Sho Bud pros and cons?

Larry Otis · Post by **Larry Otis** » 13 Oct 2012 3:43 pm

So I have not been playing psg a real long time but I got the hang of it enough to gig with it 2 or 3 nights a week. I have a Bradshaw rebuilt MSA 12 string. I need another one for back up and I see a nice Sho Bud Pro 1 12 for sale. Sho Bud pros and cons? I'm sure it has been discussed here but I never saw the thread. That or something brand spanking new? I gotta admit a love for vintage just for the music that has poured through them but they often require a lot of work. Thanks for any help! I love this place.

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 13 Oct 2012 4:24 pm

For price a used Sho-Bud is the best deal out there.
If you're not a do it yourself kind of guy just be sure that any used steel you buy has not exceeded it’s mortality.

Ray Anderson · Post by **Ray Anderson** » 13 Oct 2012 4:30 pm

Been playing 2 years and when I started I bought a Pro111 Bud and it is 35 years old still ticking and in excellent condition. It was that way when I got it and like my guns there is no parting us. Death only.

Theres a lot of great stuff still out there and in need of playing.

Dave O'Brien · Post by **Dave O'Brien** » 13 Oct 2012 4:56 pm

Larry- I played Sho-Buds back in the 70's and became a dealer so I had all the latest models to take out and gig with and try to sell. One day I took an MSA in on trade. I had it in my van and took a corner too fast. It crashed down on it's face and when we carried it on stage it was still in tune! I used to tune the dang Sho-Buds all night! Anyway they sound really great and are lots of fun to play but 30 years ago I bought a MSA S-12 and have played them ever since (I have 3 now).Just finished a 23 day gig with one of them and hardly tuned it. Maybe the precision the old MSA's were made with is why? I don't know - I do have an old "The Professional" D-10 I'm fixing up and love the tone of it. Hey try one you might like it!

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 13 Oct 2012 5:39 pm

Yes the MSA is durable and stays in tune but my old MSA Classic that I bought new just had an unacceptable lack of sustain.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 13 Oct 2012 6:47 pm

I always thought the Sho-Bud was responsible for the joke
Steel guitarist, n: one who spends half the night tuning and half the night playing out of tune.

Great tone, though.

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 13 Oct 2012 10:45 pm

Sho-Buds are like used cars... they're all kinda old, and they can range from pristine to trash. Depends on the particular gtr.
They sure sound good, and a well adjusted one will play nice and stay in tune just fine.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 13 Oct 2012 11:33 pm

But, I would rather hear an out of tune Sho~Bud than an MSA any day of the week.

Ray Anderson · Post by **Ray Anderson** » 14 Oct 2012 3:50 am

The only "tuning" problem I've encountered is due to temperature change and not very often for that. When you take the cover off, you need to give it a space to adjust to ambient temp. I would guess that to be a string charcteristic more than the guitar. But I guess that some get their strings from a magical place delivered by the "string fairy", and are not subject to time and temp. I guess they are like cars, if you don't drive them you don't have problems but the what good are they. In the music realm Sho-Bud is a household name. Can't say that for some of the others. The test of time.

Ronnie Boettcher · Post by **Ronnie Boettcher** » 14 Oct 2012 6:22 am

My LDG was born in 1977. The only tuning problem I have, is when I pack it in the case to gig. When I take it out, the 5th string is either sharp, or flat, depends on the position of the tuner peg. Maybe I just lucked out, but I have had no issues with it since 1977. Yes I moved the left knee levers a little so I can rock my stiff ankle off the B, with the LKL. And I also lengthened the pedal rods, when I raised the steel a inch and a half. Still is a beautiful looking steel, and great tone.

Larry Otis · Post by **Larry Otis** » 14 Oct 2012 7:59 am

Thanks fella's. My MSA is a '77 rebuilt by Tom Bradshaw a few years ago. It stays in tune amazingly well. Plays smooth, sounds good. The temptation is to buy something brand new but them Buds sure are pretty and I'm gigging a lot so I have to get a second guitar for backup and so I can leave one in the case and one up at home. Keep the input coming!

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 14 Oct 2012 10:32 am

The only PSG I see folks tuning all nite long is the P/P

Michael Hummel · Post by **Michael Hummel** » 14 Oct 2012 3:03 pm

I'm sorry...I know I'm a new psg guy, but I've been playing 6-string in bands for 35 years and have a pretty good ear.

I tell everyone my old Sho~Bud Pro III can be thrown in the case, put in the car, left at work all day, taken to the band rehearsal that night, and barely need anything touched.

Compared to my 6-strings, this old guitar is like a rock!

Mike

Bryant Aycock · Post by **Bryant Aycock** » 14 Oct 2012 7:33 pm

I play a '81 Super Pro that was rebuilt by Duane Marrs,or so I was told. Pot matal parts are gone. It plays smooth, stays in tune and sounds great, at least I think so. I also have a '79 LDG. It's a little wider body, but I have had no problems. Check out Dickie Overby playing for Amber Digby. There's a lot of good guitars out there and Sho-Bud is one of them.

Brian Herder · Post by **Brian Herder** » 15 Oct 2012 6:19 am

Skip hit it on the head. My 74 had been neglected before I got it 15 years ago. I took it apart, cleaned it and set it up to my liking and it has been rock steady since. It has zero cabinet drop and tuning stability is great.. any tuning issues are the results of my playing... Because of the way it feels and the tone, it is more inspiring for me to play than modern guitars and whenever I take it out, people are interested in it.. players and non players alike.

mike nolan · Post by **mike nolan** » 15 Oct 2012 2:12 pm

I've owned Sho~Buds from nearly every era, and have never had a serious problem with any of them. Parts and service are readily available. The one listed in the for sale section is a nice late model. Some guitars from those later years had issues because of all the pot metal parts. For the price, you could replace the entire underside, and still have less in it than some new guitars.

Terry Sneed · Post by **Terry Sneed** » 15 Oct 2012 4:45 pm

I've owned 3 Sho Buds. An LDG my 1st guitar. It was about used up when I bought it, but all I could afford to learn on. Wouldn't stay in tune, lots of slack in pedals, knees, etc. Then I had a 73 round front, with two hole pullers. It had good tone, played very well, stayed in tune most of the time

it had the solid metal bellcranks, stainless I think, and was one of the purtiest Sho-Buds I'd seen.
But I just didn't like the retuning (not that often though) and the weight was on the heavey side. I now have an 84 Sho-Bud Pro II, has great tone, plays as well or better than some of the used newer models, and I don't have to retune it but about one time during about 3 hours of playin time. And is a looker to boot. The only 'con' is it has the pewter bellcranks. But in the 3/4 years I've had it I've only broken one bellcrank. I'm planning on replacing the bellcranks, with aluminum, or stainless, and replacing the knee levers with the tear drop style.
Some day before long I hope.
Terry

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 15 Oct 2012 6:31 pm

'the professionals' are great fun. easy to work on, sound and look cool. cheap ...a good way to go for your first double neck! mine was white then turned yeiiow. played it everywhere for ten years.

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 16 Oct 2012 4:13 pm

Everywhere?
Wow Chris 'the professionals' are majic carpets?
wish you'd a toll me that before I bought my Pro II.

Tony Williamson · Post by **Tony Williamson** » 16 Oct 2012 5:16 pm

shobuds are beautiful. find one at a good deal. a superpro maybe... and put a great modern undercarriage in it. i cant stress enough how good my ldg plays and feels with a williams undercarriage. it is a new creation. i love the hybrid. its tight. but theres nothing wrong with a shobud undercarriage. get good parts for it in case sumpthin breaks and learn all your stuff. then get a williams, franklin, msa or what have you.

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 17 Oct 2012 9:10 am

My all time favorite steel guitar is the Sho-Bud Super Pro. It was light weight, beautiful, and was at one time the ICON of steel guitars. The undercarriage was noisy, the potmetal levers often broke, and routine maintenance was always required.

However, if I were to be restricted to only one steel guitar to retain from my career, it would be the Super-Pro. My second choice would be the Carter products because they sound like the Sho-Bud, but without the undercarrige noise or the continual maintenance.

kyle reid · Post by **kyle reid** » 17 Oct 2012 10:22 am

Bo: You forgot to also mention string breakage!

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 17 Oct 2012 11:49 am

String breakage!
Oh my! Change a string on a Sho-Bud during a gig....you better have a flashlight, three hands, a first aid kit and the band play 4 or 5 songs without you.

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 17 Oct 2012 1:30 pm

Sho-Buds are great guitars and have always loved the sound of them and if set up right, the later model Buds play as good as any guitar. I wouldn't want a rack and barrel or one of the older Buds with 2 hole changers even though they still sound great. I think some of the best Sho-Buds are the Pro II's and Pro III's. Super Pro's are also nice guitars. I've owned them all at one time, everything except a finger tip, that is.

Brint Hannay · Post by **Brint Hannay** » 17 Oct 2012 3:18 pm

Bo Legg wrote:String breakage!
Oh my! Change a string on a Sho-Bud during a gig....you better have a flashlight, three hands, a first aid kit and the band play 4 or 5 songs without you.

How is a Sho-Bud any different from any other make of steel with regard to string replacement?

The one difference I can come up with is that on the later-model Sho-Buds with notches instead of pins it's easier than trying to line the ball end up with the pin, especially in low stage lighting.

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