Vintage Travis Bean TB500 Bass PROTOTYPE only one ever made

FOR SALE:  Vintage Original Travis Bean TB-500 bass PROTOTYPE.

This is the only “real” example of a Travis Bean TB-500 bass. The only one ever made at the original “Travis Bean factory”.

This stunning dream-like Travis Bean bass would have been the company’s best seller had the company survived long enough for this amazing model to go into production. Those who know understand serial number #11 means #1, or first one made. Travis used #11 to start a count.  

By far the best playing, best feeling Travis Bean instrument I have ever played. And I have played many of them. It is also one of the rarest, “major guitar factory” produced, vintage bass guitars in the world.

Please don’t confuse this masterpiece with one of the newly plagiarized / newly produced Travis Bean Designs copies of this bass. This is the one and only original TB-500 bass and I guarantee the copies of it are a joke.

I purchased the bass from very long time Travis Bean employee and super great guy Mitch Manina. Mitch spearheaded the TB-500 bass concept and oversaw its production. Mitch who previously sold me a dead mint Travis Bean Wedge guitar and custom neck profiled TB-500 guitar finally sold me this dead mint one of a kind Travis Bean TB-500 bass many years ago. I have been extremely thrilled to own it since and have kept it as it was, mint.

However considering I came to own over 125 vintage Travis Bean guitars, I have decided to sell my Travis Bean basses. This monster, 5 Travis Bean Wedge basses, and 4 color finish TB-2000 basses all will be sold. I am still collecting the guitars and will always pay crazy high for a Wedge guitar but I feel like the bass part of my Bean collection is out of place. When I do play bass, I only play one of my 1960’s Rickenbacker basses.

So here is your chance to own the rarest Travis Bean instrument and in my opinion the best and most unique one the factory produced.

Pick-guard was to be the template for production. No strap buttons installed