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Topic: newcomer to steel with a sho bud maverick |
Joe Buckley
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 5 Nov 2009 11:08 am |
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Im new to the forum and steel guitar. I always loved the sound and one day I traded a mexican stratocaster for a sho bud maverick. I heard many bad things about this instrument ( after I got one) but it has the most beautiful sound!!!! I am determined to make a go of it!!
I need to find out which string guages to purchase ( factory specs0 and need any advice,tips and helpful hints that come my way. I bought the winnie winston method book and some old copies of Steel Guitarist magazine which are pure gold.
I also would like to find a teacher in the southeastern mass./Providence Ri area.
I m glad I manned up and finally took on this intimidating but beautiful instrument.
Thanks
Joe Buckley |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 5 Nov 2009 11:25 am
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Welcome to the club Joe!
Are there strings on the guitar now? If so, get/borrow a micrometer and measure them. That way everything will stay pretty much in adjustment. I have a whole herd of ShoBuds, but have never touched a Maverick, but when I get a new old guitar to restore, I always mic the strings before taking the guitar apart. |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Bill Ford
From:
Graniteville SC Aiken
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Posted 5 Nov 2009 11:49 am
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Pictures !!!!! I hope you got the natural maple, not the "other one", like John said, mike the strings then go to the string section of the forum and order yourself a couple of sets, also several (6) .011 extra. Thats the one that likes to break in the middle of a song.I do hope you have an understanding wife.
Bill
_________________
Bill Ford S12 CLR, S12 Lamar keyless, Misc amps&toys Sharp Covers
Steeling for Jesus now!!! |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 5 Nov 2009 1:45 pm
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Welcome aboard Joe! Enjoy the ride. There will be many happy hours and a few frustrated ones but don't get discouraged, the good will outweigh the bad by a huge margin.
You'll find a lot of good guys willing to help here.
Best of luck with your steel guitar experience.  |
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John De Maille
From:
On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.
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Posted 5 Nov 2009 5:22 pm
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I started playing steel on a natural, bird's eye maple Maverick, with 3p+1kl, some 30 odd yrs ago. To this day, I still think it was a fine sounding steel.
It's limited to its setup, but, there's a lot of music to be played on it. Good luck and enjoy playing it.
BTW- Look up Doug Beaumiere. Click on links under instruction. He's from Mass. |
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Walter Bowden
From:
Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 5 Nov 2009 5:24 pm
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Welcome aboard! One of the first things I do when I get a new "used" instrument (guitar, steel, bass or the dreaded and to be avoided at all costs banjo) is change out the strings and do some cleaning of stuff on it. (tuners, fretboard, changer top, etc.) A lot of times I have found that used guitars have mismatched strings and since you are new to the game, I wouldn't go to the trouble of micing the individual strings that came with it. Unless, that is, you know for sure it came from a player who had correct strings on it to start with. There are a lot of players on this forum who have much experience with Sho Bud Mavericks and can give you some great advice on good string sets to use and how to get the most out of a Maverick. Clyde Mattocks is a forum member from Eastern North Carolina and has contributed good advice for Maverick owners and there are others out there as well. Be warned however! If you really have the bug about playing pedal steel guitar you need to start thinking about transitioning to a pro model instrument at some point in the future. The Maverick has inherent limitations because of the basic design of the steel; It is what it is and can be a great starter steel. The good news is that there are a lot of good and well taken care of used pro model pedal steels for sale here and prices have never been better. Good luck and stick with it. The forum is always here for camaraderie, advice and support.
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Emmons S10, p/p, Nashville 112, Zion 50 tele style guitar, Gibson LP Classic w/Vox AC30, Fender Deluxe De Ville and a Rawdon-Hall classical |
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Ryan Barwin
From:
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 5 Nov 2009 7:04 pm
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The Maverick has its limitations, as you've heard before, but it's fine to start on. And if you traded a Mexican strat for it, you can sell the Sho-Bud for twice that when you want to get a professional model, if you decide to. But a lot of great music can, and has been played with that setup.
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www.pedalsteel.ca |
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Todd Brown
From:
W. Columbia , South Carolina
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Posted 5 Nov 2009 8:52 pm
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For strings on my Maverick, I use GHS Boomers. You can Get them here from BoB by clicking on STRINGS at the top of the page. Feel free to ask anything here or message me with any questions. Heres my Maple Maverick I just recently got
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Ryan Barwin
From:
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 5 Nov 2009 9:23 pm
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Regardless of the mechanical limitations, those old Mavericks are some good looking guitars!
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www.pedalsteel.ca |
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Andy Hinton
From:
Louisiana, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 6 Nov 2009 3:34 am maverick
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| Mavericks do have their limits but a great sound & tone. learn all you can on what you have, then send it to John Coop to do a rebuild of the changer as he just did on one. Don't know what it cost but he gave it all the capabilities of a pro- steel but kept the great sounds. THE way to go IMO. Andy H. |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Bobby Burns
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 6 Nov 2009 6:50 am
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Welcome to the world of steel guitar, may your life never return to "normal".
And don't worry about what anyone else says that put down your maverick. Why should a guy starting out have to haul around all of those extra heavy parts, when he just wants to get started? Your maverick will sound great, and sound is what it's all about (isn't it?). When a new steel budget model comes out with the shiny cast aluminum and birds-eye maple, and all the stylistic class and tone of the best of those old maveicks, for the price of an old maverick, then that guy can badmouth them, but it ain't gonna happen.
It was a budget model, they had to cut out some things, but what they left on it is way classier than anyone else's budget model, then or now! |
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Bobby Burns
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 6 Nov 2009 6:53 am
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| Even the "other" mavericks have the cast aluminum end plates and the maple. They just uglied them up a little, but they can still sound fine. |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 6 Nov 2009 7:57 am
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| Someone on the Forum had a Mav with the contact paper. He took it off, and found some very nice Maple underneath. |
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Allen Kentfield
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 6 Nov 2009 8:30 am String guages
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Welcome Joe,
I've played Sho-Buds for 37 years. The closest you can get to the original Sho-Bud strings are Ernie Ball. The gauges I use are as follows:
1. .012
2. .015
3. .011
4. .014
5. .017
6. .020P
7. .026
8. .030
9. .034
10. .036
These are the same as in the Sho-Bud set with the exception of strings one and six. Sho-Bud reccomends a .013 instead of .012 and a .022 wound instead of a .020 plain. Good luck.
Al Kentfield
Jonestown, Texas |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 6 Nov 2009 9:54 am
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Right. The Carter Starter set has the .022 wound that Sho-Bud recommended. Sho-Bud's recommended .013 is fine for the first string because there are no pulls on that string. Other than that, the sets are identical.
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Joe Buckley
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 6 Nov 2009 1:10 pm thanks to all who gave encouragment and advice.
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What a great bunch of guys!!! I want to thank everyone for the help and advice.Im begining to see there is a lot more to this steel guitar stuff than the obvious. It's like a special club.
My Maverick is covered with this damn contact paper but it looks as if there is some good maple beneath it. That is something to work on after I make a start my playing/maintenence stuff.
I feel like I can do this now.I work 2 jobs weekends so i can not dive into this just yet
once again ,thanks to everyone who has been so nice!
Joe |
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Ned McIntosh
From:
New South Wales, Australia
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Posted 6 Nov 2009 2:21 pm
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Hi Joe & Welcome,
That Maverick can be re-worked and turned into one very fine and up-to-date steel if you care to invest the dollars and time. There was a thread recently on just such a conversion and it transformed the unit into a thing of beauty, both on top and underneath, as well as adding the additional levers for the more "modern" E9th copedent. It had that Sho-Bud tone too...in spades!
There are a number of very skilled 'Bud re-furbishers here, Ricky Davis and John Coop to name just two.
You're off to a very good start, both with your 'Bud and being on the forum.
_________________
The steel guitar is a hard mistress. She will obsess you, bemuse and bewitch you. She will dash your hopes on what seems to be whim, only to tease you into renewing the relationship once more so she can do it to you all over again...and yet, if you somehow manage to touch her in that certain magic way, she will yield up a sound which has so much soul, raw emotion and heartfelt depth to it that she will pierce you to the very core of your being. |
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