Used 2023 Travis Bean Designs TB500JG Generation 1 Aged White Imron with Soft Case

We have a special find here, a super rare Travis Bean Designs Jerry Garcia TB500JG.  You don't see many of these around - in fact, this is the only one available on the market in the U.S. at the moment.

This Generation 1 model is a faithful recreation of the original TB500 owned by Jerry Garcia. Only 350 of the original TB500 models were made in the 1970's (and less have survived), making them true collectors items.  Garcia's own TB500 was sold in 2013 for a nearly $250K.  In more recent years, Travis Bean Designs relaunched the brand and came out with a series of guitar, including this amazing reissue of the TB500.

Used on tour with The Grateful Dead in the mid 70's and featured on the legendary Terrapin Station album, Garcia's TB500 was the first guitar to feature an On-Board Effects Loop. This groundbreaking feature was recreated for the new TB500JG, and combined with the custom made single coil pickups, not to mention the aluminum neck, the end result is a truly unique and inspiring guitar.

Beyond the OBEL, you also get 3 individual pickup switches to turn on/off the 3 custom-designed cast resin single coil pickups, as well as a master volume, two tone controls, and dual output jacks (for using the OBEL).

This is a fun guitar to play, especially as you come to appreciate the aluminum neck.  As to be expected, this isn't a light guitar, and it's not for those looking for a skinny shredder neck.  It has a chunky C profile with a 1.75" nut width, and a 12" radius on the rosewood fretboard for easy bending.

Other features include a bell brass nut, custom-designed bridge with titanium saddles, mother of pearl dot inlays and a proprietary 3-ply pickguard.

The guitar is in excellent condition, with a few small marks on the body but nothing really noticeable.  The most we noticed was on the back, at the edge of of the hole where the B string feeds through.  Setup to play perfectly by the techs in our shop, it's ready to.  

Due to the weigh, the previous owned parted with the original case (which wasn't too impressive, given the nature of the guitar).  Instead, he paired it with a very nice Reunion Blues soft case - that's what this comes with.  We think this was the right move to make, not only for transport but also for protection.

Made by Kevin Burkett of Travis Bean Designs and Electrical Guitar Company in tandem with Marc McElwee (who was behind the original Travis Bean designs of the ‘70s), this is a spot on recreation of the TB500 played by Jerry Garcia during what some would say is the Grateful Dead's peak era.

Whether or not you're a fan, this is a truly unique and special guitar - and likely to go fast.

Body: Mahogany
Neck: Full T6061-T651 Wrought Aluminum Neck
Scale Length: 24.75
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Radius: 12"
Inlays: Mother of Pearl Dots
Pickups: 3 TB500 White Single Coils
Electronics: OBEL System (On Board Effects Loop), Standard Input Jack & TRS Input Jack
Controls: Three On/Off Pickup Toggles, Master Volume, Two Tone Controls
Pickguard Material: Proprietary 3-Ply

Serial Number: 440