The Story of the Sevan
Tim learned to play the banjo as a teenager in Southern California, and at a young age he found himself playing and traveling with a popular bluegrass band for several years. Being exposed to the diverse musical influences available in Southern California, he began to explore other musical styles on the banjo, but was unable to find an audience for these explorations. Pursuing his broadening interests, he switched from banjo to the guitar almost exclusively. He worked full-time on guitar: playing, writing, producing, and recording in many different styles of music, with only an occasional gig or recording session on the banjo.
He didn't start seriously playing the banjo again until 1994 when, while living in Hawaii, he was hired to play banjo and guitar with the Maui Symphony Orchestra (many of the turn-of-the-century American composers included banjo parts in their scores), and Tim was forced to practice banjo for the first time in 15 years. After regaining some facility, he realized that he had worked very hard on the banjo, and that he'd had a real investment in the instrument. With the increasing fluency and technique, the decade and a half of musical sensibilities and the breadth of knowledge he had worked hard to cultivate began to surface through the banjo. The music he started writing for the banjo manifested itself as classical music, which was surprising but fresh and thrilling to him.
He wondered if he could incorporate this newfound banjo style into the work he was already doing on guitar. Tim looked at the two instruments and wondered if they could somehow be combined. The big difference he saw between the two instruments was the short, last (and highest-pitched) string on the banjo, the string that enabled him to play lines and chordal variations that he could not play on guitar. He realized that the two playing techniques and approaches could be combined on one seven-stringed instrument. Excited by the possibilities that might emanate from these ideas, he set out to build a banjo/guitar hybrid.
With the help of a stellar cast of luthier (musical instrument builder) friends who generously donated their expertise - Jim Burlile, Kirk Sand, Steve Grimes, and Greg Rich - Tim spent 4 1/2 years designing and building his first 7-string acoustic/electric/synthesizer guitar/banjo hybrid. In the first few weeks he played it, it opened worlds of possibilities for him and confirmed his suspicions. Unfortunately, an accident occured that broke the neck and left the instrument unplayable. Several repair attempts were made, but it wasn't until furniture & cabinetmaker/luthier Bob Mick applied his furniture building resourcefulness to the problem that he completed the repair in just a few hours. Although Tim was excited to play the instrument again, he began to realize its limitations as a prototype - but he also saw its potential as a model.
The second incarnation of his current 7-string began when he met Dennis Coon at a party of their mutual dear friend Lu Chesser. Dennis is an author by profession, as well as a skilled and talented artist, sculptor, designer and inventor with a passion for music and building musical instruments. Tim and Dennis had heard all about each other through Lu, and instantly connected as kindred spirits. They shared their visions and aspirations to push the conventions of music, not only through musical instrument performance, but also through innovative design and construction. They retreated to Lu's closet, where Tim had stashed his coveted 1943 Martin D-18 guitar and his 1933 Gibson style-3 flathead banjo. They admired and examined these wonderful old instruments, spoke about tone and craftsmanship, talked about what made them so extraordinary, and shared ideas. Tim played a few innovative compositions that he had been working on, and they spoke of a working together.
Tim brought his recently repaired 7-string to Dennis' extraordinary workshop, and the collaboration began. Dennis studied the instrument and listened to Tim's ideas, took all of the dimensions and pages of specifications Tim had collected, and went to work. Dennis' conscientious yet intuitive artistic approach soon rendered a very unique design.
While Dennis refined the design, Tim went to work searching for the best acoustic instrument electronics for amplifying the instrument. In January 2004, while performing at NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants - probably the world's largest convention of manufacturers and vendors), Tim set out to find the very best acoustic instrument electronics over the four-day show. He searched for Trance Audio on the advice of trusted friends, but he was disappointed to find that they were not represented at NAMM. He then checked out the countless new products which fell short of his mark. However, he saw Jackson Browne performing and heard the most pristine acoustic guitar sound plugged directly into the PA. After Browne's performance, Tim spoke with Browne's guitar technician, heard the unamplified guitar, and confirmed that the electronics were the best he had heard. Ironically, the electronics installed in his guitar were Trance Audio.
Dennis began building the instrument by first choosing the top and back. One of Dennis' close friends, Tom Beeston, was an internationally known stringed instrument builder specializing in flamenco guitars, and a purveyor and collector of fine woods. Tom was well loved and widely known for his fine guitar playing, his extraordinary craftsmanship, and the music scene which he and his wife, Margot created at their home, the historic Triangle L Ranch in Oracle, Arizona. Tom had passed away not long before, and Margot entrusted Dennis to distribute the vast collection of woods Tom left behind. Some of it found a home in Dennis' shop, and he chose the top and back from this wood. Tom had hand-picked the Engelmann Spruce top and the Indian Rosewood back and glued them up as a work-in-progress that was interrupted by his passing. His legacy lives on, as these pieces became the foundation of The Sevan.
Dennis then hand-bent the sides - attached the sides to the top, installed the electronics, added the back, the neck, the binding and purfling, and then the finish. Tim would often visit to marvel at his masterful construction process, and they also traded phone conversations and many, many emails. For Dennis' email address, Tim would type the address for Dennis and his wife Sevren: sevanden@… After typing and seeing that enough times, the name of the new instrument became apparent - sevanden, Sevan . . . . ah The Sevan, yes.
Over the years, Tim had developed a discerning aesthetic sense regarding musical instruments, and was pleasantly surprised by Dennis' choices of wood and ornamentation. His simple yet elegant design was perfect! Then the day came to string it up, in early June 2004 They sipped champagne and celebrated. Dennis had calculated the bracing design and a specific degree of back bow in the neck to precisely compensate for the force of the pull from the strings. The instrument was brought into near perfect playing condition, and stayed there - quite a feat considering its status as a newly designed prototype. They played it for hours.
In August 2004, Tim performed his first concert on the Sevan. The sound was incredible, with a large dynamic and frequency range, unique voice, and tonal variation. It presents a range and variation of sounds and playing techniques that will continue to reveal themselves over time.