Erlewine Chiquita Travel Guitar, White, w/Bag - Used
You may know the Chiquita from the opening scene of Back to the Future — Marty McFly plugs one into Doc Brown's massive amp, strikes a single chord, and gets launched clean across the garage. That guitar was an Erlewine Chiquita, and it's been one of the coolest pieces of guitar trivia ever since. But here's the thing: the Chiquita is genuinely good. Designed in 1979 by Mark Erlewine in collaboration with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, it's a serious instrument in a tiny package — neck-through mahogany construction, rosewood fingerboard, 19-inch scale over 23 frets, and a stripped-down, road-ready design that's nearly a foot shorter than a Strat. Players including Joe Bonamassa, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Andy Summers, Pat Metheny, and Paul McCartney have all spent time with one. It's a guitar that could only come from the future.
This particular example is loaded with some genuinely interesting hardware. The bridge pickup is a DiMarzio humbucker, and the neck position features one of the coolest single-coil pickups we've seen come through the shop in a while — the pole magnets are notably deeper than the pickup body itself, it mounts P90-style with screws through the pickup rather than on the edges, and it sounds fantastic. The two-pickup configuration gives this Chiquita significantly more tonal range than the standard single-humbucker setup.
This one has been recently set up and restrung in the shop with Ernie Ball Not Even Slinky strings — the correct gauge for the 19-inch scale. It plays well with everything original except two intonation screws and the nut, which has been replaced in-shop with a well-fitted pre-fabricated nut. There is slightly uneven relief in the neck with a touch more relief on the treble side, some finish wear around the edges, a tan line on the body between the pickups, and some chipping at the ends of the fretwire on the treble side of the fretboard in first position — none of which affects playability. Cosmetic wear is evident throughout — see photos for full detail. Comes with what appears to be the original gig bag.
Condition is Good.
- Make: Erlewine Guitars, Austin TX
- Model: Chiquita Travel Guitar
- Type: Solid body electric, neck-through
- Finish: White/cream
- Body: Mahogany, neck-through construction
- Fingerboard: Rosewood, bound
- Scale length: 19 inches
- Overall length: 27.5 inches
- Frets: 23
- Pickups: DiMarzio humbucker (bridge), unique deep-magnet P90-mount single coil (neck)
- Controls: Volume
- Tuners: Schaller-style 3+3
- Hardware: Chrome
- Strings: Ernie Ball Not Even Slinky (new)
- Condition: Good
- Known issues: Slightly uneven neck relief (more on treble side); two intonation screws replaced; nut replaced with pre-fabricated nut; finish wear around edges; tan line on body between pickups; fretboard chipping at fretwire ends, treble side first position — does not affect playability
- Modifications: Replacement nut, two replacement intonation screws, added neck pickup
- Includes: Gig bag (appears original)
Ships carefully packed and insured for full value.
International buyers are welcome — please contact us for a shipping quote before purchasing.
About Mill River Music
Mill River Music is an independent, human-powered music shop located in downtown Northampton, MA, run by a team of players, enthusiasts, and certified repair technicians. Every piece of used gear we sell is personally inspected, tested, and set up before it ships — we don't list it until we'd be happy to play it ourselves.
As Martin and Taylor certified techs, we hold our guitar work to a high standard, and we're committed to full transparency about the condition of everything we sell. No surprises.
When you buy from Mill River, you're supporting an independent local business that genuinely cares — about gear, about players, and about doing things right. We're here every step of the way. Reach out anytime.
