'' Sho~Bud '' 16 string steel guitar .

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 18 Jul 2015 4:34 pm

I've built several double-coursed console and lap steels over the years, but I can't imagine putting pedals on one. Pulling a string and its octave pair and keeping them in tune would be difficult. I'm not saying impossible, because many guitars pull two strings that are an octave apart on one pedal.

I heard somewhere that Buddy Emmons tried one of those double-coursed Sho-Buds and wasn't very impressed with it. I would like to hear how they sound.

Geoff Cline · Post by **Geoff Cline** » 20 Jul 2015 2:13 pm

MOTHRA RULES...from a single, sedentary location, but RULES nonetheless.

chas smith · Post by **chas smith** » 21 Jul 2015 8:07 pm

John, the weight is 85lbs and I'm thinking of getting a smaller forklift to help me get it out of the case. The copedant isn't complete yet. When I rebuilt it, I had to do a lot more work than I was planning and it took a month to get it to this point at which time I had to go back to work, so it doesn't have knee levers and I haven't really figured out the 16 string neck. At the moment it's strung up with a DADF#AD variation and I have to really press down on the bar because of the different string sizes. On the plus side, for me, is that it's a bit out of tune with itself which I really enjoy. And, because the strings are so close together, picking is going to take some serious practice

Alan, on the octave strings, each double set has it's own finger and they share one pull rod. There's a set screw to adjust where each finger is at the start and they both arrive at the end at the same time.

This a very nice sounding guitar. All that extra wood adds to the sound. The pickups are split coils with a 3 way switch for, 'bite', 'full' and 'mud'.

This is what's on there and what will be on there when the knees get added.

Code: Select all

E
C#
D - - - ?
A - B - ?
F#- - G
D
A - B
D

===

F#
D#- - - - - - - - - D
G#- - A
E - - - F#- F - Eb
B - C#- C#
G#- - A
F#
E - - - - - F - Eb
C#- - - - - - - - - D
B - C#
E

===

G
E - - - F
C - D - - - ? - B
A - B - - B
G - - F#
E - - - Eb
C - - - - - ?
A - - - - B
G - - F#
E - - - - - D
C

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 22 Jul 2015 11:37 am

I would love to hear a sample of something played on it. I've always had a love of octave-strung instruments, which is why I've built them over the years.

Dennis Shellhouse · Post by **Dennis Shellhouse** » 24 Mar 2016 1:09 pm

Buddy Charleton played one on the Ernest Tubb- Loretta Lynn Duets album:
Mr & Mrs. Used To Be. It's on the title track, available on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgzNHdBONwQ

Dennis Shellhouse · Post by **Dennis Shellhouse** » 24 Mar 2016 4:10 pm

Alan Brookes wrote:I've built several double-coursed console and lap steels over the years, but I can't imagine putting pedals on one. Pulling a string and its octave pair and keeping them in tune would be difficult. I'm not saying impossible, because many guitars pull two strings that are an octave apart on one pedal.

I heard somewhere that Buddy Emmons tried one of those double-coursed Sho-Buds and wasn't very impressed with it. I would like to hear how they sound.

The single next Sho~Buds only had an A&B pedal.

Johnny Cox · Post by **Johnny Cox** » 26 Mar 2016 1:44 pm

Chas, that guitar sat around Sho-Bud for years. Then it popped up at Bobby Seymour shop years ago. I almost bought it and wish now that I had. Would love to play it again one day.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 26 Mar 2016 1:49 pm

The year Chas bought that guitar, Mike Cass and I hand-carried that sucker three blocks from the Holiday Inn to the Millenium to deliver it to Chas. Heavier than any Bigsby I've ever lifted.

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 26 Mar 2016 3:49 pm

Well, I have this double neck, double course body. I was going to make a coffee table. If anyone is interested, contact me!

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 26 Mar 2016 5:18 pm

Dennis Shellhouse wrote:Buddy Charleton played one on the Ernest Tubb- Loretta Lynn Duets album:
Mr & Mrs. Used To Be. It's on the title track, available on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgzNHdBONwQ

Sorry Dennis, the guitar is featured on that album, but it wasn't used on the title track. If memory serves me correctly, the guitar is plainly heard on "Our Hearts Are Holding Hands", and on "We're Not Kids Anymore". I spoke to Buddy several times about that album and the guitar, and his most significant recollection was that that guitar was really a bear to play in-tune!

Here's the first track, and the tuning problem is evident on this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-0-DY6Yn9c

There's no YouTube for the other song, "We're Not Kids Anymore", and that's sad, because the intonation seems much better on that cut.