The Steel Guitar Forum

Hello!

I recently wound up with nice 1974 Pro 1 with the 1 up/1 down changer. It was originally a barrel behind two hole puller, but was modified with nylon endplate tuners, so some stops are tuned under the guitar, which doesn’t thrill me, but the guitar not only sounds amazing but it holds tune very well.

I have the proper ShoBud era parts to do a complete restoration plus add a knee lever or two. I’ve had several Buds in the past but never like this. I read the barrel behind puller system was a favorite among players, but now I’m get mixed reports from a few people regarding the tuning stability.

Needing help deciding whether to leave it as is or not. Welcoming any experiences or advice!

Thanks

Dave Lloyd Greens 1973 Sho Bud was converted to nylon tuning set up years ago.

I built A pedal steel from Sho Bud parts that had brass barrels an I changed it too nylon tuning system..

Brass barrels are fine but I hesitate to sell a Sho Bud with Brass barrels too a customer that has little or no knowledge of how too properly use the brass barrels.

Johnny, when Lloyd converted to nylon tuners did he also change to the double raise/single lower scissor finger?

The barrel system seems pretty straightforward to me. Same basic concept as the rack and barrel.

Seems like I’ve been here before. Not quite a double raise but it does make adjustments easier.

Using a nylon nut type rod….for the C pedal use a standard 1/8” stop collar or a ShoBud barrel reversed. The A pedal uses a standard ShoBud brass barrel but with a knurled Tele knob installed at the end of rod.

Hold the Tele knob while engaging C pedal then tune with nylon nut.
Engage A pedal and turn Tele knob to adjust A pedal.

I used to have a bunch of these adapters for converting 1/4” shafts to 1/8”.

Using a nylon nut type rod….for the C pedal use a standard 1/8” stop collar or a ShoBud barrel reversed. The A pedal uses a standard ShoBud brass barrel but with a knurled Tele knob installed at the end of rod.

Hold the Tele knob while engaging C pedal then tune with nylon nut.
Engage A pedal and turn Tele knob to adjust A pedal.

Thanks Jerry. That actually makes sense, I think that’s what the person was attempting to do.

Dave,
The barrels work great if properly adjusted, and overall the two hole pullers are smoother in operation than the racks. Most of the issues arise from folks not knowing to engage the pedal or lever while tuning the pulls.

Tips I remember from working on mine. 1. Screw the barrel to the half way point and then slide it next to the puller and tighten the set screw. That gives the most in or out adjustment for tuning. 2. Make sure the spring tip is protruding from the little hole in the barrel. This is what catches on the puller and causes it to screw in and out while tuning. 3. Make sure the threads are dry and that no oil is placed on them. They should have resistance otherwise if oiled, they will screw or unscrew while your playing causing tuning issues.

The barrels only provide a tangible benefit on rods with two or more pedal/lever changes. The barrels are more prone to slip/spin and drift out of tune while playing than nylon too. You can keep the clamping set-screw swivels and nylon tuners on all the other rods with only one raise or one lower. Instead of the original style socket head rods, just epoxy the nuts onto the rods that use the barrels so you'll only need the one wrench to tune