New steels vs old

[Dallas Cheked]

It depends on how well the older guitar is maintained. Updated parts for most older guitars are available to make the older guitars play every bit as good and sometimes better than the new ones. I wouldn't give you 2 cents in terms of tone as comnpared to the older guitars. They beat the newer guitars hands down for tone in my opinion with a couple of exceptions.

There's nothing like those Emmons push-pulls of the 1960's. They still reign superior as the Stradivarius of steel guitars. For those of us on a budget, the welded body MCI/EMCI comes remarkably close when properly set up. A number of those old Sho-Buds sound as gorgeous as they look, can be picked up for a reasonable price, and are worth upgrading with newer hardware.

[Dallas Cheked]

If your opinion of all Sho-Buds being trash, is based on a single pot metal era guitar, you have really not experience Sho-bud the way most of us "die-hards" have. My first guitar was a push-pull Emmons. It sounded great, stayed in tune and I had it set up by someone who really knew what he was doing, and it played great. My first double neck was a Sho-Bud crossover. We have all heard the horror stories on that one. It was a tuning nightmare, but I was hooked on that look and that sound,,, Man what a sound. My next guitar was an MSA classic. It played way too easy. I couldn't feel that string pull like I did on the Emmons, and that bugged me. I hated the fake rosewood look, it never sounded good to me, and it was as heavy as the Sho-Bud. Even though it played like butter, and was never out of tune, I never got used to this one. I always yearned for that Sho-bud look and sound in a guitar that would stay in tune. I also had always wanted a ZB custom, like Tom Brumley played with Buck. Those old guitars just had a style about them that a lot of the new ones don't have. I can't imagine being that impressed with anything made by someone who thinks Formica is more attractive. I think if I had kept the crossover, I'd have figured out how to make a tunable guitar out of it, and I'd still have it. Those 'Buds with the two hole pullers and barrels are way better guitars than the pot metal era guitars. The rack and barrel guitars (other than crossovers) are also better guitars. There is not a sound that compares to the permanents. That old Texas Troubadour tone is what I'm talking about here. I know a lot of you are looking for something different than this, but please don't insult us by insinuating that we are ignorant and tone deaf because we don't hate our Sho-Buds as much as you hate the obvious clunker that you had.

My first steel was one of those Sho-Bud crossovers. I bought it for $300. with a thick layer of dust on it, years of tobacco smoke, and rusty strings. I cleaned it up, replaced the strings, oiled every moving part, and put a coat of wax on it. What a beautiful instrument! The tone was rich and full and sustained forever! Keeping it in tune required a lot of attention. My only complaint, was that this instrument was like a piece of furniture that was sure to break even a strong man's back (which I didn't have). When I finally got good enough to play out, and after a few gigs with the Sho-Bud, I sold it. I opted for something lighter. It was an MSA Single 12. It was a lot easier to handle, but it had nowhere near the tone of that old Sho-Bud.

[Doug Ferguson]

I cut my teeth on a ShoBud Maverick as many others did. Back in those days I wondered why I bought such a heavy amp (Peavy S 500) and eventually put casters on it to make it easier to move around. Then some money fell into my lap and I bought the MSA D12. I thought long and hard about keeping the Maverick but it was so limited with no knee levers and no easy way to add them, I sold it. The MSA is a wonderful steel, and the older I get the more of a commitment it is to haul around! I do stretches before I pack and unpack. Someday, I'll probably add an S10 to my collection, but I don't think I could ever part with my D12. It is beautiful, and solid, and smooth to operate. It's only weakness is the operator.

[John Billings]

My first steel was a Miller S-10. Had it for two weeks, until the Milwaukee Mafia guys burnt their club down. Next Was a Crossover. Loved the sound, but it's tuning was, uh,,, dubious. That was stolen after I'd had it two months. Then in '71 or '72, I bought an R&B Pro. Wonderful guitar! Sound, beautiful, easy to change around. In '84, I got my Kline U-12, and sold the old Pro. I love my Kline! Solid, beautifully made, stays in tune forever (I chuckle at guys who have to keep a tuner hooked up all the time!), but it doesn't sound as good as that old Pro. So, I started buying Shobuds again. '59 Perm, '63 F-Tip, '67 R&B S-10. But my favorite is the '74 S-10. Got it from Bobbe (Thanks again man!) as an abdo-lutely mint 3&1. Sent it to Ricky for installation of some Coop knees. See, I needed to be able to do what I could do on my Kline. It's a stunner! Now 3&6. I guess I like older guitars! Even my Kline is an early Eighties model. That's as modern as I need to get.