The Steel Guitar Forum

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR><SMALL>. . . one of the most astounding prices I've seen go up is the Sho-Bud LDG. I have seen them go from $500 for a good one ten years ago, to $3500 for a mint example today. Most are hovering the $2000 mark because of condition.

This is astounding to me since this is a great big heavy guitar that shows wear
easily and is a lot to move and carry around just to have ten strings and three pedals.</SMALL><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, Bobbe, how might Roget respond to this (in Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus)?

aesthetic sense, allure, allurement, appeal, attractiveness, bait, captivation, character, charm, chemistry, come-on*, courting, draw, drawing power, elegance, enchantment, endearment, enthrallment, enticement, fascination, good looks/vibes/vibrations, grace, gravitation, inclination, inducement, interest, invitation, longing, love, lust, mania, moment, lure, magnetism, partiality, patina, piquancy, pizzazz, prestige, pull, quintessentiality, rapport, razzle-dazzle, seduction, sex appeal, sexiness, solicitation, star quality, style, symmetry, temptation, sorcery, tendency, witchery, wizardry . . .

. . . and there are more, but despite this fun, I have some other things to do on my day off.

Pick your favorite, everybody! What does your guitar exude?<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by James Cann on 14 September 2006 at 01:55 PM.]</p></FONT><font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by James Cann on 15 September 2006 at 08:39 AM.]</p></FONT>

Mind kinda exudes this funky beer joint odor...

Oops... I meant to type Mine, not Mind, but in my case I guess it's really correct either way.


<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Bill Terry on 14 September 2006 at 07:14 PM.]</p></FONT>

Got an LDG(bought from Bobbe in 84)...the juice is worth the squeeze!

Big. Yep. Heavy. Yep. Beautiful to look at and even better to hear? You bet. N.

------------------
76 Sho-Bud LDG, 52 Fender Custom Triple, Fender Vibrasonic "Custom", (plus all that other stuff....)

Ask yourself this, why is the value of the LDG so much more than the S-10 Emmons P-P with a pad?


Bobbe

Could it be cause I got one?NOT!!!

That's a good question, Bobbe. Why isn't a vintage p/p Loafer worth as much as a LDG?
I had a lacquer wood neck Loafer in 1976....man, I wish I'd kept that gtr....

Good question, Bobbe. What might they share in historical significance, or, which came first in the SD configuration, or is sound the conclusive issue, etc.? Any of these--and more, I'm sure--could sway the pole.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by James Cann on 17 September 2006 at 11:21 AM.]</p></FONT>

My Marrs Retrofit Professional exudes the proper reflection of Spite that I put into playing it live and for money.

EJL

I know one thing: the Sho~Buds on Ebay are getting high prices. A Pro 1 just went for almost $1,900. A not-so-great Professional recently got $1,800. People are buying these guitars without even playing them. Most of them haven't even been professionally set up. I can see some of the prices being fair if the guitars were coming out of Bobbe's or Al's or something, but to seeing them flying at such high rates sight-unseen is a little suspect to me. I'd like to know who's buying all of these up. It's like sombody is filling up a warehouse space, gambling on a big payout in 20 years.

IMHO, an LDG sells for higher than an SD-10 push-pull because it is a signature model guitar. To many buyers (especially collectors), the push-pull is a single neck steel guitar with a pad, albeit a great one. An LDG, however, is a special model and stands out as such. It has a heritage. It has a special colour (aside form the SP's). It is also THE original pad guitar. All others after it are imitations of the style. The LDG is the pioneer of the pad.

paint it green, put whatever initials on it you want, learn to play!

I think Chris LeDrew hit the nail on the head. The LDG is, not only a special edition of the great Sho~Bud S10 heritage, it's the original SD10 guitar with a pad. If Emmons had built a push/pull "signature" guitar it would also command more collector value and a higher price than other push/pulls or Sho~Buds. Imagine if the Emmons company made a "Blade" signature push/pull guitar. Configured identical to the original. I'll bet it would fetch a higher price in the used market than other Emmons p/p's, too. Who knows, maybe even higher than the LDG...comparatively speaking.

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Glenn Suchan on 18 September 2006 at 12:09 PM.]</p></FONT>

<SMALL>Ask yourself this, why is the value of the LDG so much more than the S-10 Emmons P-P with a pad?</SMALL>

Very good question. Maybe it was a very expensive green food coloring they used for the stain.

. . . or Vulcan blood, perhaps?<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by James Cann on 18 September 2006 at 03:13 PM.]</p></FONT>

Yes,the Sho Bud LDG is the first SD10 with a pad, and the fact is has the Lloyd Green history adds to it as well. It's physical characteristics are very pleasing...Gumby head, tear drop knee levers, rope inlay, polished aluminum everywhere, oh and lets not forget that unique tone. Besides that recognizable tone, Sho Bud Guitars in general are one of the best looking guitars ever built. So many of the new guitars are down right ugly. Additionally, it's fun to own and play a quality built vintage musical instrument of any kind. The LDG is definitely an eye catcher.

Emmons Blade model? Every Emmons P-P is a "Blade" model and I'm sure many of them sound just as good or better than "Mr. Blades" does, I know I've heard most of them.
An Emmons P-P is just that, an Emmons P-P, all are the same in tone and any differences are very slight, this is the most consistant steel guitr ever made in my opinion.
This may strike a "wrong chord" with some of you, but I feel out of the hundreds that I have owned through my store, personally and played, and after talking to hundreds of you pro players, I have the experience to say so.
Consistancy is the word here. ALL were great unless mistreated by folks that didn't understand them.
In this world today with some incredible new guitars coming up, the value and desireability of the Emmons P-P guitars is still on the rise, with no end in sight.
Just remember, condition is everything, and restorations by folks that don't know what they are doing is this guitar's biggest killer.
LDGs? Great, but still watch the ole'P-P

Bobbe <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 20 September 2006 at 06:43 PM.]</p></FONT>

<SMALL>Ask yourself this, why is the value of the LDG so much more than the S-10 Emmons P-P with a pad?</SMALL>

Because that's what LLOYD played!!!

Seriously, it probably has to do with what an earlier poster said about it being the original padded steel guitar. Also, perhaps because there are not any more Sho~Bud's of any kind being made, whereas Emmons are still being built, albeit not as push-pulls, the few custom orders being the exception.

Of course the tone and looks of the LDG doesn't do anything to hurt it's value.

Hey Lem,,,,,,,,, HUH?

<SMALL>Hey Lem,,,,,,,,, HUH?</SMALL>

I dunno, I'm not as smart as I look!

Your last sentence, Lem. I got to pick tonight endplate-to-endplate with Byron Towle. He was playing his early one-up, one-down mint LDG thru a Mesa Boogie with a pinch of delay. Don't know just what the magic is about the sound, but that guitar would cook butter in a freezer compartment!!
PRR

Like Dr. Seymour once told me --they are good steel guitars and are georgeous looking instruments . Right Doc ? G.P. P.S. i do happen to own two of them ,a Pro-ll Custom i bought new in 1977 and an L.D.G. that i bought used a few months back .

I was in St. Louis for the Convention, and was checking out the newest steels, and played some of them. I gotta say in my honest opinion...I would not sell my LDG or consider upgrading because I've not found anything..yes I said anything that plays, looks, and sounds like these Sho-Buds. They're worth their weight in GOLD.

I had the same experience in St. Louis as Curtis. My favourite steel at the convention for sound, playablity and looks was James Morehead's Professional with the Coop conversion. I've since gone back to Sho~Bud with my newly acquired Baldwin Professional and I'm in the market for another gigging Single 10. Just something about those guitars has me fascinated. The superpro Pro 1 I had was good, but the older Baldwin 'Bud just blows it away.

I was reading an old thread here last night where Ricky Davis said something to the effect that when he first got a Sho~Bud (or maybe it was the LDG?) he knew it was the sound he had been searching for, so he worked everything around that. He worked very hard to adjust it, fix it, tune it, and everything else - just because it had the SOUND. That, to me, epitomizes the Sho~Bud experience. My Baldwin is like that; it's finicky on the tuning, but sounds sooo good that I put up with it. I enjoy learning how this thing ticks.

I agree with Ricky that it's really important to know how a 'Bud operates if you're gonna own one. There IS a way to adjust it properly so it stays in tune, but it just takes time and patience; I'm learning that right now. Some players couldn't be bothered with getting underneath a guitar. They want a brand spankin' new trouble-free instrument. If I was playing the steel shows and was a big session guy, I'd probably want a new one for that stuff too. But for playing classic country live in bars and the occassional soft-seater, the 'Buds are where I'm staying. There's a certain amount of pride behind playing a 'Bud that you adjusted yourself.

I also don't agree with the notion that time spent underneath it would necessarily be better spent above it. Not all players want to be the slickest pickers around; I'm happy being a good player with good tone and tasteful licks and fills. I also love the mechanical workings of the instrument itself, and enjoy climbing under it and figuring out stuff, especially these old Sho~Buds.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Chris LeDrew on 24 September 2006 at 07:12 PM.]</p></FONT>

Yeah Chris, that Blonde Professional is a screamer!! I love that guitar SOOOOOOOOO much, I almost sleep in the case!

Interesting observation at our club meeting--several of the players sat down and played the blonde and commented how smoothe and easy the pedal/lever action was---that they had not played a guitar so soft and had so much feel. I guess that warrants a big thankyou to John Coop, 'cause, he did a complete conversion, even rebuilt the changer and added the "super fingers" to this guitar.

Shobuds are not just a guitar, they are an adventure. NO, actually they are a way of life in the music world.

AMEN!!!!!This Bud's for you!