The Travis Bean TB1000 of 1975

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• Gary Kramer did not design "the Kramer guitar". It was a New Jersey man named Phil Petillo that did 90% of the work on the basic Kramer design. Gary Kramer realized after a couple years that people didn't want his unique design so he started making a much more conventional, Fender like guitar. Much cheaper to make and after Eddie Van Halen started playing them very profitable.

  Travis Beans are highly collectible now but in the nineties you could literally not give them away. When my parents' music store was auctioned off we had two of them and each went for under a hundred dollars. A refinished Strat of random secventies parts and a DiMarzio humbucker crudely put in brought $700, and a beat up P-Bass over $500 (it was well, well post-CBS.)

• I own a 1977 Kramer 650G and remembered when the Travis Bean came out. I wanted one so bad at the time. When it came to buy my first electric I wanted a Les Paul like my lead player had but he suggested the Kreamer, which at 500 dollars was the same price as a used Les Paul if you could find one. I purchased the 650 G. I always said that one could play a chord go to Seven Eleven for more beer, come back and it would still be ringing. Do you know how many TB1000s were made. I read that only 400 of the 650Gs were produced.

• This is spot on.... i always desired one ever since they came out.
  Had to wait long time before i could even hear one live thoug..
  But that was a treat, curlycording straight into ac30 yeah
  Servotron ruled......

  great blog btw esp all vactube shit just what i need thnx!