Both of the aluminum necks are mine. I bought the Bean new in '74 from Len Kozak's Music House in Toronto. It's never been touched, just played - I brought it to Ted because I felt after all this time, it could use a little TLC. The Kramer I bought second hand around 94 or 95. Again, never been touched. The only issue was the ding in the neck. I play them both through an early MXR Dynacomp and early MXR Phase 90 (I think they were both purchased in 75 or 76) and into a Roland Jazz Chorus or JCM800. The Phase 90 I run at about 7 volts which adds a bit of break to the tone. Aluminum neck aren't for everyone. You'll never get warmth out of them but they sustain forever at the right settings
Amazing! I'm always looking for something different. I'm on the devide in Northern California. Ted's definitely got my work. Don't care about the shipping
I was so glad to see my old friend NeverDull! When I joined the US Navy back in the early '70s, I became intimately familiar with the stuff. We used it to shine brass brightwork on board ships.
Fun fact: the Bean pickups are Fender Wide Range humbuckers with new brass covers they bent and soldered. I read that in an article on Bean in Guitar Player Magazine back in the 70s. Luthier Phil Petillo designed and built the prototypes for both guitars. Kramer used his triangle frets.
The brass covers were on the first batch, but after that the pickup covers were stainless steel, and the bobbins were mounted to a 1/4" thick steel plate. (no wonder they weigh a bit!)
That Harmony wiring harness looks like something from my own special circle of Hell. I would never have the patience to deal with that. I love those DeArmond pickups!
The linear temperature expansion coefficient of aluminum vs. parallel grain wood is 23 and 3, respectively. You don't need to know what this means. You only need to compare the numbers and know that when you put your hand on an aluminum neck and transfer your body heat, the neck is going to move, alot.
people like saying that, but i call b.s. i had 2 of them, a 450G and a 650G. both of them were the most stable guitars i've ever owned in 38 years of playing.
@@cheezyridr nice. I wonder ufnit has to do with the kramera having less material mass, my egc is one big ol hunk o metal ,no wood. Could be why mine has to get up to temp? Physics is funnnn
@@sonikboom007 i could be wrong, but (i think) one of the big contributing factors was the roller nut. mine didn't have a conventional slotted nut. i could tune mine, and as long as the strings weren't new, it would stay tuned no matter what i did, even sitting in the case for weeks.
A great history into Travis Bean, at the age of 63 he left us far too early... 😞... I was 35 days old when that pickup was made and played a Travis Bean once in a shop called Sound Center in Cardiff Wales in the late 1970's it weighed a ton and it was only around £200 at the time I just saw one on reverb for 7K...😳... great work Ted please keep them coming
YES FINALLY! I always wondered what a luthiers' perspective on aluminum necks would be. They get so little coverage, cause these days they're mostly popular among the underground stoner and noise rock crowd, with occasional appearances in popular music. Have you ever worked on a newer design by EGC, TTTides or other more modern builders?
I love seeing these kind of offbeat guitars here, it's so cool how these smaller manufacturers had their own ways of doing things (even if sometimes that results in them being annoying to repair)
Lived in So Cal near the Travis Bean shop. My musician Buddies and I all had Bean guitars. A few bought them directly from Travis in custom ordered colors. In Those days guitars were selling used for $500 including a LP Black beauty I purchased. At one time I had 4 TB standards, 1 artist in White and 1 TB500 (strat) sunburst. Playing outdoor gigs at night, they were almost impossible to keep in tune. However indoor gigs and in the studio the tuning was quite stable with crystal clear tone and sustain for days. When hard times came I sold off most of my guitar collection (approx 25), but kept one TB standard. In the early 20's I listed on ebay for $2500. It sold in less than an hour to a Travis Bean collector. He buys every one he can find!
Travis Bean has *ahem* been, in my consciousness since my first "proper" gig seeing GnR at Wembley in the early 90s. For some reason Axl introduced a song as featuring Slash on the Travis Bean. /CSB
Around the 15:50 mark it looks like a potentiometer marionette show, either that or checking a trotline. Great work as usual and entertaining and educational as always.
LETS GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I have waited for a good aluminum video for ever. TB’s are my favorite guitars of all time, especially the 1000a. I have a custom one coming in from EGC.
I have a TB, it's in my dad's collection. I understand Slash is also a fan of Travis Bean's. My dad's is really nice to play, heavy though like you say. Thanks Ted.
I think an aluminium neck on a lucite body would be sooooo cool. Particularly as a bass player. Yet another superb job and interesting background, I don't know how you do it!
Great video man, I like the casting of pot knob control.You sure work on some very interesting musical instruments, and I enjoy your video's. You are a true craftsman/luthier thanks
I had one of the TB 1000 Artist with the carved top. Beautiful construction and wood. One fatal flaw. A reverse neck bow. Subtle but eventually a deal breaker. I tried stringing it up with 6 - .052 strings ... very tight, and gently heating the neck. Nope. Had elephant memory, wanted to return to it's shape. Perhaps someone will chime in with a suggestion as to successful fix ... shaving down and repolishing the aluminum or that there ... really love these vidoes and many thanks for posting them !!
Well I've been sort of binge watching your videos and I really like your channel. For a player that started researching to fix a crappy acoustic and am now working on my second electric build. These videos are not only entertaining but very useful to me. I wanna say thanks for your content and I appreciate the passion and care involved in your work. Kudos!
WAY back in 1979, I began playing in a 5-member band (well, technically, singing with the occasional acoustic guitar part) and our bass player had two Travis Bean bass guitars. He was (and last I saw him, still is) an incredibly talented bass player. Not sure if he is still the owner of those basses.
Thank you for this video. One of the many reasons I love this channel is catching odd and interesting guitars. This episode did not disappoint! My favorite guitar player, Lee Ranaldo, had two Beans. Both were stolen and one was recovered. Ty Segall also plays a black one so I've got a huge interest in them.
Original TBs are listed for $7-9K on Reverb. Don’t know if anyone actually gets their asking price, but I found that ask astonishing enough. Original list was $5-700 as I recall in the ‘70s, $3000 or so in 2021 dollars so they’ve more than doubled in value from new.
Kent Armstrong lives over the hill from me and he's shown me some of Dan Armstrong's whacky designs from the 70's. He makes decent, to spec pickups, too.
Man, I remember playing one of those in the music store that I used to ride my bike to as a kid here in Washington State in the '70s. They were, ummm, unique. Thanks for the ride down memory lane on the Travis Bean, and the Kramer too. That Harmony was an interesting specimen too--very crafty work getting that harness in and out--wow... I was curious if you ever get Webber Guitars (North Vancouver, BC) in your shop? Here in Seattle, there was a great boutique shop called Guitar Emporium that carried Larivee and Webber Guitars. In fact, the owner Robb not only looked a little like David Webber, they were also pals that used to hike and go skiing together. These days Robb shut his store down and I also hear that David has retired and shuttered operations. I love Webber Guitars but sadly never acquired one for myself even though 2 of my old band members own (because of my recommendation) their own Webbers.
Nevr-Dull is great. As a doorman who used to clean a lot of brass I highly recommend it. But even better than that is Flitz, a German brand that comes in a tube. Flitz will also clean and restore plastic and rubber, depending…
I had 2 of these. The aluminum Beans. One of them was a Jerry Garcia one that Jerry played for awhile in the 70's. I didn't really like them and sold them both. I sorta wish I had them back but.. I wouldn't play them. My Garcia one was Koa. I swear you could have run over those things with a car and nothing would happen to them. Tanks
I'm dealing with a lot of stripped screws. Instead of a hex key, I like to use Torx. But that works only on metric screws. Wera has a special shape on their hex keys. They call it Hex Plus. They grab more screws than any other hex keys I know of. They are worth the investment imho. I really love your videos! Regards, Etna.
Had a Travis Bean at one point. Great action! The problem was that the TB would stay in perfect tune with itself, but go slowly sharp (to the rest of the band) when the neck warmed up from contact with your hand. I really loved the action with relatively flat fretboard.
Les Paul had a real oddball back in the '50s, a guitar with an aluminum body and no headstock. The tuners were mounted on the body. Unfortunately it didn't work very well as a stage instrument, because the stage lights would warm the body and it wouldn't stay in tune.
On a similar but more complex harness on a budget fix I had some success making a template of the pot locations onto a piece of thin foldable plastic from a shirt box. I mounted the pots and switches etc into the plastic template and with some bending could manoeuvre the lot through an f hole. Once I had one pot located the rest were easy. This was on a 60s Japanese (very thin) Gretsch 'copy' with a bunch of controls. Worked like a charm and 20 years later it's still there. I wouldn't do it on a dot neck but it saved much grief and my friend had his guit back in less than an hour.
Cool video. I did a setup on a Kramer bass once where someone had epoxied a piece of leather on the back... Arguably to stop the aluminium cover from being scratched. That job wasn't that pleasant... But the bass was cool. I love this design and kind of dig the necks on these for consistency.
I had a Travis Bean for a short period. It was number 98 white with a black neck. The body was like a Strat. The guitar supposedly belonged to Ron Wood. The story was that Keith Richards swapped it for an ounce of blow while Ron was in the john. Keith shared some of the blow with Ron and ask him if he preferred the blow to his Travis Bean. Ron said that he did. Keith said good. They are cold guitars.
Those knots are interesting - I guess a lot of companies would reject something like this nowadays (or even back then). I wonder how often the hollow one annoys the owner with all the cables rattling inside lol. Excellent episode, love the weird electrics.
I had one of those Harmony’s along with a Silvertone amplifier from Sears as a teenager years ago. I remember how happy I was to finally be able to sell them and earn enough money to replace them with a Gibson 335 and a proper 1965 Fender Twin Reverb. Wouldn’t you know it? That Harmony and Silvertone amp are very desirable today. Not sorry I traded up, but the moral is never sell your old gear. Hold on to everything unless your wife threatens divorce! 😂
OMG! I have a '59 Silvertone by Harmony model 1429. It's the same guitar only single cut away. I bought it in 1980 and gutted it. It was in the closet for years. I recently rebuilt it and enjoyed all the fun of pulling that wiring harness through. I so feel your pain. And finding those switches and knobs is near impossible.
I feel like the Travis Bean neck through with a body attached must be the inspiration for the design of the Millimetric Instruments guitars made in Quebec.
I’ve got a Kramer aluminum-neck bass, from 1979-ish. I really like it - and oddly enough, I got it off a used rack 10 years ago for less than a Mexican Fender.
Aria Pro 1979- 1987 series in Matsumoto Japan at the FujiGen GaKki instrument factory made a Cardinal 350 model with a transparent blue finish and the exact same 1958 Les Paul DC body but the neck is the famous 5 piece neck and it’s weight about 6 1/2 pounds, this guitar is the whip and I first saw it on RUclips channel the guy was a professional player in Nashville his name is Dave and he said if you ever find a Aria pro cardinal 350 transparent blue finish get it add it to your collection because these are going up fast in $. It also features split coil switches these little thumb switches were a cool look and the tones were unbelievable! Growing up poor in 1960’s and 1970’s makes me appreciate the Japanese guitars.
I sold the Kramer instruments back in the day when they had the aluminum neck. The first ones were not coated and they would turn your hands black. Later, they added a heavy plastic cover over the back of the neck and this helped with both the black hands and the cold feel. The guitars and the basses had amazing sustain and on the basses the dead spot that plagues Fenders on the G string did not exist. The Petillo frets were interesting and they were rather hard. I have no idea if they could be refretted.
First, I want to thank you for sharing your work - I have learned a lot. I just finished rebuilding my brother's Harmony H78 (very similar to this one, but with a Bigsby). It was his "high school guitar". My youngest brother, who was about six years old at the time (~38 years ago), tried to play it when my brother was away at college, and it accidentally ended up badly broken. Later, my brother disassembled and stripped it, and then it sat for 30 years. I had to repair the damage, build a new fretboard with inlays, repaint it, replace the tuners and fix the electronics. For an amateur, I'm quite happy with the results - it's presentable, and it actually plays pretty well. I had to remove the switches and pots three times. Now I feel better. I thought I was just extremely uncoordinated... The guitar was missing four knobs, but I managed to find four on eBay that were painted day-glo orange. After stripping them with isopropyl alcohol, they were too white, but a light coat of amber shellac on the inside of each one made them look almost exactly like the two original ones. I lucked out there. Coincidentally, the shaft was broken the same way on the same pot. I fixed that by epoxying and shaping a bit of metal next the remaining "nub" So Far, so good.
I took my 1979 Kramer bass to a well respected luthier in Laquna Beach for a refret years ago. He'd never done a Kramer metal neck before but he said he'd take it on. He did a great job on it worthy of his shop's reputation, but when I picked it up he said he never wanted to work on another one of these damned things again. 😁 ...and then he asked if I wanted to sell it.
Wow ! This takes me back ... I remember trying out various of the Aluminium neck styles and generally being impressed with the guitars like Travis Beam and Kramer. They certainly feel 'cold' and different as necks, but you adapt just as with many other differences between guitars ...
Play one outside on a cool or cold day for a couple of hours. They suck the heat right out of your hand. I still own some Kramer basses and The Duke is a great little 34 inch scale micro-bass that is a fantastic grab and go instrument. When I hit the age of 50 that cooling effect really gets the arthritis keyed up. Travis used to turn these bass necks two at a time. A pair of necks and blocks is turned down from one billet of aluminum and then they are sawn into two pieces right down the middle. Travis is turning on a lathe up in Heaven now.
The history of instruments using Aluminum is a fun rabbit-hole. I've yet to see a Musicraft "Messenger" in person. Those also looked like interesting guitars.
I used to own one of those Kramers, I might be wrong but I think they called the fingerboard material “Ebinol” or something similar. It was a base model, some of the more expensive guitars had DiMarzio pickups.
I was a Kramer dealer in the late 70s/early eighties. They called the fingerboard material "Ebonol" in the sales literature and stated that it was the same compound used to make bowling balls. I picked up a 6000B (the top-of-the line one with the DiMarzios and burl walnut top) in 1979. Still have it. It's really, really bright but great for outdoor gigs in humid weather.
I have vague memory of the Kramer fingerboard being called ebonite(as used in bowling balls). Also, the early Kramer pickups were rumored to be from Alembic. My bass player back in those days had an early Kramer bass that sounded like a Steinway grand when it had fresh strings. Love your vids and your attention to detail!
I have 2 USA Kramers. The point ones I bought new. They still play great and sound great. Not sure what it is about them but they get harmonics with ease. I always attributed it to the super thick Brazilian rosewood fretboard
im still using a 90s kramer superstrat. it has taken the kind of abuse a guitar that has never been in a case or bag takes, and besides needing a couple new frets it still holds up in playability
Just about finished my restoration of my Kramer 450 G , So much polishing , Polishing ..... Hit a brick wall with bridge set up Yup BUMMER striped out the grub screws. P.S finger fret material is called "Ebonol"
Had a refrigerator white Travis Bean for a short time in high school but could never bond with the neck. Between the coldness and the absolutely flat fingerboard, it was really uncomfortable. The pickups were pretty cool sounding though, reminded me of a Filtertron meets Wide Range Humbucker; I loved them but not enough to put up with the neck
Travis Beans are so ‘70’s 😉. Messenger guitars such as played by Mark Farner from Grand Funk Railroad were also aluminum necked and were built in California in the 1960’s.
I picked up a used TB1000 in about 1980 or so, for $300. Kept it for 30 years and sold it on Craigslist for $2500. I had the aluminum neck Kramer also. It had some tuning issues if memory serves. . It’s been such a long time…
![[BLACKSWAN] ‘Roll Up’ Official Music Video](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ulvCwyKrwqw/mqdefault.jpg)
Both of the aluminum necks are mine. I bought the Bean new in '74 from Len Kozak's Music House in Toronto. It's never been touched, just played - I brought it to Ted because I felt after all this time, it could use a little TLC. The Kramer I bought second hand around 94 or 95. Again, never been touched. The only issue was the ding in the neck. I play them both through an early MXR Dynacomp and early MXR Phase 90 (I think they were both purchased in 75 or 76) and into a Roland Jazz Chorus or JCM800. The Phase 90 I run at about 7 volts which adds a bit of break to the tone. Aluminum neck aren't for everyone. You'll never get warmth out of them but they sustain forever at the right settings
What kind of music do you play?
Amazing! I'm always looking for something different. I'm on the devide in Northern California. Ted's definitely got my work. Don't care about the shipping
Cold in the hand
@@avd-wd9581 a mix of stuff (Allman Bros, Gov't Mule, Tragically Hip, old jazz circa 30's & 40's) - no metal though!
@@zeusapollo8688 no argument there, but the neck does warm up with a bit of playing time
Weekend complete ✅
We used never-dull to shine our belt buckles for inspection, when I was in the Navy back in the early 70’s
Wow, I looked them up. Becoming quite valuable. Then again, except the Ford Pinto, most 70s stuff was good!
I was so glad to see my old friend NeverDull! When I joined the US Navy back in the early '70s, I became intimately familiar with the stuff. We used it to shine brass brightwork on board ships.
Fun fact: the Bean pickups are Fender Wide Range humbuckers with new brass covers they bent and soldered. I read that in an article on Bean in Guitar Player Magazine back in the 70s.
Luthier Phil Petillo designed and built the prototypes for both guitars. Kramer used his triangle frets.
How can you remember the pickup type from an article you read fifty years ago when I can't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday?
@@bluepvp900 Selective memory.
@@theexplodingmothfromhell8012 well it's still impressive
@@bluepvp900 haha absolutely
The brass covers were on the first batch, but after that the pickup covers were stainless steel, and the bobbins were mounted to a 1/4" thick steel plate. (no wonder they weigh a bit!)
The Harmony guitar sounds really good. Nice presence and a ringing quality to it.
probably because of the zero fret.
gotta love Sunn O))) and Shellac using those Travis Beans
Copper is a conductor, and makes for decent cooking
That Harmony wiring harness looks like something from my own special circle of Hell. I would never have the patience to deal with that. I love those DeArmond pickups!
The linear temperature expansion coefficient of aluminum vs. parallel grain wood is 23 and 3, respectively. You don't need to know what this means. You only need to compare the numbers and know that when you put your hand on an aluminum neck and transfer your body heat, the neck is going to move, alot.
Yup. My egc is stable after about 10 min of playing. Once its stable it stays on tune no prob! I had a bean aaaages ago.. and it was much the same
people like saying that, but i call b.s. i had 2 of them, a 450G and a 650G. both of them were the most stable guitars i've ever owned in 38 years of playing.
@@cheezyridr nice. I wonder ufnit has to do with the kramera having less material mass, my egc is one big ol hunk o metal ,no wood. Could be why mine has to get up to temp? Physics is funnnn
Man i should proof read before i hit post lol
@@sonikboom007 i could be wrong, but (i think) one of the big contributing factors was the roller nut. mine didn't have a conventional slotted nut. i could tune mine, and as long as the strings weren't new, it would stay tuned no matter what i did, even sitting in the case for weeks.
I've had a Kramer aluminum neck for years. Weighs a ton, but it stays in tune and has a lot of tones to it. Very versatile.
A great history into Travis Bean, at the age of 63 he left us far too early... 😞... I was 35 days old when that pickup was made and played a Travis Bean once in a shop called Sound Center in Cardiff Wales in the late 1970's it weighed a ton and it was only around £200 at the time I just saw one on reverb for 7K...😳... great work Ted please keep them coming
😮good morning it's very nice Ebony on the neck .... Shiny polish yes i thank you for
YES FINALLY! I always wondered what a luthiers' perspective on aluminum necks would be. They get so little coverage, cause these days they're mostly popular among the underground stoner and noise rock crowd, with occasional appearances in popular music. Have you ever worked on a newer design by EGC, TTTides or other more modern builders?
The Jesus Lizard!
Brent Hinds from Mastodon plays ECG! i really want one lol
Ty Segall plays an original Travis Bean
Steve Albini and Lee Ronaldo
Rose Marshack Of Poster Children as well, for the Bean. Bass though.
I love seeing these kind of offbeat guitars here, it's so cool how these smaller manufacturers had their own ways of doing things (even if sometimes that results in them being annoying to repair)
Lived in So Cal near the Travis Bean shop. My musician Buddies and I all had Bean guitars. A few bought them directly from Travis in custom ordered colors. In Those days guitars were selling used for $500 including a LP Black beauty I purchased. At one time I had 4 TB standards, 1 artist in White and 1 TB500 (strat) sunburst. Playing outdoor gigs at night, they were almost impossible to keep in tune. However indoor gigs and in the studio the tuning was quite stable with crystal clear tone and sustain for days. When hard times came I sold off most of my guitar collection (approx 25), but kept one TB standard. In the early 20's I listed on ebay for $2500. It sold in less than an hour to a Travis Bean collector. He buys every one he can find!
I've always loved the look of the Travis Bean guitars.
I'd give my neighbour's car for one.
Thanks for the vid
I like the sounds from the Harmony very much.
Travis Bean has *ahem* been, in my consciousness since my first "proper" gig seeing GnR at Wembley in the early 90s. For some reason Axl introduced a song as featuring Slash on the Travis Bean. /CSB
Around the 15:50 mark it looks like a potentiometer marionette show, either that or checking a trotline. Great work as usual and entertaining and educational as always.
I genuinely find it really helpful when you name all the different measuring systems!
7:15
Yes, penetration is paramount. Still waiting on those shirts Ted. Thanks for blessing us with yet another one
They should be ready to go next week. Just waiting on a hat sample.
I was getting worried, but our weekly episode is here :)!
Really fascinating watching you work. Props on the knob mold!
Excellent video ! Always loved the Travis Bean's. I had An aluminum neck Kramer bass in the early '90's
Always my favorite upload every week. That Travis Bean is a beaut. thx
LETS GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I have waited for a good aluminum video for ever. TB’s are my favorite guitars of all time, especially the 1000a. I have a custom one coming in from EGC.
puppeteering the harmony harness back into the place = oh the infinite delights
That Harmony has a sweet mellow tone. Thanks for another entertaining video.
I have a TB, it's in my dad's collection. I understand Slash is also a fan of Travis Bean's. My dad's is really nice to play, heavy though like you say. Thanks Ted.
I love unique guitars and am also very happy to see electric guitars back on the channel
Thanks bro, i love the aluminium guitars, TB, Kramer, EGC, Nude... really nice to see you doing a video on this.
Love the context history.
As always awesome work. I could watch more, if you ever make a longer video I for one would enjoy some more of the process.
I think an aluminium neck on a lucite body would be sooooo cool. Particularly as a bass player. Yet another superb job and interesting background, I don't know how you do it!
Also VERY heavy! I built a lucite body guitar. It weighs a ton. Sure looks cool though!
Electrical Guitar Company will build you one if you have the $$$.
I've played one years ago wooo... Epic sound yet heavy as hell.
Rock On
H.L.
🎶
Great video man, I like the casting of pot knob control.You sure work on some very interesting musical instruments, and I enjoy your video's. You are a true craftsman/luthier thanks
I had one of the TB 1000 Artist with the carved top. Beautiful construction and wood. One fatal flaw. A reverse neck bow. Subtle but eventually a deal breaker. I tried stringing it up with 6 - .052 strings ... very tight, and gently heating the neck. Nope. Had elephant memory, wanted to return to it's shape. Perhaps someone will chime in with a suggestion as to successful fix ... shaving down and repolishing the aluminum or that there ... really love these vidoes and many thanks for posting them !!
Well I've been sort of binge watching your videos and I really like your channel. For a player that started researching to fix a crappy acoustic and am now working on my second electric build. These videos are not only entertaining but very useful to me. I wanna say thanks for your content and I appreciate the passion and care involved in your work. Kudos!
WAY back in 1979, I began playing in a 5-member band (well, technically, singing with the occasional acoustic guitar part) and our bass player had two Travis Bean bass guitars. He was (and last I saw him, still is) an incredibly talented bass player. Not sure if he is still the owner of those basses.
Thank you for this video. One of the many reasons I love this channel is catching odd and interesting guitars. This episode did not disappoint! My favorite guitar player, Lee Ranaldo, had two Beans. Both were stolen and one was recovered. Ty Segall also plays a black one so I've got a huge interest in them.
H77 is one of my dream guitars. I think all the switches and knobs are hilarious. Utilitarian aesthetic.
Watching your videos is the only way I like to end my Sundays
Incredible talent! I can't understand why you don't have more subscribers.
I think the Harmony was the leader of that pack.
Original TBs are listed for $7-9K on Reverb. Don’t know if anyone actually gets their asking price, but I found that ask astonishing enough. Original list was $5-700 as I recall in the ‘70s, $3000 or so in 2021 dollars so they’ve more than doubled in value from new.
Love travis bean guitars. Hope to get one someday.
Kent Armstrong lives over the hill from me and he's shown me some of Dan Armstrong's whacky designs from the 70's. He makes decent, to spec pickups, too.
Man, I remember playing one of those in the music store that I used to ride my bike to as a kid here in Washington State in the '70s. They were, ummm, unique. Thanks for the ride down memory lane on the Travis Bean, and the Kramer too. That Harmony was an interesting specimen too--very crafty work getting that harness in and out--wow...
I was curious if you ever get Webber Guitars (North Vancouver, BC) in your shop? Here in Seattle, there was a great boutique shop called Guitar Emporium that carried Larivee and Webber Guitars. In fact, the owner Robb not only looked a little like David Webber, they were also pals that used to hike and go skiing together. These days Robb shut his store down and I also hear that David has retired and shuttered operations. I love Webber Guitars but sadly never acquired one for myself even though 2 of my old band members own (because of my recommendation) their own Webbers.
Nevr-Dull is great. As a doorman who used to clean a lot of brass I highly recommend it. But even better than that is Flitz, a German brand that comes in a tube. Flitz will also clean and restore plastic and rubber, depending…
That Harmony has a surprisingly pleasing brassy tone. Great video with some interesting guitars.
Great video thanks really enjoyed it I miss the Travis bean guitar
Has anyone thought to put a bottle opener in the headstock? These aluminum head guitars would be a natural for this.
Lol
Yup. They have
Nice work! I have seen one in a book on guitars and I wondered if it was heavy, you proved me right.
I had 2 of these. The aluminum Beans. One of them was a Jerry Garcia one that Jerry played for awhile in the 70's. I didn't really like them and sold them both. I sorta wish I had them back but.. I wouldn't play them. My Garcia one was Koa. I swear you could have run over those things with a car and nothing would happen to them. Tanks
I'm dealing with a lot of stripped screws. Instead of a hex key, I like to use Torx. But that works only on metric screws. Wera has a special shape on their hex keys. They call it Hex Plus. They grab more screws than any other hex keys I know of. They are worth the investment imho.
I really love your videos!
Regards,
Etna.
Torx definitely work as a last resort for stripped hexes as well.
Had a Travis Bean at one point. Great action! The problem was that the TB would stay in perfect tune with itself, but go slowly sharp (to the rest of the band) when the neck warmed up from contact with your hand. I really loved the action with relatively flat fretboard.
Les Paul had a real oddball back in the '50s, a guitar with an aluminum body and no headstock. The tuners were mounted on the body. Unfortunately it didn't work very well as a stage instrument, because the stage lights would warm the body and it wouldn't stay in tune.
I have an aluminum neck Kramer. XKG-20. Love it so much
The Travis Bean and the Kramer sound pretty close , but the Harmony surprisingly sounded the best . God Bless Mississippi John Hurt 👍✌️
On a similar but more complex harness on a budget fix I had some success making a template of the pot locations onto a piece of thin foldable plastic from a shirt box. I mounted the pots and switches etc into the plastic template and with some bending could manoeuvre the lot through an f hole. Once I had one pot located the rest were easy. This was on a 60s Japanese (very thin) Gretsch 'copy' with a bunch of controls. Worked like a charm and 20 years later it's still there. I wouldn't do it on a dot neck but it saved much grief and my friend had his guit back in less than an hour.
Cool video.
I did a setup on a Kramer bass once where someone had epoxied a piece of leather on the back... Arguably to stop the aluminium cover from being scratched. That job wasn't that pleasant...
But the bass was cool.
I love this design and kind of dig the necks on these for consistency.
I had a Travis Bean for a short period. It was number 98 white with a black neck. The body was like a Strat. The guitar supposedly belonged to Ron Wood. The story was that Keith Richards swapped it for an ounce of blow while Ron was in the john. Keith shared some of the blow with Ron and ask him if he preferred the blow to his Travis Bean. Ron said that he did. Keith said good. They are cold guitars.
Those knots are interesting - I guess a lot of companies would reject something like this nowadays (or even back then). I wonder how often the hollow one annoys the owner with all the cables rattling inside lol. Excellent episode, love the weird electrics.
I had one of those Harmony’s along with a Silvertone amplifier from Sears as a teenager years ago. I remember how happy I was to finally be able to sell them and earn enough money to replace them with a Gibson 335 and a proper 1965 Fender Twin Reverb. Wouldn’t you know it? That Harmony and Silvertone amp are very desirable today. Not sorry I traded up, but the moral is never sell your old gear. Hold on to everything unless your wife threatens divorce! 😂
Holding on to everything even if my wife threatens divorce.
Truer words never spoken!
Man up & speak out the truth.
I still have all my gear, got rid of the wife instead.
It's not the new guitar you regret buying. It's selling the old guitar you regret. Words to live by. I bought a new Travis Bean Bass guitar 1979.
OMG! I have a '59 Silvertone by Harmony model 1429. It's the same guitar only single cut away. I bought it in 1980 and gutted it. It was in the closet for years. I recently rebuilt it and enjoyed all the fun of pulling that wiring harness through. I so feel your pain.
And finding those switches and knobs is near impossible.
I feel like the Travis Bean neck through with a body attached must be the inspiration for the design of the Millimetric Instruments guitars made in Quebec.
Right on time! :D
Let's get some repairs!
I’ve got a Kramer aluminum-neck bass, from 1979-ish. I really like it - and oddly enough, I got it off a used rack 10 years ago for less than a Mexican Fender.
🖐🏽😎🎸👍🏽 Another Trip down Memory Lane. Heath Kit also sold the Harmony model shown here. I always wanted one as a teen. Thank you!
Aria Pro 1979- 1987 series in Matsumoto Japan at the FujiGen GaKki instrument factory made a Cardinal 350 model with a transparent blue finish and the exact same 1958 Les Paul DC body but the neck is the famous 5 piece neck and it’s weight about 6 1/2 pounds, this guitar is the whip and I first saw it on RUclips channel the guy was a professional player in Nashville his name is Dave and he said if you ever find a Aria pro cardinal 350 transparent blue finish get it add it to your collection because these are going up fast in $. It also features split coil switches these little thumb switches were a cool look and the tones were unbelievable! Growing up poor in 1960’s and 1970’s makes me appreciate the Japanese guitars.
I sold the Kramer instruments back in the day when they had the aluminum neck. The first ones were not coated and they would turn your hands black. Later, they added a heavy plastic cover over the back of the neck and this helped with both the black hands and the cold feel.
The guitars and the basses had amazing sustain and on the basses the dead spot that plagues Fenders on the G string did not exist. The Petillo frets were interesting and they were rather hard. I have no idea if they could be refretted.
Those Neverdull cans really hold forever. I have one nearly full that must be 20+ years old. :)
Brittle sounding things. The Harmony was a breath of life.
First, I want to thank you for sharing your work - I have learned a lot. I just finished rebuilding my brother's Harmony H78 (very similar to this one, but with a Bigsby). It was his "high school guitar". My youngest brother, who was about six years old at the time (~38 years ago), tried to play it when my brother was away at college, and it accidentally ended up badly broken. Later, my brother disassembled and stripped it, and then it sat for 30 years.
I had to repair the damage, build a new fretboard with inlays, repaint it, replace the tuners and fix the electronics. For an amateur, I'm quite happy with the results - it's presentable, and it actually plays pretty well.
I had to remove the switches and pots three times. Now I feel better. I thought I was just extremely uncoordinated...
The guitar was missing four knobs, but I managed to find four on eBay that were painted day-glo orange. After stripping them with isopropyl alcohol, they were too white, but a light coat of amber shellac on the inside of each one made them look almost exactly like the two original ones. I lucked out there.
Coincidentally, the shaft was broken the same way on the same pot. I fixed that by epoxying and shaping a bit of metal next the remaining "nub" So Far, so good.
I am late but happy to see. Id love to try an aluminum neck
I took my 1979 Kramer bass to a well respected luthier in Laquna Beach for a refret years ago. He'd never done a Kramer metal neck before but he said he'd take it on. He did a great job on it worthy of his shop's reputation, but when I picked it up he said he never wanted to work on
another one of these damned things again. 😁 ...and then he asked if I wanted to sell it.
Wow ! This takes me back ... I remember trying out various of the Aluminium neck styles and generally being impressed with the guitars like Travis Beam and Kramer. They certainly feel 'cold' and different as necks, but you adapt just as with many other differences between guitars ...
Play one outside on a cool or cold day for a couple of hours. They suck the heat right out of your hand. I still own some Kramer basses and The Duke is a great little 34 inch scale micro-bass that is a fantastic grab and go instrument. When I hit the age of 50 that cooling effect really gets the arthritis keyed up. Travis used to turn these bass necks two at a time. A pair of necks and blocks is turned down from one billet of aluminum and then they are sawn into two pieces right down the middle. Travis is turning on a lathe up in Heaven now.
The history of instruments using Aluminum is a fun rabbit-hole.
I've yet to see a Musicraft "Messenger" in person. Those also looked like interesting guitars.
I used to own one of those Kramers, I might be wrong but I think they called the fingerboard material “Ebinol” or something similar. It was a base model, some of the more expensive guitars had DiMarzio pickups.
I was a Kramer dealer in the late 70s/early eighties. They called the fingerboard material "Ebonol" in the sales literature and stated that it was the same compound used to make bowling balls. I picked up a 6000B (the top-of-the line one with the DiMarzios and burl walnut top) in 1979. Still have it. It's really, really bright but great for outdoor gigs in humid weather.
I used to have a Travis bean standard I had bought it from my guitar teacher many years a go
I have vague memory of the Kramer fingerboard being called ebonite(as used in bowling balls). Also, the early Kramer pickups were rumored to be from Alembic. My bass player back in those days had an early Kramer bass that sounded like a Steinway grand when it had fresh strings. Love your vids and your attention to detail!
The Kramer bridge reminds me of the bridge in the PRS Vela, which, honestly, is the easiest bridge in the world for string changes.
I really like how you go through a bot of guitar history with almost every episode. Im learning lots
You make my heart happy lol
Polishing.... polishing..... polishing.... 🤣🤣 Been there, that can be pretty tedious.
OOooooOOoooOO love that Harmony!!
I have 2 USA Kramers. The point ones I bought new. They still play great and sound great. Not sure what it is about them but they get harmonics with ease. I always attributed it to the super thick Brazilian rosewood fretboard
Love this, thank you!
These were very cool 😎, if quirky.
im still using a 90s kramer superstrat. it has taken the kind of abuse a guitar that has never been in a case or bag takes, and besides needing a couple new frets it still holds up in playability
A small correction: Three on/off switches would give 2x2x2 = 8 combinations.
Harmony sounds great.
Garcia loved his.
15:49 so you are a puppet player as well. Man of many talents.
Just about finished my restoration of my Kramer 450 G , So much polishing , Polishing ..... Hit a brick wall with bridge set up Yup BUMMER striped out the grub screws. P.S finger fret material is called "Ebonol"
Had a refrigerator white Travis Bean for a short time in high school but could never bond with the neck. Between the coldness and the absolutely flat fingerboard, it was really uncomfortable. The pickups were pretty cool sounding though, reminded me of a Filtertron meets Wide Range Humbucker; I loved them but not enough to put up with the neck
That Harmony assembly- like a puppeteer building a ship in a bottle . That looked hard to do.
Love that Harmony.
But the Bean dissapointed me soundwise. I thought I'd like it better than the Kramer, but in the end, I liked the Kramer better.
Thank you sir
Travis Beans are so ‘70’s 😉. Messenger guitars such as played by Mark Farner from Grand Funk Railroad were also aluminum necked and were built in California in the 1960’s.
I picked up a used TB1000 in about 1980 or so, for $300. Kept it for 30 years and sold it on Craigslist for $2500. I had the aluminum neck Kramer also. It had some tuning issues if memory serves. . It’s been such a long time…