Beeton Style A Tricone Serial #01 : AUS 1997

Greg Beeton is widely regarded as Australia's foremost builder of resophonic guitars. Working from his own workshop in NSW since founding Beeton Guitars in 1994, he handles every stage of construction himself, metalwork, woodwork, hand engraving and finishing, turning out genuinely limited-run instruments that have found their way into the hands of some of the country's best-known slide players, including Jeff Lang, John Butler, Dom Turner and Phil Manning.

This example is about as significant as a Beeton comes: it's serial number #01, hand-dated 22nd August 1997 on Beeton's own hang tag, still with the guitar. Beeton Guitars was founded in 1994, which makes this the earliest catalogued example of his work we've come across, the first Style A Tricone off his bench, and very possibly the first serial-numbered instrument he ever built. That's a genuinely rare thing to have in the shop.

It's a round-neck Style A Tricone, built around a nickel-plated bell brass body with Beeton's own hand-engraved floral scrollwork covering the top, back and sides. The three internal resonator cones are fed by a T-bridge coverplate flanked by two diamond-lattice grilles cut into the upper bout, all hand-pierced and engraved to match the body. The neck is reinforced rock maple with a solid ebony fingerboard, bound in ivoroid, joining the body at the 12th fret over a 25-3/8" scale. The peghead carries a cream pearloid veneer with Beeton's script logo, fitted with gold-plated Irving Sloane/Waverly-style vintage tuners.

It shows some honest wear consistent with a nearly 30-year-old working instrument, light surface scratching and a developing patina to the nickel plating, nothing that takes away from what is a genuinely important piece of Australian lutherie history. It comes complete with its original black hardshell case.

Specifications:

Weight:4.65kg / 10.26lb

Action at 1st Fret: 0.25mm

Action at 12th Fret: 2.25mm

Neck Depth at 1st Fret: 23.38mm

Nut Width: 47.25mm

Width at 12th Fret: 56.75mm

Model: Beeton "Style A Tricone" (nickel-plated bell brass)

Serial Number: 01 (hand-dated 22nd August 1997)

Builder: Greg Beeton, Beeton Guitars (Brass Guitars Australia), NSW

Neck: Round neck, reinforced rock maple

Fingerboard: Solid ebony, bound with ivoroid

Frets Clear of Body: 12

Scale Length: 25-3/8"

Tuners: Irving Sloane/Waverly vintage-style, gold-plated

Finish: Nickel-plated bell brass, hand-engraved scrollwork throughout

Case: Original black hardshell case (OHSC)