I saw Diniel Lanois (spelling?) play an LDG last year. He's not a big name in the steel world, but he is a big-time rock/pop producer (U2, Neville Bros., Dylan....). He's got a good ears, hence the LDG

[This message was edited by Cliff Kane on 23 May 2005 at 12:39 PM.]

There's a Sho-Bud on CMT right now but you gotta find it. (or do a search on "Dierks" in recent threads...)(yes I fixed the spelling...)

[This message was edited by Ray Minich on 23 May 2005 at 06:56 PM.]

They CAN be made to play and tune very reliably and thats proven by the MANY great players still using them,but the cost may be a factor. Many fine players on this forum,as well as many pros ARE using Buds..
I just wonder how many are in their original unmodified state?

From all indications, a trip to Marrs or Ricky or one of several several other fine steel techs is all thats needed on MANY of these Buds, but for a lot of BUD lovers[like myself] a modern steel just proves less of a hassle.
I LOVE Buds, and would play them to the exclusion of any steel out there if only they would prove as reliable as a good modern guitar. I have heard more complaints from good steel players about tuning problems on Buds than just about any other brand.

I have made videos with them, tape recorded, etc. and never had the tuning problems that you have suggested.

But naturally there are going to be some tuning problems with any Pedal Steel guitar.

So I figure you must have had some really bad out of whack guitars. Maybe you should send them to Ricky Davis for adjustment and then see how nice they can be.......al

------------------
My Website..... www.cmedic.net/~almarcus/

quote:

---

...not a big name but

---

.. My last two Buds were like this.. I have said this before and i'll say it again.. If Buds were as stable as you guys say, WHY is MARRS so busy??... Now for certain, I think my last two Buds were not the best examples. Both were later PRO series guitars, ProI /ProIII.... I have seen a lot fewer complaints from guys using earlier guitars.
To be fair, I had a pre Pro 6139 w/ 6 + 3 and I do NOT recall having tuning problems with it.

Both my Pro guitars played nice and sounded sweet, but would go out of tune just sitting there.. on a consistent basis.. especially when under the stage lights. I recently did a few gigs with a later model LDG [borrowed while my Carter had the pickup out of it} and it behaved just like the Pro I and III... play a couple tunes, then tune her up real quick.
I am not knocking Buds.. I LOVE them.. I'll just never buy one to play again.

I love the look and sound of ALL the old steels. I just think modern steels are more reliable, thats all .. bob

[This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 23 May 2005 at 10:09 PM.]

IMHO Sho~Bud only got their undercarriage act together when they went with the Pro II bellcranks with two swivel pullers, around 1972. You can check with Ricky for accuracy.

So my guitar immediately went to Duane/Jeff's. Jeff tells me that the horn is soon to be shipped. I'm patiently waiting, since I'm mostly playing non-pedal steel guitar these days anyway.

Of the older guitars, an Emmons Original properly adjusted is another "set-it and forget-it" instrument.

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

Because it sounded so good, I was persistent in figuring out what was going wrong, and with some help from Ricky, it's now very stable. I haven't had a wrench on the changer in months and I'm told I play in tune. It sounds fine to me.

I play it exclusively now, mainly because it seems to me that I sound better on it than my P/P for some reason. I've had my generally clueless band mates tell me the same thing, so I guess it's not my imagination.

------------------
SHO~BUDS, Steelkings,
Fender guitars,
Hilton pedals, Preston
covers, and Taylor(Tut, that is)Resos.

Still Country after all these years....

[This message was edited by Larry Robbins on 24 May 2005 at 04:16 PM.]

quote:

---

That ought to be a big enough name for anyone

---

Top notch stuff there for sure.

Have always loved Lloyd G.'s tone and he is "THE SHO-BUD" Man in my book any day!!!

Ricky...

------------------
Emmons LeGrande - 8x4
Session 400 Ltd, Nashville 112,Hilton Volume pedal, Peterson VS-II Tuner
Dan-Echo, E-Bow, Ibanez Distortion, Boss Comp./Sustain, Ibanez Auto-Wah, PX4 Pandoras Box

Want warmth? Buy a heater, want great tone? Any Sho-Bud should and can do it, or can be made to with a little tweeking.

We did have to bake the body of a Super Pro to get it to sound good once. The guitar was new and the wood was not cured properly. Refinishing was the expensive and time consuming part. Don't have to do this on guitars ten years old or more. This could be why some folks think the older Sho-Buds sound better. Drier bodies.

The "Steelmech-Buds" require less maintenance over long periods of time, but the late model "Zinc-Buds" will take a much more complicated pedal set-up, work and feel much better.

If you have or want a lot of knees and pedals, get a newer Sho-Bud guitar, if you have a factory type or a simple set-up, any Sho-Bud will be wonderful. Even the first ones.
Remember, there are at least 50 different Sho-Bud configurations out there. Just saying "Sho-Bud" doesn't say a lot. Lotta' years, lotta' changes, lotta' different parts and engineering over the years.
There are many different LDG models, just saying that you have a Sho-Bud LDG, again isn't saying which changer, which knees, which pedal width, which cabinet size, which legnth cabinet, round front or square? And the differences go on and on, just like me---------------->

My personal choices in the modern world, to play and be competitive with modern steel guitars would be the aluminum neck Pro-III, and the Aluminum neck Super-Pro.
Guess an old Pro-III would come out on top, if I had room for it. Just my own personal opinion here. Yep, just an opinion.

[This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 24 May 2005 at 08:12 PM.]

Don't get me wrong... I'd love to have a round-front ProII, too. I spent a couple years on the road with Gary Morse, just marvelling at the tone he got night after night. Those old 'Buds are just about as good a steel as can be found anywhere, anytime.

Bud's have their quirky faults, but they are still very nice instruments, as longas you are willing to do maintainance peridoically.

That work has caused me to KNOW much more about steels,
and what I want in a 2nd steel.