Jackson BlackJack Questions

[Avery Bradshaw]

Hey everyone!

I recently purchased a Blackjack from a fellow who was selling it for a friend on Facebook Marketplace. According to him, it had sat in the case for years after the original owner passed away. On top of the usual issues of letting a guitar sit for that long, I have another larger issue. There is a bolt (or screw) missing from one of the knee levers making it unusable without some kind of fix. I emailed Jackson guitars a couple times but haven’t heard back about the part. Does anyone know what the bolt is called? Im trying to see if I can find one that’s the same size and thread pattern. Check out this video that shows the issue I am having: https://youtube.com/shorts/ievDMxk7-T8? ... vBJOnSs9J5

As you can see, I found a bolt that will hold it somewhat but it still slips out. It basically only provides some use of the lever but at least makes it work for now.

Also, I don’t know much about these guitars but it looks very different from my MSAs undercarriage. How hard are they to swap knee levers around on? The Es lower on my right knee and I am used to having them all on my left knee.

Thanks!!

[Bobby D. Jones]

Is there any actual threads in the pillow block looking piece that is attached to bottom of the guitar?
If the guitar has another knee lever with the same setup, You may be able see the part and how it would operate.

In the video it looks like the bolt you are using is loose in one, Or both holes and the lever part wabbles around a lot.
From what can be seen in the video, It looks like it may actually be, Just be a smooth rod. That fits through the pillow block and the knee lever, To act as a pivot point. With a circular clip in a groove. On each end to hold the pin in place.

Wear the E-mail and phone both out, Of Jackson/Sho-Bud, To get hold of someone.
It looks like it is a special part. That they would have. Or the part may or would have to be custom made.

Good Luck in this project, Getting the proper part to , make the knee lever work properly, Happy Steelin

[Avery Bradshaw]

Is there any actual threads in the pillow block looking piece that is attached to bottom of the guitar?
If the guitar has another knee lever with the same setup, You may be able see the part and how it would operate.

In the video it looks like the bolt you are using is loose in one, Or both holes and the lever part wabbles around a lot.
From what can be seen in the video, It looks like it may actually be, Just be a smooth rod. That fits through the pillow block and the knee lever, To act as a pivot point. With a circular clip in a groove. On each end to hold the pin in place.

Wear the E-mail and phone both out, Of Jackson/Sho-Bud, To get hold of someone.
It looks like it is a special part. That they would have. Or the part may or would have to be custom made.

Good Luck in this project, Getting the proper part to , make the knee lever work properly, Happy Steelin

You could be right about it being a pin with retainers I hadn’t thought of that. I am not sure if the pillow block has threads or not, I’m at work and I don’t have the guitar in front of me. It looks like there’s a hole in front of the assembly in the front apron of the guitar, so I just assumed it was all connected together by one large threaded piece.

Hopefully they will answer my emails back soon, it’s only been a day or two but I plan to give them a call as well. Thanks for the help!

[Miikka Paatelainen]

In my S12 Blackjack there's a cross shaft that holds the parts together

IMG_20250730_082503215.jpg

[Avery Bradshaw]

Unfortunately the other knee levers on my guitar don’t have that type of connector. It also doesn’t appear that it ever used a full cross shaft as the pivot point either but I could be wrong on that.

[Brett Day]

I'm sure you could get in touch with David Jackson. He has a shop in Dahlonega, Georgia and builds the new Sho-Buds, but he could probably help you with the issues with your steel.

[Avery Bradshaw]

Thanks Brett! Do you know how to get in touch with him? I’ve sent emails on the website, left voicemails and such but I haven’t heard back yet.

[Brett Day]

Thanks Brett! Do you know how to get in touch with him? I’ve sent emails on the website, left voicemails and such but I haven’t heard back yet.

I don't really know if he has an email address. Have you talked with Dawn Jackson? I think she handles email, but I'm not really sure what the email is for her now, since the Sho-Bud website is now up.

[Avery Bradshaw]

No unfortunately I haven’t been able to get ahold of anyone that works for the company.

[Paul Strojan]

Check out McMaster Carr they should have the pin you need

[memphislim]

Avery, I can fix you up with a pin that I either have or can make if you want to send both parts to me here in Austin. If so,
we can go over the details via PM.

Slim

[Avery Bradshaw]

I’m gonna send you a PM. Thanks!

[Bob Carlucci]

Hope the OP is all fixed up by now.. However, this guitar bears the name of those that built it.. You would think they would be be happy to service the new owner with at least some sound advice on how to get the guitar that they built and sold up and running... Personally, I would consider that when it might come time one day for the OP to consider buying a new pedal steel.. Service after sale is the hallmark of a good company, regardless of who requires that service, the original owner or the 2nd, third, fourth or fifth,,,,

[Avery Bradshaw]

Hope the OP is all fixed up by now.. However, this guitar bears the name of those that built it.. You would think they would be be happy to service the new owner with at least some sound advice on how to get the guitar that they built and sold up and running... Personally, I would consider that when it might come time one day for the OP to consider buying a new pedal steel.. Service after sale is the hallmark of a good company, regardless of who requires that service, the original owner or the 2nd, third, fourth or fifth,,,,

I still haven't heard back from Jackson about the steel. I've left numerous emails and messages and such, but no luck. Hopefully its just that they are so busy building other guitars that they cant get back to me! Anyway, I have a neighbor that believes we can mill the pin and make it match what was originally on it so that's what I am trying to do now. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions!

[Bob Carlucci]

Hope the OP is all fixed up by now.. However, this guitar bears the name of those that built it.. You would think they would be be happy to service the new owner with at least some sound advice on how to get the guitar that they built and sold up and running... Personally, I would consider that when it might come time one day for the OP to consider buying a new pedal steel.. Service after sale is the hallmark of a good company, regardless of who requires that service, the original owner or the 2nd, third, fourth or fifth,,,,

I still haven't heard back from Jackson about the steel. I've left numerous emails and messages and such, but no luck. Hopefully its just that they are so busy building other guitars that they cant get back to me! Anyway, I have a neighbor that believes we can mill the pin and make it match what was originally on it so that's what I am trying to do now. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions!

Unacceptable.. NO one is so busy they can't answer a question or two about an item they personally designed, built and sold. I wonder if they would respond to emails if you inquired about a $15,000, custom built, exotic wood, elaborate custom inlay pedal steel guitar that you want to buy.. Would they still ignore your inquiries?.. This is a disgrace, and they should feel ashamed as a company.. That guitar bears their family name...bob

[Avery Bradshaw]

Update:

Having a neighbor who is a metal worker really pays off. He was able to manufacture a pin that cured all of the issues I was having with the knee lever, and I would say it’s just about better than what was in it originally. I was finally able to set the guitar up and it is playing smoothly now after a few adjustments to the undercarriage. Thanks everyone for the help and messages about it!

[Paul Awalt]

Didn't Jackson become ShoBud, and customer service should be about the same for both.

[Bob Carlucci]

Thats correct, I guess they "bought back" the great Sho bud trademark that was sold off at some point.. Fact remains however, they designed, built and sold the OP's guitar. Was it really so much to ask of them that they respond to a flurry of emails when he had a problem with it?.. I'm glad it was fixed by the OP and his friend, however the Jacksons may want to rethink their customer service policies.

[mtulbert]

Ditto on customer service.

Tried to buy a guitar from them years ago. When I asked about installing another left knee left lever I was told by David Jackson that they did not have the time to do that. They make more money selling "stock guitars". Needless to say my buddies and I were totally shocked.

Turn down a 6000 sale?

Yikes

[Dawn Jackson]

Hey all.
Avery, first let me apologize for the slow response this past month. We have been inundated with Sho-Bud parts requests and are working through the emails and calls, as quickly as we can. Unfortunately you got lumped in with those.

It sounds like you got it worked out, but if not, we can definitely help you with your BlackJack part. Here is my direct line: 310-387-4431 and my email address is dawn@shobud.com

Regarding some of the comments/questions. We still offer a lifetime guarantee of our guitars, whether from the Jackson Steel era or now, and have always provided support for our customers. We are still a family-run business and while we do fully support our products when something goes wrong, there are times we haven't had the resources to add additional knee levers or other options, post-production. Now that we are adding more builders, that will change.

Mark T., I'm curious about the build you were referring to. We are a custom shop, and build guitars as ordered. And up until this point, I've dealt with all customers on new orders. The only reason an extra knee lever would have been turned down on a new build, would be due to the pulling system limitations...or an extravagant number of pedals and/or knee levers, which David and Harry have never liked to build. We don't like loading guitars down when there are potential issues that may arise, as a result. Let me know if I missed something or you were misinformed.

If someone wants service or options added to their pedal steels of all makes and models, we are offering restoration and rebuild services at our new TX facility, which Johnny Cox is running. We also have a service technician in the LA and Nashville areas, as well as recommended technicians in San Diego, Virginia and NY. We have competitive shipping rates with UPS, which we are happy to share with our customers. Please email service@shobud.com or visit our website: https://sho-bud.com/guitar-repair/

Regarding parts, we are going to start listing parts we have available for sale on the website, as it is challenging for us to locate parts on a one-by-one basis. We are still going through the re-acquired original parts and trying to organize and catalog them. The first, most requested parts are fretboards...so here they are: https://sho-bud.com/parts/fretboards/

We will be making a separate post related to this, but I wanted to address this thread first! Thanks to everyone for your support of Sho-Bud and the pedal steel guitar in general. We truly appreciate each of you...you are the reason we keep building, and why we were so diligent about getting our family name back. Thanks for your patience as we plane out with the re-branding! We have lots of exciting things coming.



Dawn Jackson
310-387-4431
dawn@shobud.com

[Avery Bradshaw]

Hey all.
Avery, first let me apologize for the slow response this past month. We have been inundated with Sho-Bud parts requests and are working through the emails and calls, as quickly as we can. Unfortunately you got lumped in with those.

It sounds like you got it worked out, but if not, we can definitely help you with your BlackJack part. Here is my direct line: 310-387-4431 and my email address is dawn@shobud.com

Regarding some of the comments/questions. We still offer a lifetime guarantee of our guitars, whether from the Jackson Steel era or now, and have always provided support for our customers. We are still a family-run business and while we do fully support our products when something goes wrong, there are times we haven't had the resources to add additional knee levers or other options, post-production. Now that we are adding more builders, that will change.

Mark T., I'm curious about the build you were referring to. We are a custom shop, and build guitars as ordered. And up until this point, I've dealt with all customers on new orders. The only reason an extra knee lever would have been turned down on a new build, would be due to the pulling system limitations...or an extravagant number of pedals and/or knee levers, which David and Harry have never liked to build. We don't like loading guitars down when there are potential issues that may arise, as a result. Let me know if I missed something or you were misinformed.

If someone wants service or options added to their pedal steels of all makes and models, we are offering restoration and rebuild services at our new TX facility, which Johnny Cox is running. We also have a service technician in the LA and Nashville areas, as well as recommended technicians in San Diego, Virginia and NY. We have competitive shipping rates with UPS, which we are happy to share with our customers. Please email service@shobud.com or visit our website: https://sho-bud.com/guitar-repair/

Regarding parts, we are going to start listing parts we have available for sale on the website, as it is challenging for us to locate parts on a one-by-one basis. We are still going through the re-acquired original parts and trying to organize and catalog them. The first, most requested parts are fretboards...so here they are: https://sho-bud.com/parts/fretboards/

We will be making a separate post related to this, but I wanted to address this thread first! Thanks to everyone for your support of Sho-Bud and the pedal steel guitar in general. We truly appreciate each of you...you are the reason we keep building, and why we were so diligent about getting our family name back. Thanks for your patience as we plane out with the re-branding! We have lots of exciting things coming.



Dawn Jackson
310-387-4431
dawn@shobud.com

Dawn,

In no way did I mean any disrespect by posting, I was just looking for help with the part and the thread seemed to have taken off in a different direction. I appreciate you getting back with me about it. I understand your position with taking over the Sho-Bud name, that has to be quite the undertaking going through all the NOS parts and such. I am excited for the name to be coming back to the new guitar market, I hope one day to be able to own a proper Sho-Bud in my collection.

I believe I have the issue worked out for now, but I will reach out in the future if anything else comes up. Thank you!