Why Aren't Sho~buds As Good As Emmons?

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 3 Feb 2005 6:35 am

Bob C., Lem LOL

I love stringent, acerbic sarcasm,
with a kind heart...

Paul Warnik · Post by **Paul Warnik** » 3 Feb 2005 7:38 am

If I could have only one pedal steel guitar-it would be the Emmons-and I have owned dozens of Sho-Buds

Frank Estes · Post by **Frank Estes** » 3 Feb 2005 7:41 am

To my knowledge, the Master (Big E) does not own a Sho~Bud, but he still owns at least one Push-pull, one or two Legrandes, a JCH and perhaps a few other Legrande "wanna-bes!"

Basically, the Zums, JCHs and similar guitars are simply Emmons Legrande clones! Think about it!

For a while, Lloyd played a JCH and had he been using that guitar for "Remember When" session, then it would NOT have required the 30 takes it took!

Just teasing...mostly!

Play what you want, but remember for the standard in tone, sustain, cool logo and fretboards, there is only ONE!

[Edited for some typos ONLY

.][This message was edited by Frank Estes on 03 February 2005 at 07:44 AM.]

Mike Richardson · Post by **Mike Richardson** » 3 Feb 2005 8:22 am

I have had a Sho-Bud and I now have two Emmons.I still love the sound of the Sho-Bud.I wish Sho-Bud had stayed in business.Too bad big company's get their hands on something as good as Sho-Bud then kill it.

Mike Richardson

Rick Collins · Post by **Rick Collins** » 3 Feb 2005 8:50 am

...lots of opinions here. Truth is, steel guitars are personal items much more than other instruments and are likely to be for many years. If you play one right out of the box, don't talk to me.

Even if you order a custom guitar put together with your specifications, you must still complete the total picture to suit your personality.

Come to think of it, I don't like the default setting on my computer either.

kyle reid · Post by **kyle reid** » 3 Feb 2005 9:29 am

Why not just play whatever brand suits you the best? and not be so concerned about what someone else plays, Its almost like saying, Hey everyone, You should play what I play, because its better than your brand, & while I'm at it, In answer to ALL the tuning threads, If you sound in tune to yourself, & no one tells you that your out of tune, tune that way! kr

Tony Orth · Post by **Tony Orth** » 3 Feb 2005 10:01 am

Thank the Lord that there are so many brands of quality steel guitars. If there were only one, it might take 25 years to get a new one delivered.

Farris Currie · Post by **Farris Currie** » 3 Feb 2005 10:24 am

seems to me,speaking from personal experiance,always searching for a better sound!! isn't this why most keep trading ect.i got 4 steels sitting here right now,i hook up one,think its the greatest.then in a little i try another one.and keep going around.good mind to sell them all,and buy a new one. isn't this the way it is??never really happy!!! farris

Wayne Baker · Post by **Wayne Baker** » 3 Feb 2005 10:30 am

I love this forum... I mostly post serious stuff, but this time I was just fishin'... I was fishin' for goats... And it looks like I got several.

I actually am a huge Sho~bud fan. Right Ernest Cawby? Please don't take offense to my infinite stupidity. Have a great day my steel pickin' friends.

respectfully,
Wayne Baker[This message was edited by Wayne Baker on 03 February 2005 at 10:30 AM.]

Sonny Jenkins · Post by **Sonny Jenkins** » 3 Feb 2005 10:48 am

I too kept going from brand to brand, looking for one that had it all,,,,,then I found my Kline. (interesting what Buddy said in another thread about Jeff Newmans Kline.)I thought this topic was about Sho-Buds and Emmons?,,,,oh well.[This message was edited by Sonny Jenkins on 03 February 2005 at 10:51 AM.]

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 3 Feb 2005 11:04 am

Wayne...
My goat's safe at home watching The Practice on the tube..
you didn't get him!

But wouldn't Jerry Garcia have played a lot better on an Push Pull??[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 03 February 2005 at 11:05 AM.]

Glenn Suchan · Post by **Glenn Suchan** » 3 Feb 2005 11:22 am

"Why aren't Sho~Buds as good as Emmons?" The bottom line is: they're a tool to make music with and they'll sound as good as the musician playing them. In the hands of a master they're both wonderful tools.

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn[This message was edited by Glenn Suchan on 03 February 2005 at 11:25 AM.]

Glenn Austin · Post by **Glenn Austin** » 3 Feb 2005 11:26 am

I don't see why some people get insulted at an honest question. I have only owned 2 Sho Bud Professionals, 1 LDG and 2 Emmons push pulls. All of them sounded good, but compare the mechanisms on both guitars. The Sho Buds definitely have a shoddy home made look to them, mismatched screws, things that are put on crooked, cheap metal parts that rust. Emmons' don't suffer from any of this. Having said that, I find Sho Bud's much more comfortable to play than an Emmons. Like driving a big car. The Sho Buds with the Duane Marrs mechanics on them are definitely a deadly combination. If I had the cash, I would go that route.

James Cann · Post by **James Cann** » 3 Feb 2005 12:04 pm

I had an MSA semi-classic, followed many years later by an LDG. As I'm not qualified to judge matters like this, I can only say that
the LDG is better looking,
I regretted selling the MSA for many years,
I'm having too good a time playing and learning on the LDG to try and judge matters like this.

Brian Henry · Post by **Brian Henry** » 3 Feb 2005 12:25 pm

Justin,

I agree with you:

"The Sho Buds with the Duane Marrs mechanics on them are definitely a deadly combination. If I had the cash, I would go that route."

In other words, a shobud with the marrs retrofit = an emmons or msa!!! Right??

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 3 Feb 2005 1:51 pm

...it's a shame Lloyd Green didn't realize he was playing such an inferior instrument. Might would have had a good career if he'd played something other than Sho~Bud

Actually, I remember Lloyd himself saying something to that effect in the "Steel Summit" video (not that he thought his career had sufferred but that he might have developed a different technique).

I have a '78 'Bud Pro I, which as far as I can tell has about the best of the various stock Bud hardware setups and it works fine enough for me. I will probably get an Emmons at some point for all the reasons listed above, but I'm not likely to ever ditch the ShoBud. For one thing it's so darn PURTY! And it does sound good, in fact when Doug Jones (an Emmons player) was over with his Webb amp the other night he made my old Bud sound an awful lot like his Emmons. Something about the hands, I believe....

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<img align=right src="http://www.pdxaudio.com/dgsept03.jpg" width="114 height="114">Dave Grafe - email: dg@pdxaudio.com
Production
Pickin', etc.

1978 ShoBud Pro I E9, 1960 Les Paul (SG) Deluxe, 1963 Precision Bass, 1954 Gibson LGO, 1897 Washburn Hawaiian Steel Conversion

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 3 Feb 2005 1:57 pm

My Pro-II has several generations of parts in it,
but the last is Duane Marrs vintage,
good stuff.

I also played Crowbear's Profesional several times,
and I can see how killer that would be with a Marrs retrofit.

Eric West is gonna be a very happy camper in a few weeks!

Gary Preston · Post by **Gary Preston** » 3 Feb 2005 2:07 pm

Let me see here . I think i like a Lexus better than a Pinto or --------------.
Wow why do we get into these questions that will never be answered ? I bought my Sho-Bud Pro -ll Custom new in 1977 and i couldn't have asked for a better guitar than it is and it is still the best feeling guitar that i have ever sat down to play . Still has the best feeling knee levers and floor pedals i have ever played . I'm with you Ricky . Larry i also agree with your response . Who's next ????? G.P.

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 3 Feb 2005 2:48 pm

Wayne Baker, Vacaville Ca.... Who gets to go kill him??

What a guy... fishin' for goats he says...Im not sure I'm a goat but I've been told thats what my breath smells like. Does that count?...Anyway Wayne, you're forgiven by all us goats.. I just bought a 69 Bassman head from a guy in Vacaville.. Pat Brennan.. Ever hear of him??? bob

Mark Herrick · Post by **Mark Herrick** » 3 Feb 2005 3:45 pm

Here we go. CLOSE IT? Why? It is bad if we can't have a discussion without having the thread closed. This is not a communist forum.

Why? Why not? Hey, the Forum Police shut down the Megalon vs Godzilla thread. Didn't even move it, just SHUT IT RIGHT DOWN...

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Farris Currie · Post by **Farris Currie** » 3 Feb 2005 4:01 pm

OK guys,depends on the sho-bud you have,some will blow smoke,and some needs to be smoked.sho-bud as Ricky tells,the right one just cant be beat.my favorite i guess is the professional, i own one with the barrel tuners. what a tone that baby have, i also own a pro3 that just don't got it boys.it's pretty ect.but for my type of sound,professional beats the other hands down. farris

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 3 Feb 2005 5:05 pm

Hey, the Forum Police shut down the Megalon vs Godzilla thread. Didn't even move it, just SHUT IT RIGHT DOWN...

And now a search on 'Godzilla' will get two hits.

The title of this topic is flame bait, for sure, but at least it's on topic.

I've played some very good Sho-Buds, and others that weren't so good. The company produced a lot of different models. Some were better than others. I don't think that Emmons tried to go after the mass market as much as Sho-Bud did.

Sho-Bud did make many guitars that were as good as any Emmons, by any measure. They had a different sound, though. That sound isn't as popular today as it once was.

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<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/Hotb0b.gif" width="96 height="96">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra SD-12 (Ext E9), Williams D-12 Crossover, Sierra S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, C6, A6)

Terry Edwards · Post by **Terry Edwards** » 4 Feb 2005 8:39 am

I agree with b0b that this topic is nothing but flame bait. The question cannot have a logical answer unless perhaps the topic starter is specifically looking to purchase either a Sho-bud or an Emmons.

To infer that one guitar is superior or inferior to the other is to say that many of our professional steel guitar heroes recorded classic songs on inferior instruments and didn't have the common sense to know better! They all played and sounded great.

Instruments are unique and you need to spend time learning your instruments "quirks" good or bad.

If you spend more of your time learning to play your instrument you might find that your opinion of your instrument's tone and playability improves over time with practice without regard to instrument brand names.

Terry

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 4 Feb 2005 8:48 am

Terry, at the TIME they recorded all these songs they were not inferior steels.

And IMHO Lloyd's LDG will never be inferior to anything.

Fred Shannon · Post by **Fred Shannon** » 4 Feb 2005 9:10 am

"The title of this topic is flame bait, for sure, but at least it's on topic."

Hafta' agree with Senor b0b on this one. However, my pop once told me the only way you can be intimidated is for you to allow it to happen. Guess this might apply with "flame bait" too. If you want to accept the topic as flames, it's your choice, but the opposite of that is true also.

Who the hell cares which guitar sounds best and why. Other than the builders,is someone in the "name brand" selling business here? I have both brands and love the sound of both, but I refuse to make a choice of which is better or worse. I can guarantee you the "multitude" won't know the difference.

I also have 3 or 4 MSA's, a Fender 400, and a couple more. I like them all. They are distinct and unique in themselves. Comparing makes of guitars is similiar to comparing automobiles. You like yours and I like mine. Good enuff' for me, how 'bout you? If I for one was looking for "flames", guitar brands wouldn't even get close to a priority of any kind.

fred

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"From Truth, Justice is Born"--Quanah Parker-1904