ETS steel guitars

Charles Tilley · Post by **Charles Tilley** » 14 Aug 2015 11:55 am

I just bought an ETS and i think it was the 3rd. one built. I am wondering how many of these guitars are out there. Not too many were produced before Larry Agan died in a car wreck. Bud is also gone now.
Could we start an ETS steel guitar family?
Here is mine. These guitars have the Master's touch.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 14 Aug 2015 12:25 pm

Here's a thread about ETS steels, Charles. How come the bar matches the color of the steel?
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... ets+steels

Charles Tilley · Post by **Charles Tilley** » 14 Aug 2015 12:37 pm

My philosophy is "If you can't out play 'em.....out dress 'em

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 14 Aug 2015 12:45 pm

I've never had the courage to crossdress

admin · Post by **b0b** » 14 Aug 2015 2:23 pm

I was an ETS dealer for a short while, and played one myself. It was really nice, and very light.

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 14 Aug 2015 2:27 pm

I've always been fascinated by the ETS. I hadn't realized that they were working on a 12 string. It would have gotten my attention.

One thing I always wondered---a question for those of you with hands-on experience with them---is the metal body an issue with thermal sensitivity and tuning stability?

Charles Tilley · Post by **Charles Tilley** » 14 Aug 2015 3:05 pm

I can't speak to that yet being one day owner of an ETS but i put all trust and confidence in anything Bud Carter built. A note:::: Bud told me himself that he had NOTHING to do with the Carter Starter. He said that was all John.

admin · Post by **b0b** » 14 Aug 2015 7:07 pm

I didn't have any tuning problems, but then I didn't play it in direct sunlight. I suspect that any instrument has tuning issues when subjected to rapid temperature changes.

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 15 Aug 2015 12:32 am

Charles, I tried one at the Dallas show a few years ago. Great tone and tremendous value for money at the time. Bud was a genius.

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 15 Aug 2015 1:32 am

Wish I could get hold of one of these (but I've already got a guitar).

I'd love to have a real STEEL guitar.

Peter den Hartogh · Post by **Peter den Hartogh** » 15 Aug 2015 8:25 am

Jon, the blue ETS in the picture above is now in Cape Town, South Africa, where the weather can be rather hot as well as cold.
There are no tuning problems whatsoever. I have not needed to tune from the hex tuners, only little touch-ups from the key head.
This guitar is the best pedal steel guitar I have.
I have a couple of others you can see in my signature.

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 15 Aug 2015 8:50 am

Thanks, Peter. Exactly the answer I was looking for.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 15 Aug 2015 10:28 am

Charlie McDonald wrote:Wish I could get hold of one of these (but I've already got a guitar).

i got the impression that the ets and the carpsteel are very similar.

admin · Post by **b0b** » 15 Aug 2015 11:04 am

chris ivey wrote:i got the impression that the ets and the carpsteel are very similar.

In what way?

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 15 Aug 2015 12:49 pm

light weight and appearance. and i thought the body construction looked similar but i've never seen them in person. sorry if i'm off the mark.

admin · Post by **b0b** » 15 Aug 2015 7:59 pm

I thought Carpsteels were made of wood. Not sure, though. I've never seen one.

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 15 Aug 2015 11:56 pm

I think there are similarities, like notions about steel-building by two guys that followed slightly different directions.

The Carp body seems to be wood--I understand some early ones had wood bodies--but in a form I haven't seen.
I'm about to attempt to get in touch with Gary Carpenter--not to ask about that, but I might.
Nonetheless, the light weight while retaining good tone is a plus; would like to see the other take, the all-metal body.

I personally don't think the setup would need an up-grade; the Rains mechanism is pretty good, to me.
The fretboard is Rains, on a wood neck, atop a deep finish that appears like a metal body. I love mine,
but I wouldn't mind having an ETS as well. Someday....

admin · Post by **b0b** » 17 Aug 2015 9:50 am

I've been informed that Carpsteel was actually made with ETS parts from Bud & Larry. I've seen a picture of an early Carpsteel with a wooden body, but the design evolved from there. ETS and Carpsteel are essentially the same Bud Carter design, assembled at different locations.

I wish they were still being made. It was an excellent mid-priced pedal steel, very versatile and suitable for professional use.

Jana Lockaby · Post by **Jana Lockaby** » 17 Aug 2015 10:10 am

Hey Charles, I don't know exactly how many Bud and Larry built, but I put quite a few tuners on headstocks. Maybe I can find out. There weren't a whole lot of them.

Charles Tilley · Post by **Charles Tilley** » 17 Aug 2015 10:51 am

My ETS has a wood neck. I have heard that they used metal necks. Does anyone else have a wood neck or do they all have wood necks.
I really like mine. It has a great tone.

Jana Lockaby · Post by **Jana Lockaby** » 17 Aug 2015 2:22 pm

Charles, wood necks were the norm, however, I am not going to swear that a few weren't built with metal necks. Bud and Larry were always working on a way to make the guitars better.
I have a pic of I think the very first ETS built. I can email them to you if you like. I don't know how to post them here. The best estimate I can come up with was maybe 100 built. I can't swear to that either. Just a guess

Charles Tilley · Post by **Charles Tilley** » 17 Aug 2015 3:34 pm

Yes i would like the pictures.
charlestilley972@gmail.com
I am told the one i have was the 3rd. sold and went to Dale Ware (deceased). Dale sold it to the man i bought it from. That man never tuned the guitar....of course didn't know how to play it. It sat in the case a long time. I had to move the Franklin pedal to #4. Now that was a pretty good job for me.
I need my A pedal in #1

admin · Post by **b0b** » 17 Aug 2015 8:29 pm

Jana Lockaby wrote:I have a pic of I think the very first ETS built. I can email them to you if you like. I don't know how to post them here.

When entering a message, click the "Upload Picture" button. The "Upload Picture" window will pop up.

Click "Browse..." and find the picture on you hard disk. Select it and click "Okay".

Click "Send" and wait for the picture to upload.

When the picture arrives at the forum, you will see it in the "Upload Picture" window. Click "Insert Picture" to add it to your message.

Real big picture files don't work. There isn't enough RAM on the server to process them.

Jana Lockaby · Post by **Jana Lockaby** » 18 Aug 2015 5:39 am

Thanks B0B. I'll keep those instructions and give it a try another time. I had my husband take a look, and he wasn't positive the pics I have were the first, but definitely one of the first. I'll send them to Charles to make sure it isn't the one he has, a and he can post them if he doesn't mind. I may have a pic of Bud playing at thone at the ETSGA meeting, the last time he played. If so, I'll send that to Charles too. Thanks.