The Steel Guitar Forum

I have a 1982 Show Bud and the 4th string is starting to sound intermittent. Sometimes it sounds like I am accidentally dampening it with my finger. New strings did not fix it. A little pressure on the E lever will clear it up (but of course, you are out of tune). Is it most likely something in the changer, could it be in the pickup, or what about the brass rollers on the keyhead end? Any thoughts?

Since pressure from the F lever seems to clear it up. I'd guess the roller bridge or changer is causing the problem. Clean those good. If that doesn't help. For a quick fix. Move up to a 015 or 016 gauge string.

It's very likely there's a groove in the changer finger. This happens to a lot of psgs over time, and it's almost always the 4th string that complains first. The fact that using the knee lever improves the situation points to a groove; the string rides over a different part of the finger when it's raised or lowered, temporarily taking the groove out of play.

Loosen the string and take a close look at the top of the finger. If there's a groove, you should be able to see it. If you can't see it, the finger-top's radius might still be misshaped. You can loosen the string and move it a little off-center, toward the edge of the finger, and then tune it up. Does it sound a little better?

If you do have a groove, you have several options.

If it's aluminum, you can sand the groove out, being extremely careful to keep the radius intact. This is how most people deal with the situation. If it's chrome (or some kind of hardened surface), you can't sand. The Sho-Bud experts here should be able to tell you if your year/model is chrome. Sanding is a delicate operation, so don't move forward before getting specific instructions from folks here. It's easy to mess it up and make the problem worse.

You could take Bobby's advice and go to thicker gauge string. This will hold you for a while, but the groove will expand until that thicker string is also affected. Another fix is to put a small piece of paper on the top of the finger under the string. The paper gets pushed down into the groove, lifting the string a little above it.

A more complicated option would be to take the changer out and swap that finger with another one that doesn't have a groove in it (maybe the 7th string finger, if you don't have a lever moving it).

Another option would be to buy a new replica finger.

An '82 Bud will have pot metal fingers, and I'm pretty sure sanding them will cause more problems than it would fix. Swapping fingers is not hard, per se, but does involve yanking all the pull rods in the string-four finger (normally 3 if it's standard E9 tuning) in order to free it up. I seem to recall that someone on the forum was making replacement fingers too, but for the life of me, I can't remember who that was.

in my experience, you might get one or two very light polishings in before the coating on the finger wears off. if the groove is already through the coating, the best fix is to swap a finger with another one that doesn't see the same kind of use that the 4th string does. it's not as hard as it seems to take the changer out and apart. if your changer is at all dirty you'll get the bonus of being able to clean it, which makes everything work and sound better. in the mean time, shifting the string out of the groove at the finger might work in a pinch.

two easy things first. No tools required

before pulling the "finger", rub a piece of cotton over it , make sure it is indeed a bug BURR. The cotton will snag. I suspect a very small snag will be in order, I also suspect almost all Steels have a very slight burr , barely detected.


AlSO try this, wrap the 4th string under the tuner key post rather than on top, ( it will wind opposite) this adds just a tad more down pressure from the roller bridge if that is where the issue is coming from.

ya never know...

Oh and don't hesitate to try another new string. It's 50 cents . Years back I had an entire batch of 11's that were questionable , several broke at the ball end at installation right from the get go. I thought it was me so I tried 3 or 4 and realized it wasn't me. Went back to another brand which I had and the 1st one installed just fine. Sometimes we put way too much confidence in a brand name 50 cent string as we install it on our multi thousand dollar guitar.

As it turns out, I took out all the brass rollers on the keyhead end, cleaned them up switched the 4th one with one that showed less signs of wear. When I put it back together, it transformed the mess. It solved about 90+% of the problem with the 4th string and the pedal, that I was sure had a bad pod that wouldn’t clean up, hasn’t made any noise since.

As for the burr, it is almost imperceptible so my changer has plenty of life left in it.

I am thinking that replacing all the brass in the (“roller bridge?”) will resolve the remaining tell-tale signs of the issue. What is my best resource for those parts?

I would take the rollers & axle out & try cleaning them with fine steel wool/degreaser and key head they sit in. Put a drop of 3in1 between each roller once replaced.

Sometimes just a quarter turn +/- of that roller will help.

Wouldn't the roller only be a problem when playing open? That's been my experience.