tone and volume controls, or a superstrat switch would bring alot more tonal options. Perhaps this could be an interesting platform for a pair of Seymour Duncan P-rails, a hybrid of humbucker, P90 and Single coil pickups.
It's an interesting concept, like a Mazda Miata with a V8 under the hood. Yes, the mods could be more expensive than the guitar. If I could find one used, as well as some used pickups, it could be had for alot cheaper. I've seen travel guitars, at full scale that are alot more expensive. One of these, with some mods, could be kind of interesting sounding as a unique instrument, and it would be a functional travel guitar, which kills two birds in one guitar.
Yes I know I have other guitar related projects that take priority, but this one is one of those pipe dream projects that might not fade away so easily.
