Travis Bean, 1947–2011
The guitar maker who made metal sing
While working at a Burbank, Calif., music shop in the early 1970s, Travis Bean noticed that many of the electric guitars brought in for repair suffered a similar fault: Their wooden necks were either bent or broken. “In my simple and naïve way of looking at things, I said, ‘I can solve that,’” Bean recalled in 1999. “So I decided to build a guitar.” To provide greater durability, he swapped the traditional wooden guitar neck for one made of solid aluminum. His souped-up six-string produced a sustained, almost harp-like tone when strummed, and soon became a hit with guitar legends of the era, including the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry.
Born in San Fernando, Calif., Bean worked “as a machinist, metal sculptor, rock drummer, and motorcycle racer” before founding his namesake guitar company in 1974, said The New York Times. Over the next five years, Bean produced 3,650 instruments, many of which boasted exotic hardwood bodies and price tags topping $1,000. Bean always regarded himself as a craftsman, not an entrepreneur. So when his investors called on him in 1979 to drop his prices so he could sell more guitars, he chose “to stop production instead of compromising quality,” said the Los Angeles Times.
Bean never regretted that decision. “We stopped clean, and the reputation of the instruments has remained very strong,” he said later. The current-day guitar market bears that out. In 2007, a cream-colored Travis Bean guitar, one of four models once owned by Jerry Garcia, sold at auction for $312,000.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Escape seaside in Newport, Rhode Island
The Week Recommends For the quintessential New England experience, head to the Classic Coast
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The long-awaited return of the college football video game
In the Spotlight EA Sports' 'College Football 25' is the first installment of the series in 11 years
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: July 25, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Michael Mosley obituary: television doctor whose work changed thousands of lives
In the Spotlight TV doctor was known for his popularisation of the 5:2 diet and his cheerful willingness to use himself as a guinea pig
By The Week UK Published
-
Morgan Spurlock: the filmmaker who shone a spotlight on McDonald's
In the Spotlight Spurlock rose to fame for his controversial documentary Super Size Me
By The Week UK Published
-
Benjamin Zephaniah: trailblazing writer who 'took poetry everywhere'
Why Everyone's Talking About Remembering the 'radical' wordsmith's 'wit and sense of mischief'
By The Week UK Published
-
Shane MacGowan: the unruly former punk with a literary soul
Why Everyone's Talking About The Pogues frontman died aged 65
By The Week UK Published
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Legendary jazz and pop singer Tony Bennett dies at 96
Speed Read
By Devika Rao Published
-
Martin Amis: literary wunderkind who ‘blazed like a rocket’
feature Famed author, essayist and screenwriter died this week aged 73
By The Week Staff Published
-
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk legend, is dead at 84
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published