Travis Bean TB 1000 Artist

Mine has a s/n in the 900's. Natural Koa body, everything else is as previously stated by others for Bean Artist guitars. Guitar is incredibly well built, with basic features (2 pickups, 3way switch). I'm not giving it a 10 because it's so freakin' heavy, but otherwise, it's a great guitar.

I'm playing through a Rivera Clubster 45 or a silverface deluxe reverb and this guitar is incredibly hot. It's easily the loudest guitar I have, by far and yet it's very quiet - no hum or buzzing through either amp. Fat tones from the neck pickup and able to do lots of "squankin" through the very bright bridge pickup. the 2 together give each note in a chord lots of definition and is a great rhythm setting. The pickups are so hot that my only complaint is that I end up overpowering the rest of the band during practice if I want to get "my sound". At practice, it's hard to turn the amp up above "2" and not be too loud, but live, it's great.

Bought it used, so can't comment on the factory setup, but it came to me set up just fine. Very flat fingerboard with wide frets. Fast, responsive action, probably due, once again, to the very sensitive pickups. Nice figure in the Koa body. No buzzes or rattles anywhere, which is a bit surprising on a 30 year old guitar.

Tank. Lacquer seems a bit fragile, but so what. I put straplocks on all my guitars. Enough said.

Unfortunately, Travis Bean closed up shop in 1979.

I've been at it for 35 years off and on and own a bunch of guitars and amps. ES 175, 64 Firebird III, 60 Strat, and a couple of custom made Brian Monty chambered electrics. This guitar sounds different (not better, definitely louder)and lets me do some things the others don't. Very sensitive to harmonics (Billy Gibbons squankin')and fun to play. My buddy who plays PRS guitars says playing this Bean is like driving a Ferrari....

Hello,
My name is Dave Johnson, and I own an amazing black finished travis bean 1000A (the serial number is 1082). I am going to follow the pre-determined specs of this web site, and just tell you how incredible this insturment really is. This particular bean was made in 1977, it has 22 frets with a solid top and has two volumes and two levels combined with a three-way selector switch. On the bridge setting, this thing sounds just like a piano (I have never heard anything like it!!!). The other settings make the insturment sound almost "angelic," it sounds like a tin can on crack!!!

I have been playing this insturment through an early 1980's fender concert (the one with extra reverb), and I can honestly say that the insturment makes my sound. The guitar is incredibly noisy, with the high-end emphasised (this is the only way that you would want to play a bean). You can, although, play the insturment with a "drone" texture. It is certanly capable of attaining that sound, that is, a mellow and forced tone only achieved through cheap, lower-end crap fenders (a.k.a. shit bands like limp biskut, or however the hell you spell it).

I must say that I have played on literally hundreds of different makes of guitars, and this one takes the cake!!! The reason that the guitar is so perfect, in my opinion, is because it is designed without need for a: truss rod, brace, tuning peg, fitted bridge, fixed nut, or any other replaceable aspect of the guitar. THE THING IS MADE OUT OF ALUMINUM!!! And that is what makes it the most highly-reliable, lowest-maintenance insturment available.

I have beaten the shit out of my bean, and it has sustained modest damage (scratches that come from playing out). The finish is incredibly resillent, and I vow to take care of this this thing in the future. I really don't know how you can ask if the the strap buttons are solid, because the thing is made of metal. I would definitely depend on this guitar if it were my only one, and I would certainly use it on a gig w/out a backup (it is the most solid and reliable guitar that I have ever owned).

I have never dealt with Mr. Travis Bean (I have never had to, his product was too good!!!).

I have been playing guitar for 15 yaers. I am classically trained on the guitar (in addition to piano for 21 years), and have a definite love for indie-rock (Cat Power, Belle and Sebastian, Slowdive). I also own a one-of-a-kind Gianni, and love it to death; but nothing compares to my Bean. I wouldn't trade or sell my Bean for anything.

The idea behind my review is to give more information to those who check the web for Travis Bean details. I'd previously owned a 1978 TB1000A; the guitar I'm outlining here is just a 1974 "Travis Bean," one of the first ten, actually (not counting two prototypes). I don't think there was such a thing as a numeric designation yet, and there certainly weren't any TB Standards being built. This is one of the handmade "limited production" carved-top Beans (#11 through #20) built by Travis and his partner McElwee to test production methods. It differs from all Beans above serial number 20 in several ways. The body is two bookmatched pieces of highly figured padauk, and it's possibly a bit thinner at the rim than even the late "thin" Beans built after the company was restructured. The SOLID aluminum neck is wide at the nut, quite shallow from fretboard to back, and has a slight "v" profile. The "T" cutout in the 6-degree angled headstock is round at the bottom. The headstock has a large rectangular string retainer "bar" about one inch above the plastic nut. The neck is solid (no channelling) all the way to the bridge except for two snug rectangular areas carved out for pickups Pickups are noticeably larger than production TB pickups, with much sharper cover corners and larger engraved SERIF letters spelling out the "TRAVIS BEAN." The pickguard is embedded (inlaid) into the top of the guitar, about halfway. The neck/receiver to body joint is much different; flanges on either side of the unit, visible at the cutaways, fit into grooves in the body. Where normally you would see two "tabs" of aluminum at the neck/body joint when viewing from the front, on this guitar the body wood continues the curve of the cutaway, all the way to the edge of the fingerboard, giving a much closer approximation of a "335" appearance. Also, the contours of the carved top are quite exaggerated on the upper half of the body. Small details, to be sure, but all contribute to the uniqueness of this first batch of Beans. With the solid aluminum neck (rings like a "bell") and the huge pieces of figured padauk (pretty enough to elicit a "whistle"), I'll have to give a 9 for "features." This guitar is elegantly basic - or basically elegant!

The sound is simply thunderous - even moreso than my previous Artist and Wedge. It's like a turbocharged version of the basic TB sound - kind of like setting a rackmount graphic eq to a "W" contour with the lows, mids and highs almost pegged, and then kicking in a compressor! The pickups are reportedly wound on dual Fender bobbins with alnico magnets. I don't think they're potted though, so there IS more noise than from a regular Bean. The control cavity has a thin coating of copper paint which does a not-so-hot job of shielding. The only thing I've played that sounds any more dynamic (to me) is my Veleno, and that may be due mostly to the pickups on the Veleno being substantially further apart.

Being handmade, with a goof-proof aluminum neck (and with the entire future of the proposed TB venture essentially on the line at the time), the action, fit and finish all get extremely high marks. See more about the finish under "durability." This Bean, unlike most, is almost perfectly balanced, albeit very, very heavy, when on a strap. I thought I'd prefer the action a little lower than it was when I received the guitar, but that was not to be, due to the non-adjustable height of the pickups (the strings will buzz against the bridge pickup cover if the saddles are lowered). I've gotten used to it; with the slightly higher action it's cool to be able to really dig in and bend the high E string, for example, but with the hardtail Strat-style bridge, I still hold the considerable difference in pickup heights to be a design flaw. Of course, they were still working out some of the bugs...

Works great. All pots and wiring are original and quiet in operation. If you ever get one of these original ten Beans, don't tighten the pickup mounting bolts too tight - they don't go directly into the pickup like on later TBs, but into a bar precariously attached to the baseplate from the INSIDE of the pickup! When pulled from the back by tightening of mounting bolts, The screws holding the bar in place can pull right through the baseplate. This guitar's finish had a fairly miserable all-over rash due to the infamous "Travis Bean Case Foam Reaction." It must've sat on its back in the case under a bed or something, because the back was in particularly bad shape due to cemical reaction under pressure. It took about six hours and a whole bottle of Meguiar's car cleaner/wax, but the top looks like CRYSTAL now, and the back looks merely "great". There are 20 thin coats of lacquer on early Beans, so I wasn't afraid to do some rubbing-out. Oh yeah - strap buttons are original - in 27 years no one ever put Straploks on this twelve pound guitar! Thank you!

N/A

It was worth paying a premium for this extremely rare Travis Bean. I had to get rid of two Beans to be able to afford my Veleno, and lately I'd really missed having a Bean around. I was waiting for the right "Mickey Mouse-eared" early TB to come along, and this is definitely the one! I'll forgive the little flaws here and there. It sounds great, looks great; just flashy enough. Also, it's fun to put the Travis Bean and Veleno headstocks next to each other so they spell "TV."

Made around 1975 in California by Travis Bean Guitars Ltd. 22 frets - Aluminum Neck + Receiver unit through guitar Koa Body - Natural Laquer finish with a lighter stripe down the middle 2 Massive Travis Bean Humbuckers - (gibson setup - toggle, 2 vol, 2 tone) Brass nut Schaller tuners VERY flat neck....no curve at all Great sustain, beautiful looking guitar Finish is not very durable - hand rubbed laquer - checked from shipping (warm to cold climate change) Original Travis Bean case

Really nice sound....very trebley bridge p/u with a nice thick neck p/u sound Great sustain & Playability Very versatile guitar...great for Jazz through to heavy Flat fingerboard is sometimes boring.... very very heavy Beautiful finish..great looking guitar

Bought second hand No real factory flaws - Travis Bean guitars were very one-off when coming out of the factory - no two are alike
only 3500 TB guitars/basses made ever

Trouble staying in tune until neck warms to room temperature Very tough neck and receiver....durable Finish will last..but succeptable to checking and damage Dependable

Travis has started the company again and will soon be building custom ordered, hand built guitars. Repair is difficult due to design.... p/u rewinding is expensive (silicone potted) P/U replacement almost impossible

Playing for 4 years - own a travis bean bass and a couple acoustic guitars I wish I had shipped it better so that the finish wouldn't have damaged in transit (weather) I would buy another but they are hard to find Love the guitar - amazing instrument