The Lean, Mean Travis Bean

The Lean, Mean Travis Bean

EXTENSION CHORDS

by Allen Hester

Across the fruited plains of America, the cry goes up for high quality handcrafted instruments. In todays fragile environment, musicians clamor for choice wood and good craftsmanship in electric guitars, which traditionally are crafted of rare hardwoods from all over the world. In reaction to the diminishing availability of such guitars on the market in recent years, many players have come to prefer older guitars for their superior craftsmanship and quality.

So when Travis Bean ventured that an electric guitar with a solid aluminum, neck was functionally superior in everyway to a wooden necked instrument, and when this same Mr.’Bean (remember. Les Paul s real name is Lester Poulfus) was bold enough to suggest that his instrument not only works better but has a genuine aesthetic appeal, the pickers peered out from behind thbir vintage Gibson and Fender Axes and said. “Oh yeah? Well, what makes that one better than mine?”

To begin with, the neck of the Travis Bean is one solid piece of highly tolerant aluminum which is unaffected by changes in temperature and humidity and thus will not warp. Both the machine heads and the bridge assembly are embedded in this aluminum neck, with resonant properties better than those of laminated maple or mahogany necks on conventional instruments. To further enhance and sustain body.resonance, the pickups are mounted snug into the body as opposed to the usual spring-mounted design used to suspend most pickups over a hole in the body. The nut is solid brass: the bridge is stable and adjustable to perfection. Once set, the intonation requires less frequent correction than the guitars of yesteryear.

Even though some players lament the lack of warmth in the feel of the guitar, specifically the neck, it appears to be only a momentary disorientation brought on by having just picked up the first really new electric guitar of the last two decades. The simple fact is this: the precision demanded in recording and in concert is better met by the Travis Bean, and many significant players have already realized this and embraced the instrument as a genuine innovation . The guitars stay in tune better and the pickups deliver clear low distortion tone at both extremes in volume. Furthermore, the dense, highly figured Hawaiian Koa wood body reinforces, sustain and enhances resonance. The hand-rubbed lacquer finishes are handsome without b^ing gaudy, particularly the hand-carved top of the TB 1000 Artist model. The flat rosewood fingerboard and jumbo frets make fingering much easier, especially string-bending and vibrato.

Travis Bean guitars are available with lW or IV2" widths at the nut in a choice of finishes and body styles. The TB 1000 and TB3000 Wedge (a show stopper!!) come equipped with dual coil humbucking type pickups; the TB500 guitar and the TB2000 and TB4000 bass guitars feature two high gain single coil pickups. Deep double cutaway body design allows easy access to 22 frets and there are no “dead spots” on the necks. Volume and resonance are balanced across all strings throughout the length of the fretboard. That is perhaps one of the most convincing things about the Travis Bean guitars; they punch just,as hard above the 12th fret as they do in the first five.

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Another great Travis Bean feature is the price tag. The TB1000, at $695 suggested retail, is well within the going price range and should not be confused with those exotic multi-laminated monsters from San Francisco that require a • small fortune and a Who’s Who listing to own. Rather than being reserved for the demigods of progressive music, the Travis Bean guitar is equally at home in riff rock, space funk or just plan pickin’. On your way back to forever. check this one out.

Further info' can be obtained by writing Travis Bean, Inc., 11761 Sheldon Street, Sun Valley, California 91352, or by calling 213/767-2159.