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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. -
Here’s a the latest addition to George Lowden's Original Series of guitars ... an S-34 in koa with a sitka spruce top. George's thoughts on this guitar: “Koa is a comparatively lighter tonewood which means, if you like to play gently, it’s an excellent choice. It gives you the ability to express yourself and have lots of different nuances of tone. Just touch the guitar and it will respond.” The guitar is crisp sounding, and as light as a feather. The S is the smallest sized Lowden, aside from the Wee, with the characteristic overtones, brilliant highs and endless sustain that Lowdens are known for. Beautiful guitar. Lifetime warranty and Hiscox case. Condition: New; Top: Sitka spruce; Back and sides: Koa; Neck: 5-piece mahogany and rosewood with ebony fingerboard; Nut: 1.75; Width: 14 3/4; Depth: 4 1/8; Scale: 24.75; Binding: Sycamore; Purfling: Mahogany, sycamore, rosewood; Rosette: Rosewood, sycamore, walnut, mahogany -
1957 was a great year for the Stratocaster, and this Fender Custom Shop limited edition Journeyman (light) relic 57 Strat is a terrific example. Comfortable 57 Soft V neck profile with a 9.5 radius, narrow-tall 6105 frets with a heavy relic neck, and a unique blend of handwound pickups -- 57 Strat at the neck, Fat 50s reverse wound in the middle and a Texas Special at the bridge. Also includes deluxe hardshell case, strap and certificate of authenticity. Condition: New, relic; Body: Alder; Neck: 5/4 quartersawn maple, 57 soft V profile (.850-.990), 9.5 radius; Nut: 1.650; Color: tahitian coral; Pickups: handwound; Scale: 25.5; Orientation: Lefthanded (of course) -
Here's a beautiful Rick Turner Guitars Renaissance RS6 steel string electric acoustic. I ordered this one with a 1 3/4 nut and satin finish. The guitar has some nicely figured mahogany back and sides, terrific top, mahogany neck and an ipe (Brazilian walnut) fingerboard. The back of the headstock is signed by the late legendary Rick Turner himself. If you play acoustic guitar live, you're familiar with the challenges of getting a natural acoustic tone amplified to stage volumes without being plagued by feedback. All the mics, preamps and EQs in the world are rarely up to dealing with a loud monitor pointing at your soundhole. The thinline RS6 is built like an acoustic but has a mahogany center block to resist feedback. A Turner Timberline bridge pickup feeds a full-spectrum signal to an 18-volt D-TAR preamp with graduated volume and tone controls. The preamp runs off two AA batteries, easily accessible via the back panel. I have tested this at loud monitor volumes and it works great straight into the board. Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) loves his Turner guitars and plays a Renaissance live. These guitars also sound great through a conventional guitar amp.
With locking tuners, Access padded case and Timberline electronics.
Condition: New; Top: Mahogany; Back and sides: Mahogany; Neck: Mahogany with ipe (brazilian walnut) fingerboard; Nut: 1 3/4; Scale: 25.5; Orientation: Lefthanded (of course) -
If you know me, you know I'm a big fan of Jerry Garcia, who played Travis Bean guitars for several years in the 70s with the Grateful Dead and the Jerry Garcia Band. So having these lefties here is a special treat for me. This very limited edition TB-500 JG guitar from Travis Bean Designs is a spot-on lefty recreation of Jerry's beloved Travis Bean stage guitar, serial #12, a first generation 500. The carve, color and electronics are matched to Jerry Garcia's original guitar, with three Travis Bean cast resin single coil pickups, direct re-creations of Jerry's original pickups made to spec from the notes from the original guitar. Each pickup is controlled by a mini toggle switch. The guitar also features the first iteration of Jerry's brilliant effects loop design, which sends the signal out of the guitar before the volume pot, so your effects always see full signal from the pickups, then back into the guitar, to the volume pot and out again on a second cable. The guitar has 500K pots, Sprague capacitors, Thermax coax cable from NASA, Switchcraft input jack, Schaller M6 tuners and a brass nut.
The tone is pure 76-78 Garcia; these guitars have the pickups mounted directly to the billet of T6061-T6 aluminum that the neck is milled from, and the sustain is tremendous, like playing a tuning fork. The guitar is surprisingly lightweight despite the metal neck, it weighs in at 8 pounds even.
Travis Bean Designs is a venture formed by Kevin Burkett and Rita Bean; its origins date back to when Travis and Rita decided to reissue updated versions of his landmark guitars in 1997. Unfortunately, Travis passed before it came to fruition, but his friend and original business partner Marc McElwee provided notes and specs from the original designs from the 70s and signed off on the newer prototype designs based on Travis' own prototypes. Marc's notes included specs from the original guitars built for Jerry Garcia in the mid 70s. Other notable Travis Bean players include Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Slash, Ace Frehley, Joe Perry and John Mayer.
Condition: New; Body: African mahogany; Neck: Aluminum, rosewood fretboard, 12 radius; Nut: brass; Color: white; Pickups: Travis Bean single coils; Scale: 24.75; Orientation: Lefthanded (of course) -
Here's a new Fender Custom Shop 58 Strat Journeyman relic in an eye-catching Inca silver finish, lightly reliced, with Custom Shop 50s Strat pickups, a comfortable 10/56 V neck carve (.880 and .980), 9.5 radius, vintage upgrade 45085 frets. Also includes deluxe hardshell case, strap and certificate of authenticity. Terrific Strat. Note that the lighting I use tends to over emphasize the checking on metallic finishes, so the shot of the two guitars side by side is more indicative. As is this:
Condition: Light (Journeyman) relic; Body: Alder; Neck: maple, 10/56 V profile, 9.5 radius; Nut: 1.650; Color: Inca Silver; Pickups: Custom Shop 50s Strat; Scale: 25.5; Orientation: Lefthanded (of course) -
Santa Cruz Eric Skye signatue 00, cocobolo back and sides, with hardshell case.
