Carter Starter?

[Kevin Quick]

Looking around for someone starting out. He saw one a these for sale. I've never seen one so couldn't give an opinion. Are they any good?

[Larry Jamieson]

They are OK, they function but are not the greatest. The knee levers
require more movement and sometimes do not have a good feeling stop point when engaged. If this is what one can afford, you can start learning on one. I had a student who had a Carter Starter. Within a year he wanted a better guitar and did move up to a pro level instrument.

[Donny Hinson]

The knee lever stop problem is easily fixed. I think it's a decent option for a beginner, and it should be good for at least several years of learning. At $650-$750, it's probably an okay-buy. But at the $800+ I've seen some selling for, there may be better options (if you're willing to wait, and have cash).

Here's a video of Terry Crisp playing one, and it shows that the guitar is a lot better and more capable than most players give it credit for:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT1TvjnlYHM

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[Sean Borton]

There are two generations of starters... the original ones had 1 adjustable leg and the LKL lever problem people speak of. The later generation had two adjustable legs, and the LKL problem did not exist any longer.

I got one of the later generations and it's been great, but I did have to add some L Brackets from home depot to create some hard stops. I also put in an George L Pickup because I prefer a humbucker over the single coil, but that's preference.

It's not a great build, but the guitar stays in tune, plays well & sounds good. It's not very adjustable, but it is logically setup, especially for a beginner to intermediate player.

Just my 2 cents.

[Bob Sykes]

+1 on the George L pup. I have been playing my Starter almost 10 years. It's not the weak link in my playing.