A "CARTER STARTER" Has Landed In My Grasp

[Kelly Weeks]

I find it disappointing that people in this thread are discouraging the improvement of their Carter Starters. Every guitar that I own, which is about 7 have been modified to suit my needs. Since the Carter Starter is an entry level instrument it will need more modifications to suit players' various needs. Of course you can always pay $2,000 and get exactly what you want, and since most people in this forum are around 90 years old they probably have enough money to throw around to not have to buy a Carter.

Didn't the birth of the pedal steel involve modifying a lap steel? What if the person that created it was discouraged from modifying his outdated instrument? We would still be playing Hawaiian music.

Also, you can't compare a low end 6 string guitar to a Carter Starter. The difference between the two instruments is about $900. I would hardly consider a $1000 instrument a p.o.s. A 6 string from Walmart truly is a p.o.s. No one is going to quit playing pedal steel because their Carter Starter let them down. People quit the pedal steel because it's more complicated to play than other like stringed instruments. Nothing about it is user friendly for a beginner. Also the pedal steel is a dying instrument. It's time like the 6 string lap steel has come and gone. People are not inspired to play it because you can't hear it in pop music. I brought my steel in to show my guitar students who take private lessons and no one out of 50 students had ever heard of a pedal steel.

On another note, a good player will sound good on any instrument, shitty or not.

[Doug Beaumier]

I brought my steel in to show my guitar students who take private lessons and no one out of 50 students had ever heard of a pedal steel.

Same here. A couple of years ago I showed (and played) my PSG to my many weekly guitar students, and they had no interest at all. Instead of watching what I was doing they mostly glanced up at the clock. The lap steel did generate a little more interest. The pedal steel is way to confusing and obscure for most people.

[Dallas Cheked]

Bo Legg,

Thanks for the SHO-BUD offer. It was nice of you to offer an affordable steel. I'm not interested at this time. On the subject of the "CARTER" steel, all welded parts must be replaced with removeable units. Welding is for the birds.

The welded bellcranks on the Carter Starter remind me of the Sho-Bud "permanents".

[Dallas Cheked]

I'll say one thing for the Carter Starter; it's not very heavy. This afternoon I decided to move around all the cases in my basement containing pedal steels, so that I could open them and label up which is which. I'm exhausted. They seem to be getting heavier every year, or am I just starting to feel my age?
I can see why players who spend a lot of time on the road complain about weights. I'm wondering if the reason people don't take up pedal steel is because of its bulkiness. By comparison, an acoustic guitar is as light as a feather.

After all the lifting, carrying, setting-up, tearing-down loading and unloading, I often said: "Should've taken up the piccolo or harmonica". But I'm just too addicted to this thing to let it go. Incidentally, I do carry a couple of harmonicas in my pac-seat!
I wouldn't mind having one of these Starters if I could find one dirt cheap. I think it would make a decent lightweight budget-friendly backup with a few inexpensive mods. Or maybe with a few more mods, as an inexpensive electric pedal Dobro when combined with a Goodrich Match-Bro or Bobbe Seymour's Bo-Bro. I would also modify the changer and pull system to accommodate the open "G" Dobro tuning and the changes that I would need. But for now, as far as the Dobro thing goes, I play a real Dobro when the need arises.
All in all, I think these Starters have way more potential than many of the student models of yesteryear ever could, and with the exception of the ZB student model or the very first Sho-Bud Mavericks, the Starters do have a neck piece and actually look like a real honest-to-goodness steel guitar instead of just a plain old box with strings!

[Tyler Mechem]

Hi there. I purchased a C-S about 9 months ago to test the waters of pedal steel guitar. I read about a thousand posts telling me to save up and get a pro model or get ready to make modifications. But, I didn't listen. And I'm having a great time learning on it. But, I do have an issue with the height of the pedals from the ground. Forgive me for not knowing the technical terms for all of this. The issue is my A,B,& C pedals are all different heights. So, I have to press the B pedal farther than the A and the C is different from both of them. I've tried adjusting the nut at the bottom where the rod latches on to the pedal using two pairs of pliers. I only end up twisting the rods and not loosening the nut. Has anyone here experienced this or have some advice on how to get my pedals all the same distance from the ground? Again, pardon the newbie-talk. Thanks!
Tyler
Charleston, SC

[John Scanlon]

The issue is my A,B,& C pedals are all different heights.

To each his own, but I believe most people prefer it this way, or at least I do, as it's easier to get your foot out of the way for single-pedal work.

In the manual on page 3, they discuss how to do this: http://steelguitar.com/manuals/CSOWNERSMANUAL.pdf

I think they also discuss this, and why they set the pedals the way they are, in the quick start video included.

[James Wolf]

Hi there. I purchased a C-S about 9 months ago to test the waters of pedal steel guitar. I read about a thousand posts telling me to save up and get a pro model or get ready to make modifications. But, I didn't listen. And I'm having a great time learning on it. But, I do have an issue with the height of the pedals from the ground. Forgive me for not knowing the technical terms for all of this. The issue is my A,B,& C pedals are all different heights. So, I have to press the B pedal farther than the A and the C is different from both of them. I've tried adjusting the nut at the bottom where the rod latches on to the pedal using two pairs of pliers. I only end up twisting the rods and not loosening the nut. Has anyone here experienced this or have some advice on how to get my pedals all the same distance from the ground? Again, pardon the newbie-talk. Thanks!
Tyler
Charleston, SC

Is the lock nut stuck? You need to loosen that before you can adjust the height. Try not to go crazy with pliers use a wrench

[Tyler Mechem]

James, the lock nut was certainly stuck. I tried using two sets of pliers at first - one holding the hook end of the rod and the other trying to unscrew the nut. That didn't work and only bent the rod. What did work very well was to leave the rod attached to the ball of the pedal and then unscrew the nut. For the future I need to find what size wrench for that nut so I don't damage the nuts when I adjust the pedal height.


John,
Thanks for your help as well. As I started adjusting the heights of the pedals I quickly learned what you mean - having different heights between the pedals is quite helpful. I noticed it can make rocking on and off the A while holding the B a lot easier or more difficult depending on the height of those two pedals. I'm sure my tastes and comfort will change as I progress.


Next task for me is to try to match the pressure and distance I have to use to push down each of the pedals down. The A is a lot easier to press than the B and C. I'm sure there's a string on here that addresses that. If anyone has any advice, I'm all ears.

Thanks again for the help.