pbeekman
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18 Sep 2001
Posts: 65
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 Posted: 09/27/2007 at 2:04 AM Post subject: TBs as players? |
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Hmm, there were a few years where I 'ducked out' of the bean scene, so to speak, and when I reacquainted myself, prices had really gone crazy (and not just TBs - has anyone seen the prices of old Gibson LPs lately?!). Anyway, given the prices musicians are paying for the old metal beasts these days, I wonder how long it will be before these instruments will no longer be viable as players? I've only rarely seen bands using guitars worth more than 5k on stage - at least in my experience. What do others think is the price at which they would no longer gig / play a guitar on a frequent basis?
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holmes
Joined:
29 Feb 2008
Posts: 182
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| Posted: 09/28/2007 at 8:25 AM Post subject: RE:TBs as players? |
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i stand on mine sometimes.
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rlrlrl
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24 Dec 2007
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| Posted: 09/28/2007 at 9:09 AM Post subject: RE:TBs as players? |
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yeah i think that depends completely on your point of view as a musician. if you've got a guitar that does something nothing else can do, than it's always worth more to play it. everybody's got different values.
maybe there's some sort of gambling metaphor, like "never bet more than you can afford to lose". don't play a $5k guitar on stage if losing it would mean the end of your musican career. but really, think about all the classical musicians who play $100k violins, and take them everywhere.
i'm on tour right now with a band called Howlin Rain. The guitarist plays a beautiful 64 jaguar that he totally beats on every night. i think it's even a custom color (or maybe just refin). people always tell him how much it's worth, but he'll play that thing until it's completely destroyed. it's all intangible, but when you play guitars a lot they change (for the better). guitars have souls. no two Beans sound alike either, but that's not ONLY from the way they came out of the factory. i guess you can see where my prejudices lie. you have to live life while you've still got it.
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admin
Joined:
01 Jun 2001
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| Posted: 09/28/2007 at 9:27 AM Post subject: RE:TBs as players? |
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rlrlrl, my sentiments exactly. Especially when you said... "... guitars have souls ...". I've said over and over that Beans have a soul. I know that applies to other guitars and what not, but remembering when I got my Bean, I felt like it was trying to tell me something.. it's history, etc. I felt like I needed to play up to it's standard or something. Then the tones and chord progressions of what I normally played changed, it inspired me to write in a whole new direction (not the same as buying a strat, and busting out rock blues all of sudden, but something much more cerebral and original). I've owned a lot of guitars throughout the years, and no guitar made me feel like that.
Beans are great because they were hand made by a few dudes in a shop. I agree that no two Beans sound the same (even though I've only played a small handful of Beans). I like how each one has a slightly different look (be it knobs, koa grain, physical dimension [neck/body thickness] changes, etc. I like how they tried to evolve through their short run and improve. Some people like the improvements.. some don't. Some improvements changed the tone, some didn't.
I myself will play my Bean every opportunity I can. I've played in some pretty shitty/shady bars, and literally sat on the case while I was there waiting to play, and after I was done. I do understand the risk, and take it, because there is no alternative for getting certain tones. If my Bean was lost, it would hurt.. and hurt bad. I would need to get a replacement as close as I could to my serial number, and I would pay any amount to get it. But would that Bean have a similar tone.. similar soul? Who knows.. that's the scary part.
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rlrlrl
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24 Dec 2007
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| Posted: 09/28/2007 at 9:58 AM Post subject: RE:TBs as players? |
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this is a tangent, but still --
I've heard that the structure of wood will rearrange itself on a molecular level when vibrations are repeatedly put into it. for instance, the resonant frequency of the BODY of a sitar will actually change to whatever pitch its strings are tuned to... after years and years of playing. I don't know anything about the micro-structures of aluminum, but i wouldn't be surprised if something like this happens too. There are 2 souls to a guitar, the first given to it by its builder, the second by its player.
i'm reminded of the lines from Lucinda WIlliams' "Drunken Angel":
You could have held on to that long smooth neck,
Let your hand remember every fret.
The worn down places in the wood [aluminum!],
That used to make you feel so good,
drunken angel
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eric
Joined:
03 Aug 2007
Posts: 48
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| Posted: 09/28/2007 at 11:58 AM Post subject: RE:TBs as players? |
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i like these responses.
i played my out for the first time a few weeks ago. i kept it by my side all night and luckily had a parking spot right in front of the club, but i bought it to play it live. i hope i don't get to a point where my fear of losing it would out weigh my desire to play it live.
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pbeekman
Joined:
18 Sep 2001
Posts: 65
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| Posted: 09/28/2007 at 7:46 PM Post subject: RE:TBs as players? |
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These are very passionate responses - good to hear that genuine artistic values are still alive and well in the TB playing community! I agree that it's important to play great instruments - and also to lobby those who could benefit from bean greatness to get into them (Pere Ubu, I'm looking at you).
Cheers,
Paul
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guitarcharlie
Joined:
06 Jan 2008
Posts: 250
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| Posted: 09/28/2007 at 10:02 PM Post subject: RE:TBs as players? |
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Good comments! It is great to share a passion for these amazing guitars. Yes more great players should experience these instruments. I'm pretty bored with my strat and Les Paul now and wonder what I would do without a Bean...life would be boring because I have heard what is possible and I can't go back!
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mark_fosella
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| Posted: 09/30/2007 at 3:29 AM Post subject: RE:TBs as players? |
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I used to own a TB2000. It was part of a music store trade-in of a Gibson EB0. The EB0 was too deep-sounding and I wanted something a little brighter sounding. The first thing I noticed upon playing the Bean was that it was like playing on a machine. It was so comfortable and easy to play. The action and feel was incredible and yet the neck was much wider than the EB0. I also believe that guitars have souls and the TB2000 had a very good soul. If I had continued in my musical direction I would always have played it and guarded it with my life.
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LHakim
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| Posted: 10/02/2007 at 6:38 PM Post subject: RE:TBs as players? |
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I was/am lucky: when I bought my TB1000S in 1980, its previous owner had ditched the pickguard and changed out the nut to make it a lefty. So by today's standards the guitar's collectibilty had already taken a hit but back then Beans, though rare, were considered anything but a collectible guitar. Thus in the ensuing 27 years I've had the luxury of being able to play mine extemely hard in every kind of environment, without guilt, or fear of theft. Today it looks as battered as the most heavily played pre-63 players-grade Teles and Strats---a true "road-warrior" (IMHO the best look for a guitar!), plays beautifully, and like others have mentioned has developed a very deep sounding "second soul".
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