Again for you folks who are considering buying a new one, the only frypan that Jerry has endorsed and the only new ones are those manufactured by Excel and are available only from Scotty’s Music.

Jerry is sorry to learn that some of you have been cheated just as he has been by the Shot Jackson family as well as those manufactured and sold by Bobby Seymour. I will be posting the highest serial number of each scale that were authorized and certified in the limited edition by Jerry in the near future. It can be said that none of those are higher than 100 for each scale at this time and the exact number of each will be posted.
He is also upset to learn that some of you have determined that your serial numbers have been altered by someone and that others have determined his signature had been forged on the certificates of authenticity when you compared it to documents you have with his signature on them.

First, no one was ever "cheated" by the Jackson Family, who would never do anything of that sort anyway. What a person bought from them was an original unsold frypan that was made by ShoBud, that Shot had in his inventory, stored, when he passed away in 1991. In fact,some were not yet even assembled since Shot was “going to get around to it” one day after he retired, in a new shop nearby, that he had constructed. Since the records of the serial numbers had been mislaid, it was decided by the Jackson Family to skip some numbers since no one was sure as to where the numbers of the fry-pans already sold had stopped. They knew that many people still wanted them and as a result, the storage crates were opened and the instruments were made available.

The frypans are "new" only in the sense that they have never been owned or played before. They are indeed original ShoBud frypans, from the same run as those within the consecutive numbering.

Forgetting the number skip, out there somewhere, there are in fact only 76 As and 86 Bs, total.

Of those with numbers out of sequence, there are 12 As and 10 Bs.

Since then, the serial number records have been found. The intentional skipping of numbers by the Jackson Family was done simply because they wanted to protect the integrity of the numbers already sold and didn’t want to create a duplication. So the number skip was made at a safe number away of what was thought to be the last A or B. That was a thoughtful move on their part, I’d say.

I have one of those, which is "B-119". It is a ShoBud, made by Shot, with a ShoBud pick-up, which I purchased after he died. The Jackson Family stated the details about it from the start and I can say, I feel fortunate to have one.

So maybe the seemingly high numbers are what caused all of this and I hope I’ve given an explanation that will assert that no one was ever “cheated” and that they are not being manufactured again by the Jackson Family. It is merely a way to get a fine original instrument, if any are left.

I have received from Jerry the official list of the limited edition Sho-Bud JB frypans sold and those he certified as authentic within the limited edition. The list includes the serial number of each guitar sold and certified, the name of the person who originally bought the instrument or the music store to which the guitar was sold. There are no breaks in the serial numbering sequence. In the A series (long scale) the highest number is A099. In the B series (short scale) the highest number is B084. This shows the data that Ric posted and obviously fed to him by someone associated with the Jackson family is in total error. Since Jerry sold most of the guitars through mail order and his listing as far as he is concerned is the offical list.

Now to answer the cheating question in which Ric says no one got cheated. The last entry on the sheet of B series serial numbers in Jerry’s own handwriting and dated November 11, 1984, is the comment “No royalty paid from Nos. 078 thru 084”. Also those of you who think you have a guitar within the limited edition with a serial number higher than those previously mentioned above do not have a certified authentic limited edition guitar, and no royalty has been paid on any of these guitars to Jerry. They are bootlegged manufactured guitars. It is a fact of law you cannot put a person’s name on a guitar without that persons agreement and a royalty paid for such privilege. After all it is that person’s name who is on the line and who is backing up with his reputation the quality of the instrument. Did you receive a quality instrument. You probably did as they were excellent guitars. Are they within the collector series? No they are not.

To further explain the break in serial numbers that Ric talks about. When Bobbe Seymour purchased the inventory/equipment from the Jackson family somewhere around the mid 1980’s, he sold a number of JB frypans without any agreement with Jerry. The number is not known to Jerry. Jerry received nothing for these guitars and they were not certified by him. Again bootleg manufacturing/selling. The break in serial numbers may be to cover these guitars. I do not know. The recent sales of the Jackson family claimed to be from a previous manufacturing run with much higher serial numbers than those listed above also are not certified by Jerry and are not within the limited edition production run. Why? He has no agreement with the Jackson family to sell anything with his name on it or used with the sale of any guitar. The only authorized and certified JB frypan being legally sold today is the JB Excel.