History, Evolution and Inspiration
for etribe travel guitar designI wanted a guitar I didn't have to worry about too much, that I could break-in like a piece of furniture and have around for years, never in a case, always out free saying "play me." A guitar I could toss in a backpack and take somewhere to serenade my loved ones. A guitar anyone with an inclination could learn to build in a high school woodshop with simple tools, learning practical things along the way.
1988: First home-made guitar body, Alder with Yamaha neck. Owned by leneb in SF
1989 - Second home-made guitar body design. Alder body with cheap maple & rosewood neck from Peacock Music on Noe in SF.
1990 / 1994 Hollowed-out bodies, same design was refined through several iterations. Much hand labor was involved, especially with the router.
1995 / 2000 New construction technique introduced, separate back and curved sides, instead of one-piece, routered plank.
2001 The first new-design prototype, all maple, with no sound holes, passive electric pickup and volume control, curved sides. Maple/Ebony Neck
2004 The first laminated prototype, Cherry and Maple with soundholes, passive electric pickup and volume control, curved sides. Maple / Rosewood neck, 25 1/2" scale
| (all the guitars I've owned and two I haven't) | ||||
| Year Acquired | Photo | Description / Best Qualities | Origin | Cost |
| 1976 |  |
Handmade Classical Maple top. Great bassy sound, durable, user friendly |
Bought from my Dad for $10 | $10 |
| 1981 |  |
70's Gibson SG - low end, two black humbuckers, only two controls unlike most SG's Good electric sound, nice, shiny and black |
Purchased from Atlas Pawn shop on Alvarado Street in Monterey (current site of Plume's Café), on the way to MPC one morning | $275 |
| 1982 |  |
70's Fender Telecaster Good electric sound, nice, shiny creamy color. |
Traded my bike for it. Later learned that it had belonged to Dave of Dave and the Wave, a Journey cover band. | 12 speed bike |
| 1983 |  |
70's Gibson Les Paul Gold Top Super cool, rare and valuable |
Worked on it with a Dremel in Sean's parents' basement to get P-90 single coils to fit. | $250 |
| 1984 |  |
1968 Gibson Melody Maker, seen and played in a used guitar shop in Arizona. Unable to purchase due to low funds. | ||
| 1984 |  |
no-name hollow body, Gibson ES-335 style. Extremely light, cheap, hollow, good cheap "cigar box" acoustic sound, inspiring as to what is possible to get away with, good view of innards. |
Atlas Pawn shop on Alvarado Street in Monterey | $12.95 |
| 1985 |  |
Westminster Les Paul Copy Good value, user friendly, shiny black, ok sound. |
Aaron at Margot's Café | $50 |
| 1985 |  |
1984 Fender Stratocaster, cream, US made Super cool and valuable. |
Brand new from Guitar Showcase in Santa Cruz | $299 |
| 1986 |  |
Yamaha SC-330, Mother of Pearl white Low investment and bolt on neck invited deconstruction. Decent sound, even unamplified. Tremolo springs made echoey sound. |
Speed Coseboom's used record shop on Lighthouse near recycled records. | $100 |
| 1987 |
 |
1957 Gibson ES-225, golden sunburst, Kluson style tuners, trapeze tail piece, one single coil pickup. Super cool, rare and valuable |
South Seas Guitars on Pearl Street in Monterey. | $375 |
| 1988 | |
Thrift Store Classical, super cheap, ok sound. |
Goodwill Downtown Oakland Ca | $2 |
| 1988 |  |
Steinberger Headless Copy by Cort Stayed in tune remarkably well. Carried in backpack on bike from Penngrove to Monterey. |
Brand new from Abinante's Music. | $400 partial trade for Gibson ES-225 |
| 2005 |  |
2005
Squire Jagmaster II 24" scale |
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The guitar itself is small enough to haul around and durable enough to be outside as long as it's not raining I guess, but I will test that just in case, as soon as I have more than one guitar on hand to experiment with. Thanks for reading and be sure to check back to see if I really get this idea flying.
I had friends who would lug large acoustic guitars around everywhere, even on their skateboards. With this guitar you could just bolt pack straps to it and be off.