Franklins and Shobuds

[Brian Henry]

In light of seemingly exorbitantly priced Franklins for sale recently, could someone explain the difference between a Franklin and a Shobud. I believe Paul Franklin Sr got his training at the Sho Bud Factory and made many Sho buds before he started making Franklins.

[CrowBear Schmitt]

Sho Bud built lotsa steels
some were good & some were bad
Franklin built a few & they were all good

[Erv Niehaus]

The old law of "supply and demand".

[Larry Bell]

Paul Franklin, Sr. helped build the Sho-Bud guitar into what it became. I think it's a bit denigrating to say that he got his training at Sho-Bud. From my perspective, it was guys like Duane Marrs and Paul, Sr., all working as a team with Shot and his sons, who refined the design and made major innovations that other brands are still using. Not exactly what an apprentice does.

[Jack Stoner]

Paul had built some steels before he ever went to work at Sho-Bud. They are not the "Fanklin" steels of today which is a combination of his innovation, craftsmanship and his time at Sho Bud where he built a lot of the "custom" Sho-Buds for the big name Nashville steeler's such as Hal Rugg.

I recently visited with Paul, Sr., and he is still building a very limited number of steels. He told me he has a "long list" of people that are willing to pay "big bucks" for a used Franklin in good condition.

[Brian Henry]

Larry, I was not denigrating paul Sr. He is a great man and I have met him. I was only pointing out that since he had only made a few guitars prior to going to Sho bud, that Shot gave him an opportunity, together with many others,to train with him and experiment with various designs.

[Zach Keele]

Mr. Franklin's guitar is a lot different from a Sho-bud. It is a fine guitar. A Sho-bud is a good guitar, but it is not precision built like the Franklin. Sho-buds were just assembled from a stack of parts, but Mr.Franklin makes sure everything is perfect, down to the .001. The Franklin is a modern all-pull guitar that is capable of pretty much any changes you can dream up.

As to your original question though, I'm sure he got some training at Sho-bud, and without that experience, he would likely not have seen what improvements would most improve the tone and playability.

I have played a lot of guitars, but nothing else I've played plays like a Franklin.

[Francis Chamberlain]

I have a Franklin S/10,3&5 that Paul built for me
in 1981 and I also have a ZB that I had built in
1969 and after I got my Franklin I had Paul take
all the mechanical parts off the ZB and install all
his parts on the ZB. I have never had a real desire
to own any other guitar. I feel that Paul Franklin
is one of the best builders out there and one of
nicest people that you would ever want to meet.