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| Stanley Jordan |
In the late 1970's another friend, Tim Keller, owned a music store near my town. Tim invited me over to check out anything new. He had just received a Travis Bean guitar and asked my opinion. I was totally blown away.
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| Travis Bean TB1000S |
That Travis Bean guitar had twin humbucking pickups, each with aluminum covers. I later learned that the company designed and built these alnico pickups in house. Each cover was stamped with the name “Travis Bean”.
The guitar’s finish was exquisite. The finish was highly polished with several coats of lacquer. At the time I mainly concentrating on the aluminum neck of this instrument. I had never seen anything like it.
The entire neck had been machined from a solid billet of 7075-T651 aluminum. The neck had a traditional rosewood fretboard glued to the aluminum pan.
I was so engrossed in playing the guitar that I really did not notice the instrument’s back side. Had I looked at it I would have saw beneath the distal end of the neck was a long flat section of aluminum that ran halfway inside the back of the guitar. The company referred to this as “the pan”. That pan also housed the guitar's pickups.
The lower portion had six drilled holes which held the strings in place. This was a similar arrangement to Fender’s Telecaster or hard tailed Stratocaster.
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| Travis Bean Headstock |
Again the neck was very comfortable, although it was polished aluminum, I hardly noticed.
This unique arrangement of the aluminum neck and the pan, housed the pickups, and the string anchors resulted in a complete vibration connection with better sustain than wooden instruments. All of the hardware, including pickguard, the nut, and the back plate were made of aluminum.
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| Neck coated with Imron Paint |
As I recall the Travis Bean TB1000S was an expensive instrument, retailing at about $1000, but it sure was a joy to play.
I later learned a little about Travis Bean. He had been a Motocross racer and worked at a car dealership. Bean was later was employed at a music store.
I
t was at the music store he met guitar repairman Marc McElwee. They struck up a friendship. Travis Bean had come up with the concept of a guitar with an aluminum neck. He had built a concept model at his home. Since the most frequent repair that McElwee dealt with were issues with guitar necks. Bean believed this would be THE solution.
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| Marc McElwee |
Bean's friend Gary Kramer, who had given Travis Bean his job at the car dealership, was interested in the concept. Kramer was more into the marketing aspect of the venture. The three set up business in Sun Valley, California.
Kramer marketed the guitar at NAMM and guitar stores across the country, while Bean and McElwee produced the instruments and managed the company.
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| Travis Bean Patent |
Gary Kramer soon became disillusioned with the partnership and left the company to start Kramer Guitars, which also began by making aluminum necked instruments.
Three years into production the Travis Bean Company was in financial trouble.
The company shut down in December of 1977 to "reorganize". The employees were laid off.
But the company was back in business by July of 1978 when an investor, Sashi Patel, sunk money into the company keeping them afloat for the last 12 more months.
During the first six months of 1978, limited "unofficial" production continued with a partial production crew who often took guitars in lieu of wages.
Later the guitars were sold through Rothchild Distribution. Rothchild began as a wine production entity, but branched out and is now one of Europe's largest financial organizations.
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| Travis Bean Guitars and Bass |
During it existence The Travis Bean Company had produced 3652 instruments from 1974 to 1979 when the company folded.
Travis Bean offered five different models.
The Travis Bean TB500 was the least expensive model. It featured a Strat-type flat-top body with two single coil pickups with plastic covers. The bodies of these guitars were often made of magnolia, Koa, or poplar.
The 1976 Travis Bean TB500JG had a similar body shape, and it was designed for Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead. Although the body and neck were just like the TB500, but the electronics included three single coil pickups. Each pickup was wired to an individual on/off switch. The instrument had potentiometers for volume, and tone, and included an effects loop circuit. It was a remarkable guitar. Garcia's personal model was auctioned off for $75,000.
The TB1000S (Standard) was the first built for production This was the model I played at Keller Music. It had a flat body made of highly polished magnolia wood, or Koa. The guitar sported twin humbucking Alnico pickups, manufactured in house, with "Travis Bean" stamped on one of both of them. 1422 of these guitars were produced.
The TB1000A (Artist) was the company's deluxe model, and it featured the same humbucking pickups and electronics as the TB1000S, but came with a carved Koa top, and block inlays on the fretboard. Only 755 of these were ever produced. This guitar was top-of-the-line and sold new in 1975 for $1395.00.
The TB2000S (Standard Bass) were typically made with Koa wood bodies and sometimes were custom built as short-scale or fretless. There were 1020 of these instruments produced.
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| TB4000 |
The TB4000 (Wedge Bass) was a bass version of the Flying V. Only 36 of these bass guitars were produced. The bodies were always made of wood typically Koa or magnolia.
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| TB3000 |
The guitars all featured a 24.75″ scale and fixed bridges. The headstock shape has a cutout in the middle in the shape of a “T”. They most commonly sported black or natural finishes but were also offered in rarer colours like white.
In 1997 Travis Bean decided that he would like to revisit making is uniquely designed guitars and basses. Along with his wife, Rita, they came up with a new company, Travis Bean Designs.
After tweaking his design to make the instruments using semi-hollow body construction to lighten the instruments Bean produced 18 prototypes . Sadly financing fell through and the venture never got off the ground.
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| 1997 Letter from Travis Bean |
Kevin and Rita Bean then started a joint venture reviving the dream, and producing a limited series of instruments.
These instruments are built by The Electrical Guitar Company under a licensing agreement with Travis Bean Designs.
HOWEVER, I have read numerous negative reviews by disappointed customers that have complained about the company.
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This interview with Stanley Jordan focuses
more on his playing than his use of the
Travis Bean TB1000S, but I found it
very interesting.
