Travis Bean 1970s TB-1000A & 1975 TB-2000 | CME Vintage Demo

Transcription Summary:

Nathaniel and Mike from Chicago Music Exchange are showcasing two vintage Travis Beans, a guitar and bass from the 1970s. A TB1000A and a TB2000 bass. They discuss the unique design of Travis Bean guitars, which feature a solid aluminum neck running through the body with pickups and the bridge mounted directly to it, resulting in a bright sound and significant sustain. The guitars, designed by Clifford Travis Bean with Gary Kramer and Mark McElwee, aimed to differ from traditional wooden guitars. The TB1000A has a carved body and block inlays, distinguishing it from the standard TB1000S. They also mention notable players of Travis Bean guitars and basses, including Bill Wyman, members of Shellac and The Jesus Lizard, Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, and Slash, before preparing to demonstrate the sound of the instruments in full band context. Do you own one of these instruments? Chicago Music Exchange buys, trades and consigns from single pieces to massive collections.

Full Transcription:
Hi folks, Nathaniel here at Chicago Music Exchange. I'm joined by Mike. What we've got here today, Mike, are two really cool Travis Beans from the '70s. It's actually really awesome that we have both of these at the same time. 

Yeah, it was kind of funny the way it happened. Someone reached out to us with this one, we ended up acquiring it, and like the next day someone reached out with this. I was like, "We're doing a video!" This is a different person.

Yeah, yeah. Wow, what's the chance of that? Yeah, are you familiar with Travis Bean at all? I am. I mean, I wasn't too familiar with who played them. I had a vague idea. I know I've seen a couple of people play them, but I didn't really know the history and, you know, why it came to be.

Sure. Yeah, I mean, the idea was, as far as I'm aware, just trying to do something different, you know, something different from the typical wood guitar. So, Clifford Travis Bean in '74, I believe, designed these with Gary Kramer, if you're familiar with Kramer guitars. Later on, he separated and did Kramer guitars, and a guy named Mark McElwee. [Music] [Applause] Thank you.

They all have such a unique sound because it's this solid aluminum neck that runs through into this solid aluminum block here in the body, and the pickups and the bridge are actually mounted to that. The wood is kind of an insert around the rest of it. Oh, wow. And, they just have a ton of sustain, they sound really bright usually.

Yeah. The wooden fretboards on these, as opposed to some of the more modern stuff, mellow them out a little bit. Yeah. They play a little bit more like a wooden neck. Yeah, yeah. It's interesting that you mentioned the bright sound because initially, I wouldn't have been able to tell a Travis Bean guitar from a record. But after doing a bit of research and looking at who played them and listening to them, it's like, "Oh, wow, they can stand out!" It's kind of obvious now, you know? I mean, they're really comfortable to play. I actually really like this.

This one is from the '70s as well, right? I believe, yeah. And this is the TB1000A, correct? Yeah. The guitar models, the standard models, are the TB1000S and TB1000A. The difference being the A has a carved body, whereas the S is kind of a slab body.

Yeah. And it's got block inlays, whereas the standard has dots. Yeah. I mean, I really like this one. Like I said, the carved body and the block inlays, I'm a big fan of block inlays.

Yeah. They're usually cool bodies too, which are usually really pretty. Yeah, the highly figured stuff. This is a TB2000, which is the bass model. Really, the same idea as far as construction, just, you know, it's a bass now.

Is there any kind of notable players of a Travis Bean bass? Just name two, so they can't like go crazy on us. Yeah. So, Bill Wyman from the Rolling Stones actually was known for playing one just like this. Yeah, and then the guys from Shellac, and The Jesus Lizard. Yeah. I know Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards used to use them. I think Slash used to use it on only one song, "No Bad Obsession." Interesting, apparently. Uh, I could be wrong, don't go crazy now, but you know, uh, but yeah, very fun guitars. Well, I think we're gonna check out how they sound. Absolutely.