The Steel Guitar Forum

I tried PS awhile back and figured i didn't have enough time left to give it the attention it deserves and demands. I had a nice Fessenden S10 worked over by Tom Bradshaw and it was sweet but......alas I sold it. there's a Carter starter set with everything you need on fleabay I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on at about $600 with a lot of extras. Then if I feel like I get some real music going I'd step up some. I would sure appreciate some input from you folks. With best regards, Larry Otis

Good

Good

The Starter is a great place to begin, despite what some of the snobs on this Forum have to say to the contrary.

I have a GFI Ultra D10 but we spend 4 months living in a trailer in PA during the summer and the GFI is just too big for the trailer so I have a Carter Starter just for that purpose. I like it fine. It's tone is very good and it stays in tune so well. The only downside with it is the long travel of left knee right (lowering the E's) that I have not as yet solved. You cannot change the pedal/knee lever arrangement but hey for $600-700 it is a fine guitar.

It will stay in tune very well, the pickup sounds pretty decent & it is very light-weight.

I had a Carter Starter & everytime I move my heavier steels around...I wish I still had it!!! I think it weighed in at 26lbs...it's a very portable steel & it would be great if you were tkaing it back & forth between lessons or something.

Casey

GOOD! I have never seen anything with the Carter name that was not good. Bud's name don't go on junk.
Jerry

I came close to buyin a Carter Starter several years ago when I got back into Pedal Steel but I knew I was gonna really stick with it this time and opted to wait a little longer and wound up buyin a Carter D-10 instead. Awesome guitars for sure!

Andy, as is the Magnum. I am currently playing a D10 Magnum sharing about equal time with Emmons and I love both the Magnum and the Emmons. I would strongly recommend the Carter Starter as a first guitar but if cost is not a factor you can't go wrong with a Carter or Magnum in my opinion.
Jerry

Thank you all. I'm sold. Regards, Larry Otis

I had a Carter-Starter as well. You can go wrong for the money

Brandon

I am one of the snobs who said unkind things & raised a few hackles when I made some foolish comments re a C.S in a local music store. As fate would have it I am giving lessons to the gent who bought it. Other than the problem Ben mentioned re lowering the E's it is easy to transport & tune,& the tone is just fine. Again my apologies to ALL offended parties. Billy Lee Fraser

Funny this would come up. I just ordered the hard shell case for my Starter, and It should be here tomorrow. Even though I now have a GFI D-10, the Starter is gonna fit much better on the packed church stage as well as be easier to carry in.
As a long-time guitar player, I equate it with my Epiphone Emperor: Inexpensive compared to an equivalant classic Gibson, but NOT "cheap" by any means.

As Bill Parsons once said...

Buy you a gitar, and put it in tune.
You'll be a rockin' and a rollin' soon!

The CS is probably the cheapest way to find out if you're going to have the dedication it takes to be a player.

The only concern I have for you, Larry, is you said you had a Fessy.

Don't expect the CS to be the same quality as the Fessy, or you'll be disappointed. A Pro Carter is on par with a Fessy.

The CS is a third the price, and an excellent value.

I've been checking out that new Jackson Blackjack. That would be my choice for an entry level "priced" guitar. The guitar looks like a pro model to me and it's upgradeable. The underside looks better than the CS. What I mean is the linkage looks stronger. I hear that it's light. Maybe not to light that it's a problem being stable. Anyway, I would at least check this guitar out for a first guitar.

True, but there's a big price difference once you add the KLs.

It's more of a pro model. Jackson's web site even calls it a "professional grade guitar "

Donny:

That Bill Parsons was really Bobby Bare.

Larry i would try to find a used ''pro'' guitar before buying a student model that you will sell soon after you learn more about pedal steel guitar ! G.P.

The Magnum Is Great I Have One. SONNY.

Larry, do a "search" on this topic because it comes up about once a month...

I just got a good stock of CS hard cases in yesterday. May have a few of these great little guitars left also,


Bobbe
SteelGuitar Nashville

You obviously don,t know Bud Carter's reputation in the steel guitar business.

The CS are a great entry into steel, affordable, and keep their value resonably well when you want to upgrade. Kudos to Carter for making these available- I'll bet in a few years we'll see a number of pros who started on these guitars.

Apart from the long knee throw mentioned, one thing I've seen on every one of these that my students bring in- one of the knee levers uses a round head phillips screw as the body stop- and with the little bit of slop in the knee lever, the end of the lever can slip off the screw to one side or the other, pulling the change too far, and eventually bending the lever or bracket. Beginners can't tell if it's the guitar, or them.
I always take out that screw and replace it with a small piece of flat aluminum, so the lever can't slip. I think that needs to be done on every one of these.

Mark van Allen wrote:I always take out that screw and replace it with a small piece of flat aluminum, so the lever can't slip. I think that needs to be done on every one of these.

Thanks, Mark. Great advice--should be forwarded to Carter. That phillips head screw stop is a bad idea they ought to do away with. Absolute worst feature of the Starter.