ZB Pedal Steel Guitars - Please help!

Duncan Hodge · Post by **Duncan Hodge** » 5 May 2004 4:08 pm

Larry, I was wondering if it would be possible to post the master ZB list that you have been compiling. It would be interesting to know who currently owns which one and where they came from. You may have done so earlier in the post, but if so, I am still interested.
Duncan

Phillip Morgan · Post by **Phillip Morgan** » 11 May 2004 6:32 am

Larry
I have #1053.It was a D-10 and the body was finished solid black. I bought the guitar in 1985.It was totally disassembled.I build up the E9th neck.I had problems with the C6th neck.Now it's a SD-10.If you want more info and pictures.Shot me a E-mail
Later dude
Phillip

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 11 May 2004 8:20 am

Just a ZB point of interest. I got to speak with Tom Brumley last week. I finally remembered to ask him what his standard pickup switch position was when he played his ZB. He said the middle one. So most or all of the ZB Brumley stuff was done on position #2. I was messin with #3 for a couple of months recently and I liked the fatness and warmth, but it did lack the edge and sparkle of #2. I find that #1 is neat too if you want to get that old thin Fender type sound.

Brad Sarno

Larry Chung · Post by **Larry Chung** » 11 May 2004 9:27 am

Hey ZBers!

Sorry I've not been in touch with you all and also with ZSuper Thread... I went off and got engaged. Does this mean that my ZBs will sit idle? Only time will tell... (:

Naaaaaaah.

Brad - thanks for the Tom Brumley info - I THOUGHT SO! AHA! I like switching between all three options. The thin setting is very cutting, almost like an old Fender (but not quite!); the middle setting is clean and super-glassy; the bass setting is pretty fat and round. All good!

Duncan - I'm always a little shy about posting other people's email addresses anywhere, but if you'd like to see "the list", I can email the serial numbers and approximate dates. Thanks for asking. Still living in the stone age and almost time to get a ZB website up and running - Greg Jones and Billy Cooper already have their own!

Phillip - Yes, please, please send photos - I own a D-10 #1077, which dates back to 1966-67. Which makes yours right around that period - an early Scranton ZB. Very, very nice and pickups handwound by Zane himself. Congratulations.

OK, back to wedding planning...(:

All ZBest,
Larry

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 11 May 2004 1:13 pm

I also just switched back to the second setting from the third. I find it a clearer tone.

Duncan Hodge · Post by **Duncan Hodge** » 11 May 2004 7:00 pm

Congratulations Larry,

I'm getting married on the 22nd of this month. I'm not interested in knowing exactly who owns which one, and I am interested, though, in which serial numbers you have recorded, where the ZB currently resides and about what year and place it was born in. I don't need the email addresses of anyone else. I'm through harassing people and trying to get them to sell me their ZBs, honest. All except for Steve Takacs. I'm resorting to bribery at this point since my threatening and crying like a girl had no effect on him.
Have a beautiful engagement Larry!
Duncan[This message was edited by Duncan Hodge on 11 May 2004 at 08:02 PM.]

Patrick Ickes · Post by **Patrick Ickes** » 11 May 2004 9:02 pm

Congratulations Larry.
Sorry we didn't see you at Paso Robles. The gig went well, and of course Megan's playing was increadible. Did she tell you I sold my Zum?
We'll see you Sunday,
Pat

P.S. No, I'm not looking for a ZB!!

steve takacs · Post by **steve takacs** » 12 May 2004 2:26 pm

Duncan, I heard that comment! No, on second thought, I did not hear it; I'm ZB deaf. steve

Duncan Hodge · Post by **Duncan Hodge** » 13 May 2004 8:01 am

Don't worry Steve. I love my ZB, sometimes I wish it was a D-10 like yours, though. Just shutup and accept your bribe, I mean your present, that is on its way to North Dakota. I hope it doesn't freeze there. When you get to Florida, stop by.
Duncan

Larry Chung · Post by **Larry Chung** » 18 May 2004 6:24 am

More ZB news keeps arriving. Keep it coming!

All ZBest,
larry

zbguitarinfo@yahoo.com

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 18 May 2004 6:39 am

I may try and remove the microphonics from my ZB pickup by potting it in wax. I've done this before on guitar pickups using a molten coctail of parrafin and beeswax. Anyone tried potting the ZB pickups? They're so microphonic.

Brad Sarno

B. Greg Jones · Post by **B. Greg Jones** » 18 May 2004 7:58 am

Brad, I have never had a ZB pick-up potted but I am sure there are some people on this forum that have and can do it. The pick-ups on a ZB usually set right on the top of the guitar, with the magnets and polepieces touching the wood and transfering the noise from the undercarraige. Ant little pedal "creak" or whatever gets heard. What I do on the restorations and rebuilds is this. The undercarraige has to be set up properly and working smooth. I take surgical rubber tubing and put it on the pick-up mounting screws. Actually I use the Fender pick-up tubing...same thing. I also cut a peice of black foam, the size of the pick-up, and put it underneath the pick-up to isolate it from the body. This will dampen alot of the noise you get although won't make the actual pick-up less microphonic. I have used 3 different ZB's in the studio and haven't had any problem with noise while tracking with the stock original pick-ups.

Potting is definetly a good idea and if you are successful with it or find someone that can do it, I am interested. Drop me an email.

Greg

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 18 May 2004 1:32 pm

Greg, I thought about the foam/rubber isolation approach, but it's not just the mechanical noise that's a problem. The microphonic factor will also cause feedback if I use overdrive and play pretty loud. The pickup will howl with feedback. I think I'll give it a shot with the wax potting and I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Also, I'm in the middle of designing a ZB roller-nut upgrade kit. My prototype parts will be here soon. It basically converts the fat roller axle to the thin, Emmons type and uses little cylindrical spacers to fit the small axle to the rollers and the axle holder. This should eliminate the roller friction problem so many of us have. I'll give an update after I give the kit a try.

Brad Sarno

B. Greg Jones · Post by **B. Greg Jones** » 18 May 2004 2:25 pm

AAAHHH Brad, now I understand!!! Yeah with a distortion pedal going yer gonna get some howl and feedback. Keep me posted on your potting endeavor, I would also like to check out those new nut rollers!!!!

Greg

Larry Chung · Post by **Larry Chung** » 20 May 2004 6:14 am

Dear ZB Community:

I was recently contacted by Zane Beck's daughter, Carrie, who has been in contact with Zane's wife Faye. We continue to have a lovely exchange of emails about Zane Beck.

For those of you who are interested in serial numbers and dates of early ZBs - it gives me great pleasure to post a link to a website that Carrie has put together with a complete list of ZBs made in the mid - and early - 1960s. This was the period that Zane owned the company. Here's the link: http://home.comcast.net/~cdmarcone/zb.htm

My deepest thanks to Carrie and to Faye for this valuable information for any of us who love and respect Zane Beck's magnificent musical creations!

All ZBest,
Larry[This message was edited by Larry Chung on 20 May 2004 at 07:14 AM.][This message was edited by Larry Chung on 20 May 2004 at 07:15 AM.]

Dave Van Allen · Post by **Dave Van Allen** » 20 May 2004 7:09 am

ain't the internet a wonderful thing!
Thanks Larry! Thanks Carrie!! and thank you Zane...

B. Greg Jones · Post by **B. Greg Jones** » 20 May 2004 9:01 pm

This is great!!!! Thank you Carrie and Faye!!! Thanks Larry for putting this post up. Takes all the guesswork out of dating the CZB guitars!!!!! As for the location and current owners of these guitars...I have a few.

#1014 was on Ebay awhile back, dont know who got it
#1034--John Borchard
#1037--Greg Jones
#1039--Tom Brumley
#1044--Jonathan Gregg
#1053--Phillip Morgan
#1077--Larry Chung
#1092--Chris Rohde
#1096--Dave Flavin Jr. (I currently have this one for a full restoration}
#1108--Steinar Schroder (I have this one too for restoration)

Keep em comin folks!!! Let us know where these guitars ended up!!!!

Wonderful history here!!!!

Greg

Larry Behm · Post by **Larry Behm** » 21 May 2004 3:53 am

Brad pop the pickups out, drop 4 large drops of white silicon in the hole and push the pickups down on top of them. You can run a high string and a low string over the pickup to get the height you want.

This works. I got this from the late great Danny Shields, the creator of the ZB pickup. If you take the metal plate off of the bottom it will clean up the sound also, as per Danny.

Larry Behm

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 24 May 2004 5:35 pm

Thanks for the silicone pickup mounting tip Larry.

ZB Nut Roller Upgrade:

So, the new ZB nut roller experiment seems to work great. I got the parts today and gave it a try. Now the 4th string returns from a lower just right. It used to come back about 6 or more cents sharp and then you could nudge the nut roller a bit and it would come back. The nut rollers just dont roll real well on those fat axles. This new one comes back from a lower only about 1.2 cents sharp which is pretty normal based on the string hysteresis factor. Then if you just pick the string it's back to zero.

The new roller is a skinny 3/32 axle like on an Emmons and probably many others. Then there are 21 little bushings, 3/32" hole on the inside, 3/16" on the outside just like the stock ZB axle. Each bushing is as wide as a roller. I crazy glued a bushing inside of each roller. Then I loaded up the axle alternating with a bushing and a roller/bushing. The bushings sit in the nut, and the rollers spin on the skinny axle but now with far less friction than before due to the increased mechanical advantage that the string now has over the roller. Basic physics. Easy fix. I had a machinist make me that parts on a test run for $20. I bet some steel maker with all the machining tools could make tons of these little bushings for cheap. Better yet would be to find some steel or aluminum tubing that's 3/32" ID and 3/16" OD and then slice them off appropriately. Very simple fix that seems to work flawlessly. Also you'd never notice the change by looking at the guitar unless you look at the end of the axle and see that it's really a bushing with a skinny axle inside. I took some pics and I'll try to post them soon.

Brad Sarno

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 24 May 2004 7:54 pm

Brad, did this change the sound of the guitar at all?

DZ

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 25 May 2004 11:10 am

Dave, it totally changed the sound. Now when I play it I sound just like Tom Brumley. No but seriously, I can't detect any change in tone from the new nut roller. I put in an email to the machinist who made the kit for me and hopefully he'll get back on pricing info.

Brad Sarno

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 25 May 2004 12:30 pm

Brad Sarno this sounds interesting. Bravo.

johnnyb · Post by **johnnyb** » 26 May 2004 2:11 pm

oops[This message was edited by johnnyb on 04 June 2005 at 06:43 AM.]

Dave Zirbel · Post by **Dave Zirbel** » 26 May 2004 9:40 pm

Thanks Brad. Does Billy Knowles make a roller nut mod? I thought I saw a thread on this a few months back.

DZ

------------------
Dave Zirbel-
Sho-Bud Super Pro, 8 x 5, ZB Custom D-10 8 x 5, Dobro Cyclops reissue, 1967 Fender Telecaster, Webb 6-14E, Fender Super Reverb
The Mother Truckers

Ben Elder · Post by **Ben Elder** » 31 May 2004 6:38 pm

Another one for Larry's archive?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2384&item=3727485037&rd=1