ShoBud Rack and Barrel setup questions....Help.....Me!

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

I am not doing very well with the setup on this old rack and barrel Bud.(Please, try not to make fun, I know that I have opened up a 55 gallon drum of worms) You may remember it as the oddball Crossover from the post labled "How To Date a ShoBud". I have a working E-lower KL, peds 1-2-3 out of 4 are "working" they are E-raise to F, A-pedal and B-pedal. #4 will be the C-pedal.

Here's the problem(s): I hate the way the pedals are in relation to each other, the F-A is ok but the A-B is almost useless. The pedal throw is too long on one or the other. Trying to hold the B and rock the A in is truly awful as the 5th string is usually 1/4 pedaled by my foot unless I contort my whole leg to get off of it. I could rant in frustration but that won't help, I must have a steel to play soon or I'll wig out! I can figure stuff out generally with a bit of guidance, so I have a short list of questions. ANY ADVICE IS WELCOME, except get a different guitar, I can't, TaxMan has my number and this IS the only steel I will have for a while, she's gotta work

1.) Is there a particular order of adjustments to start out with?

2.) Can the pedal height relationship be set and then get the pulls to work out by barrel positioning?

3.) Do I need to set barrels on plain strings farther away from the rack to have them activate the pull later than the longer pull on a wound string? For instance, I have G# on 3-6-10, how do I make these all pull in the shortest pedal throw?

4.) It's a 23" scale, seems weird to me, but can I use heavier strings, are there any other guitars that are 23"?

You can see my point by now. Is there any actual reading material on this subject to be had? If I were to send it off to someone, who and where? Thanks in advance
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

Sonny Priddy · From: Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA, R.I.P.

Call Bobbe Seymour He Can Fix It.(615-822-5555) Steel Guitar Nashville. SONNY.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Rick, call Coop, or make a visit. I was at his house Monday, picking up my next project, a '59 Permanent. We talked a bit about your guitar.
JB

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

Say, thanks for your reply. I did think about Mr. Coop, I wasn't sure that he did strait set-up of non-rebuilt steels. I really hope to struggle through the process for a few more days, that way I really understand it Confused

I'm sure I'll call him. Any pics of the permanent?[/i]
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Rick, John has been very gracious about helpin' me out. Give him a call. Maybe he can help you out in a few minutes of discussion.

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

Very nice! Are ther three peds per neck? what's the deal on KL? I know nothing about the copedant on a Permanent.
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Rick, I haven't even set it up yet! I'm workin' on finishing the Pre-Pro S-10. It will be the next guitar I'll restore, but I don't want to start foolin' with another one until I get the S-10 finished. I'm going to putthe S-10 into a blues tuning based on slide guitar low G. It's a very 6-stringer friendly tuning. I can't wait to go to some of the local blues jams, and freak people out! Gonna be fun!

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Rick, Bobbe Seymour has a tape called "Maintenance, All Pull." Check his site as this might help you out.
http://www.steelguitar.net/

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

I have mentioned it before but I use EGBDEGBDEG, low to high on ALL of my 6th necks and it rocks(swings). This last Sunday the Christian rock band that I play with faked a set of "country" praise and worship for a church in LaFayette, Indiana. On one tune I used a Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde distortion set to about a Gary Moore type setting (very hot) and had some serious fun!!! his was the first time that I used distortion on my steel. Steel can fit into blues with ease....iff'n you got the blues Laughing

_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

I have a Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde that I got from Neil Zaza.
http://www.neilzaza.com/
I've played on a couple of his cds. About my tuning. Low to high, it's
DGDGBDG. When you push the first pedal, it pulls the Ds to Es, making the first relative minor, E minor, which is also a popular slide tuning. If you hold the first pedal down, and engage RKR, that raises the Gs to G#s, making it E tuning. If you look at the basic tuning, with no pedals or knees engaged, strings 10 through 5 are standard Low G tuning. If you look at strings 9 through 4, the intervals are the same as the intervals in E tuning.Pedal 2 pulls the Bs to Cs which gives you the 4 chord. After that, it becomes more complicated. If you think about playin' in the blues box on the third fret of a 6-string, you're in G. Which strings do you bend? Well F up to G, and C up to D. Those pulls are on the first and second strings.

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

I'm gonna think on that for a while, but, I would say you have a cool idea goin' on! If I analize my style I bet I could fit a PSG to it. Man, that's a whole "aside" unto itself!!!
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Rick, I've been playin' bottleneck blues for almost 40 years. I've got my classic steels, but I want to do somethin' different. Mostly to freak people out. The ones who think of steel as the whiney country guitar will be shocked at what comes outa this guitar. It's gonna be mucho fun!
As far as my tuning goes, the first three pedals do exactly the same thing as the pedals in E9th do. Just that the grips are different. But it's also a two footed guitar. I haven't worked it all out yet, but that's one of the cool things about baskets and barrels. Infinate raise and lower. It's so easy to experiment with tunings on these old guitars.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

BTW, I'm really glad you've decided to keep your old oddball guitar. These interesting old ShoBuds are starting to gain more respectability in the market.

David Doggett · Posted 26 Oct 2007 10:08 pm

Rick, the closest hands-on help for your guitar might be Scotty's in St. Louis: http://www.scottysmusic.com/

Scotty or somebody there will probably talk you through some setup basics over the phone.

If your crossover has not been converted to a regular D10, all six pedals and all levers go to both the E9 and C6 neck, depending on which neck you have the crossover switch set to.

Rick Abbott · From: Indiana, USA

Thanks David, I didn't even think about Scotty's. My wife and I need a few days away, I wonder if she would be suspicious of a alterior motive going to St. Louis? Hendersonville, Tenn. ia a dead givaway. Well, I'd end up having to "explain" why I'm struggling with my huge suitcase. This guitar weighs in at exactly 75 lbs. in the case! She seems to believe that we always end up near a cool music store whereever we vacation, pure coinsidence I say.

I have been reading old posts about rack and barrel; I am starting to understand the set-up process. Today I am going to try an experiment: set the pedals where I want them and try to get the pulls to work with the then available pedal-action.
_________________
RICK ABBOTT
Sho~Bud D-10 Professional #7962
Remington T-8, Sehy #112
1975 Peavey Pacer

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