admin
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 Posted: 04/10/2009 at 8:25 AM Post subject: What, when and where was your first Bean sighting? |
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What, when and where was your first Bean sighting? Basically, what was the moment you saw the Bean for the first time... which started your hunt to own one?
For me it was either summer of 1995 or the summer of 1996. Shellac played at the Moose in Missoula, Montana. I've been a big fan of Steve Albini since Big Black.. then to Rapeman.. then to Shellac, but have never seen any incarnation live or seen very many photos, etc. I always appreciated his unique tone, especially in Shellac. I remembered being impressed with the symmetry of the band. At that time, the amps were the same, cabs were the same and they lined up in a straight line. And both Steve and Bob were playing with guitars with Ts in the headstock. That was the moment that started it for me.
who's next?
hank/admin
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BoulderBean
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| Posted: 04/10/2009 at 9:14 AM Post subject: RE:What, when and where was your first Bean sighti |
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Spring 1977
Folk Arts Music
Boulder, CO
They got in a Bean standard and I (13 at the time and taking guitar lessons at the store) overheard conversations about the "radical" design and high cost. I may have even gotten to play it once, but I can't remember for sure.
From then on I paid special attention to images of musicians playing Beans, particularly photos of Jerry Garcia and video of Stanley Jordan.
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turn
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Posts: 35
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| Posted: 04/10/2009 at 1:41 PM Post subject: RE:What, when and where was your first Bean sighti |
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seeing Low at the knitting factory - february 28, 2004. yeah i'm a little late to the game.
zak sally was playing this bass with a weird see-through headstock with a 'T'. i kept thinking it must have been made in texas or something .. something about the metal and the headstock made me think of a branding iron which i associate with cowboys which i associate with texas .. strange but that was my first impression. did some google searches and eventually found out about travis bean guitars mostly through the older version of this site and managed to get my own tb2000 in early 2006. good times!
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jonsau
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| Posted: 04/10/2009 at 4:17 PM Post subject: RE:What, when and where was your first Bean sighti |
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My first bean sighting was when i was teaching at a music store in richmond, va. my buddy who worked there said he had a "rare bass" with a metal neck that was "great for tapping", and also said that bill wyman played one. i was like, " i def dont want that bass". but i played it and it was bad ass and was louder than any other bass i had played. it was a white tb2000 which i still own to the day . and the price.....$300, to be payed in $100 payments for 3 months. ole!
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Obie
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| Posted: 04/10/2009 at 11:00 PM Post subject: RE:What, when and where was your first Bean sighti |
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Summer of 1975 in my parents backyard in Studio City. My brother brought over his black fretless TB bass to show everyone. I told him then and I still believe it is one of the purest pieces of design I have ever seen.
Kurt O.
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travis
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| Posted: 04/11/2009 at 12:34 PM Post subject: RE:What, when and where was your first Bean sighti |
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i was in high school, maybe 94 or 95. the first time i saw jesus lizard. it was at the stone pony in asbury park nj. when i wasnt bust trying to support david yows body weight or wiping his sweat out of my eyes, i was fixated on that weird seafoam green guitar with the metal neck. it was really like falling in love. than later to find out your crush has the same name as you?!! realizing the t in the headstock was for travis sealed the infatuation. i feel very blessed to be taking care of a bean and having it take care of me!
--travis
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TomWanderer
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29 Jul 2008
Posts: 49
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| Posted: 04/13/2009 at 11:12 AM Post subject: RE:What, when and where was your first Bean sighti |
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New Years Day, '97 or '98. I was at the Fireside Bowl in Chicago seeing Shellac for the first time. The show started at 10:00am. Shellac and The Nerves. Everyone was totally hung over, Todd Trainer was wearing a sleep mask over his eyes for the entire show and the band was making poptarts for the audience between songs. I was standing right up front, about two feet away from the headstock of Bob's TB2000. I fell in love with the Travis Beans right away, I couldn't believe my ears and eyes. The Fireside has since turned into something totally different, I must have seen a hundred shows there. I've been searching for a TB guitar ever since, but I am getting an ECG Lucite in a few weeks and I am so excited...I can't wait!
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theNewTerritories
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| Posted: 04/14/2009 at 11:11 AM Post subject: RE:What, when and where was your first Bean sighti |
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The first Travis Bean I ever saw in real life was Zak Sally's bass. I went to see Low in the fall of 2002 and made it just before they went on stage. I saw his bass leaning against his amp, and recognized it as 'one of those basses with the metal neck with the T in the headstock'. When they played, the tone floored me.
Afterwards I looked up some information and discovered the name of these unique guitars-
Travis Bean.
Soon after this show I went to see Fly Pan Am at Spaceland. I was very excited to see them live, because at that point they were one of my favourite bands - I had to borrow someone's drivers license to get into the show due to the fact that I was under 21 at the time and was nervous about not being let in. Fortunately, the doorman saw that it was a real Driver's license and not inspecting the photograph or details very closely, waved me inside.
I stood right in front and there I saw my first Travis Bean guitar in real life. I was right in front of Roger, the guitarist with the Travis Bean, and I got a really good look and not only that, a very good listen. When he picked up his guitar and started tuning it, I thought- ah, he also has a Travis Bean!
http://www.flickr.com/pho.....he_photographer/10208466/
This is a picture from that actual show.
When they started playing I could not believe the tone of his guitar- it was at once a dry and metallic yet incredibly clear, clean and resonant. Right then and there I knew that I had heard the tone that I was seeking.
After this show I did my research, but unfortunately, I didn't have the kind of money to buy a Travis Bean. (and this was when they were still fairly reasonably priced!) A year or two later I saw a Kramer hanging in a local guitar store and considering its low price and proximity to what I considered out of my reach, settled for that.
I never stopped longing for that tone, it became increasingly obsessive and no matter how I tried to replicate it, it just wasn't quite right. I decided then and there that it was time to do something about it.
Long story short- when I had finally accumulated enough capital to fulfill my pursuit, destiny seemed to manifest itself before my very eyes, because the first Travis Bean that made itself available to me was the EXACT same guitar I had seen that night.
Not just any Travis Bean, but the very Travis Bean that had started my obsessive quest. There was no doubt in my mind that this was a sign to act- there was no doubt- now or never- this guitar had to be mine!
The transaction revolving around the purchase of the guitar was incredibly positive and the seller made everything all the more wonderful for me, something that also shines a magical light around every memory so far attached to this guitar. (Thanks Matt! I will never forget your kindness!)
When I finally received it and opened the case for the first time... it is a memory I will carry with me until the end.
There is just such a failure in capturing how epic this was for me- it was like finally acquiring the master sword in the Legend of Zelda...
I had finally earned the Master Sword.
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Joefish
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Posts: 106
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| Posted: 04/14/2009 at 9:09 PM Post subject: RE:What, when and where was your first Bean sighti |
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My first Bean sighting was a double play. I met Travis Bean and saw a few Bean guitars at the NAMM Show in Chicago in 1978.
Ten years later, I traded a Les Paul for my Wedge at a guitar shop in Philadelphia.
(Kurt, Thanks again for posting this ¦ http://img124.imageshack......24/9010/tbgnamm7711ed.jpg ¦ that could be my Wedge)
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3rdparty
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| Posted: 04/15/2009 at 10:02 PM Post subject: RE:What, when and where was your first Bean sighti |
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Seeing hHead play in Toronto sometime in the mid 90's. I remember being fixated on the negative space of the guitarist's T in the headstock most of their set.
Wasn't long after that my brother bought home a thick bodied TB1000S - after playing that guitar I knew it was something different, and I had to find my own.
Set up a web page wanted ad, and somehow a seller of a TB1000A in Las Vegas found me (this was pre-eBay...).
TB2000 was a lucky find after 5+ years of obsessively scanning the local weekly buy/sell newspaper. There it was one day, "Travis Bean Bass - $300" - drove as fast as I could to the sellers house, and pretended not to be too excited when I saw the bass in person. They mentioned there had originally been 2 basses - should have inquired further what happened to the other one.
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sam1716
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24 Feb 2008
Posts: 37
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| Posted: 04/16/2009 at 6:12 AM Post subject: RE:What, when and where was your first Bean sighti |
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My first sighting was most likely Stanley Jordan on Carson. My dad was a jazz musician and didn't really care for Stanley's "Stairway" cover, but found it interesting enough to tell me to watch it. :) Of course, I had no idea what a Bean was then.
The first time I saw one as an adult was when my buddy at work lent me his. It played unlike anything I'd ever touched and I was in love immediately.
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charlie
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06 Jan 2008
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| Posted: 04/16/2009 at 9:10 PM Post subject: RE:What, when and where was your first Bean sighti |
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October 14, 1976...The first time I saw Jerry Garcia playing with that big band of his...grateful something....at the Shrine Auditorium in LA. I was just a hick from the sticks and what a night that was for me! I remember that white guitar with the aluminum neck very clearly....damn it sounded good. That was right before he started gooping up his tone with all those gizmos too...just pure Travis Bean tone ripping out those glorious riffs.
I think I'll go listen to that tape again.
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edp242
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22 Feb 2009
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| Posted: 04/18/2009 at 6:42 PM Post subject: RE:What, when and where was your first Bean sighti |
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Well my story is completely different.
I was pissed off about some jerk heckling my band on a prior gig and was scouring my local vintage guitar shops for something i could break over someone's head without feeling particularly guilty. So then i saw this guitar there with a metal neck! Perfect! Not only can i bash someone's skull in with it, but the guitar wont break!!
That was in the summer of 2003.
Needless to say, the rest is history: i started looking into what these strange metal neck guitars were, looked into who played them (and was surprised at how many of my favorite bands, especially in the Chicago/Louisville punk scenes and math-rock scenes played them), and of course played the one in the store to the point where the owner's patience was tried, tried, tried!
Best,
Tim
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