The Professional" Comes to Life

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 11 Feb 2003 11:05 am

Ok I just finished another Great ShoBud and Man did it come out Great!!

This particular Professional has not been played in 20 years(sittin' in the case)and allthough it looked fairly good and not alot of wear....the old grease in the Changer fingers was gummed up and the piviots didn't move easily and the rollers were rusted and non moving...ha.
I took this guitar all apart and cleaned and polished every part...and now the fingers are brand new and the rollers and axles are brand new...and cleaned all barrel tuners and rods and repositioned the two racks that were added(put in Wrong) and cleaned the Tuners at the headstock...and did my 4 step waxing and polishing of the wood/finish........and played it last night and it played PERFECT...and everything went and came back as good as any guitar played today....yeee haaa.

This ShoBud has a sound that is "Outta this World".......and now plays as good as anything I've ever played and is smooooth as butter....I just love bringing a Great tradition for sound, back to life.
Hope you enjoy the eye-candy

Ricky

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 11 Feb 2003 11:16 am

Gorgeous!!
Love it Ricky. Thanks for puttin it up
for us to at least "look at".

Roy

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Guest · Post by **Guest** » 11 Feb 2003 11:28 am

Ricky, it sure is beautiful, but tell me this, aren't these old steels just too much of a pain to deal with. I mean, can they really play as well as a modern steel? I've heard such horror stories, especially where the Professional is concerned.

Carson Leighton · Post by **Carson Leighton** » 11 Feb 2003 11:54 am

Ricky, you sure did a beautiful job on that guitar. I know what you mean by these old professionals, they work as nice as anything out there and the sound is gorgeous. The rack and barrel system is really quite simple and when properly set up works as good as anything else. They are so easy to make changes on, just remove the brass barrel and take out the pull rod, put it in a different hole, put the barrel back on and adjust at the end plate. I'm wondering if this system doesn't contribute to sound of these guitars. I know the newer Sho~Buds had different tone......Carson

Rick Schmidt · Post by **Rick Schmidt** » 11 Feb 2003 11:56 am

Hey Ricky....Wow! That looks just like my "Old Bessy" in her youth. What a beauty!
I couldnt tell, but how many knee levers does yours have? If it has more than 2, how many work both necks?...and were they stock?

I've never had any of the problems that I keep hearing about with mine. Except I cant ever seem to add more than the 2 original knees. Sigh....maybe someday...

Tuning is NO problem. At least nobody's ever complained to me. It clanks a bit, but then again so do I.

p.s. see you in San Antone this weekend bro.

Dave Van Allen · Post by **Dave Van Allen** » 11 Feb 2003 12:41 pm

She's a beauty RD!!

Classic Axe + TLC=

Ad Kersten · Post by **Ad Kersten** » 11 Feb 2003 1:04 pm

Hey Ricky,

"...and now the fingers are brand new..."

What about YOUR fingers???

Just kidding, you did a fine job and the looks are great

Ad

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Zumsteel S12U

Yo, Man! homepage

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 11 Feb 2003 1:35 pm

BEAUTY FULL !

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Steel what?

Bill Ford · Post by **Bill Ford** » 11 Feb 2003 3:22 pm

RD, You did it again man!!!!!!Beautimus..

Bill

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Bill Ford

Doug Seymour · Post by **Doug Seymour** » 11 Feb 2003 3:24 pm

Ricky, as well as being a musician, you are a magician! Great looking classic!

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 11 Feb 2003 3:31 pm

Ricky,
How sweet it is !!.....This Pro looks great !
There's nothing like nicely figured wood to go with a great sounding steel !!...Nice Job !!
I know how much work something like this takes..Been there, don't want to do it again at least not this year...Jim

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 11 Feb 2003 5:42 pm

Ricky, is it for sale?

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 11 Feb 2003 5:53 pm

makes a grown man wanna cry.....

chas smith · Post by **chas smith** » 11 Feb 2003 9:22 pm

WOW!!!

B Bailey Brown · Post by **B Bailey Brown** » 11 Feb 2003 9:23 pm

Ricky, it sure is beautiful, but tell me this, aren't these old steels just too much of a pain to deal with.

Stephen,

The answer to your question is yes, and NO! I owned one of the early Professionals back in the ‘70’s and I can tell you that it was probably the sweetest sounding steel guitar I have ever played! Unfortunately, it was one of the early ones that had some mechanical defects so I got rid of it. I wish I had never done that!

We tend to buy these instruments for the “SOUND”. With the Sho-Bud Professional the “SOUND” is defiantly there! If you can find one that has been worked on by some one like Ricky and put it back into shape (read that as fixed those mechanical defects!) you could not ask for a better instrument. In that case, NO they are not a problem at all…they are in fact wonderful instruments to be played.

If you find one that has been beat up, neglected, and abused and sitting in somebody’s garage for 30 years…well then, you probably have a piece of junk.

When you look at “Classic” guitars you have to look at the history of the instrument. Who bought it? What did they do with it? And further more, was it was a good instrument to start with but just needed to brought up to modern day standards? Lots of questions you have to ask.

Buying any steel guitar, whether it is new or used, should take a lot of investigation and research. I know that sounds like a pain in the butt…but at the price of these things…do your homework.

B. Bailey Brown

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 12 Feb 2003 1:03 am

Wow thanks ya'll....that is mighty reassuring.
Stephen...Carson; Rick and B.Brown pretty much summed your question up.
It can be perfect if adjusted right and some of the worn out parts are redone or replaced...and alot of folks didn't/don't know how to adjust the Rack and Barrel properly...because if you have a barrel touching the rack at all times....than the barrel will "NOT" slip.....ever....when the change goes and comes back> even at super speeds..ha....and the initial start move of the rack is your slack...and not the barrel moving into it first.
Rick; as you know all Professionals came 2 knee standard...and getting more on was an option...and you should use your options pal..ha..call Duane Marrs and tell him which knees you want and he'll send you the stuff man...and it's easy to do...you can do it pal> and only one knee on this particular guitar works both necks.
Kevin; this one belongs to Joe Camacho in San Diego...and is headin' back shortly...after I play a few gigs with it...to make sure she passes the (Ricky stomps real hard on those pedals) Test!!
But I may have one identical to this one...for sale maybe in a month or so...if you can pry it outta my hands...ha.
But I'm a believer that a guitar should be played...and if I'm not gunna play it alot(because I'm in love with my Fulawka)...than I will sell to someone that will...and they have to promise me that before I sell it..ah..ha.
I have a few more that I'm working on...that will absolutly make you fall outta your chair when I'm done and plop a pic up here again...yeee haaaa.
This is a dream come true for me...redoing these old ShoBuds; because I believe they should be on stage everywhere...and many guys just aren't playing them anymore because they are too hard to play....> well My goal is to fix that problem..and each one so far that has left my house> is a major success in that goal.
Oh and the ShoBud sound "IS" the changer and what it's mounted to and what that material is....and we all know Birdseye Maple is a gorgeous wood for looks and sound....but after the Double raise/single lower changer.....the ShoBud started loosing my interest...eventhough they still sound/sounded great...but those chills didn't run down me spine after about 1979.
Ricky
[This message was edited by Ricky Davis on 12 February 2003 at 01:07 AM.]

Chris Forbes · Post by **Chris Forbes** » 12 Feb 2003 3:56 am

Man, that's pretty close to being porn!!!!So pretty it's obscene.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 12 Feb 2003 4:35 am

Thanks, Ricky and everybody else. You more than answered my question. I love classic cars, classic airplanes, and classic steel guitars, so it's reassuring to know that they can be made to play well if properly setup. You just gotta love the look of those beautiful old steels.

bye

Joe A. Camacho · Post by **Joe A. Camacho** » 12 Feb 2003 9:39 am

OK I'm awake... I am the lucky person that owns this guitar. Got it off of ebay and shipped directly to Ricky and let him do his magic... I can't wait to play it. This is a keeper I won't be selling this one, although I may have to sell my other Prossional to make room. I really want to thank Ricky for the INCREDIBLE job that he did on this guitar, you should have seen it before, the owner passed away 25 years ago and it's sat it just it's case. I truly feel blessed having Ricky as a friend, great job buddy, now ship the damn thing to me!!!

Joerg Hennig · Post by **Joerg Hennig** » 12 Feb 2003 2:51 pm

Ricky, that´s just too much... Guess I´ll print & frame those pictures. I know I´ve got to have one of those for myself before too long... I´m glad you´re active in keeping those great classic ShoBuds alive.
By the way, have you done an older model, like a Permanent or Fingertip, as yet?

Keep up the good work,

Joe

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 12 Feb 2003 9:46 pm

Ricky-Beautiful! I had a couple of Professionals D10 and they just had THE sound. I liked the easy change Rack and Barrel tuners too. The knee levers played easy and smooth too. glad to see you are restoring these Sho-Buds. Thanks...al)

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 13 Feb 2003 12:56 am

Thanks guys...and Joe C....she's on the way pal...hang on...be there before ya know it.
Joe H.> well I haven't gone all the way through a fingertip(I might pull my hair out on that one...ha

> but I have adjusted a few things on several...and as far as the Permenant> I haven't touched one underneath....yeee haaa.
Ricky

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 19 Feb 2003 3:16 pm

Just a joy to the eyes! Blond, red and crome shining in the fireplace light!

John Troutman · Post by **John Troutman** » 19 Feb 2003 3:48 pm

i saw and heard this guitar played by ricky last week with dale watson. as beautiful as this guitar is in the picture, it's twice as gorgeous to see and hear live. ricky's doing a great service here with these sho-buds!!

Joe A. Camacho · Post by **Joe A. Camacho** » 19 Feb 2003 7:26 pm

Man, is my mouth waterin'.... She arrives here tomorrow... I feel sorry the the UPS man that has to lug all 76 lbs. of her up my stairs!