My New Show Pro

Chris Grigsby · Post by **Chris Grigsby** » 11 Apr 2015 10:35 pm

Last week I took delivery of the custom Show Pro SD10 that Jeff Surratt built for the Dallas Pedal Steel Guitar Show. Needless to say, I'm thrilled, as the workmanship, playability, tone, and service I got from Jeff are unparalleled.

I never thought I would own a purple guitar, but, life is funny sometimes!!!

Here are a few pics...enjoy!

Frank De Vincenzo · Post by **Frank De Vincenzo** » 12 Apr 2015 6:51 am

That is an incredibly beautiful guitar.

Rick Barnhart · Post by **Rick Barnhart** » 12 Apr 2015 6:54 am

That's a gorgeous guitar, congratulations

Bill Lowe · Post by **Bill Lowe** » 12 Apr 2015 7:41 am

very cool. i bet it sounds great with that amp. Congrats

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 12 Apr 2015 7:44 am

Nice guitar! What are the switches for?

Carl Williams · Post by **Carl Williams** » 12 Apr 2015 7:53 am

Congrats on the new axe Chris...Jeff builds a very fine steel for sure! I'm starting to see more folks going to a double frame steel without the pad on the back? Let us know how you like this configuration...it would appear that it would be comfortable. You have to be very proud and should be...she's a looker! Carl

J PARKER · Post by **J PARKER** » 12 Apr 2015 10:31 am

Chris I seen this guitar in dallas and thought it really looked good and really nice looking. Jeff builds nice stuff.

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 12 Apr 2015 10:40 am

WOW!!

Dale Rottacker · Post by **Dale Rottacker** » 12 Apr 2015 10:55 am

Stunning work of art Chris!!!

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 12 Apr 2015 12:38 pm

Jim Smith wrote:Nice guitar! What are the switches for?

I'll take a shot.. Master volume, tone, and the 3 way switch with a 705 pickup would give front coil, back coil, both coils... I could be wrong, but thats what I would have done with the set up he has there.. Yes indeed a very nice guitar as other have said!

Clark Doughty · Post by **Clark Doughty** » 12 Apr 2015 1:42 pm

And they play just a good as they look.............

Dan Robinson · Post by **Dan Robinson** » 12 Apr 2015 10:25 pm

Chris that sure is a gorgeous guitar.

I'm looking at the top of the cabinet and thinking "beautiful resonant surface."

The cabinet appears larger than I would expect. But my perception is affected by the "missing" pad.

What do you notice when playing at stage volume levels? Is the body coupling sound energy in a way that can be heard?

Dan

Chris Grigsby · Post by **Chris Grigsby** » 13 Apr 2015 8:49 am

Thanks for the kind words you guys...I am certainly proud, but in my mind Jeff is the real recipient for such high praise!

For those who have asked, Jeff and I decided not to install the pad for no other reason than it would be a crime to cover up such a gorgeous finish! Personally, I don't miss the pad one bit, and am really happy with the decision to leave it off. I'm a new player, but from what I understand, one shouldn't be resting their arm on the pad anyway, so it seems like a no brainer to leave it off of a highly figured cabinet like this. I've seen a number of other Show Pro guitars set up this way as well as it seems nobody wants to cover them up! As for the width, I thought the body was wider than standard as well, but I think it is just the illusion of not having the pad on there.

I haven't had a chance to really open the guitar up by cranking the Milkman amp to 'stage volume', but, yes, the Show Pro body is very resonant with really great sustain evident at all volume levels.

Best,
Chris

Duane Noom · Post by **Duane Noom** » 15 Apr 2015 11:12 am

Is it legal to own a guitar that nice?

Jeff Triplett · Post by **Jeff Triplett** » 15 Apr 2015 11:25 am

Chris,

That is a great looking guitar and I don't blame you for not wanting to cover over the finish. Not sure that I have ever seen one with that color. I'll bet that it sounds great with that amp you have.

Have fun playing it.
Jeff T

Jerry Hedge · Post by **Jerry Hedge** » 15 Apr 2015 6:13 pm

Jeff builds the prettiest, coolest guitars on the planet, and he's one of the true gentlemen of the steel guitar business. I WANT ONE!!!

Jerry Van Hoose · Post by **Jerry Van Hoose** » 16 Apr 2015 3:52 am

Chris, congratulations, beautiful Show Pro! It definitely has the "wow" factor....and Jeff's workmanship is first class, a true craftsman and top notch player too.

Bill Ford · Post by **Bill Ford** » 16 Apr 2015 5:24 am

Two Thumbs Up !!!!!!!!

Chris Grigsby · Post by **Chris Grigsby** » 16 Apr 2015 1:58 pm

It may be a while before mine sounds like this one...but nice to know it can!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YADQ6MhQuuU

Best,
Chris

Tommy Wallace · Post by **Tommy Wallace** » 16 Apr 2015 2:13 pm

Chris , beautiful guitar. I was at Show Pro Monday and Jeff is still building some awesome looking guitars.

Also ,I believe David Letterman appreciates the pedal steel guitar.

Ronald Sikes · Post by **Ronald Sikes** » 16 Apr 2015 2:41 pm

Chris , I remember this guitar from the Dallas show. Absolutely stunning to look at with great tone.
Bob's right. The switch splits the 705 , with volume and tone control.
Eddie Dunlap was doing a bit of a demo playing this guitar with some really cool effects. Sounded fantastic.

Bill Bertinot · Post by **Bill Bertinot** » 2 Jun 2015 12:06 pm

What a beaut!!! Outstanding finish and great look without pad!
Ive been a proud owner of a Show pro for the last 3 yrs and loving it.

Can u tell me which pickup you are using, and, if the switch on the steel splits the coil, do you know the ohms of that split coil? Or describe the different tone you get by using the switch.

Thank you!

Oops, I see my questions are answered in the post above.

Kenneth Kotsay · Post by **Kenneth Kotsay** » 2 Jun 2015 3:10 pm

Cool color blend, good luck.

Gary Cooper · Post by **Gary Cooper** » 2 Jun 2015 8:08 pm

You have a keeper Chris. Beautiful.

Chris Grigsby · Post by **Chris Grigsby** » 9 Jul 2015 1:09 pm

Bill Bertinot wrote:What a beaut!!! Outstanding finish and great look without pad!
Ive been a proud owner of a Show pro for the last 3 yrs and loving it.

Can u tell me which pickup you are using, and, if the switch on the steel splits the coil, do you know the ohms of that split coil? Or describe the different tone you get by using the switch.

Thank you!

Oops, I see my questions are answered in the post above.

The BL705 humbucker is super smooth, full, round, and polished sounding, whereas the single coil really brings out the sound and clarity of the individual strings. It is, however, a lot tamer sounding single coil than the Emmons single coil in my Legrande II, but it still sounds great. I read that the single coil tap on a humbucker is typically a lot less hot than a dedicated single coil, but don't hold me to this.

Perhaps most importantly, the tone of this guitar as recorded with an SM57 on the Milkman 40w Mini with Telonics 1x12 is just beautiful. It sits in a mix perfectly with absolutely zero plugin eq, reverb, or compression.

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