If you know me, you know I am a big fan of Jerry Garcia, who played Travis Bean guitars for a couple years in the mid 1970s. Travis Bean went out of business in the 70s because he refused to compromise on his design to produce a cheaper guitar. Travis redesigned the guitar with a semi-hollow aluminum back, and several prototypes were built, but he passed away in 2011 before seeing them go back into production. Now a partnership between Travis’ wife, Rita, and Kevin Burkett of Electrical Guitar Company, has brought these revised Beans back to life. Rita, fittingly, is a lefty.
This guitar is a TB1000 Artist model, with a beautiful rainbow poplar body, 12 radius, Sperzel tuners, Travis Bean humbuckers and 3-way switching. It is a very recent build and has been played sparingly. Weight is comparable to a lighter Les Paul — 8 pounds, 8 ounces. The guitar is very alive in your hands. Wonderful guitar.
From their site: The Travis Bean 1000 Artist (TB1000A) is the flagship of the new Travis Bean Designs line of instruments. Its classically symmetrical body is both aesthetically pleasing as well as functional and balanced. The TB1000A is a 6-string semi-hollow body electric guitar with a 25.5 inch scale and 12 inch radius on the fretboard. The entire rear pan (headstock, neck and the rear half of the body) is machined from a solid billet of 7075-T651 aluminum; while the top half of the body is constructed of various woods (see below for available varieties and finishes) and features a full three-dimensional carve.
The TB1000A comes standard with a rosewood fretboard and mother of pearl block inlays, a fully adjustable Travis Bean bridge and Sperzel tuners. The TB1000A features 2 signature balance Travis Bean humbucking pickups (constructed utilizing ALNICO 5 magnets) with independent volume and tone controls for each pickup and a 3-way selector switch. This peak of class in the new Travis Bean line will be delivered to you in an SKB Indestructible flight case.
Condition: Nearly new; Body: Rainbow poplar with carved top; Neck: Aluminum, rosewood fretboard; Color: Natural; Pickups: Travis Bean; Scale: 25.5; Lefthanded guitar (of course)