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Topic: Why not a NEW~CHANGER on an OLDER~STEEL? |
Gary Spaeth
From:
Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 2 Jun 2006 5:01 am |
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| john. i need a money changer on mine. when people give me a dollar to play a song they come back up and want change after they hear the way i played it. ha! |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 2 Jun 2006 5:25 am
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What Mike said -
If something is already hacked, then mods aren't really an issue. But hacking an original vintage piece to the point where it could not be restored to original condition is a travesty, to me.
that's why I pulled a near-mint 400 body/frame and replaced it with a beater for my "player" guitar, which required quite a few mods. The nice one can be put back together in a few hours. But had I drilled holes, routed pickup cavities, etc it would no longer be a "vintage Fender" - it would be something else, and not a collectable. Maybe a better "player", but it would be one more vintage piece gone. |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 2 Jun 2006 5:55 am
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I think the point has been missed.
I can't believe anyone who has been paying attention would take a classic and butcher it.
I don't know about John B., but I did take a look at his Derby, and by the looks of it, he doesn't seem the kind of guy who would do bad things to a guitar.
The point for me would be fun--a sturdy carcass, with some undercarriage parts to start out with, but a funky old changer....
Got cabinet drop? Put a channel in it, like Tom Bradshaw did on the ZB; many things could be done in the way of experimentation. A test bed.
Just a fun way to go about learning the mechanics of pedal steel. |
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Larry Bell
From:
Englewood, Florida
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Posted 2 Jun 2006 7:49 am
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I'll provide a slightly different slant
I have a mid 80s ShoBud single 12 on a D-12 frame -- certainly not a vintage, desirable model, but a great old guitar. It originally had the pot metal KL brackets and other cost-cutting 'features' that made the SuperPro undercarriage less robust than many other designs.
I loved the sound of the guitar and certainly the looks 
BUT I could feel the levers beginning to flex and give. I knew it was just a matter of time before I ended up with a lever in my lap in the middle of a set. There were tuning issues caused by changer wear and other problems I won't elaborate on that made this guitar difficult to play in a gig situation.
After talking to John Coop I decided to let him replace the changer and essentially all of the undercarriage parts, including the levers themselves.
Four months later, I had a new guitar. 
Is it a ShoBud? I think so. It does have retrofitted parts made of more durable metal that weren't original, but, as James mentioned, my Coop rebuild SOUNDS BETTER than it did before and it stays in tune. It is also able to make some longer pulls that the old changer couldn't quite do because of slop and wear in the axle and fingers.
It sounds like a ShoBud and it plays like a dream. Is it original or vintage? No. Does that really affect the value? Not in my opinion -- in fact, I consider it a much more valuable horn than it was originally.
Would I retrofit a Jimmy Day or Bud Isaacs or Buddy Emmons Bud from the 60s? NO -- but I probably wouldn't buy it in the first place. I believe that there's a difference between a COLLECTOR'S ITEM and a WORKING GUITAR. I don't have the spare cash to collect guitars but I do love the fact that I have several wonderful guitars, each with its own personality to play.
I don't think that all old guitars are worth maintaining in original shape. Any that are clearly increasing in value faster than the price of new guitars should be maintained as collector's items but the penalty may be that you'll have to relegate them to your showroom and not the bandstand. Some will make great rebuilt, refurbished instruments. It just depends on the guitar. And it's just my humble opinion. 
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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
My CD's: 'I've Got Friends in COLD Places' - 'Pedal Steel Guitar'
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps
[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 02 June 2006 at 08:58 AM.] |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 2 Jun 2006 4:33 pm
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Beautiful.
There's an excellent candidate for that treatment on eBay. It would take someone like Mr. Coop to do it justice.
What I like about a pretty old hot rod is raising the hood and going WOAH!
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John Bechtel
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.
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Posted 2 Jun 2006 5:10 pm
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If you happen across the prettiest ‘old’ PSG in the world, but; can't hear it, what is it actually worth? “Oh! I can't do anything to it, because; it's worth a lot of money, just to l©©k at”! Eventually, we'll be sitting around and looking and saying: “Remember how good it ‘used to’ sound when it was used to play on that record of (??? ?? ????)? I wish we could hear it play again, but;”! _ _ _ _ How much ($$$) are ‘only memories’ worth? I can't play that PSG, because; it's worth too much money! Hog~Wash! Memories are a long time in passing! Money moves rapidly and also leaves memories! (Some good and some not as good.) Just a thought!
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“Big John”
a.k.a. {Keoni Nui}
Current Equipment
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James Cann
From:
Phoenix, AZ
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Posted 2 Jun 2006 7:11 pm
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| Well said, Big John! It reminds me of how much more impressed am I by antique cars still mixing it up on the road than by those sitting forlornly on a shiny museum floor, suffering the indignity of the inevitable bed, er, drip pan. [This message was edited by James Cann on 02 June 2006 at 08:12 PM.] |
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Jim Bob Sedgwick
From:
Clinton, Missouri USA
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Posted 2 Jun 2006 8:41 pm
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James, are you saying that old cars become incontinent?  |
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John Coop
From:
YORKTOWN, IND. USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 2 Jun 2006 8:51 pm
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| Charlie..I just bought it! That makes 14 Sho~Buds!! I must be a glutten for punishment!! This Sho~Bud does'nt need a mechanic, it needs a TOOLMAKER!! Coop |
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John Bechtel
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.
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Posted 2 Jun 2006 8:51 pm
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“Cars & Steel Guitars”! Good Title for a CD! Now, where's my ‘Old~Pen’?
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“Big John”
a.k.a. {Keoni Nui}
Current Equipment
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John Daugherty
From:
Rolla, Missouri, USA
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Posted 3 Jun 2006 6:48 am
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| Big John, Frank Arnett already beat you to it, with his "Model-T" album. |
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John Bechtel
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.
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Posted 3 Jun 2006 12:49 pm
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Well, would you consider: “The Past Re~Visited”?
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“Big John”
a.k.a. {Keoni Nui}
Current Equipment
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James Cann
From:
Phoenix, AZ
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Posted 3 Jun 2006 8:07 pm
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| Quote: |
| James, are you saying that old cars become incontinent? |
Well, Jim Bob, when was the last time you saw an antique car on a shiny floor without one . . . or, for the matter,
when did you see a drip pan under an antique (automotive or human*) without some evidence of incontinence!
*regards to all forumites (given the oft-discussed average age)![This message was edited by James Cann on 03 June 2006 at 09:08 PM.] |
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