Playing my Sho~Bud in 1983 with Rose-Marie

[Ken Byng]

This is a clip that I found on Yew Toob of me playing at the Peterborough Country Music Festival in 1983. Half my lifetime ago!!

The singer is a lass from Newry in Northern Ireland called Rose-Marie. I did a fair bit of live work with her over the years, mainly with the Ed Nix and Busted band, and played on a few of her albums. I can't remember the name of this band on the clip, but I met them about 5 minutes before we went on stage. They threw me a green shirt (which wouldn't fit me these days) and on stage we went. I am playing my old Sho~Bud Pro 3 Custom, which was overhauled by our own Bob Adams a few years ago.

[Danny Mitchell]

Superb Ken
Great to hear the steel up in the mix like that. Lovely, big tone. And Rose Marie ' s a belter
I had the opposite shirt problem. Our bandleader got silky, psychedelic shirts made to fit him & he was a 28 stone mountain I had to use a safety pin to stop it being an off the shoulder number
Thanks for posting.

[Ken Byng]

Thanks Danny - if you've still got it I'll buy it from you!

[Nick Bidmade]

Good stuff Ken - big sound!
(I think you'd have looked better in an orange shirt... )

[mandosteve]

Sounds great mate! Fantastic country steel tone - were you using your own amp or was it a hired in Backline job?

[Ken Byng]

Sounds great mate! Fantastic country steel tone - were you using your own amp or was it a hired in Backline job?

Hi Stephen. The amp was supplied as part of the backline (as is common at festivals) and if my memory serves me right it was a Peavey Session 500. Not one of my most favourite amps, but it saved me lugging my Nashville 400 that I was using in 1983 to the venue. I didn't pay the sound man to put the steel right up front in the mix - honest!

[mandosteve]

I suspected that might be the case Ken - At least they supplied a proper steel amp! I'm terrified of the day I show up to a festival and get a choice of a Marshall stack or a Mesa Boogie!

[Ken Byng]

I suspected that might be the case Ken - At least they supplied a proper steel amp! I'm terrified of the day I show up to a festival and get a choice of a Marshall stack or a Mesa Boogie!

Stephen - it's the luck of the draw what you get supplied. At the Wembley Festivals of the 70's and 80's there was always a full range of Peavey available in the backline. I have used a Randall amp that was supplied for steel guitar at one festival, but it wasn't too bad actually. Also was given a Vox AC30 in Germany. Far and away the worst amp I was supplied with was a Marshall combo 2 x 12" amp. As you know, Marshall amps are synonymous with grit and dirty tone and this one was no exception. Would have sounded great with a Les Paul through it but not pedal steel. During rehearsals, I was struggling so much to get a decent steel tone through the Marshall that I got my roadie to go to the band's van and get my Peavey Nashville 400 out. It was heaven compared to the Marshall and worth the long lug by our strong roadie from the van to the venue.

The best amp I have ever been supplied with was a Telonics TCA500 when I played at the Dallas Show. I liked it so much I bought the company. Just kidding for those folks who can remember the old Remington razor adverts. But I did buy a TCA500 later when they exported a bunch to Europe. Telonics now provide all of the backline at Dallas, but I was the first to use one on the main stage.

[Jamie Howarth]

Sounds wonderful. I have a ShoBud a little older... what is the pickup in yours?

[Steve Conway]

Wow! Sounds great!