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Travis Bean TB2000


Bridgehouse
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It's highly likely that you are going slightly mad, but you're not alone in that! :~} ...

Those Travis Beans are awesome machines.

I think they're probably unplayable, will knacker your back, were prone to going out of tune due to metal expansion, can't be played if it's really cold (did you see the video of the bloke whose tongue got stuck to an ice-cold beer tap?) and may give weird (or no) feedback to your neck hand (Kramer derived ones added wood inserts to the neck to give them a bit of feel).

So, based on that, I say go for it!

(I've no idea as to price, though I did see one a few months back in a shop on Denmark Street and I remember thinking it wasn't cheap.)

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I don't get this tuning problems myth that seems to follow these instruments around.

I've not owned a Travis Bean, but I have had (and used live) examples of pretty much all the other metal necked and bodied instruments that have come and gone over the years, and so long as you don't expect them to remain in tune after taking directly from a cold van or dressing room onto a hot and sweaty stage (and I wouldn't expect a wooden instrument to fare any better in those circumstances) then they hold their tuning perfectly well.

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Firstly, you don't see many Travis Bean basses for sale - those I've seen have sold for several thousands of pounds. Not sure how they compare to more modern basses so no idea if they represent good value for your buck. Having said that, you do get the exclusiveness factor....that in itself may be a good reason to buy one.

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Lol! Thanks all.

I may well be going mad. Having said that, I've played a big-assed low D whistle made out of aircraft grade aluminium - and they need a proper good rubbing to warm them up to get them to concert pitch. And I've played one in a field where I genuinely thought my fingers were going to stick to it..

Chances are I wouldn't get an opportunity to try a TB to see if I liked one either - thought I'd gain some opinions before I started looking. It might take a while to even find one (let alone a good one) first tho!

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I owned one for a while (#222)...it actually came up on eBay about 18 months ago. I paid £375 from a shop in Lewisham.

It weighed a lot, but I was younger and less heavily built back then. I had issues with the original fingerboard lifting away from the neck, so had an ebony board glued in and a BadAss1 installed by a luthier based in Kingston. I honestly couldnt tell you what it sounded like, I dont have any recordings. I just recall I fell out of love with it, eventually trading it at ABC Music in Addlestone.

In hindsight, it probably would have been prudent to have hung onto it as prices are going up and up now. The EGC versions look nice.

If I was looking to purchase another one, I'd go for a later model; there's a subtle design change in the body shape and the wings are a bit wider, which for me made it aesthetically more pleasing on the eye.

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Didn't Mick Karn play one for years (pre-Wal)? I know that Bob from Shellac uses one and it sounds like thunder. The post-Hardcore/ post-Rock scene were big buyers of these and prices went sky high, so I'd definitely be looking at an EGC as an alternative. I think there's a waiting list though.

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[quote name='radiophonic' timestamp='1487147018' post='3237409']
Didn't Mick Karn play one for years (pre-Wal)? I know that Bob from Shellac uses one and it sounds like thunder. The post-Hardcore/ post-Rock scene were big buyers of these and prices went sky high, so I'd definitely be looking at an EGC as an alternative. I think there's a waiting list though.
[/quote]

Mick Karn, yes. I'm almost certain he owned two...one was stolen very early on in his career, the second was a later model (wide wings).

Another user I knew of was the late Peter Sweval of the band 70s US band Starz.

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[quote name='radiophonic' timestamp='1487147018' post='3237409']
Didn't Mick Karn play one for years (pre-Wal)?
[/quote]

He didn't get his Wal until just before recording "Tin Drum" so the majority of his bass lines in Japan were recorded with the TB2000, and IMO sounded better for it.

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I did at one point play (unplugged) an old one that belonged to Mogwai and currently The Twiglight Sad. Didn't feel like anything special to be honest. The weight is striking as is the cold. The cutaways felt massive (the difference between a Rickenbacker 330 to a Gibson 335 is an example).

I too am a big fan of them and would quite fancy one but certainly don't think they are worth the persuit. Saying that, seeing the way the market is going, you're not gonna lose money.

Hope this helps

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[quote name='radiophonic' timestamp='1487147018' post='3237409']
I know that Bob from Shellac uses one and it sounds like thunder.
[/quote]

Yep, he was playing it at the Brudenell in Leeds when I saw them last year and it sounded immense. Made me want a TB but the prices are pretty exclusive.

They are an amazing band though, I've seen them a few times since 1994 and they are really worth going to see on the rare times they tour.

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[quote name='njr911' timestamp='1487245487' post='3238306']
Yep, he was playing it at the Brudenell in Leeds when I saw them last year and it sounded immense. Made me want a TB but the prices are pretty exclusive.

They are an amazing band though, I've seen them a few times since 1994 and they are really worth going to see on the rare times they tour.
[/quote]

To be fair, Bob does run 2 x 400W Crown mono power amps into 15" Dietz cabs, seemingly irrespective of the venue size. He claims it's all about headroom. I've stood directly in front of his rig at a few shows. It's a big sound.

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[quote name='Bridgehouse' timestamp='1487085689' post='3236889']
I appear to have developed GAS for a TB2000.

Weight aside, are they worth the pursuit, or am I going slightly mad?
[/quote]

You'd be pretty lucky to find one I think, but they do turn up!

Very fond of mine (pics) - sustains forever, harmonics in the tone you just don't get in an all-wood bass, the neck p/up is right up against the neck which I like, and I personally don't find the weight an issue. Also aesthetically it's a piece of pure sculpture in solid koa and polished alloy. The cold neck (also a bit wide for me ) is the main reason don't gig it as much as I should.

Very different beast to the Kramer basses (I've also got a 650B)

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Would love one, but they're ridiculously overpriced these days because there weren't that many of them made in the first place. At £4-5k you can have just about any other bass from any other era you like.

I always think of this quote from Bob Weston when I'm gassing for an aluminium neck:

"[color=#333333]Also, at the shellac/dianogah show last month I tried Jay's rickenbacker bass plugged into my shellac amp. It sounded identical to the travis bean.[/color]

[color=#333333]So, I reckon that "my" "sound" is more like 80% traynor ts-50b, 10% speaker cabinet, and 10% new strings."[/color]

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