The Steel Guitar Forum

Could somebody who has had this done, does this work, or is otherwise in the know give me a ballpark range for how much it costs to have a Sho-Bud refurbished? I keep seeing these beautiful rebuilds and am having big ideas... Also, how about just to have the thing Cooped, no work done on the finish. I'm guessing price is commensurate with amount of work and kind of guitar; I've got a 70's Pro II Custom in decent working condition, maybe a little cosmetically challenged though.

PM me if you are not comfortable sharing in the open.

Kyle, you might want to e-mail John Coop and ask him what it might cost, prices change according to cost of material such as aluminum, or ask who ever you want to work on your guitar, if you like your all wood lacquer finished guitar and you compared it with buying a new guitar cost today then maybe updating the Sho-Bud is a better way to go, then you can ask Ricky Davis, or Leon Roberts, and John Coop for estimates, but if you want to change to a formica style guitar then updating would not be feasible, personally I would choose staying with the Sho-Bud, since new guitars cost almost 3G's, especially for a wood lacquer guitar, I forgot to mention Marrs guitars does restorations on Sho-Buds too.

Every guitar is different. He has to have your guitar, make measurements, and cut the pieces for your specific dimensions. That's why it takes a while. Prices vary.

I had John Coop do his magic on an LDG I picked up. His work is outstanding.
Others are right in telling you to check with Coop concerning cost. It all depends on what you want done.

I would recommend NOT seeing his work firsthand and in-person. I made that "mistake" and immediately turned the LDG over to him to do everything. Pictures are nice but examining a Cooperized Sho-Bud undercarriage in person is hypnotizing. And then I made the second mistake of hanging around and talking with him. After about five minutes I thought to myself, "This guy knows more about Sho-Buds than anyone. Repeat, anyone."

Finally, as for cost, the phrase "you get what you pay for" applies to your decision. It did to mine. No regrets. Highly recommended.

Given the quality of Coops parts, his prices are VERY reasonable.

I had John Coop rework my guitar my pro III, he did a fantastic job, I can not quote a figure for anyone to compare with because time has changed those figures, but I can say it was well worth him doing the job, I had the Changers updated to a three raise two lower from double raise double lower, the guitar stays in tune and sounds great.

I just got mine back from Coop. What he might have
charged a short time ago and what a future project
might cost can only be priced by Coop . He upgraded several of his parts while he had my guitar. His parts are in constant change. I feel he will give
you a product you will be proud of. Mine looks and sounds great.
By the way, Coop does not do finish work on the wood.
Unless he has started lately. I sent my body to Nashville for finish work. cshobud1@att.net

and AJ Nelsons original finish jobs are tops.....but then he's only been doing it for......well, since he did them at the Sho~Bud factory I guess

What ever it is these days it's worth it!!!!!!Had my LDG "Cooperized".......like a dream!!!!

Its custom work. There is no set price. It could vary widely. You need to call John directly and ask him.

Kyle,

It's a secret!

I had John Coop make the parts and Ricky Davis do the rebuild...couldn't be happier with the way both gentlemen do business and the results to my Bud...I suggest contacting then for pricing...like others have mentioned...ever project is different.

Tim, you're supposed to post the pics again! So we can drool once more!
JB

John...hate to keep punishing you man....ha ha

you are too kind...

see how much I hate punishing you...sent it twice...

sorry guys

Well Kyle, you've got a lot of recommendations about John's work, which you were obviously already aware of or you wouldn't have asked the question in the first place, but no-one has answered your question.

Like you, I have a couple of Sho-Buds that I would dearly love to have "Cooped" but I'm afraid to ask the cost in case I look silly. I couldn't guess to within a few thousand dollars. I have absolutely no idea.

John Coop, is the nicest man I have ever met, and he understands peoples financial situations, but if you do not give him a call and talk to him, you will probably will never know what he can do, but if you call him and talk to him then maybe you can find out differently what your steel may just need, but you have to talk to him and work it out with him, I am glad I did, same goes for Ricky Davis or the others who do restorations.

Somewhere between 800.00 and 1200.00 for ALL the parts made for a full re-do of the mechanism....so that would depend on if it's a single or Double and what fingers: New or re-done old....and how many knees....and pedal bar or not...and new headstocks or not....and so on.
Like said; every steel Shobud redo is different and would depend on the needs of what needs or would like to be done.
Installation and set up....is in the 500-800.00 area; depending on condition of the Shobud and how much re-condition has to happen with Body and polishing exsisting metal.
So that is a real ball-park...and to find out actually how much money it will take to do exactly what one would want done and how much done; would need to be discussed with THE MAN; of course.
Ricky

There you go, rigth from guys who do the work, so give them a call, thanks Ricky for responding.

You're Welcome.

Bill, You have a very pretty piece of wood there, I like your Sho-Bud.

Thanks Steven: It sounds as good as it looks.
I would do it again should I ever need another
guitar.

If you were going to do this and did not yet have a Sho-Bud, would you be better off buying a guitar in bad shape?

Brick, to answer your question, try to find a Sho-Bud that needs updating if you can but is in playable condition at the present time, if you buy a Sho-Bud that is a wreck yea John can build it up for you but as I said he would have to totally rebuild it which takes time and more money, but if you get one that needs rebuilt underneath but the body looks good it will be less cost, I have seen pictures of John work of total rebuilds and they are impressive, Ricky Davis has done many total rebuilds, and those are sweet looking guitars too, Ricky,s guitars gets my mouth drooling.

On the other hand, a guitar that is in good shape can cost you less for the upgrades, depending on how much work you need done. I bought my very mint S-10, 3 and 1 from Bobbe for $1,300. Ricky added 5 more knees, using John's parts. I didn't get the "Super Fingers," so the update cost me less. And it was worth every penny. So it depends. You can get a "needy" guitar for less, and spend more on the upgrade, or visa versa.




Again, thank you Ricky and John. I sold the D-10 I bought new in '72, to pay for my Kline Uni. After retiring from gigging, I began a search for my "perfect" Shobud. I now have it!