Then...

In 1943, Harold “Shot” Jackson began playing the steel guitar on the Grand Ole Opry with such legends as Johnny and Jack and the Queen of Country Music, Kitty Wells.  Additionally, he played with Roy Acuff (the King of Country Music) and Roy Clark and the Clark Family on the popular “Hee-Haw” television series.

In the early 1950's, Shot began installing string pullers with pedals on Fenders, Rickenbackers, and other steel guitars.  In 1955, Shot, accompanied by his good friend Buddy Emmons, built a pedal steel guitar they called the Sho-Bud® (“Sho” for “Shot" and “Bud” for "Buddy".)  Shot's creations continued.  He built many flat-top guitars for music legends such as George Jones, Ernest Tubb, and Roy Clark, in addition to customizing guitars for The Opry Stars. Willie Nelson still plays “Trigger”, the guitar Shot installed pick-ups on in his early years.

The Sho-Bud's unique tone and string pitch changers brought a new sound into the world of country music. This sound quickly became synonymous with what became known as the "Nashville Sound".  Sho-Bud contributed not only to the sounds of country music, but also produced a line of amplifiers, flat-top guitars and numerous instruments which were marketed around the world. Sho-Bud provided customized guitars for pop and rock groups such as the Beach Boys, Yes and the Eagles.

In 1963, Shot’s sons, David and Harry, began accompanying him in building Sho-Bud Steel Guitars. In the late 60's, David developed and patented a new pedal device that would become the most replicated string-pulling mechanism in the guitar industry. David operated Music City Manufacturing Co., which is where the majority of Sho-Bud steel guitars were built from 1970 to 1981.

Harry built the custom pedal steels while Shot built Sho-Bro’s and other specialized guitars upstairs at the Sho-Bud shop, which was located at 416 Broadway. On Saturday nights, Opry stars would make their way through the back door of the Ryman Auditorium, across the alley and into the back door of Sho-Bud to share stories from their weekly travels. This tradition continued until 1981, when Sho-Bud was sold to Gretch-Baldwin. Music City Manufacturing Co. then began customizing buses used by touring entertainers. Many of the employees from the Jackson companies went on to build other pedal steel guitars. In large part, current steel guitar manufacturers are still using the old Sho-Bud designs. 

In 1983, Shot Jackson suffered a major stroke, only two months after selling his guitar repair business. He never fully recovered his speech nor his ability to play an instrument. In 1986, he was inducted into the Steel Hall of Fame. He suffered another stroke in 1990 and died in 1991.

And now...

For many years, David felt led to create a guitar that would take the original Sho-Bud pedal steel guitar to a higher level of excellence in sound, string pullers, and state-of-the-art wood finish.

Using a Sho-Bud built in the early 1960's as a standard for sound, David created a new guitar: the next generation of Sho-Buds, the Jackson Steel guitar. With this new instrument, he has achieved even more sustain, power, and tone, with unique pitch changers designed for pulling strings.