- Travis Bean
Travis Bean is an American
luthier and machinist fromCalifornia .In the 1970s, he partnered with Gary Kramer to start Travis Bean Guitars, which made high-end electric guitars and basses featuring machined aluminum necks, an unusual design that provided incredible clarity and sustain. The aluminum center section ran through the instrument body, with the pickups directly mounted to the aluminum. The majority of these instruments featured solid
koa wood bodies andhumbucker pickups. Models included the Artist, Standard, Wedge (rare), and TB500 (rare) withsingle coil pickups.The downside to the use of aluminum necks was their weight. Kramer and Bean parted ways in 1975, with the former starting
Kramer Guitars . The first series of Kramer guitars were redesigned aluminum-necked instruments but utilizing wooden inserts along the back of the neck to cut down on weight and provide a more traditional feel; this was also partly to get around Travis Bean's patent on the original neck design.Bean produced several more aluminum-neck guitars and basses in the late 1990s, though no more than 9-10.
Musicians who play or have played Travis Bean guitars and basses
Guitar Players
*
Steve Albini — plays TB500 and Wedge
*Apostolis Anthimos ofSBB
*Duane Denison ofThe Jesus Lizard , DK3, Tomahawk andU.S.S.A.
*Jerry Garcia
*John Debney
*Leo Baldino
*Stanley Jordan
*Keith Levene ofPublic Image Ltd — played Wedge
* Tim Mahoney of 311
*Efrim Menuck ofGodspeed You! Black Emperor
*Kim Mitchell
* Juan Montoya ofTorche
*Stephen O'Malley ofKhanate (band) andSunn O)))
* Richard Reed Parry ofThe Arcade Fire
* Scott Paterson of Sons and Daughters
* Stephen Pedersen of Criteria
* Joe Perry
* Yannis Philippakis of Foals — plays Artist
*Lee Ranaldo ofSonic Youth — played Artist (several were stolen in July 1999) [http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/eq/gear.html The Sonic Youth Gear Guide] . Retrieved on2008 -09-25.]
*Keith Richards
* Gary Schider ofFunkadelic
* Jeff Schneider ofArab on Radar
* Slash
* Matty Bolger of The Redneck Manifesto
* Bret Calder of I,Parasite andAndroid Lust
* Joe Ferrara of Father Divine
* Ceylon Mooney ofPezz , That Was Then, Last Chance and Bury the Living
* Travis Bean ofCalgary , AlbertaBass Players
*
Peggy Foster played a Fretless Bass serial #248 onSteve Vai 's "Flex-Able " and "Anthology" albums.
* Matt Gentling ofArchers of Loaf
*Mick Karn of Japan
*Chosei Funahara ofPlasmatics
* Jonathan Nuñez ofTorche
*Bob Weston of Shellac
*Bill Wyman of theRolling Stones References
External links
* [http://www.travisbeanguitars.com/index.php Travis Bean Unofficial Guitar Resource]
* [http://www.autohobbydigest.com/aluminum_guitars/travisbean.html Instrument Information Page]
* [http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/travis-bean-guitars/Nov-05/15178 Guitar Player Magazine Article - November 2005]See also
Frying pan (guitar) - The first aluminum neck guitar, 1930s
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