The Steel Guitar Forum

I live in Australia and Steels are rare here. I need a starter to get me going.
Can anyone please advise me on the following 3 options:
1. 1947 Harlin Brothers "Multi-Kord" 6 String Pedal Steel Guitar 4 pedals.
2. MINT CONDITION "Dekley" USA. 10 String Pedal Steel Guitar. This is a Start-UP Model and is fitted with 3 Foot Pedals and 1 Knee Lever
3. A "Carter Starter"

Have read lots of good reports about the value of the "Carter starter".
I know Dekley are finished so parts may be an issue.
Is the Harlin bros a serious option for simple pedal playing in a gig situation?
6 strings would be enough for now if the machine works well and sounds good.

Any help or feedback greatly appreciated.
regards jeremy

the carter is a good starter guitar, it will have all the basic knee's and pedals, so that when your ready to move up to a pro guitar you'll have all the basic's
go for the carter
gary

Jeremy,

Chances are the Harlin Brothers guitar is shot. Some probably think they are worth something, but the ones I've seen were crude and nearly unusable. I'd go with the Carter Starter as a sure thing.

Jeremy, why not send some emails to Forum members who live in Australia? They may have pro models that they wish to sell or know others willing to sell. Look in the upper right and click on the "Memberlist' Good luck. Hi there Gary, how's it going??? steve t

I would consider the Dekley to a strong contender in this race and advise you to take a good look at the undercarriage of the guitars in question specifically at the pedal and knee lever stops as well as the changer mechanisms with lasting reliability in mind. I would not let the fact Dekleys are no longer being made dissuade you as parts are out there and can be duplicated when necessary.

the Carter Starter is the better of the 3 Jeremy
it's got 4 knee levers !
the others don't
(scratch the Harlin)

are the steels you mention down under or elsewhere ?

Jeremy, look up Aussie steelers here too :

http://www.onlinesteelers.com/countryli ... =Australia

if you want a good student model, i'd recommend ZumSteels Stage 1

http://www.stageonesteelguitars.com/

Thanks a heap for all your input guys!
My gut tells me the Carter is the way to go. ( and most of the advice too!)
The Harlin and Dekley are in Oz, and the Carter I would get shipped over.
Cost wise, the Carter is competitive too, and new.
Will take on all suggestions for Aussie members and websites before I do anything.
There's also a big country music festival in Tamworth, New South Wales next week. I have a few friends scouting there for me as well. Something will come up!
thanks again
regards Jeremy

Be prepared to install nylon wear pads on the KL actuators of the Starter. If you don't, it will 'Waltz across Texas' with you on the floor of the bandstand. It is a fine starter guitar, but will exhibit its shortcomings within a few hours or less. DON'T even think about changing its setup. Despite the fact that the Starter CAN indeed be changed around to suit your needs, you won't be able to change it around to suit your needs unless you are either a machinist or know one. Parts are simply not available to the public at large to allow you to customize the guitar to suit your needs or desires. You must take it and accept it the way it is set up from the factory. Period!!
Grab one of the others and do with it/them what you will. Parts ARE available for those guitars.
PRR

The Dekley could be your best shot - you need to find a steel tech (and I'm sue there are some there) who can add knee levers to get you to the fairly-standard 3-pedal, 4-knee minimum. Otherwise, the Carter would be the way to go, although the ones I've played have been very flimsy (If you were to have a "starter" model shippd in I'd suggest a GFI instead, which you could get through Steel Guitars Nashville - not much more expensive and a far better instrument IMO, plus Bobbe is nice to deal with).

The Multi-Kord is a guitar made for a different era; it's a "chord changer", where you press a pedal to change to a different open chord, giving you multiple lap-steels. The pedal action is long and slow, really not suited for modern playing. If you plan on playing lap steel and want different tunings available quickly they are really fun - but for playing "pedal steel" as it's normally played they are not suitable at all. I have one, and it's great - but not for "pedal steel" playing.

The Carter Starter is already set up for your basic E9 playing with the basics, 3 floor pedals and 4 knee levers, thus you are spared the need to make mechanical changes, just to learn the basics. You should not have to change anything on it---just sit down and start learning your basics. By the time you feel you need to do changes, if you ever do, you should have sold the Starter and upgraded to a pro model anyways. That's why they call them a "Carter Starter", they are ment for a beginner's guitar in the first place. MHO

OR save your money and just buy a pro model guitar. You will still be able to learn all your basics, thus growing into your pro model and the advanced changes it offers.

I am certainly not an authority on this subject, but I will tell you from my experience that I once owned a Dekley 10 string pedal steel with 3 pedals and 1 knee lever and sold it and purchased a pro model guitar (Mullen) and shortly after I wished that I had kept the Dekley. It had less cabinet drop and in my opinion had better tone. I have since sold the Mullen and am currently without a pedal steel. Anyone got a Dekley for sale?