Travis Bean guitars

[Deleted]

I was playing in Nantwich last night and got talking to a guy who runs a guitar shop there. A few minutes later he brings this guitar in.
Gotta say it was uncomfortably heavy, and didn't sound like it was a £6k guitar imo. Anyone else played one?

[Stevie]

Not played one TT but I've known of them since the mid 1970s. I recall they had "Tee" section necks with timber infills and this was suspected of being connected with the "T" of Travis Bean- like a trademark or whatever?

One problem associated with them is the strict linear coefficient of expansion of aluminium and heat's impact on tuning stability ... This would not have so much effect on a Richenbacher "Frying Pan" because of the high action and slide method of playing?

You might like to Google Veleno guitars too.

e&oe...

[pete1951]

I well remember them and try a few when the came into the shop. They seem to me a bit like new PRS guitars, well built good sound but somehow characterless. Some said that the aluminium neck could give problems when moving from one temperature to another but I never got to test that.
Pete
The T necks with wood infills were I think Kramer, the wood was supposed to give a more natural feel, but they didn’t catch on

[davetracey]

Re Travis Bean. Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead played one during 1976 and the first half of 1977.

[Stevie]

You're right Pete. I was thinking of the "Tee" shaped hole in the headstock as a trademark (unless I've got that wrong too?)

e&oe...

[pete1951]

I seem to recall a wooden finger board, as wood does not expand and contract in its length there may have been unwanted changes in action as the metal changed with temperature. This was never a problem with the new ones I saw, though temperature change in the UK are relatively small compared with the US.
Pete

[creolian]

Aug 4, 2019 12:03:09 GMT pete1951 said:

I seem to recall a wooden finger board, as wood does not expand and contract in its length there may have been unwanted changes in action as the metal changed with temperature. This was never a problem with the new ones I saw, though temperature change in the UK are relatively small compared with the US.
Pete

A bit off topic... in the 80s I worked on a summer festival tour this time of year trukin' thru the usa south and midwest.   The ambient temp at showtime was generally around 31c... with 120k of lighting at 80% the thermometer on the deck would visibly move to around 42c in ten minutes.

 Thinking back on it, I can see why many famous guitars look like they have been in an oven... at least a wood neck has spent half its life basking in the hot sun before it became a guitar...

[twtx]

Efrim Menuck from the Montreal musical collective known as Godspeed You Black Emperor plays one, and I think it's hugely responsible for his guitar tone and the band's overall sound. If you're unfamiliar with their material, I recommend disc 2 of "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennae to Heaven."