Anyone still using a "The Professional"?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 25 Feb 2004 6:11 pm

I just acquired one of these which was my first "good" guitar 30 years ago. ($1295. was a LOT of $$$ then.) Wow what tone! Who still plays one and why? What amps? I'm playing it out this weekend. Hope my p/p forgives me.[This message was edited by Dave O'Brien on 26 February 2004 at 07:00 AM.]

George Rozak · Post by **George Rozak** » 25 Feb 2004 7:24 pm

I've still got the one that I bought new way back in 1970 & play it regularly. It was only 8&2 back then, but several years ago I sent it off to Bobbe S. & had him add two more knee levers with original parts. I still think it's one of the best sounding & looking axes ever built. 'course I have had one back operation & one hernia operation since I've owned the old girl

I pretty much stick with Peavey when it comes to amps.

George

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Sho-Bud: Professional & Fingertip

Joe A. Camacho · Post by **Joe A. Camacho** » 25 Feb 2004 7:56 pm

Oh you bet your bippy I am... straight through a Fender Twin Reverb with a 15" in it. Got this one off of ebay, sent it straight to Ricky Davis and the rest is history.
http://www.jomofo.com/P1010039.jpg

Tommy White · Post by **Tommy White** » 25 Feb 2004 9:22 pm

Oh yes, I have one and I still love hearing it and playing it, especially through my reissue blackface Fender twin or my Webb.The Sho-Bud Professional, What a workhorse. www.tommywhite.net [This message was edited by Tommy White on 26 February 2004 at 06:19 AM.]

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 25 Feb 2004 11:02 pm

This is my favorite, I got it out of a pawn shop in Vegas for $350. It was a "basket case" and the top was split in half, lengthwise. I put a lot of hours into the resto. It now has Danny Sheilds Bigsby copy pickups in the bridge position and 705's at the neck. Sounds really good through a Standel.

Rick Schmidt · Post by **Rick Schmidt** » 26 Feb 2004 12:15 am

I've depended on "Old Betsy"(my professional D10 8+2), to make my meager living for almost 30 years. I've tried time and time again to add more knee levers, but it just doesnt seem to be in the cards for me. There's always a problem. I can't really afford to send it off for it's 10 million mile overhaul and rebuild, so it's just a more beat up version of it's younger self. It still plays great and sounds great though...and has forced me to learn to get certain licks in alternate ways. I would probably jump off the highest honky tonk I could find if anything ever happened to it.

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 26 Feb 2004 1:22 am

i've got one (my first D10 from SGN) and i love mine
Great Tone but it sure dont like temperature changes
maybe someday i'll get it Marrsified...

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Zum D10 9/7-ShoBud Professional D10 8/4- Gibson EH150 - Nashville1000

Steel what?

Rick McDuffie · Post by **Rick McDuffie** » 26 Feb 2004 8:12 am

Rick Schmidt, is that your Professional on the "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" recording?

It sounds wonderful!
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Rick McDuffieMarlen Speedy West, Marlen SD-10, Fender Telecaster Custom, Fermandes LE2G
Rick's Music Photo Gallery
www.tarheelmusic.com

[This message was edited by Rick McDuffie on 26 February 2004 at 08:12 AM.]

ed packard · Post by **ed packard** » 26 Feb 2004 9:19 am

Yep, got one of them suckers, 8 & 2 as built. Just used it for a "stability" experiment, data reported in another thread.

Bob Hamilton · Post by **Bob Hamilton** » 26 Feb 2004 10:30 am

I've had mine for 21 years. Tuned up the undercarridge barrels and barrel springs in 2000 and she's never played better. Refinished and added BL 705's too. I leave this one in the studio and play my Pro II Custom out. It handles the temperature changes much better. Both guitars sound great.

Rick Schmidt · Post by **Rick Schmidt** » 26 Feb 2004 2:22 pm

Rick M...No, I did Porkpie Hat on my "house guitar" (i.e. my Dekley D12 10+6 that weighs as much as a house.)

I can only play the middle melody section on the standard 5 + 1 C6 set-up that came stock on my wonderful sounding(if I do say so myself) Sho-bud.

Thanks for the compliment anyway though.

Ryan Giese · Post by **Ryan Giese** » 29 Feb 2004 9:24 pm

I have a Super Pro. I like it a lot. I got it for Christmas from my dad. Still sounding good as new.

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 29 Feb 2004 9:35 pm

Just getting ready to box mine up and send it to Marrs for a complete rebirth. It only had one KL and was not very well put together for some reason.

I'll still probably gig with the old ProIII DeVille. It's just "my guitar".

Gary Morse has a well worn but beautiful '69 that's good enough to have Dwight Yoakum and Dierks Bentley sing behind them.

EJL[This message was edited by Eric West on 29 February 2004 at 09:57 PM.]

Joerg Hennig · Post by **Joerg Hennig** » 1 Mar 2004 10:52 am

Yes! Mine is one of the early (about 1969) two-colored Professionals, even with the ancient zig-zag inlays, and it´s my main guitar now, that I play at home every day and take out for gigs as well - the Pro-II (Custom) stays in the rehearsal room now. It´s just perfect for the retro country-rock thing I´m doing now. It´s totally inspiring playing that kind of music on an instrument that actually existed and was "top of the line" when it first happened. It´s got all the tone I could ever ask for and plays as easy as anything (all original rack and barrel mechanism - no problem) and stays in tune remarkably well. Thanks again to Ricky Davis for doing such a good job on it and for offering it to me first

If I look at all the Sho~Bud models, I tend to say the Professional is my favorite because it´s got that sound and "vibe" and at the same time is really not that hard to maintain mechanically. (That could be said about the early Pro-II with barrels too, maybe that one would be just as desirable, but I haven´t had a chance to play one yet.) Of course it´s not the same as a modern PSG, it does have its limitations and maybe needs a little more attention and "TLC", but for the kind of thing that I do, for the vision of steel playing I have, it´s just the right thing. I definitely wouldn´t trade it for any new guitar.
What amps? Fender tube amp, what else? (100 watt Vibrosonic w/JBL D-130F, in my case)

Regards, Joe H.[This message was edited by Joe Henry on 01 March 2004 at 11:01 AM.]

Chris DeBarge · Post by **Chris DeBarge** » 2 Mar 2004 7:57 am

Still playing mine all the time. That guitar may be beat up(relic'd!) and problematic, but it sounds great!

Bob Watson · Post by **Bob Watson** » 2 Mar 2004 11:17 am

I bought a new Sho-Bud Professional in 1974 when I was 18 years old. I've been playing it ever since. Someday I would like to own a JCH and an old Emmmons push pull, but I will never get rid of this Sho-Bud. She is a great sounding steel. She came with 8&2 but I had Duane Marrs put another knee lever on her, and eventually I will go ahead and have the fourth one put on. I don't think I would change the undercarriage to a new mechanism, but someday I would like to have her completely overhalled and cleaned. She weighs 84 pounds in her road case, which is my biggest motivation to own another steel . I play her through an old Peavey LTD or a PX 300 and a Profex 11. It's a great sounding rig! Sho-Buds Rule![This message was edited by Bob Watson on 02 March 2004 at 11:22 AM.][This message was edited by Bob Watson on 02 March 2004 at 11:25 AM.][This message was edited by Bob Watson on 02 March 2004 at 11:27 AM.]

Rick Schmidt · Post by **Rick Schmidt** » 2 Mar 2004 11:45 am

It's funny Bob, but I think of my "Old Betsy" as a "Her" and a "She" also. I'm wondering, at what point did she aquire a gender? Now when I think of all the ex-wives and girlfriends throughout my life, maybe I need to re-consider Old Betsy as the root of the problem...yeah that's the ticket...it's HER fault....

Maybe I'll let her get some "work done", then she & I will live happily ever after.

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 2 Mar 2004 12:13 pm

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 2 Mar 2004 12:52 pm

Jay Ganz and his photos strike again!!

Jay, you are definitely a "pick teaser."

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

Vance Monday · Post by **Vance Monday** » 2 Mar 2004 5:24 pm

Bought mine in 1972 and still use it every week..It has travelled all over the country with me. Can't find any that sound any better. I have a new GFI that is close and it plays nice but I still prefer my old Sho-Bud. I use a Nashville 400 with a little delay unit on it. The old guitar is kind of like me, a few battle scars and too many miles but I plan to keep it around until......Vance Monday

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 2 Mar 2004 6:11 pm

I had a wonderful 1970 Professional that I bought at the Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood CA. Aspen Pittman, now owner of Groove Tubes, was the salesman. Bright translucent red, with black diamond inlays.

It was a great guitar and I played it all over the country with Jerry Jeff, Michael Murphey, Alvin Crow, and more. I finally wore it out and traded it to Jerry Fessenden for one of his guitars. He in turn sold it to legendary Montreal picker Dougie Trineer. Dougie let go of it somewheres along the line. It was a great horn, one of the best sounding Sho~Buds ever, and I always regretted parting with it.

A few years later, I see a beautifully refinished old Sho~Bud Professional on eBay. I was "that close" to bidding on it when my better judgement told me I already had too much equipment. So I passed on it.

Then I got an email from the guy that bought it. He said "I just got this guitar on eBay and your name is stencilled on the big old brown case. Can you tell me anything about it?"

ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!

I still had too much stuff, anyway.

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 2 Mar 2004 8:52 pm

Incidentally chas, that appears to be a Sho~Bud pack a seat emblem on that old beauty. I was eyeballing one of those on Doug Jones' seat the other evening. I'd like to get ahold of one of those emblems for a remodel of my DeVille III some day.

EJL

Bob Watson · Post by **Bob Watson** » 2 Mar 2004 10:20 pm

Jay, Those pics look like my old Sho-Bud when she was brand new. I'll never forget the first time I saw her, love at first site. She has lots of bar dings now, and a cigarette burn next to the 10th string Grover to remind me of an old habit that I kicked, but she still looks great to me. I used to play an SG Speacial with Grover tuning keys on it (still have it) and my Sho-Bud has 20 Grovers on it. My middle name is Grover, so I used to tell people that, including me, there were 27 Grover's on stage.

John McConnell · Post by **John McConnell** » 3 Mar 2004 8:43 am

I love mine. Wish it was a little lighter. My back ain't what it used to be.

John McCOnnell

Brian Davis · Post by **Brian Davis** » 9 Mar 2004 2:23 pm

Finally got my Professional after 4 months of waiting...only thing is I am missing the rig to hook the pedal bar to the legs. There are holes at each end of the pedal bar and in each leg...do I just need a couple bolts and wingnuts? What size, etc.? This is a little different than my late model Pro-I with the spring loaded sliding plate design. Thanks for the help, guys.

Brian