Sho Bud Pro 1 Project - Help With Some Details

[David Sutton]

Hello, all. Been lurking for a while and gathering information while I work on this beast. It's a Sho Bud Pro 1 with one of those mysterious 7000 serial numbers.

This is my first experience with a pedal steel, and it seems I've jumped into the deep end. It came to me as a semi-basket case, the console itself was in nice shape, and mostly I've done a lot of cleaning and straightening out. The pickup was open, the wiring looked like it had been done by a committee of insane donkeys, the leg clutches were inoperable, and the tuners were attached to the headstock by every imaginable kind of hardware... stuff like that.

I finally got the nerve up today to string it and attempt tuning it. I've currently got it set up with three pedals and one knee lever. I need to map the thing out and figure out what the pedals and lever do, but basically it's together and shows signs of being playable.

Anyway, the questions: How high should the console be off the floor? I've got it set right now at 27 1/2" from the bottom edge of the console to the floor. That seems to give the pedals plenty of room to travel, and there's about a half inch between the pedals and the floor when depressed. Is this a preference thing, or is there a rule of thumb for this?

Where would I find parts to add two more levers to this thing?

Anything in particular that I should know?

Some pictures:

The Top


The Front:


Bridge End:


Pedal End
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And, of course, the string stalking cat
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[Dan Beller-McKenna]

Hi David,
welcome to the world of pedal steel and of Sho-Bud rack-and-barrell! You probably have a model 6139, which was the designation for the single neck buds with three pedals and one knee lever before they started putting out the Pro I which (someone will correct me if I'm wrong) came with 2 or more knee levers. Probably from @1968 or '69, judging from the wood neck wrapping around the changer (as on the Baldwin cross-over model from around that time). John Billings has one, he might be able to offer more info (although his 1967 has connected racks as on the Baldwin: http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... 81286043ec)Judging from what extra holes I can see in your second to last picture, yours may have come with the older connected racks originally, but that's just a wild guess. Again, John (and certainly others) might have a better idea about that than I do, but it is immaterial to the workings of the steel as you acquired it.

Here's what your pedals do:

1st ("A") pedal raises strings 5 and 10 from B to C-sharp
2nd ("B") pedal raises striongs 3 and 6 from G-sharp to A
3rd ("C" pedal) raises string 5 from B-C# and string 4 from E-F#)

The knee lever lowers strings 4 and 8 from E to D-sharp, and needs a proper barrel on string 8 to be tuned up correctly, which brings us to one of your other questions: Michael Yahl can get you set up with barrels and parts to add more knee levers, although he makes a somewhat later mechanism to push the barrels (usually referred to as "two-hole pullers"); it will work, but you will have different looking parts underneath. Others may have old racks around; I have had good luck with Jim Palenscar at Steel Guitars of North County in CA.

Lastly, the pedals should have some clearance from the floor. A little more than necessary is good in case you find yourself set up on a plush carpet, where the pedals may bottom out on the carpet and not pull the strings as as as they need to. You can also adjust the height of the pedals by loosening the nut on the pedal rod at the sleeved joint that connects to the pedal itself, and then rotate that sleeved joint up or down the rod a bit.

Rack and barrel sho buds can play great and in tune, but they are a little squirrelly. here are a few threads with mucho info.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... d846858a18

http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/010588.html

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... 81286043ec

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... 2d4cb11011

[Ian Worley]

That's a cool guitar. The cat is an important component. When not corralling loose/broken strings, they're useful in keep the strings warm for proper tuning and intonation. And a black one is a good choice, they go well with any color guitar.

The 7xxx serial numbers are not too mysterious, that would just indicate that it's a Baldwin-era Bud. Judging by the individual racks, probably very late '60s-'70 as Dan suggests. They reset the serial numbers in 1971 (to 1001) when they introduced the newer design with the aluminum pickup/changer housing that you see on all the later Professional/Pro series guitars (except the Pro III). Judging from the extra holes it appear to have had more pedals in a past life.

On the height question, "normal" length for legs from the bottom of the end plate where they seat, to the tip of the leg is ~26", but lots of guitars have had the legs and pedal rods replaced with longer ones for a taller player. Generally, the legs are collapsed all way in so that the pedal rack sit up against the clutch with about another ~1-1/2" length to the floor. If the pedal rack is mounted lower away from the clutch it will tend to slide upward as you play.

So yours was among the last of its ilk. There are tons of discussions here if you do a little poking around. Enjoy!

[Tony Glassman]

My first steel was a Sho-Baldwin 6139 - 3+4. What a great guitar to start on. They sound wonderful and are easy to maintain/work-on. Copedant changes are a snap & they're aesthetically gorgeous. What more could you ask for.

Although they demand a bit more "tuning attention" than modern guitars, they make up for it in "tone". I wish I still had mine

[David Sutton]

Fantastic! Thanks for the detailed help on the questions I asked, and also the history of this guitar, it's older than I thought it was.

I've played the guitar for 40+ years, and to a lesser degree things like bass, banjo, mandolin, etc. I've got some musical experience, so I know that you can make mistakes when choosing a beginner instrument. Would I be better off looking for a more modern instrument as my first, or would benefit more from learning pedal steel with this Sho Bud? This thing surely has a major COOL factor, but if it's going to be an unruly beast that would be better off in the hands of a seasoned player... Know what I mean?

Thanks again, all!

[William Liemandt]

David - without additional photos this is only my best guess - but I think you may have an old 6140 Bud there.

You get this old and well seasoned plank o'wood dialed in right and it will play all night long. You'll be wanting a few more knees on this so it'll take some work and some scrounging of old parts, but nothing worthwhile is free. This guitar, IMHO, has more built in mojo in it than any modern whatever. And the TONE! If you dig old Bud tone?

Plus, whilst playing you get to look down and see some of the most beautiful natural birds eye maple available to mankind. Would you prefer to look down at the equivalent of a kitchen counter top? I personally would not trade for a more modern guitar. But that's just my opinion and I'm heavily outweighed in these parts.

All the best - William

[David Sutton]

Thanks, William. That's what I wanted to hear. Scrounging parts and patience are something I'm pretty good at, so it seems like a good match.

I've got to admit, though, that kitchen counters have a certain appeal to me, for other reasons, of course. Just another of my many vices.

[Richard Sinkler]

That's a cool guitar. The cat is an important component. When not corralling loose/broken strings, they're useful in keep the strings warm for proper tuning and intonation. And a black one is a good choice, they go well with any color guitar.

That looks like an Emmons cat. Everyone knows that black cats meow better.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[David Sutton]

That looks like an Emmons cat. Everyone knows that black cats meow better.

Black cats sound just fine, but her sister is a tweed cat, and everyone thinks she has more mojo.