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Sho-Bud Sho-Bass?

skotsour

skotsour

Mar 4, 2009
89
18
Chicago
#1
I've recently come into possession of a bass amp by Sho-Bud called, aptly enough, the Sho-Bass. I know next to nothing about this amp other than Sho-Bud makes steel guitars.

Does anyone know anything at all about these amps? I bought it at a garage sale and the thing sounds freaking sweet. I will post pics of it tomorrow.
 
#4
Here are some pics:

shobud001-1.gif


shobud002.gif


shobud003.gif


shobud004.gif


shobud005.gif



shobud007.gif



shobud008.gif
 
#5
1. I suspect that Pyle Driver speaker is not the original.

2. The cab has no damping, but with an oddball speaker it probably wouldn't help.

3. I see the amp has an on/off/on polarity switch. If the amp does NOT have a three-prong grounded cord, have a tech rewire it. Doing so could save your life.

The amp is a curiosity, but unless you're a collector, would it really be useful?
 
#6
Rick Auricchio said:
2. The cab has no damping, but with an oddball speaker it probably wouldn't help.

3. I see the amp has an on/off/on polarity switch. If the amp does NOT have a three-prong grounded cord, have a tech rewire it. Doing so could save your life.

The amp is a curiosity, but unless you're a collector, would it really be useful?
Click to expand...
Agreed with #3 totally, sort of agree with #2 but I'd buy a cheap mattress topper from WalMart and line the walls anyway (who knows maybe it does sound good).

I love old amps myself. Even if you can't gig with them, they can be fantastic for recording purposes, or they can be a cool practice amp. Or they can be a total bust. I imagine it was probably built more for steel than bass, but I could be wrong. Something you'll have to decide for yourself. In any event, it looks like a fun little amp.
 
#7
Thanks for the replies.

The Pyle Driver is definitely not original and even without dampening, this thing sounds surprisingly good. I only paid $15 for it and I only plan on using it in my home. My good rig is at the practice studio.

I will definitely take your advice and have a new power cable installed, the one that's on it now is two pronged and held together with electrical tape. Don't worry, it's not plugged in!
 
#9
Skot-
Sho-Nuff!!
Sho Bud is indeed the Fender...make that Alembic... of the Steel Guitar world.
Most steel players use amps that have very wide tonal ranges and can produce a lot of bass. This should work for your house, probably even a rehearsal or small club depending on how heavy handed your drummer is.
For $15, you're in the running for deal of the decade!!
 
#11
ThunderLizard said:
Skot-
Sho-Nuff!!
Sho Bud is indeed the Fender...make that Alembic... of the Steel Guitar world.
Most steel players use amps that have very wide tonal ranges and can produce a lot of bass. This should work for your house, probably even a rehearsal or small club depending on how heavy handed your drummer is.
For $15, you're in the running for deal of the decade!!
Click to expand...

i definitely wouldn't go so far as to call that amp the 'Alembic' of the steel guitar world, but for $15.00 who cares? with two 2N3055 output transisitors (or similar) it probably puts out about 35-40 watts clean at best, so it might make a good practice amp, but we all know how useful a SS 40-50w amp is with a drummer. Just my opinion.............
 
#14
johnk_10 said:
i definitely wouldn't go so far as to call that amp the 'Alembic' of the steel guitar world, but for $15.00 who cares? with two 2N3055 output transisitors (or similar) it probably puts out about 35-40 watts clean at best, so it might make a good practice amp, but we all know how useful a SS 40-50w amp is with a drummer. Just my opinion.............
Click to expand...

I have no intentions of ever trying to use it on stage at all. It's going to sit in my living room for my solo beer jams.
I tend to grab any musical equipment I see at garage sales, so I usually try to stay away, but $15 for a nice practice amp is something I couldn't pass up, plus it has a nice vintage vibe.
 
#16
It's garage sale week for the local development here. Tomorrow the wife wants to climb on the golf Cart and hit the sales. Maybe I will find a guy with a couple SVT's. This is a great idea... I'll report in. BOB
 

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