Not a restoration!

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

A while ago I posted some pictures of my guitar in case anyone could identify it, and Herb Steiner reckoned it was a cheap sixties copy of a Sho-Bud or something similar.

I was happy that it played better than it looked, but Donny Hinson wrote that â€œit looks to be a nightmare of problems that would all have to be corrected for me to consider it a reliable and serviceable instrumentâ€ (although he was also very encouraging).
This stuck in my mind â€“ what if it broke down just as I was beginning to make progress? And if it looked better, would it play better still? So I decided to strip the E9 neck down and fit eighth-inch steel rods with bearings to replace the wires bent through the cranks, and replace some other cheap parts with better ones; the plate that the changer fingers pull up to was a nasty piece of aluminium scrap, and Iâ€™ve replaced it with 10-gauge brass; the lower ends of the pedal rods were bearing on the threads of some thin bolts and Iâ€™ve replaced them with plain steel pins the right diameter.

So now it is returned (I canâ€™t say â€œrestoredâ€) to its original state with a LKL which used to lower 2&8, but now lowers 2&9 as I shall be fitting F&E levers later; plus Iâ€™ve already added a LKR to raise S7 to G# (easier than lowering 6). The rods are now as straight as the fixed cranks will allow and the feel is much more positive.

And it sounds better too! I can only think that a raised string is now held more firmly by the improved bearings and stop plate so that less vibration energy is dissipated.
So now to sort out some E raises and lowers and Iâ€™m done, and in between times I can practice on the C6 â€“ a big advantage of the twin-neck!
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Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

I dig the C pedal arrangement.
Well done all around.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

I'm glad that you found encouragement in my words, Ian, and that you took the time to correct some of the problems. Smile

The work you did looks good, and I'm not surprised that the guitar now plays better, as well! Sometimes, players get hooked on names or looks, and forget that reliability and playability are just as important. A lot of what some might term "junkers" can be made into pretty decent guitars if one is willing to invest the time and money to fix them.

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Ian
Just a minor comment on what you attributed to my evaluation of your guitar.

What I said was that it looked like a Sho~Bud knock-off from the 1960's. I didn't say it was a "cheap" guitar. There were more than several guitar companies in that period of time that built guitars based on the Sho~Bud design. Just offhand, I can think of Marlen, Miller, Sahara, Capri, Endicott, and even the earliest ZB guitars were essentially versions the SB model. Some of these were really lovely guitars.

I personally don't think the phrase "knock-off" is a derogatory comment; rather, I think the phrase simply means a "copy". The very early SB's owe a debt to the Bigsby guitar, of which there were several "knock-offs," like the early Wright Customs and the Blankenship guitar. While not at Bigsby dollar levels, these are still sought-after instruments.

Just being wordy to explain myself. Herb out... back to your regular programming.
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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Thanks, Herb - that's an important point, as to English ears "knock-off" is indeed mildly derogatory, suggesting a counterfeit rather than a sincere imitation - duly noted.
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Matt Pynn · From: Los Angeles CA

Looks like a Walter's to me. Company out of Michigan, I believe.

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Good to have a suspect - anyone else heard of these?
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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Now I can raise and lower my Es.

I was worried that the nylon tuners would be awkward to get at from a seated position, but they're ok and so far I haven't had to visit them often. The C pedal now has a fair bit of travel, but I hadn't yet mastered it anyway and I shall persevere, as it gives some old-fashioned sounds which are part of what attracted me to the steel in the first place.
So now I have the following, which I reckon is sufficient for a beginner.

Being able to lower S4 (which I couldn't before) has opened up a whole new world - as if I didn't have enough to learn!
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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

It's been a while but I've finished re-rodding the C6 neck and the improvement in clarity and sustain is even more remarkable than it was on the E9. It looks a heap prettier too - surely no coincidence.

Old photo for comparison - horrendous to look at now!

I had put on a set of Prosteels back in September to replace the odds and ends that were on there, and been a bit disappointed to be honest. But now they sound like what I paid for. I reckon that this is partly due to the fact that strings 5 & 6 in their unlowered state now have their fingers held against a good lump of brass instead of a thin bit of steel scrap. All the bent wires have been replaced with rods connected to the cranks by a pivot which has the unthreaded portion of a machine screw as a bearing...

...and I've been convinced to use PTFE lube.

I've put the 3rd string lower on a LKV - this seems to be the favourite place on a universal so I'm trying it for size. (I thought of having it also lower S5 on the E9, but it would have been a load of hassle and would have increased the travel in the A pedal.) Because there was only one place to put it I had to make a reverser.

At that stage P4 (which is next to P7 - 8 is next to 5) was unused. It was originally an old-fashioned 4th-string-only raise but I thought I'd have it raise S3 a half tone instead. Buddy in his Basic C6 suggests having this on a lever (he likens it to an F lever) but next to P7 is really neat.

Now I can tidy all my tools away and concentrate on learning to play!

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Make sleeping dogs tell the truth!
Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

That looks pretty slick!
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

That looks pretty slick!
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Dick Wood · From: Springtown Texas, USA

IT'S ALIVE!!!
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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night.

Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

I'm pretty sure your guitar is a Capri.

Several years ago I bought up an assortment of projects from the son of *Buz Davis, a steel guitar maker who had died about fifteen years ago. Everything had been stored in a damp cellar. Among the projects were two partly-finished Capris, of which I believe he was the manufacturer, plus several boxes of spare parts, inlay marquetry, etc. It is absolutely correct that they were based on Sho-Buds. Along with the parts I also ended up with receipts from his suppliers. He copied the Sho-Bud Fingertip, and he bought most of the parts from the Emmons Guitar Co.

Together with several Capri brochures were brochures for the Fingertip and a working diagram of a Fingertip with notes scribbled on.

*Does anyone remember Buz Davis? Check out the following post...
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=2192671#2192671

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

Alan - thanks for the suggestion, but I'm not sure. It's certainly from that era, from a small manufacturer now defunct, and a serious emulation of the Sho-Bud concept. When I first had it it had suffered from a lot of ham-fisted "repairs" and I thougnt it was just a student model, but having rebuilt the underneath, I discover that it makes a decent sound and stays in tune - I certainly won't be looking for anything else soon.

Here is my original post with more pictures:-

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=253810&highlight=

The most obvious difference between it and your Capri photo is the changer, and there are other details as well. If you squint hard enough you can see on mine where there was a name stuck on on the left hand side, which is too small for the Capri badge. And my endplates are more rounded, &c. &c. It's always struck me that the pedals look bought in (Miller?) - maybe the pickups too.
But thanks for taking the trouble. Matt Pynn suggested it might be a Walters (Michigan) but no-one has confirmed or refuted that.

P.S. I'm amazed how expensive strings were back in '68.
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Alan Brookes · From: Brummy living in Southern California

Ian, I return to Birmingham, my birthplace, once a year, and stay with a friend in Four Oaks. Redditch is on the other end of the Cross-City line, so maybe next time I come over I could come and see your instrument, and we could chat about how to put the world to right. Very Happy

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

It would be great to have a knowledgeable person inspect it - let me know when you're due!
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Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

I've decided it's time to hear the beast in action. The sound isn't great as the room is small and there's not much choice where to put stuff, but I hope it demonstrates that I now have a working instrument which is fun to be with. I'm using both feet on the pedals so the sustain has to look after itself. I lost count of the takes before I decided I'd reached the limit of what I can do six months in. When it sounds good, that's the guitar.

So here is "Moonglow" from Herb Steiner's "C6 Texas Style Vol.I", a truly excellent publication.

http://youtu.be/VaEmQSIsKcU
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Jim Park · From: Carson City, Nv

Sounds pretty good Ian........Keep up the good work!!! I bet that guitar will serve you well!!!

Ian Rae · From: Redditch, England

All my work seems to have paid off - I can stomp away for hours and it stays in perfect tune. And nothing's broken yet!
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Homebuilt keyless U12 7x5, Excel keyless U12 8x8, Williams keyless U12 7x8, Telonics rack and 15" cabs

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