Travis Bean TB-1000S Standard Solid Body Electric Guitar (1977)
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Item # 10875
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Travis Bean TB-1000S Standard Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1977), made in Sun Valley, CA, serial # 1209, natural lacquer finish, aluminum neck and centerpiece, koa wood body, rosewood fingerboard, original black tolex hard shell case.
This striking mid-1970's classic is a slightly unusual example of the Travis Bean TB1000S "Standard", the bedrock model in the company's innovative but short-lived guitar line. It mates their patented aluminum neck/centerpiece with a solid Hawaiian koa wood body and rosewood fingerboard with dot inlay. The company also offered the "Artist" TB1000A model with a more sculpted body and deluxe appointments, the budget TB-500 and the eccentrically shaped "Wedge" models. Of all of these the TB-1000 is the "classic" Bean, the most fondly remembered of the bunch. This one is distinguished by a slightly more sculpted body than the stock "Standard" with an upper arm cutaway usually seen only on the "Artist" and a subtly different shaping to the body horns. This is definitely factory work and gives this guitar an distinctive individual character, even among these limited-production instruments.
Former motocross racer and lifelong tinkerer Clifford Travis Bean had two partners initially; guitar tech Marc McElwee and one Gary Kramer, who would soon split off to found his own (for a time) successful guitar operation. The ads claimed their aluminum-necked designs were "the first new development in the electric guitar since the 1930s" although whether they were considering the early cast aluminum Rickenbacker steels is a moot point! The catalog continued "The...lightweight neck and receiver system forms a rigid link between the tuning machines and the bridge. When the strings are attached, a complete vibration connection is achieved. It is this patented chassis that makes the Travis Bean guitar what it is: an instrument that has become the most dramatic breakthrough in electric guitar technology in 50 years."
Bean's patented concept was a through-neck/central body core milled from T6061 aircraft aluminum, extending from headstock to the through-body strung six-saddle bridge. Narrow chambers running its length improved resonance and reduced weight, if only slightly. This metal centerpiece is mounted into a lovely grained Hawaiian koa wood body finished in natural lacquer. The Standard, Artist, and Wedge models mounted the company's own Alnico magnet humbucking pickups with "Travis Bean" engraved on their covers - the only branding on the instrument besides the subtle "T" cut out of the headstock! These in-house pickups have a stellar reputation on their own, but were never used on any other instruments.
This unusual Standard carries serial number #1209 stamped into the headstock and likely made in 1977. The original pots are coded to the 39th week of 1976. The koa body has some nice grain figure and is subtly different than the standard "Standard" with an area dressed away on the upper body for arm comfort and cutaway horns with a slightly blunter contour. This variation is unusual but not unheard of, as many of these were built with specific customers in mind. The serial number is marked under the backplate, something we have not noted with Beans before and likely related to the one-off status of the body. Other features include rosewood fingerboard has plain dot inlay, brass nut, Schaller tuners, black plastic knobs, a fully adjustable bridge and small aluminum pickguard.
In Standard originally retailed for $595, up to $995 before the end of the run. While not the most expensive solidbody guitar on the market in 1976, this was still a fairly high-end instrument. Travis Beans did not become a huge retail success they were featured by some major artists when new. At various times Keith Richards, Ron Wood, and Bill Wyman all played them with the Rolling Stones in the mid '70s, Wyman even having custom short-scale basses made for him. Jerry Garcia was an official endorser and played both a TB 1000 and a TB 500 for a time, making these models revered by many deadheads to this day. The guitars garnered a reputation for very high quality, but many players at the time felt the bare aluminum neck had a cold and clinical feel.
More recently, Travis Beans have been gainfully employed by a number of noise-rock players along with many denizens of myriad heavy sub-genres like doom and stoner metal. The Bean sound is powerful and articulate at lower volumes, but winds up magnificently to a shuddering crunch when pushed in these heavy contexts. Travis Bean knew he had something great in the mid-1970s; while his vision did not lead to major commercial success at the time he would no doubt be well satisfied by the lasting appeal to players and highly collectible status his creations have earned 45+ years on. We don't know who this slightly non-standard "Standard" was made for, but it probably has a good story behind it!
Overall length is 39 3/8 in. (100 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/2 in. (38 mm.)., 9.83 lbs.
This subtly distinctive "Beanie" shows some general wear but remains nicely original, with moderately heavy marks from play (mostly on the face) but no heavy abuse or alterations. The thin lacquer finish has some general dings and dents, with areas worn through to the wood from picking off the bottom edge of the metal guard and just above the strings. The edges have small spots worn through as well. The back has typical scratching and scuffing, with some belt buckle wear into but mostly not through the finish.
The metal parts and plating has some average wear, with scuffing overall (most notable on the back) and light corrosion to the bridge base and saddle adjustment screws. The back of the neck is relatively clean having only a very few tiny dinks in the metal. The original jumbo frets and rosewood fingerboard show some visible wear, but this metal-neck marvel plays excellent and sounds fantastic. At just under 10lbs. this Bean is lighter than some but still has a substantial feel with massive sustain, while the metal neck still feels timelessly modern. The original HSC is included, relatively clean with the original lifetime warranty card and care instructions still in the pocket. Excellent - Condition.
This striking mid-1970's classic is a slightly unusual example of the Travis Bean TB1000S "Standard", the bedrock model in the company's innovative but short-lived guitar line. It mates their patented aluminum neck/centerpiece with a solid Hawaiian koa wood body and rosewood fingerboard with dot inlay. The company also offered the "Artist" TB1000A model with a more sculpted body and deluxe appointments, the budget TB-500 and the eccentrically shaped "Wedge" models. Of all of these the TB-1000 is the "classic" Bean, the most fondly remembered of the bunch. This one is distinguished by a slightly more sculpted body than the stock "Standard" with an upper arm cutaway usually seen only on the "Artist" and a subtly different shaping to the body horns. This is definitely factory work and gives this guitar an distinctive individual character, even among these limited-production instruments.
Former motocross racer and lifelong tinkerer Clifford Travis Bean had two partners initially; guitar tech Marc McElwee and one Gary Kramer, who would soon split off to found his own (for a time) successful guitar operation. The ads claimed their aluminum-necked designs were "the first new development in the electric guitar since the 1930s" although whether they were considering the early cast aluminum Rickenbacker steels is a moot point! The catalog continued "The...lightweight neck and receiver system forms a rigid link between the tuning machines and the bridge. When the strings are attached, a complete vibration connection is achieved. It is this patented chassis that makes the Travis Bean guitar what it is: an instrument that has become the most dramatic breakthrough in electric guitar technology in 50 years."
Bean's patented concept was a through-neck/central body core milled from T6061 aircraft aluminum, extending from headstock to the through-body strung six-saddle bridge. Narrow chambers running its length improved resonance and reduced weight, if only slightly. This metal centerpiece is mounted into a lovely grained Hawaiian koa wood body finished in natural lacquer. The Standard, Artist, and Wedge models mounted the company's own Alnico magnet humbucking pickups with "Travis Bean" engraved on their covers - the only branding on the instrument besides the subtle "T" cut out of the headstock! These in-house pickups have a stellar reputation on their own, but were never used on any other instruments.
This unusual Standard carries serial number #1209 stamped into the headstock and likely made in 1977. The original pots are coded to the 39th week of 1976. The koa body has some nice grain figure and is subtly different than the standard "Standard" with an area dressed away on the upper body for arm comfort and cutaway horns with a slightly blunter contour. This variation is unusual but not unheard of, as many of these were built with specific customers in mind. The serial number is marked under the backplate, something we have not noted with Beans before and likely related to the one-off status of the body. Other features include rosewood fingerboard has plain dot inlay, brass nut, Schaller tuners, black plastic knobs, a fully adjustable bridge and small aluminum pickguard.
In Standard originally retailed for $595, up to $995 before the end of the run. While not the most expensive solidbody guitar on the market in 1976, this was still a fairly high-end instrument. Travis Beans did not become a huge retail success they were featured by some major artists when new. At various times Keith Richards, Ron Wood, and Bill Wyman all played them with the Rolling Stones in the mid '70s, Wyman even having custom short-scale basses made for him. Jerry Garcia was an official endorser and played both a TB 1000 and a TB 500 for a time, making these models revered by many deadheads to this day. The guitars garnered a reputation for very high quality, but many players at the time felt the bare aluminum neck had a cold and clinical feel.
More recently, Travis Beans have been gainfully employed by a number of noise-rock players along with many denizens of myriad heavy sub-genres like doom and stoner metal. The Bean sound is powerful and articulate at lower volumes, but winds up magnificently to a shuddering crunch when pushed in these heavy contexts. Travis Bean knew he had something great in the mid-1970s; while his vision did not lead to major commercial success at the time he would no doubt be well satisfied by the lasting appeal to players and highly collectible status his creations have earned 45+ years on. We don't know who this slightly non-standard "Standard" was made for, but it probably has a good story behind it!
Overall length is 39 3/8 in. (100 cm.), 14 1/8 in. (35.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/2 in. (38 mm.)., 9.83 lbs.
This subtly distinctive "Beanie" shows some general wear but remains nicely original, with moderately heavy marks from play (mostly on the face) but no heavy abuse or alterations. The thin lacquer finish has some general dings and dents, with areas worn through to the wood from picking off the bottom edge of the metal guard and just above the strings. The edges have small spots worn through as well. The back has typical scratching and scuffing, with some belt buckle wear into but mostly not through the finish.
The metal parts and plating has some average wear, with scuffing overall (most notable on the back) and light corrosion to the bridge base and saddle adjustment screws. The back of the neck is relatively clean having only a very few tiny dinks in the metal. The original jumbo frets and rosewood fingerboard show some visible wear, but this metal-neck marvel plays excellent and sounds fantastic. At just under 10lbs. this Bean is lighter than some but still has a substantial feel with massive sustain, while the metal neck still feels timelessly modern. The original HSC is included, relatively clean with the original lifetime warranty card and care instructions still in the pocket. Excellent - Condition.