The Steel Guitar Forum

In this series, "Waylon Jennings A Cowboy in London 1983", on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VXwGDC6 ... C&index=16

, can anyone see what year Shobud this is? I've heard he was sent a new Shobud every year from the factory... could this Mooney guitar be an 82 or 83? (I haven't found a video shot in the series showing the pedal width).

And what amp was Ralph using in 83 on the road?

We opened a show for Waylon back in about 1984. Moon was playing a black Sho-Bud that had a moon sticker or inlay in the middle of the front apron. I have no idea what year the guitar was built; however, I do have a pretty good photo of Moon playing the guitar. I'll see if I can find it.

He was playing through an Evans amp that night.

Lee, from South Texas

It looks similar to the Super Pro he plays in the Austin City Limits video.

It's a Super Pro with wood necks...but it's tough to tell the exact year.

It looks like white fretboard markers and square end keyheads. Would that put it in the 80's, or at least in the final version of the guitar? He sounds great. Were the MM amps their amps of choice, or were those just for the tour?

From reading that ad it seems that the man has a sense of humor. I wonder if that really happened to him (the tomato thing).

Reading the ad just jogged a memeory. Winnie Winston once told me that when he went to Mooney's house to interview him he could not remember his copedant and when he first arrived Mooney was in the back yard cleaning puke off his steel with a garden hose.

Is this the one you are talking about. Leland Darst can give you all the details on this guitar as he had it displayed at a jam session in Columbus, Ohio.

That looks like the one.

Leland, if you're watching... what year was that one?

The last Sho-Bud Moon Played was built in 85 by Bobbye Seymore,Around $1800 "The one Waylon bought for Moon".
Not for sure but I think it was the one that was rebuilt by John Coop, that Fred Jack now owns.
I saw the Sho-Bud "Coop" make over in 06 at the Steel show in Dallas.
But he had another Black Sho-Bud before it & also a Green Sho-Bud at some point in his career.
Wish I had more details but this is all I know.

Dean,

There were 3 ShoBuds built for Ralph by ShoBud. One other ShoBud was built by Bobbe Seymore. There was a brown one and Marty Stuart has it. There was a green one and Buddy Jennings has it. There is a black one built by Bobbe and Fred Jack has that one. I have the last black one that Shot gave personally to Ralph in the early 80's. My wife and I visited Ralph and his wife last July and I brought the black Shobud home with me. The inlaid abalone Moon and Star on the front of the guitar was put on by Big Jim Webb at ShoBud. I'll find out the year of the guitar and get back to you.This IS the one you saw in the video and the last one he played with Waylon.

Leland

That's the guitar Moon was playing when we opened for Waylon back in 1984. It sure wasn't that shiny back then!

After I set up my Emmons next to his Sho-Bud, I stood in front of his guitar admiring it. One of the smart-a$$ roadies came over to me and said, "Don't even think about touching that guitar. Just step away from it." Waylon's roadies treated us all like we were a bunch of thieves. We were ushered on to the stage to set up our equipment. After that (no soundcheck allowed) we were ushered off the stage. Later we played our set and were again treated like thieves as we were hollered at to get our equipment off the stage. They were just delightful creatures.

No soundcheck, no warm-up, and we opened with "Highway 40 Blues". That was exciting.

Lee

Darn "Debug Mode".

When Moon played Sho-Buds, any one know which amp
Moon perferred to play threw. Fender, Evans or Webb.
I know he still has his Webb.
I was thinking Moon didn't have the Webb untill the GFI days. Any Comments??

At the show I was just describing, Moon was playing through an old Evans amp that was mounted in a cabinet that had no speaker. It was driving a tall cabinet that had two 15" speakers. The combination of Moon, the Sho-Bud, and the Evans sounded heavenly.

Lee

Here's a photo from Lee, from that 84 concert.

The backline on A Cowboy in London seems to be all Silverface Twins.

I believe someone told me that the Super Pro in this video was E9 on both necks.

Chris, you are correct. There were a bunch of silver-face twins mounted in "heads", sitting on top of 2 X 15" speaker cabs. There were pieces of tape on top of each head, above each knob, showing what the settings were supposed to be. I was able to see that much before the roadies ran us off the stage.

Lee

I love that army of Fender amps on the stage.

Does anybody know if there was a coil tap on this guitar? It looks like there may be a switch just below the front neck changer.

im dying to know more about the super ugly homemade steel that ralph made which leo fender absconded with for 2 yrs to analyze before releasing his own product.
what did ralphs changer look like?
what was it about the scale and construction that so enamored leo?

Back to the Sho-Buds, unless I'm mistaken, Super Pro #3, off the line, was made for Ralph, and he didn't like it so Red Rhodes bought it, and he didn't like it either.

Chris,

I'll pull it out of the case and look.

The picture at the top of page, near opening of post, does not look to me like a Super Pro.Maybe it is but it doesn't look like it to me.

Fred, that pic is from the early '70s, and it is either a Professional or an early Pro II. Round front rope inlay, just like my Professional.

Hey Lee, ever open a David Allen Coe show?

Ebb, I talked to Moon today in length about that old home made guitar, it wasnt the changer or the construction of the guitar , but Leo was curious about the sound Moon got out of it. It was completely home made of Ash wood and the pickups were out of an old magnatone guitar. (those consisted of 2 pickups each). there wasnt a tone control, only a balance control. the pedals were in the front like an old multichord, or an old gibson, All of it was mostly held together with baleing wire. He did Bucks early recordings with it along with an album by Wanda Jackson. he kept the pickups for a long time after it burnt in the fire, but he buried the rest of the guitar out in the desert in Nevada.