The Steel Guitar Forum

I have seen a few references to keyless zb steels. Does anyone have any pics? My first steel was a zb student, a great steel to learn on, because it sounded so in tune. Also it was all pull, so in the end it had 5 knee levers on it. I can't quite remember how I got the F raise tuned. I moved on to a Sho Bud crossover, this guitar was well worn, and heavy, but looked so nice. It never stayed in tune like the ZB. I now build my own 12 string keyless guitars. I have a ZB fret marker in black if anyone is doing a restoration. I think it's reasonably clean and not scratched. It's for a 10 string, and it would be nice to find it a home back on a ZB guitar.

My impression is that Zane Beck never made a keyless ZB. When I spent time with him in from Oct '78 to January '79, he was talking about a keyless design that would "fit into a saxophone case". Well, he achieved that before he died in '85 and, believe me, it's a great guitar. I've had mine since '88 and it performs fantastically ... a great credit to Don Fritsche who makes them in Scranton.

Graham