Painted Mavericks

Bruce Derr · From: Lee, New Hampshire, USA

Can anybody tell me about the old Sho Bud raised neck Maverick steels that were painted (as opposed to the natural maple finish)? I remember reading something here about a blue one a while back. Then, just last week, I saw one for the first time. It is red, and as near as I can tell it's the original factory finish. It's completely red (solid with no wood grain showing) on the outside and underneath. The Sho Bud logo is off-white. The end plates are aluminum finish, not black wrinkle. This is an older Maverick with no roller nuts.

Were the painted Mavericks among the first ones made? What colors were available? They don't seem to be very common; were they only made for a short time? Just curious.

David Doggett · Posted 1 Apr 2003 11:10 pm

Bruce, I had the blue enamel Maverick you probably saw about. Around 1974 I traded a chrome roundneck Dobro ($325 new around '72) even to Bobbe Seymour for this Maverick. It was exactly as you described, baby blue enamel painted maple body with raised neck, aluminum end plates and an old style teardrop key head with no rollers and plastic tuning keys. It must have been made in the late '60s. The unofficial Sho-Bud website says Mavericks started around 1970, but a later version is described with a natural maple body and neck, and a Pro style keyhead with rollers (I knew a guy that had one of those new around '74). So I think the enamel ones with no rollers must have been earlier than 1970.

I took mine down to Sho-Bud on Broadway and they replaced the entire undercarriage and added another knee lever. So I had ABC pedals and an F and D lever. Within a year after I got mine I stripped off the paint and stained the body a medium brown and left the neck natural and lacquered it. I played a couple of years around Nashville and Knoxville, then went back to school and gave it up entirely.

A couple of years ago I got it out from under the bed and replaced the keyhead with a Pro style one with rollers. Big mistake. The old keyhead was a solid block of aluminum with machined grooves for the strings at the nut, and it sounded better. With the old one the wound strings scratched little at the nut when you pressed the pedals, but the pickups didn't really pick that up, and the tone was noticably better.

It was a sweet little guitar and served me well when it was all I could afford. I played it through a black-face Fender Super Reverb with a 15" JBL speaker. Nice sound, but not enough volume in groups with a drummer. I played it in some of the smaller honky tonks around Nashville. When I was back in school at UT Knoxville I played country-rock in clubs on "the strip." Pam Tillis was also a student at UT and sang with us when she was just starting out. We did Eagles covers, Linda Ronstadt, Emmy Lou Harris, Sir Douglas Quintet, Commander Cody, etc. Lots of fun.

I recently sold the Maverick to a friend who wants to learn a little steel, and bought myself a used Fessy S12U and an Emmons push/pull S12 extended E9. They both sound and play way better than the old Maverick. But it looks really nice with that natural wood and lacquer. And it sounds fine and can play tons more basic E9 stuff than I can.

VERNON PRIDDY · From: ELIZABETHTOWN; KY. USA

Had A Blue One Back In 1975 or 76 Got it from Harry Jackson. Fine Little Guitar I Traded It For A Pro-1 Back Then. SONNY.

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SONNYPRIDDY

Bruce Derr · From: Lee, New Hampshire, USA

Thanks for the responses. I had one of the natural-finish Mavericks back in the mid-'70s, back when I first started playing full time. I used it for a couple of years, playing through a blackface Fender Pro Reverb with a D130 in it. Sounds a lot like your old setup, David. Mine had no roller nuts and no knee levers (until I added a few) and black end plates. I still remember the sound of the strings creaking in the nut grooves when the oil would wear off.

The red one I saw last week was for sale for $99.99 at a local music store, so... I bought it. You might be thinking, what a great deal, but let me tell you, I had to think about it for a week first, because it is in absolutely terrible shape. Broken bell cranks, missing pedal rods, paint chipped and checked, very dirty, dings and dents everywhere. Lotta hard miles on this thing. Also wierd modifications, extra holes underneath... upholstory tacks for decoration (61 of them!)... It has that "lab rat" look, a real frankensteel. Nobody in the store knew the first thing about steels, and they didn't have any idea what to do with it. I bought it partly for nostalgia, but I think the real reason was because... well, it needs me!

It should be great fun to fix it up.

RB Jones · From: Burlingame, California, USA

David,
This is a little off topic, but not by far. When did you play the Cumberland Strip? I went to UT and lived on White Avenue. I remember going to a lot of the clubs, but can't remember the details (had something to do with the stuff they served there). I bought my son a Maverick a while back because he wanted to expand beyond the regular guitar. It's a maple with some pedals but no knee levers. Sounds like it's fairly easy to add a lever or two.

RB

David Doggett · Posted 7 Apr 2003 1:08 pm

RB, I played the Knoxville strip around '75-'77. A guy named Steve fronted our group, and Pam Tillis sang with us sometimes (saw her on the the Opry Saturday night - she's done well for herself). There was also a similar group playing on the strip at the same time with a leader and singer named Maggie - she was great. She had a young steel player (whose name escapes me now) who played a new natural lacqeur Maverick. I also hung out at an old church (Epworth?) where they had a lot of folk and old time concerts - Red Clay Ramblers and the like.

I've always wondered what a Maverick would sound like with a better pickup. Those little single coils were weak and really noisy. That's the first thing I would replace if I had one again. Bobbe Seymour at Steel Guitar Nashville could probably send you a kit to add a D lever or an F lever. You sort of have to choose between an F lever and an E lever, because that changer is not really made to raise and lower the same string (that's why Emmons invented the push/pull).

Bobbe Seymour · From: Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.

Funny this thread is starting now. I just got in from a recording session where I used a '73 Maverick, natural birdseye , raised neck with rollers,. The perfect guitar for this particular session.
The one I played for Lynn Anderson for three years didn't have rollers either.
17 pounds , in the case!

Bobbe Plazumaul III

[This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 08 April 2003 at 09:08 AM.]

Bobbe Seymour · From: Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.

By the way, My Maverick that I have now (and am using) has a new Bill Lawrence 9-10 pickup in it. Sounds fine, looks good . You are correct David, the original was wound a little light (inexpensivley). Any good Geo. L. or good Bill Lawrence will help a lot on these guitars.

[This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 08 April 2003 at 09:10 AM.]

Paul Warnik · From: Illinois,USA

I have seen one red one that a friend had-never saw a blue one though...

Bobbe Seymour · From: Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.

They were sort of pastel red, pastel blue or natural. This is all the factory offered on this model. Why these awful colors? A punishment for not spending more money on a pro model? Painted to cover up bad grained wood? Make you not so sorry if it got stolen?
Seriously, these weren't bad guitars for the money, I still have one (no knees)and still use it often. Ya' know, like it only weighs 14 lbs, with out case! About the same as a Les Paul Gibson? With legs?

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