The Steel Guitar Forum

I recently got out my old Bud and was trying to get it in shape for gigging. I had to make alot of changes to make it comfortable to play and also put in some 710 to help with the buzz and sustain problems.

The one thing still bothering me is that when i release a pedal or knee, the string(s) don't return fast enough. It sounds like your out of tune for a couple of seconds until the sting settles back to its unpulled postion. Anyone experience this before? I haven't torn into it yet to figure it out but thought someone else might have already come across this one.

Its seems worst on the 3 and five strings. You really only notice it with a backing track or band. Played by itself it's harder to notice.

Sounds like it needs a serious lube job.

What kind (or model) and year make of sho-Bud is it?

Maybe Sho-Bud will return someday!

I experienced a similar thing with an old Pro I bought in a pawn shop some years ago. It hadn't been played for a long time. I set it up on the driveway with just the legs on and no pedal board or anything. Then I got a can of carbuertor cleaner with the long tube and saturated the changer and watched the gunk drip off the thing. I did this twice and then squirted gun oil all over the changer, put the pedals back on and worked them some, tuned it up, and it worked great, no problems at all.

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney tuning.

The guitar is early seventies, Pro III custom. Single raise/lower except on string four. It's lubed and not dirty at all.

One possible reason could be friction between raise and lower fingers. There are raises on strings 3 and 5. Do this: Turn the guitar over and push pedals A and B by hand. Watch the lower finger: Does it move forward along with the raise finger when the raise is engaged? If yes, then the lower return spring probably is not tight enough to hold the finger in place and the two rub against each other. In that case, the spring has to be re-tightened; on the older models they should be adjustable.
The carb cleaner thing is a good idea, only I wouldn´t do it the way Jerry described it. Even with the long nose on the can, you could always spill a drop and that stuff is very agressive and will cause damage to the finish. The safest way, even if it takes more time, is to take all the changer fingers out and clean them seperately.

Hope this helps, Joe H.

I had a sticky pedal on my Pro II that gave me the same problem. Cleaned the rod that the pedals are on and relubed. Problem solved. Hope this helps.

I've been playing Emmons guitars for about 13 years now. However tonight 3/16/02, I've decided to take my Sho-Bud out of mothballs and play it. BTW, I'll be giggin at the American Legion in Portland, TN with the Meadowbrook Boys. We pick from 8pm till 1am.
NR

Al Udeen, good answer!

It doesn't need lube....it needs cleaning. Put a couple of the previous suggestions together, and it'll fix it. The best solution is a disassembly/clean/lube. While you have it apart...do the whole guitar. ShoBud's are one of the easiest to do....don't want to? Send it to Bobbe, he does it cheap and correctly.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jeff Peterson on 21 March 2002 at 06:08 PM.]</p></FONT>

I guess you simply have a "Slo-Bud"

Also make sure the rollers at the nut are moving freely on the axle.