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Topic: Sho-Bud Info from Gretsch 1984. |
Barry Gaskell
From:
Cheshire, UK
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Posted 6 May 2009 4:42 am |
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Hi Guys
I've just found some correspondence I had with Gretsch in Gallatin, Tennessee, from 1984. The letter was signed by a Mr Randy Houck who was the international sales manager.
I was complaining about the mazac metal the hardware and levers were made out of. They apologised and said they were in the process of correcting this fault and would have a fix on it 'in the near future'.
Obviously it never came to pass. They also said a new range of Sho-Buds was coming out 'very soon'.
They enclosed a list of the new models and their mechanical improvements.
The 'new' models were :-
Super Pro II (#7000) D10 8+6 Standard tobacco
Old Hickory (#7025) SD10 3+5 Standard walnut
Universal (#7050) S12 7+4 Standard Plum
Priced at $3.530, $2.320, $2.550 respectively.
The improvements included:-
New lowering mechanism with rollers.
New colours
New sway bar.
Thicker cabinet on C6 side.
New larger shaft in fingers.
All pulling mechanisms mounted on rails to ease pedal and knee lever changes.
More powerful pick ups with quarter inch magnets.
Aluminium fingers for better tone.
Wood inlay on necks.
Centre pull on all tuning rods.
New endplates for more stability.
Larger and more comfortable knee levers.
Larger keyhead for better sustain.
Positive stops on all floor pedals and knee levers for a simpler and more accurate mechanism.
These are their words not mine.
I wonder if there are any examples in existence with all of these mods. I've seen pictures of the underside of a Super-Pro II and there doesn't seem to be much change from the MK 1. I've never seen an 'Old Hickory'. I suppose this model was a replacement for the LDG.
The colour plum sounds an interesting one
Has anybody seen any of these beasts or is it more likely that accountants and costs put paid to them. It shows they were aware of the problems and if they had gone forward with the mechanism with rollers, and the aluminium fingers with centre pull, they would have produced a super guitar.
What might have been, eh ? 
Barry |
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 6 May 2009 7:15 am
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"New sway bar"?
What might that refer to? I've never before seen the term used in relation to PSG. When I first started electric six-string guitar (in 1964) "sway bar" was somehow the first term I heard for a vibrato unit, a/k/a whammy bar--that's the only use I've ever heard of the term. What could it be on a steel?  |
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Andy Sandoval
From:
Bakersfield, California, USA
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Posted 6 May 2009 7:30 am
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| Brint Hannay wrote: |
| "New sway bar"? |
Perhaps something to counter act cabinet drop? |
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 6 May 2009 7:34 am
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| That's what I'm guessing, too. Maybe a strut between the aprons, as some steels have nowadays. Or a lengthwise reinforcing rail. |
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Barry Gaskell
From:
Cheshire, UK
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Posted 6 May 2009 12:06 pm
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Hi Guys
A sway bar is a flat bar that is fixed to the inner front of the guitar by way of a bolt/screw(s), at either end of the bar and stretches right across the inner front of the guitar. All the pedals and rods are connected to this bar so when any pedal or lever is pressed, the downforce is sent to the ends of the guitar and acts almost above the legs, so eliminating any pull on the centre areas of the cabinet, and reduces radically any cabinet drop. Ronnie Bennet had this idea in the early eighties and incorporates it into his guitars.
Barry |
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Skip Edwards
From:
LA,CA
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Posted 7 May 2009 3:32 pm
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Here'a a pic of Old Hickory, nicked from Ricky Davis' House of Wood. Essentially a SuperPro SD...not sure if it has a SPII undercarriage or not. This pic is the only example I've seen.
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Barry Gaskell
From:
Cheshire, UK
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Posted 8 May 2009 12:37 am
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Hi Skip
Thanks for that. It looks like a nice guitar. Maybe it has the new under carriage because the knee levers look like they're aluminium and the pick-up looks a little different.
I'll have to check the site out.
Cheers
Barry |
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