2002 Tacoma P1 Papoose

It's hard to find travel-size guitars that sound good, and this 2002 Tacoma P1 Papoose in Cedar and Mahogany fits the bill better than anything we have seen in a long time. Even better is that this instrument was originally bought here in the early days of Acoustic Corner!! You can see one of our old rack cards along with the original case candy. This instrument has some very light playwear and virtually no fret wear. Currently tuned to A, but can easily go to standard tuning with a set of medium gauge strings. 

The Papoose was the first guitar Tacoma ever made. It is a voiced instrument, 5 frets shorter than a standard guitar with an offset paisley sound hole and a smaller body. It is tuned A-D-G-C-E-A and essentially acts as a normal guitar with a capo on the 5th fret. The advantage of the papoose is its versatility. It has a full, bright sound without the compromises of string scale of a capoed guitar. It adds a wonderful treble quality in the studio for balancing out layered recordings, and works well as a travel instrument."

Tacoma guitars was originally a manufacturer based in Tacoma, Washington. The business closed down in 2008, making this little guitar a rare find indeed. The P1 Papoose—designed by Terry Atkins and George Gruhn—was Tacoma’s first guitar model. It has a relatively short 19.1″ scale and is tuned to the same intervals as standard guitar tuning, but a fourth higher, to A rather than the conventional E, making it equivalent to a conventional guitar with a capo on the fifth fret. It introduced the paisley sound hole and the Voiced Bracing Support system. An ultra-portable guitar with a great sound..."