Carter Body Contact Technology

[Justin Shaw]

I have been looking up which Carter steels have BCT, and I found that some people say that every Carter steel after July 1998 has BCT, unless it's a Carter Starter

(from https://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/006163.html).

But other places I've heard people say that it was still optional for a while before it became standard.

So is there an agreed upon date after which you can be SURE that a Carter has BCT?

[Jerry Overstreet]

See this thread which reinforces Jon's comment in the older thread:

Chris Allen Burke wrote:
George,
In the persuit of correctness, the BCT feature has been a part of the manufacturing on all guitars starting in '02. And It was offerd as an upgrade just before that.
I have several Carter guitars, '99 - '06 and I don't hear a great difference relating to the "BCT". I do hear a difference relating to PU's, and overall quality of assembly.

Hi Chris,

The reason you don't here any difference between your Carters is probably due to the fact that BCT was implemented in late July of 1998. Glad you're enjoying your Carters. Smile

and there's this:

so does this have it? serial number is 90958803-20

Dennis, your guitar has BCT.

Serial numbers lower than 90658199-20 were not originally equipped, but for those older models it was possible to send the guitar to Carter and have BCT added.

There is a Carter serial number chart but there is no designation for date or serial # indicating BCT that I'm aware of.

[Jon Light]

......which reinforces Jon's comment in the older thread:

ugh. It is possible that I stated that with such 'authority' because John Fabian had specifically said that to me. But I no longer have any recollection of that and therefor I cannot stand behind it.

[Jerry Overstreet]

The quote in bold in my previous reply was made by John Fabian and taken directly from the older closed post.

This should absolve Jon from any liability.

[Justin Shaw]

You can see why I'm confused. Just because it was ``implemented'' in July of 1998 doesn't mean it was standard in every Carter after that. In the quote from Allen Burke, he is saying that in 1998 it became an option, and then in 2002 became standard.

So John Fabian is definitely correct, then? Starting after July of 1998 BCT was standard in every Carter that wasn't a Carter Starter?

Sorry I can't seem to confirm this info anywhere, and if we make a thread with a definite answer it'll save everyone from having to look it up every time a Carter changes hands.

[Howard Parker]

Well, John held the title of "President" so, I for one would take the statement at face value and not try to read between the lines.

03' owner

[Jerry Overstreet]

Sorry, I have no first hand knowledge on the subject. I was just posting quotes on what I have read. I would delete my comments if it weren't for interrupting the continuity of the thread.

[Justin Shaw]

Well, John held the title of "President" so, I for one would take the statement at face value and not try to read between the lines.

03' owner

Oh OK I didn't realize that, I think that's the best we are going to get. I just wish we knew if it was standard starting then, or it was still an option.

Thanks everybody!

[Jerry Overstreet]

It was an oversight not to have identified John Fabian as the Carter head man. Sometimes those of us that have been around here a long time assume.

John passed away in 2010...probably many members joining in the past few years do not know the Carter history and/or the people involved.

[Tucker Jackson]

Hopefully, this sheds light. A post from Carter's Ann Fabian announcing the rollout of BCT:


"...BCT has been built into Carters since late-July 1998."

"...Carters with either Serial Numbers lower than 90658199-20 or received before July 1998 can be UpGraded with this new BCT Technology."

Seems pretty definitive that all Carter pro models after the serial number listed above have BCT. Otherwise, there would have been no point in specifying a serial number. Said another way, guitars with a higher serial number were not listed as being eligible for upgrade -- because they already have BCT.

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtop ... 3d37dd9f2e

Also, you have to know how to read the serial number because they're not in obvious sequence. We're talking Carter pro models here which were produced from 1992-2010, rather than Starters or Magnums, which have a different serial number scheme.

For example, one would think that something that starts off with a bunch of '9's in it, like 99997365-20 would surely be after the point they starting building in BCT. But it's not; that example is actually an earlier guitar, from 1997.

First you have to look at digit 1 and digit 5, which specifies the year. You can see in the example, that 9 and 7 are a 1997 guitar. That guitar didn't leave the factory with BCT, but it might have been added later if the owner sent it back to Carter to have it installed.

Digits 2,3 and 4 are the sequence number of the guitar built that year. In the example, the 999th one built that year.

Digits 6,7, and 8 are the day of the year it was built -- day 365 is Dec 31st.

The two digits after the hyphen are the format of the guitar, like xxxxxxx-10 is an S10,
-20 is a D10
-30 is an SD-10
-12 is a S-12
-22 is a D-12
-32 is an SD-12
-00 is Experimental
-xx+4 is a lacquer finish
-8xx is an LE model

[Justin Shaw]

Excellent Tucker, thank you. Hopefully everyone from now on will be able to find a clear answer when they google it!