| Author |
Topic: Please help identify this instrument played by Sonny Curtis |
Mark Thompson
From:
Tennessee, USA
|
Posted 20 Oct 2021 3:14 pm |
|
I'm helping with musical instruments for a George Jones/Tammy Wynette film being made.
Can someone identify the pedal steel guitar in the photo of Sonny Curtis?
Mark Thompson
Backline Nashville
_________________
Mark Thompson
www.BacklineNashville.com
www.SweetbriarRecording.com |
|
|
|
John De Maille
From:
On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.
|
Posted 20 Oct 2021 3:22 pm
|
|
| A ZB Custom I believe. |
|
|
|
Mark Thompson
From:
Tennessee, USA
|
Posted 20 Oct 2021 4:28 pm
|
|
I figured with the knowledge on this forum I'd get the answer, that was fast.
Thank you.
I'll try to track one down for sale with that old logo, not holding my breath though.
Mark
_________________
Mark Thompson
www.BacklineNashville.com
www.SweetbriarRecording.com |
|
|
|
Bob Guichard
From:
Central Texas, USA
|
Posted 20 Oct 2021 7:25 pm
|
|
| Clark Custom |
|
|
|
Bob Muller
From:
Oregon, USA
|
Posted 20 Oct 2021 7:41 pm
|
|
I have a guitar that looks exactly like that, same logo and color. PM sent.
That is a early ZB. |
|
|
|
Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
|
Posted 20 Oct 2021 7:53 pm
|
|
That's a ZB, Sonny played Clark Custom guitars later.
_________________
Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, as well as some older MSAs, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Recently added a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored blue Rose, named the "Blue Bird" to the herd. Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic again that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also added a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks. |
|
|
|
scott murray
From:
Asheville, NC
|
Posted 20 Oct 2021 8:23 pm
|
|
ZB guitars do turn up for sale here on the forum every now and then, though most seem to have the later logo
in addition to other brands in the 70s and beyond, Sonny also played one of the first Emmons guitars in the mid-60s as seen here: https://youtu.be/SWJka6CZVno
here's a somewhat better look at the original ZB logo, as played by Jerry Garcia:
you can also see Tom Brumley playing one on the old Buck Owens Ranch shows:
https://youtu.be/CRgxvJI3Vug
I know the forum's own Joel Martin in CA owns and plays an older ZB, and there must be at least a couple in the Nashville area. you might just consider having a decal made with the classic logo and slapping it on another steel guitar but it sounds like Bob Muller may have exactly what you're looking for.
good luck Mark... I'm definitely looking forward to the George/Tammy film, especially knowing there will such attention to detail!
_________________
1965 Emmons S-10, 3x5 • Emmons LLIII D-10, 10x12 • JCH D-10, 10x12 • Beard MA-8 • Oahu Tonemaster |
|
|
|
J R Rose
From:
Keota, Oklahoma, USA
|
Posted 21 Oct 2021 9:11 am
|
|
Jim Clark from Owasso, (Tulsa) made Clark Custom Steel Guitar's which Sonny Curtis endorsed and played for years. They are somewhat a clone to the ZB but a different sound. I have seen Sonny and Jim both in concert an they sounded great. J.R. Rose
_________________
NOTHING..Sold it all. J.R. Rose |
|
|
|
John Borchard
From:
Athens, OH 45701
|
Posted 21 Oct 2021 9:44 am
|
|
I bought that ZB from Sonny in ‘72 and still own it. By the time I got it, Sonny had replaced the logo decal with the newer rectangular version. If you look close, you’ll notice there’s no C pedal. His copedent was idiosyncratic, in that the guitar was tuned to A. The B’s and G#’s we’re tuned to C# and A, respectively. The A and B pedals lowered the C#’s to B and the A’s to G#. He accomplished the C pedal change with the RKR raising the high E to F#, a change I find quite useful. Some time after this picture was taken, Sonny and his business partner, Del Robinson, installed a spring loaded hi-z mic connector in the socket for the right front leg that connected to a cable that passed through the leg and exited next to the volume pedal. Genius!
I think this photo is the one accompanying an article about him in the December’71 issue of Guitar Player Magazine. |
|
|
|
Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
|
Posted 21 Oct 2021 10:46 am
|
|
That earlier ZB logo is very distinctive.
My first steels were ZBs and I well remember the brochures that the UK dealer (Eric Snowball) would hand out to us enthusiastic beginners. When I saw the name 'Sonny Curtis' I immediately thought of The Crickets' guitarist and songwriter but, of course, there were two of them. 
_________________
Roger Rettig - Emmons D10s, Quilter TT-12, B-bender Teles and old Martins.
---------------------------------- |
|
|
|
Bob Muller
From:
Oregon, USA
|
Posted 21 Oct 2021 12:39 pm
|
|
Here are some photos of my guitar, I think it's a very close match.
 
 |
|
|
|
Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
|
Posted 22 Oct 2021 6:40 am
|
|
Bob, that is one pretty guitar! 
` |
|
|
|
Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
|
Posted 22 Oct 2021 1:38 pm
|
|
Pete Grant in Northern California owns Jerry's ZB.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
|
|
|
Bob Muller
From:
Oregon, USA
|
Posted 22 Oct 2021 11:40 pm
|
|
From:
Middleport, Ohio USA
Post Posted 21 Nov 2002 2:29 pm Reply with quote
John, I will add this. Your guitar ser# is 1034, my D-10 is #1037. It is idential to yours except for the white fretbaords and pick ups. Mine are black. Now Tom Brumley's famous D-11 ZB the black one, is Ser # 1039. He got it in January 1966.
Does anyone have any idea who this one was built for? |
|
|
|
Kimberly Robinson-Hughes
From:
Ohio, USA
|
Posted 26 Oct 2021 4:02 pm
|
|
My dad is Delbert Robinson. Sadly he passed away 2 months ago today. I have heard many stories about him, Sonny, George and Tammy. I have his steel guitar and the foot pedal my dad created. It was a Delson Custom.
 |
|
|
|
Terry Wood
From:
Marshfield, MO
|
Posted 1 Dec 2021 7:53 pm
|
|
Sonny Curtis played Custom ZB Steels made by Zane Beck and then later he played Clark Steel Guitars that were custom made for him. Jim Clark was out of Owaso, Oklahoma near Tulsa, OK.
I knew Jim Clark and Zane Beck both great Guys and Great Builders of Steel Guitars.
I didn't really know Sonny Curtis but wanted to book him as a Special Guest on my Annual Terry Wood Steel Guitar Show. One year it almost happened but his wife became sick and passed on. Sonny died just a few years ago. He was a Nice Guy and really Great Steel Guitarist.
Pictured with a Young Sonny Curtis is a Zane Beck Custom ZB Steel Guitar. |
|
|
|
Larry Behm
From:
Mt Angel, Or 97362
|
Posted 1 Dec 2021 9:26 pm
|
|
I got a Delson pedal from Sonny in 1972 used it for years.
_________________
'70 D10 Black fatback Emmons PP, Hilton VP, BJS bars, Boss GE-7 for Dobro effect, Zoom MS50G, Flamma Reverb, Planet Wave cables, Quilter 202 Toneblock, Telonics 15” speaker.
Phone: 971-219-8533 |
|
|
|
