shobuds Who plays them?? Are they extinct?

Brian Henry · Post by **Brian Henry** » 23 May 2005 10:19 am

It has been years since I have seen any of the big names playing a shobud. I went to the Dallas show and saw none. Likewise at the Choo Choo show I saw none. Has anyone seen one on the bandstand ??

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 23 May 2005 10:43 am

Lloyd Green still plays a Sho-Bud.

Cliff Kane · Post by **Cliff Kane** » 23 May 2005 11:34 am

I saw Ricky Davis play a Sho~Bud through a blackface Fender Twin with Dale Watson not too long ago. He sounded SWEEEEEEEET!!!

I saw Diniel Lanois (spelling?) play an LDG last year. He's not a big name in the steel world, but he is a big-time rock/pop producer (U2, Neville Bros., Dylan....). He's got a good ears, hence the LDG

[This message was edited by Cliff Kane on 23 May 2005 at 12:39 PM.]

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 23 May 2005 12:06 pm

Tom Killen played his 1973 Pro-II at the George Jones concert at Myrtle Beach at the end of April. Mighty fine sound too!

There's a Sho-Bud on CMT right now but you gotta find it. (or do a search on "Dierks" in recent threads...)(yes I fixed the spelling...)[This message was edited by Ray Minich on 23 May 2005 at 06:56 PM.]

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 23 May 2005 12:19 pm

Yes Tom Killen plays a Pro II for George Jones now and won't play anything else. Gary Morse plays a Sho-bud. Dan Dugmore plays a Sho-bud. Lloyd Green plays a Sho-bud. Russ Hicks played a Sho-bud at the Dallas Show. Yes I still play a Sho-bud. Tommy White is Going to play a Sho-bud again Soon...ha....and has in the past many times on the Grand Ole Opry.
That's just off the top of my head and there are more; but gotta go hit Golf Balls right now as that's much more important..ha.
Ricky

Al Carmichael · Post by **Al Carmichael** » 23 May 2005 1:54 pm

I play a Sho~Bud! Oops....you meant "big names" that play them...nevermind.

Well, Carmichael IS a "big" name. ten letters long.

Steve Hinson · Post by **Steve Hinson** » 23 May 2005 3:53 pm

...not a big name but playing mine(LDG)tonight in San Antone...

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 23 May 2005 4:13 pm

I'm a nobody, but I play one ...

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 23 May 2005 4:28 pm

This is only my opinion and my friends here may disagree but here it is..There are MANY Buds out there,yet they are not seen as commonly as you would think they would be.. I think many are owned by good players that like them, keep them to play and appreciate,but don't use them for gigs because they are not as reliable as a modern steel in the mechanical/tuning departments..

They CAN be made to play and tune very reliably and thats proven by the MANY great players still using them,but the cost may be a factor. Many fine players on this forum,as well as many pros ARE using Buds..
I just wonder how many are in their original unmodified state?

From all indications, a trip to Marrs or Ricky or one of several several other fine steel techs is all thats needed on MANY of these Buds, but for a lot of BUD lovers[like myself] a modern steel just proves less of a hassle.
I LOVE Buds, and would play them to the exclusion of any steel out there if only they would prove as reliable as a good modern guitar. I have heard more complaints from good steel players about tuning problems on Buds than just about any other brand.

Just recently a very good player that plays a P/P and BOUGHT my MSA told me.."I never met a Sho Bud I could keep in tune" This is NOT everyones experience, but it is noticed by many players. I wish I could rely on a Bud day in and day out,but in MY case, I feel I cannot.. The RIGHT Bud IS out there.. maybe someday I'll find it bob

John Phillips · Post by **John Phillips** » 23 May 2005 4:59 pm

Bob,maybe you need to try a BUD LITE,HA,HA,just a thought.I play an old BUD Professional,slightly modified with a Marr`s setup and Jerry Wallace PU,sounds great,stay`s in tune and plays smoothe and easy.

Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 23 May 2005 5:26 pm

Gary Morse plays a Sho-Bud with Dierks Bentley. Brett, Emmons S-10, Morrell lapsteel, GFI Ultra D-10

Farris Currie · Post by **Farris Currie** » 23 May 2005 5:26 pm

SHO-BUDs,owned lots of um,and have 4 right now,no updates,all origional.I really like The Professional,the best.But planing to put John Coop all new parts in it.It will still be all origional,with Pro 2 parts.all chrome plated when i turn it over.

Main problem with them is people don't know how to set um right!i have done it my self,as i had a topic last wk.on working on steels.turn the wrong thing and all is messed up.and i'll bet in changing set ups on new guitars,if they are set wrong,got the same problems. farris

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 23 May 2005 5:31 pm

Bob , I have had 5 Sho-buds, in my life, a Professional D10, a Professional S10, A super-Pro D10, a Julian Tharpe S14 Blue one,, and a Pro-1 which I still have. All were original.

I have made videos with them, tape recorded, etc. and never had the tuning problems that you have suggested.

But naturally there are going to be some tuning problems with any Pedal Steel guitar.

So I figure you must have had some really bad out of whack guitars. Maybe you should send them to Ricky Davis for adjustment and then see how nice they can be.......al

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My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/

Mike Weirauch · Post by **Mike Weirauch** » 23 May 2005 5:40 pm

...not a big name but

I disagree with that statement Steve Hinson. Your name is only 1 letter shorter than mine

. As for the topic at hand, Doug Jernigan had his Sho-Bud restored by Jimmie Crawford shortly before Jimmie died.

John Coop · Post by **John Coop** » 23 May 2005 7:09 pm

I think Shot Jackson played 1 or 2 of them!!! hahaha COOP

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 23 May 2005 9:03 pm

I dunno guys... I think set up, out of whack, all these terms go out the window when a steel regularly goes out of tune just SITTING there. I would tune her up, set the stops.. everything is in tune,Play a rock set on my 6 string, go to play the steel in a few tunes, and have to tune it up real quick before I even play a note.

.. My last two Buds were like this.. I have said this before and i'll say it again.. If Buds were as stable as you guys say, WHY is MARRS so busy??... Now for certain, I think my last two Buds were not the best examples. Both were later PRO series guitars, ProI /ProIII.... I have seen a lot fewer complaints from guys using earlier guitars.
To be fair, I had a pre Pro 6139 w/ 6 + 3 and I do NOT recall having tuning problems with it.

Both my Pro guitars played nice and sounded sweet, but would go out of tune just sitting there.. on a consistent basis.. especially when under the stage lights. I recently did a few gigs with a later model LDG [borrowed while my Carter had the pickup out of it} and it behaved just like the Pro I and III... play a couple tunes, then tune her up real quick.
I am not knocking Buds.. I LOVE them.. I'll just never buy one to play again.

I love the look and sound of ALL the old steels. I just think modern steels are more reliable, thats all .. bob[This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 23 May 2005 at 10:09 PM.]

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 23 May 2005 9:40 pm

A year ago I eBay scored a 1970 Professional, one so close to my original '70 guitar that I couldn't turn it down. It was/is as "under-the-bed" as you could get. Same old Professional sound with the old two-screw pickups, and yes, the same old finicky tuning with the rack/barrel pullers.

IMHO Sho~Bud only got their undercarriage act together when they went with the Pro II bellcranks with two swivel pullers, around 1972. You can check with Ricky for accuracy.

So my guitar immediately went to Duane/Jeff's. Jeff tells me that the horn is soon to be shipped. I'm patiently waiting, since I'm mostly playing non-pedal steel guitar these days anyway.

Of the older guitars, an Emmons Original properly adjusted is another "set-it and forget-it" instrument.

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 23 May 2005 10:44 pm

Yes Bob; your not even talking about a Real Sho-bud. The real Sho-bud Died in 1977-78 and anything after that; shouldn't have the name Sho-bud on it...>and of course that's my opinion only; but when you say your Sho-bud's were unstable; please don't lump what you call a Sho-bud, in with THE Sho-bud.
Yes Herb you are quite correct in that Date> Long Live the PRO-II man.....
Ricky

Jackie Anderson · Post by **Jackie Anderson** » 24 May 2005 5:15 am

I am extinct, but I play two of them -- a "pre Pro" 6139 and a Crossover. When I have had a tuning problem, it is the same pull that keeps going off (flat, if it's a raise), and it is due either to a loose set screw holding the "collar" to the rod, or just a poor collar (loose threads, bad spring or whatever -- it's a little mysterious sometimes). Those collars are both the genius and the Achilles heel of the system. If anyone is throwing any of those away, I'd like to pick through them and harvest a few more good ones....

Robbie Bossert · Post by **Robbie Bossert** » 24 May 2005 5:38 am

Well......I'm 6'5" and 260 pounds. That makes me a fairly big player. I play a Sho-Bud that was refurbed by one of my heros and favorite people Mr. Ricky Davis. I LOVE IT! Stays in tune, great tone, low string breakage, very cool. It's a keeper.

Robbie Bossert

Bill Terry · Post by **Bill Terry** » 24 May 2005 6:31 am

I fought the tuning on my '73 LDG for a month after I got it, but I found a couple of subtle probs; a VERY slightly loose puller that would move the tiniest bit on the crossshaft (that one drove me nuts, it seemed tight when I checked it), a stop that was moving a bit, and a barrel that had a tendency to shorten up on it's on.

Because it sounded so good, I was persistent in figuring out what was going wrong, and with some help from Ricky, it's now very stable. I haven't had a wrench on the changer in months and I'm told I play in tune. It sounds fine to me.

I play it exclusively now, mainly because it seems to me that I sound better on it than my P/P for some reason. I've had my generally clueless band mates tell me the same thing, so I guess it's not my imagination.

Cliff Kane · Post by **Cliff Kane** » 24 May 2005 8:44 am

"The real Sho-bud Died in 1977-78 and anything after that; shouldn't have the name Sho-bud on it"

What happened after 1978? Hmmm, my LDG #13034 (made in 1980?) isn't a real Sho~Bud? I never would have guessed that, it plays so nice and sounds so sweet. I wonder what I'm missing (this guitar stays in tune, too). Seriously, what changed? Was it a change of ownership thing, like pre-CBS/post-CBS Fender, or were there significant design and manufacturing changes made?

Brian Henry · Post by **Brian Henry** » 24 May 2005 9:32 am

I think that if we exclude the retrofitted shobuds done by Marrs then theere are very few professional players who play shobuds.

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 24 May 2005 11:12 am

I think almost all of them either play them, or they want to.

EJL

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 24 May 2005 11:22 am

Steve Hinson, what do you mean, "I'm not a big name but....., Steve, you are a big name,