Here is a very rare 1976 Travis Bean TB1000 Artist guitar, one of, as far as I can discern, just four original lefty Beans ever built. (There was also a lefty bass made.)
Built with machined aluminum necks with the pickups attached directly to the metal, these guitars are noted for their sustain and, of course, stability. They are also on the heavy side, which also adds to the sustain. The Artist model features a carved top (the Standard was a slab). The 1000 guitars have humbuckers, as opposed to the single coils found on the 500s. Scale is 25.5 and radius is 12. Terrific guitar. Doubt you’ll see another vintage lefty Bean out there. This guitar was built for a touring Australian musician and includes the original case, plastered with stickers from his band. It is in perfect playing condition, the koa body bear some road wear, as you might expect, there was a split in the wood which was repaired (and not uncommon for solid koa bodies) … since the guitar is basically aluminum from the bridge to the headstock, the split had no effect on the structure of the instrument. Rare find and a great guitar.
Notable Bean players include Jerry Garcia (1975-77), Keith Richard, Ronnie Wood, Slash, Ace Frehley, Stanley Jordan, Joe Perry and John Mayer.
