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a nervous return to the board with a question

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travis

Joined:
04 Jul 2007
Posts: 29
PostPosted: 09/23/2008 at 9:01 AM    Post subject: a nervous return to the board with a question link

howdy all,

after alot of thought ive decided to post to the board again. not that i ever posted much, but i did decide to stop being a part of this community about a year ago. it wasnt worth swimming with the sharks i thought. i have however continued to read and learn from the board.

im really happy to see that it seems like for the most part there has been a turn for the better and folks are acting with more openess, kindness and support. sure a messy spat here and there, but for sure an improvement. bravo to admin for helping us all be better friends.

so im posting overjoyed that have re-entered the bean ownership club. for a few years i was the loving owner of 1000a #155. through economic pressure, and some social pressure that bean left my possesion in what must be one of the most crazy, long winded, dishonest transactions to take place in beandom. its a story i have considered posting here (with identities hidden of course) so we could all learn from my mistakes. i want to come clean.

since the night i boxed up 155 and shipped it off ive been heart broken. a million times i regretted the decision. something every bean owner should really think over before doing the same. i have waited paitently for a bean i could afford would surface. i had one paid for and all but in my hands when the deal fell through. and there was retaliation involved in the deal going sour.

but last week i wrote an email to the seller of 1113 on ebay. it is heavily modded and was within my price range. after speaking to him, he kindly understood where i was coming from and agreed to sell it to me for less than he surely would have gotten on ebay.

so i am now the ecstatic owner of a 1000s minus a bridge pickup and a quater sized cylinder of wood going through the body. my plan right now is to refinish the guitar in white after patching the hole, and replacing the pickup with something appropriate.

i would much appreciate any advice on this. of course a very hot humbucker from fralin or equivlent seems like a good choice, but im really considering a single coil. does anyone have experience with a single coil bridge in thier 1000? perhaps a fralin p92 or something similar. im also wondering about having a 500 single coil clone made for this.

this one will be in my will, or pryed from my cold dead hands.

thanks everyone
--travis

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TomWanderer

Joined:
29 Jul 2008
Posts: 49
PostPosted: 09/23/2008 at 11:06 AM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

Hello Travis!
TB1000 # 1113 was nearly in my hands as well.
I have been a long time bean enthusiast, but never an owner and I have been looking for something
beat up, modded, unoriginal, etc. that could make ownership realistic. I made an offer to the seller, he made a suggestion and provided his phone number if I could meet the suggested price. I called to confirm and, well, your offer must have been a bit higher.
Anyway, what could have been a rather sad day wasn't so bad as the gentleman selling #1113 was a very nice guy and it was pretty easy to understand where everyone was coming from.
Though I don't really have a suggestion as to what to fill that empty bridge pickup space with, I just wanted to say that reading your post made me happy that you got the guitar and that you're back in the Bean fold at price that doesn't make everyone shudder.
Congratulations on the win, Travis, and I personally think that white refinish sounds absolutely killer.
-Tom

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charlie

Joined:
06 Jan 2008
Posts: 250
PostPosted: 09/23/2008 at 1:39 PM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

OK Travis, I am curious and I am sure others are also...what happened with #155??? Names are not necessary, but please tell what happened. I remember that you had put it up for offers and got some flak about the finish/originality of the body.

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BoulderBean

Joined:
04 Feb 2004
Posts: 309
PostPosted: 09/23/2008 at 3:01 PM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

Welcome back Travis. Yes we are all trying to play nice these days, and for the most part succeeding.

Congratulations on the Bean purchase. Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. Please be sure and post some before and after pictures for us to oogle. Best of luck with the project.

-Peter

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travis

Joined:
04 Jul 2007
Posts: 29
PostPosted: 09/23/2008 at 6:20 PM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

tom,
thanks for the kind words. i was wondering if i was going to put my foot in my mouth announcing i got that bean knowing others on the list were vying for it. i aggree that the seller was a really great guy. he said he got over 20 questions on the first day and that only mine and one other appeared not to come from a collector or dealer. he really wanted it to end up in someones hands who would cherish it and i assured him i would. perhaps you were the other? thanks so much for understanding. ill keep my eyes peeled and pass any tips your way.

yea, im thinking white will be beautiful. the best color on a bean, although i love the yellowed ones too. its a lbeautiful slab of wood though, so ill have to think about it. im also considering just leaving the hole open or putting an ebony plug in it. ill post picks when im done with whatever i choose.

im still not sure about sharing the saga of 155. its good reading for sure, but i dont want to reopen any wounds and i certainly dont want to sour the board. but i do think it would be a good lesson for folks. ill think it over. maybe i could turn all the characters into smurfs and turn the guitar into some really nice and rare smurf boots in a rare color like yellow.

so any tips on the bridge pickup thing? im especially curious about people experience with single coils?

thanks again
--travis

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charlie

Joined:
06 Jan 2008
Posts: 250
PostPosted: 09/23/2008 at 6:51 PM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

Well, I know I am in the minority on this, but I think the koa on that guitar is pretty damned cool. I would not cover it with paint. Especially considering that piece of koa has some nice dark interesting grain. It would be relatively easy to copy a travis bean body by painting any old piece of wood, but in the case of a refin, the koa gives them a real authenticity IMHO. The hole does not bother me either and I like your idea of a contrasting piece of ebony or something. I would experiment with several different pickups for the missing bridge...sounds like a great opportunity to experiment!

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charlie

Joined:
06 Jan 2008
Posts: 250
PostPosted: 09/23/2008 at 6:58 PM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

Hey speaking of experimentation, what about those piezo pickups that the previous owner had on there? I would be very curious to know what those sound like...I bet pretty good!...Might as well try them for awhile, because you would never do that to an all original guitar.

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rlrlrl

Joined:
24 Dec 2007
Posts: 260
PostPosted: 09/24/2008 at 12:01 AM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

I know it's been said, but Kevin's EGC pickups are top notch, both humbuckers and singles (I have some of both, and have played several others). And he knows his way around a Bean, for sake of repairs, as well as anybody else, or better. Unless you're looking for a sound out of that bridge pickup that's decidedly un-Bean-like, Kevin's pickups are the way to go. Hand wound, with care!

A single coil in the bridge will definitely have a lot of bite.... maybe even too much?

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AlxT

Joined:
13 Jan 2008
Posts: 10
PostPosted: 09/24/2008 at 8:15 AM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

Travis,
I remember seeing Stanley Jordan on The Johnny Carson Show years ago and he was playing a natural Travis Bean with a Pickup missing. I wonder if there is a chance you now have his old guitar?
Cheers

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admin

Joined:
01 Jun 2001
Posts: 1266
PostPosted: 09/24/2008 at 8:31 AM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

Stanley Jordan with TB1000S (missing bridge pickup)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyLsyVC_PaA

admin

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travis

Joined:
04 Jul 2007
Posts: 29
PostPosted: 09/24/2008 at 8:42 AM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

im fairly sure thats not the guitar. although the person i buoght it from is a friend of stanleys and did live sound sometime, so its possible he let stanley borrow it. i think the koa looks different though.
but considering stanleys got my pick-up, i bet his guitar isnt missing one anymore!!!

--travis

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rlrlrl

Joined:
24 Dec 2007
Posts: 260
PostPosted: 09/24/2008 at 11:14 AM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

In fact, didn't that auction listing say that the seller of your guitar sold Stanley his bridge pickup when he put in that weird peizo thing? The pickup from your guitar probably went to replace the one in the video.

I've personally always hated peizos. They're the worst of both worlds (like digitally mastered vinyl records?!), making all great acoustic guitars sound like mp3s. Put something awesome in its place! I'm certainly curious to hear, however, if the peizo does sound cool blended with the neck pickup.

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thebaron

Joined:
04 Mar 2008
Posts: 10
PostPosted: 09/24/2008 at 11:56 PM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

Hey Travis, since other folks have chimed in about the refin I thought I'd throw in my two cents.

#1 It IS a beautiful piece of wood! And original pickups,as rare as they are do turn up every year or so, so you could always put an EGC or similar pickup in there and just wait it out.If you put a block in the empty hole It would be very difficult to remove it down the line if you changed your mind. Looking back at the auction, it seems like all the original parts are there with the exception of the pickup. In the long run the guitar would remain more valuable.

#2 If you do decide to go with a refin, might I suggest RS Guitarworks in Winchester KY. They have done several guitars for me including my Travis Bean 1000s #108. I know, I know, this may seem to go against what I just said previously but I can explain. Some of you may remember my first post when I bought it via the Dallas show back in May. It was originally black and had been stripped down to the koa and finished in poly. RS did an amazing job with pulling the neck and preserving all the original black in the cavities, under the pickups and bridge and everywhere in the neck pocket. I'll be posting before and after pics here very soon!
Anyway, if you did want it refinished in white and like the yellowed look they can do that there. Fades and finish checking are a great part of what they do.Their aging process is really incredible. Check em out!

So anyway, there's my two {or three} cents. Cheers!



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Kevin

Joined:
16 Mar 2007
Posts: 147
PostPosted: 09/25/2008 at 12:10 AM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

It is possible to make an after market pickup to fit. It would be the correct design/internals but no Travis bean on top. Also making a single coil in a humbucker shell to fit is by all means doable. let me know if your interested.


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travis

Joined:
04 Jul 2007
Posts: 29
PostPosted: 09/25/2008 at 7:41 AM    Post subject: RE:a nervous return to the board with a question link

thanks for all the thoughful reponses everyone.

i am no doubt a bit torn about the refin plan. it is a pretty piece of wood, but to be honest im not a huge fan of koa. its often too much for me. i actually prefer the magnolia bodies. but more than anything i think the yellowed white and white are by far the best colors on a bean. theres just something about it....and i dont usually like white guitars either, but it somehow works so well with the aluminum.

in the end its really a decision about aestetics for me, not value. the value of these guitars is a curse. letting 155 go was one of the best things i ever did $$$ wise, and one of the worst as far as my emotional state. its like finding out your cat or dog is worth a million dollars. what do you do??? i mean, a million dollars is alot of ******* money right???

so secretly if the refin makes the guitar worth $5, ill be happier. or, and no ill will towards anyone on this board with this statement, is the bottom of the bean market fell out tomorrow and they were all the sudden $300 guitars id be all for it.

so the paint thing is just is it worth it. im leaning towards it is when i look through the gallery. #1462 tugs my heart strings.

so still no opinions from folks with single coils? i know someone has done this. when i had 155 i often played through just the neck pickup, so im just thinking that having a super hot single coil in the bridge might be an amazing way to have a different sound.

my main musical project is a solo one where i play guitar and bass through a looper and play drums as well. so when im running through the looper, especially if im bouncing tracks to different amps, i like to be able to get distincly different sounds. often i do this with pedals, but maybe this will just give me more possibilities.

kevin, thanks for chiming in. ive been meaning to write you to see about cost and turnaround to have you make me a pickup. do you have any opinions about the single coil thing? so you could make a 500 single coil to go under the cover and look the same?

maybe someone wants to trade bean pickup for an original case. it seems unlikely, but ill probably use a flight case i already have.

and for everyone who cringles because of the originality/value thing, remember that someone drilled a big ol hole in the body!!!

thanks again
--travis


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