The Steel Guitar Forum

Good day all,

I got bitten by the steel bug awhile ago. Here in Vancouver there is not much of PSG scene that I am aware of. A couple of shops had the Carter Starter which I tried but ultimately ended up buying an old Sho-Bud D-10 8 pedal 4 kl steel from a Mr Bruce Hamilton. Because I am new to this forum I'm not sure as to the etiquette of discussing the price of used steels but suffice to say it was around double the price of a new Carter starter.

The guitar was advertised as being originally owned by Bobbe Seymour, and Mr. Seymour was very gracious in responding that the serial number I sent to him confirmed the sellers assertion.

The guitar in question is complete. The lacquer finish looks like it spent a few nights in a cold car
(lots of checking) and the guitar definitely has been played! Alot! To me the tone is quintessential old school steel. I've tried it through a number of amps that I own and so far a early 80's Fender seems to work the best. I also tried it through an old 62 deluxe but I missed the verb--killer tone otherwise!

So here are a few questions:

Despite its historical pedigree is this a good guitar for me to try and learn to play PSG?

My main concerns are around tuning and tuning stability.

Also If I wanted to alter (enhance) the system are additional rods/barrels readily available?

My understanding is that this is a single raise single lower changer. It utilizes the brass barrel tuning adjustments attached to a dedicated pull rod. One problem I am having is syncing pull rods with more that one barrel attached. ie getting pedal A and C to pull the B string the same. With careful attention to setup will this guitar be in tune enough to gig with?

Also, the allen key tuners at the bridge(changer) end seem to drift out of tune--any suggestions (teflon tape?)

This guitar has two single coil p/u with coil taps.
The shielding seems kind of primitive. Any use in doing a full-on copper shield for wiring or are there much better pickups to sub in?

Finally, for now, I've noticed that string 4,5,6,7 have bad resonance due to low string angle break at the roller nut. Is this just an issue with this design? Has anyone built roller string saddles to increase the string angle break?

As a muso of plus 30yrs I won't be offended if you point me to simple stuff I've overlooked.

FYI here's a bit about me which may help frame your responses:


Education: B.Ed Sec: Industrial Education UBC

Musical Interests: Virtually unlimited. Mother was an opera singer and choral conductor, Father was/is a barrel-house piano/accordian player. Mozart to Moby, Wagner to Williams (Lucinda). Putting my ipod on shuffle can warp people's brains!

Current day job : Workshop Co-ordinator, Fine Arts Dept, Langara College
Mid 40's, 3 kdz same wife 20 years
Grade 6 Royal Conservatory (piano)
gigging musician 30 + years
perform as keyboardist/singer/guitarist/percussionist
also play/bass sax drums in decreasing levels of ability.
Have run a small Pro Tools songwriters studio for the last five years

Play hammond/keys in a 12 piece soul band
www.the-dynamics.com


Final tidbit, I am the (ex) son in law of Art and Lorene Ruymar here in Vancouver. Lorene studied with Mr. G Byrd and also wrote a very good book on the history of Hawaiian Guitar. Art is just a beautiful player. Awesome people and at least part of the reason I'm here.

cheers Brother B

B, I don't know if i could answer your question satisfactorily, but just off the top of my head, YES that would be a great ax to learn to play on. You didn't mention the color, so by all means add a photo to your post sometime if not too much trouble.

My site

If you like the tone, then I think you got a good guitar at a fair price. Some of those old Sho-Buds sound fantastic. Mechanically, it can do nearly all that the modern designs can do.
Teflon tape might be the perfect thing to hold those tuning nuts.
As for "resonance" between the nut and the tuners, some guys mute it by sticking rubber pieces etc in there. Or you could use your fingers; it could only happen with open strings. But I have never been able to hear it thru the amp so I wouldn't worry about it.
The only deal-breaker on these old guitars is worn-out changer fingers. If the string sits in a groove or on a flat spot, it will buzz. You can smoooth it out to some extent but after that you would have to replace the fingers. I say beware the rebuilders and suppliers of new parts, and try to make the old one work.

Those pickups are vintage correct so I would leave them alone. If you want a different sound there are a number of replacements available. When you look at the pickup sites they are called the "long mount" ones.

you listed so many credentials ...i forgot what the question was