Considering purchasing a 1977 Sho-Bud Pro III Custom... what do I need to know/opinions on photos?

[Tim Donaghy]

Hi all,

I know this has been covered a bit in other threads and I've reviewed those. I've been eyeing a beautiful 1977 Sho-Bud Pro III Custom on Marketplace and have been considering it. I'm aware of the pot metal, wear on changers/lever brackets, etc that others have called out.

It would be my step up from my MSA Red Baron and I do realize that this is a lot of guitar, but it's in a good price range, has the 3x4 (plus more for the C6 I presume), and appears to be in good shape. Plus I tend to romanticize older Sho-Buds as they are what got me interested in country music and playing the pedal steel. I am also reasonably mechanically inclined, but do prefer to play rather than service.

Attaching some photos, curious if anyone smarter than me has anything they notice that I may be missing. Seems pretty clean to me.

The seller is asking $2250.

[Bob Carlucci]

thats the identical twin to a proIII I had for a long time.. The only pot metal in that guitar I believe is in the change fingers. Teardrop levers ,pull parts, stops, brackets are not pot metal on this one.. 2 hole pullers are strong and dependable. Ricky knows more than me about those changer fingers, but I had them on my ProIII for a long time with never an issue. They are well built guitars, although mine was not as tuning stable as most other pedal steels I have owned.. Also, these were not Sho Buds finest hour as far as tone.. Mine had good sustain, and sounded nice, but it was a sort of "generic" pedal steel tone, and not in the same league as earler Sho Bud models.. Not bad by any means, just not that sweet Sho bud tone we all love//// Anyway thats a very good price, and you won't lose a nickel buying it at that price if all else is ok with it.... bob

[Ricky Davis]

Yes; the '77 Shobud Double Raise/Double Lower Changer Fingers, were custom Built by Paul Franklin Sr and the bracket system and were by-far the BEST changer fingers shobud ever had other than early pro-II Single/single; for moving; sounding; consistent in going and coming back EVER made; but yes the finger tops were that pot metal and NOT 6061 aluminum like Paul would rather have; but needed to build/cast his those for his own steels. They were only made in 1977 by Paul Franklin Sr; then in 1978; shobud came out with new "Super Pro" Triple/double in their normal fashion and were immediately having intonation problems customer were complaining about and shobud asked if Paul can look at them and figure it out and he Gentlemanly Said: "Yes I can fix the Keyhead on the new Superpro and you will like it very much; but then I'm going to start Building and selling my own Pedal Steel called The "FRANKLIN". I won't go into what Paul Sr did to fix the superpro; and not many folks left alive knows; but I do and/but this thread is about this particular The Pro-III Custom double/double; so there you go I added those details about it...and also will add; that is a GREAT price and all the other shobuds for sale on here that are priced thousands and thousands OVER this price is hilarious to me; because those shobuds can't even come close to the PRICELESS sound and playability Perfection of the 1977 Shobud; not even close; as to me; those others are worth waaaaaayyyyy less then the price of the 1977 Shobud Pro-II and Pro-III custom and the way Paul Sr. ONLY Built them. Also wipe on-wipe off "Mothers Lemon Oil" on that finish with Cotton cloth ONLY and you will get rid of the site of nitrocellulose Lacquer cracks, as that is only Dry Lacquer, NOT cracks in wood.
Ricky

[Dave Campbell]

i had an ldg with the same chnger and undercarriage. it was a great sounding guitar. that is a pretty good price.

[Bob Carlucci]

The LDG and the ProIII do not sound the same. There is a reason that a LOT of top pro players used LDG;s over the years, and very few used a ProIII.. As stated, its a a good guitar with that pull setup, the price is very good, but they certainly had a different sound than other Buds... Not a bad sound, just different sound from what most experienced players would expect from a Sho bud. Its a good deal price wise, and is 20 steps up from your little student guitar.

[Tim Donaghy]

I really appreciate the replies, especially all of that in-depth info Ricky and Bob. Really helpful.

A followup question I have:

I also have the possibility of purchasing a 3x4 MCI for $1600. While it doesn't have the same mojo to me as the Sho-Bud (and acknowledging that I haven't played either one), I do think it's a nice looking guitar that meets the requirements I'm looking for. And it's a bit less expensive. I've gone back through the forum for some more information on these guitars as well, but curious if anyone here has opinions/insights. I will say that the idea of packing up the MCI for band practice each week seems a bit less daunting than the Pro III...

As always, appreciate the insights and conversation!

[Jerry Overstreet]

There were several iterations of MCI/EMCI guitars. This appears to be one of the early models These are all good guitars with a crisp clean tone. I played a D10 MCI for a few years. It was a nice playing guitar with good tone. No complaints here.

That one looks good and appears to be in nice condition.
If I'm in need of a guitar of this configuration, I wouldn't hesitate to spend the $1600 for that one provided it's all there. That is a very reasonable cost for that guitar.

[Ricky Davis]

The LDG and the ProIII do not sound the same. There is a reason that a LOT of top pro players used LDG;s over the years, and very few used a ProIII

Every model and every Year's of certain models are all going to sound different. The ldg had a regular tail piece like most shobuds built , that the changer fingers had an axle go through the casted tailpiece for the changer fingers, whoever made them and what they were made out of, differently each year we're mounted.
the Pro 3 is the only shoBud that did not have a tailpiece but had a metal neck that wrapped around a bracket that held the axle and the changer fingers of whatever changer fingers somebody made and put in and was mounted screwed down to the body completely different resonation than any other shobud.
So, no, the Pro 3 will not sound like any other ShoBud model ever because of the changer mounting, and there's no one ShoBud sound. PERIOD.
Ricky

[Bill McCloskey]

Here is my experience with the my Sho-bud Pro III. It was one of the first pedal steels I bought and I had really nothing to compare it to. At the time I really thought it had the mojo as far as sound went. But after getting a Williams and experiencing that, the playability just didn't compare. It is an old guitar and even after having someone set it up, it was still more difficult to play than a modern guitar. So I sold it. The guy I sold it to sold it.

A couple of years later, I bought it back from the guy who bought it from him. Part of it was purely cosmetic: it looked cool as hell. And part of it was I had this memory of the sound that I thought was pretty unique. But there was another problem with it: it hummed like crazy. I got a humdebucker pedal and that seemed to help, but man, if there is any electrical interference, that thing is going to hum. It drove me crazy.

After getting it the second time, I had already bought a Mullen. There was even a GREATER distance in the playability. The mullen is like a fast race car. It plays like butter and sounds fantastic. Better than any other guitar I've owned. And the sho-bud just sat there, unplayed. Eventually I traded it for my current Mullen D10 G2 9x9, which is BY FAR the best sounding, best playing guitar I've ever owned.

In the end, the idea of an old sho-bud was better than the reality of an old sho-bud. And that hum is a major problem, for me anyway.

My suggestion: get a modern guitar. in fact, think about the new Sho-bud Maverick II's . I just ordered one to have a single neck. Simple 3x4, 4 month delivery time, and they are having a black friday sale: 10% off. All in, it came to $3k for a brand new guitar.

[Jerry Overstreet]

That mid 80s MCI @ $1600 is a no brainer over that old Pro III. Go for that if everything about the deal is above board and a single neck guitar is what you need.

If you aren't interested in the MCI, I'd appreciate a tip on where this deal is for myself as I couldn't find it anywhere. Thx.

[Bob Carlucci]

Between the 2 guitars, as much as I love the look and mojo of the ProIII, I would grab that MCI in a SECOND over the Bud.. Thats a KILLER deal on a wonderful guitar, that will outplay and in my opinion, probably outsound the Bud, and will most likely outlive it... Your choice, both are really good deals, but that MCI is a spectacular deal, and I would grab it NOW... bob

[Tim Donaghy]

Top secret location for the MCI

I'm going to pursue the MCI––it's in my budget and is a lot less guitar to haul around.

For anyone interested in the Pro III, it's listed on Craigslist & Facebook Marketplace in Oroville, CA (he doesn't have it posted on the forum).

Again, thank you all for your contributions and insights. I'll post some pictures when I get it.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Top secret location for the MCI

I'm going to pursue the MCI––it's in my budget and is a lot less guitar to haul around.

Dang Tim. No, I don't blame you one bit. If that MCI is as good as it looks it's a terrific buy and a fine little 3&4 guitar good as anything out there today.

Best of luck to you and happy steelin'!

[Bob Carlucci]

I found an MCI D10 locally at a great price years ago,, Ran and grabbed it.. I am strictly S10/E9, and had no need for a D10.. However, in that short time, I came to realize that they were really good steel guitars.. It very much reminded me of the Carter pull mechanism.. Not identical, but Bud Carters "fingerprints" were all over that guitar. It sold very quickly right here on this forum. Believe me, you can not go wrong with a Bud Carter designed/built/imagined/reimagined pedal steel guitar... I think you made the right choice, but that ProIII has someone's name on it as well, and it will sell at that price if its listed here.. Locally???. not so sure. This forum is THE place to list a pedal steel guitar... bob