Beanos Records guitar - blast from my past

[FELINEGUITARS]

About 10-11 years ago I was asked to make a guitar for a friend who ran a fanatastic second hand record shop - the biggest in Europe at the time : Beanos records.
It was the coolest place to be as a music fan back in the late 70s /early 80s


Dave - the owner had known me since I was a young teenager buying Queen and Kiss albums
It was soon to be the 21st anniversary of him opening the shop and he commissioned a guitar in the shape of the shop's logo- a letter B that was two records sliding out of their sleeves.

The guitar went up on display in the shop for years
Recently Dave has given up trying to run Beanos as a record shop and has turned over the expansive interior to being a cool indoor market called "STUFF" .http://www.stuffcroydon.com/

So it gave him a chance to lend me the guitar back for a clean up and take some photos of it which I failed to do back then.
So here it is:

[lulusg]

That looks fun to play!!

[gingataff]

I've seen that before, was it used in a magazine advert for Feline or Beanos?

[FELINEGUITARS]

The Guitar Magazine printed a picture of it way back.
Got into the Croydon Advertiser as well , but I'd be surprised if you saw that

[gingataff]

I'm fairly sure I haven't read the Croydon Advertiser.
Did Beanos ever advertise in Record Collector? Or maybe I just saw it hanging on the wall, I bought a stack of Zappa vinyl there 5 or 6 years ago.

[Philly Q]

I've seen it before as well - must have been in TGM I guess!  :)

[FELINEGUITARS]

Or maybe I just saw it hanging on the wall, I bought a stack of Zappa vinyl there 5 or 6 years ago.

Yes - was in a display case on the stairs in the shop - you may have seen it there

[AndyR]

Hey! I remember that in Beanos... never put two-and-two together though :lol:

I used to love Beanos when vinyl was the main thing... I carried on using it for a while when they moved and then CDs started taking over... and then a few years back I just stopped being interested in 2nd hand CDs :(

I saw that Beanos was gone a few weeks back (when I last came to see you!) and felt a bit sad about it... but looking at that link, it looks like Stuff is worth a visit... (and the missus would be a lot more interested than she was in Beano's :lol:)

[dave_mc]

hehe, nice :D

[gwEm]

headless - cool!

[FELINEGUITARS]

headless - cool!

Thought you'd appreciate it!

Did you ever see our headless mini Lion that was small enough to go i the overhead locker on a plane
We made it for a Jazz player who had a place in Spain and wanted a guitar that could travel with him
We used the same ABM headless kit  - allowed him to use flatwound striings too if he wished, as they dont need to be double ball end.



We had a Steinberger in with a Transtrem  last week - fascinating

[Fourth Feline]

Wow !   A great story, and shared nostalgia, as that shop is redolent of similar shops that I have sadly seen disappear since the 70s.  Both guitars delight with as much originality as quality  ( I.E your usual ! ).  What pickup did you put in the Jazzer ?


( I am just bracing myself for Afghan's inevitable comment about the outline / shape of the 'Beanos' guitar. )  :)

[FELINEGUITARS]

Wow !   A great story, and shared nostalgia, as that shop is redolent of similar shops that I have sadly seen disappear since the 70s.  Both guitars delight with as much originality as quality  ( I.E your usual ! ).  What pickup did you put in the Jazzer ?

Think it was a Duncan 59 or something - again pre BKP

( I am just bracing myself for Afghan's inevitable comment about the outline / shape of the 'Beanos' guitar. )  :)

Yes we had fun while building it with people assuming it was boobies

[Fourth Feline]

Wow !   A great story, and shared nostalgia, as that shop is redolent of similar shops that I have sadly seen disappear since the 70s.  Both guitars delight with as much originality as quality  ( I.E your usual ! ).  What pickup did you put in the Jazzer ?

Think it was a Duncan 59 or something - again pre BKP

( I am just bracing myself for Afghan's inevitable comment about the outline / shape of the 'Beanos' guitar. )  :)

Yes we had fun while building it with people assuming it was boobies

Thanks for the info Jonathan .  I was actually thinking that the overall cosmetic of the Beanos guitar, with the neck included -  might evoke imagery  of the underpant region.  ( Or has Dave finally got to me ! ).