Sho~Bud tuning problems (Pro 1)

Christopher Hillman · From: Manchester, UK

Hi all,

I'm trying to resurrect my old Sho~Bud Pro 1 that I picked up a few years ago. I bought it as a project as all the underneath is Bennett Pedal Steel stuff except the changer and maybe the pedal bar. I'm in the U.K. so Bennett was quite common here in the 80s I believe. Its a shame its been messed with though.

Anyway I'm trying to get it playing well enough to be a good second touring Guitar along side my Excel U-12.

I'm struggling mainly with tuning on the 6th string when using the B pedal and sometimes the 5th A pedal goes out of tune slightly but not as noticeable. I'm only playing this at home right now but after playing to a song or two you can tell its slightly off. Also while watching the tuner I notice the B pedal raises shaper than other sometimes too. Sometimes just by a few cent but its enough for the raised B pedal to sound harsh against the 4 string.

What is the usual culprits for these kind of problems? what check list should I be running through. Looking at the changer everything seems to be returning right. Holding the 6th finger after pressing the B a few times I dont notice that I have to push it back into place. I did swap one of the nylon tuners on the 6th string B Pedal and it seems better since for going wildly out of tune. Sometimes it still raises to a shaper/flatter B Pedal.

The other problem I'm noticing is that the 6th 5th and 4th strings sound slightly muted when picked open... I'm not too sure why this is. Pressing down hard on the bar doesnt make it go away nor does pressing on the string behind the nut. It sounds a bit elastic band like?

Underneath you will notice it has had a lot of changes. I took the Guitar apart and removed a lot of stuff. It came with 8 Pedals so Its now back at 3 pedals 4 knee levers. The only change is I dont have the 9th D string as I'm a universal player usually.

Here are some photos of the Steel. Its a lovely looking thing even if it doensnt play that well.

I did wonder when I tipped it over if the pedal bar could be moving a bit and causing problems. (theres usually a rubber foot on this of course)

A faded or revarnished Sho~Bud logo.

Cheers
Chris

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Two thoughts, Chris --

I had a guitar whose pedal rack slipped. no matter how tight I tried to clamp it. I glued a square of medium grit (200-300) sandpaper to the friction side of the flat clamp. Is that good for the chrome leg? Of course not. But it made a big difference in how well the thing holds (and it was getting to where I was afraid I was going to sheer off the bolt, as tight I was turning it).

Re: inconsistent pedal raises, I don't have high confidence in how much of a difference this will make but if that is a raise helper spring on 6, I would remove it. I like raise springs but they can complicate delicate balance points.

Ian Worley · From: Sacramento, CA

In addition to Jon's point about the raise helper springs, which can often cause tuning stability issues, it's also worth looking at the lower return springs. The spring holds the lowering arm of the scissor tight against the stop bezel in the end plate window. A weak spring can allow the lowering arm to lift off the stop slightly (and variably) when engaging a raise, resulting in an inconsistent pitch. Easy to check by just observing while engaging the raise.
_________________
All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest - Paul Simon

Christopher Hillman · From: Manchester, UK

Thanks Jon and Ian! I will look through this today and see where I get too.

I'm guessing the lower return springs are these ones.

Do people usually cut them down to make them stronger? or can you buy replacement springs ?

I'm guessing I should probably replace the nylon ends too? Just swapping one over helped a fair bit. Is it wise to put anything on the threads or would a new nylon tuner be tight enough as it is?

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Yes, those are the lower return springs.
I have never liked to shorten springs -- my results are always ugly as hell. But yes, that is an option.

One thing that can happen is that the changer gets gummy and sluggish and under those conditions, the spring tension is inadequate to oppose the added friction. A good cleaning including a flush with solvent (naphtha) can remove these resistance points and allow the springs to do their job. I had a Sho-Bud on my bench last year with exactly this scenario.

There is a guy on Ebay selling springs but he seems to only bundle 3 return springs with 3 raise helper springs which are not the same and are not what you need.
It would be lovely to find a supply of these springs.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/133709525301?hash=item1f21b57135:g:L-QAAOSwpdpgY4Ry

Nylon tuners should be tight enough to not be just finger tight -- you don't want them to be loose enough to be able to turn without a wrench (although that would be nice....but nowhere nearly stable enough).

Christopher Hillman · From: Manchester, UK

Thanks for the replies. I had another look at the Sho~Bud today.

I started off by putting some tape on the pedal bar where the clamps lock it down. This seemed to have worked and the bar doesn't appear to be moving. I also removed the raise helper spring Very Happy

Secondly I went back to the 6th G# raise. Its was still raising all over the place. Then I realised that underneath there is a Pedal stop and this wasnt quite doing its job. Both G# raises didnt appear to be in sync so the high one would fully raise and the other could go a bit further before it hit the stop, or something along those lines.
I decided to experiment but swapping the Rods around underneath (both have different ways of connecting to the bell crank) and leaving the 3rd string G# raise off. It seemed to work better but didn't fix it completely. I put the high G# rod back in and tuned it up then had a play for a while. This higher pull seems to stay in tune just fine so Its got to be something to do with the changer, B Pedal or the roller nut?

I did notice after playing for a while that the B and A are going out now. I moved the strings off the roller nut and tried adding graphite. This didnt seem to help and all the rollers seem to spin free. I just wonder about the nut as I'm still getting this buzzing/elastic band sound from strings 6,5 & 4.

This was the stop underneath I mentioned.

Theres also a lot of flex in the instrument when using the E raise and Lower. It looks like the pedal bar has a lift kit on it. I could take it off but I'd need to tap the thread on the pedal rods and cut them down a bit I think. This might help it twisting I guess?

It sounds great and I'm hoping I can get it sorted. I keep comparing it to my Excel which is probably not fair. It doesn't feel a particularly fast playing steel with the Pedal action being heavy but it sounds nice.

Forum Index > Pedal Steel		Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: