The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi I was just wondering about peoples opinion of Carter Guitars. I am going to upgrade the Ol' Maverick to a pro steel. Any opinions or pro's & cons are welcome. What would you recommend ?

Carter is a great steel... like almost all modern brands..... just to be fair! hard to find a better steel for the price!!!!!

Hi Karey, All I have is praise for my Carter Universal and all Carters in general. They are totally reliable. The mechanics are brilliant, and the tone is good. The benefit is that they are light. I've been playing steel since 1970 and have had most of the other makes. Most of the modern makers are on a par. The good thing with Carters is that it's not a long wait to get a new one, and remember the man behind the design...the great Bud Carter. He's a great player and designer...look at his past guitars MSA, MCI etc...all good machines. "Some" people seem against Carters without even trying one just because they are not as expensive as others. That seems to me to be a snob way of looking at things. Most of the bits are made out shop at other establishments, but obviously to Bud's exact specifications. There are some great Carter players around...Take Ted Solesky from Texas, quite an unsung hero where "BIG" names are concerned but an awesome player. He will only play Carters. For the buck or pound in my case they are amazing guitars.

Micky Byrne United Kingdon

www.micky-byrne.co.uk

Like Mickey I've had sho - buds/ Emmons/ ZB/ home made but my Carter is the best guitar that I've owned. As soon as I get the prognosis on my condition and assuming it's good I will be ordering a new Carter to celebrate - fingers crossed!

James, fingers crossed indeed, we've both been through the mill and are still here, and still picking. Is that a positive attitude or what? We both go back a long ways. Keep me informed, I'll let you know the next time I get to Harefield hospital for my check up and perhaps call in to see you on route back to Essex. Take care mate.

Micky Byrne United Kingdom

I have had my D10 since 1996, before that I used MSA.
My works just like it did new. Love the sound and have been complimented on tone by several other players. I agree that there is a "snobbish" attituded towards the name of a guitar.

I bought a magnificent (second-hand) custom shop Carter D10 October direct from Carter last year and I am delighted with it.

Superbly engineered, a delight to the eye and ear, and very easy to change the copedent as well. Ann and John Fabian at Carter have been very attentive and helpful. A good company and great folks to deal with.

Would I buy another Carter? - YES!

My Carter d-10 is one of the best purchases i,ve ever made.

About the name snobbery thing---hey, just don't go around acting high & mighty about having Bud Carter's name on your guitar and nobody will get bent. But you'd be justified.

Long list of positives, from sound to playability to adjustability to reliability.....and if customer support is meaningful to you, buy a guitar from them and you are covered. And for cool gimmicks, go to their website and choose your options, make your guitar and see it! So unnecessary. So cool. I love it.
Congrats on moving up from the Maverick. You will be so happy.

disclaimer: I have several guitars including a Carter. Each is unique and each has its own reason to exist (and be in my arsenal).

Karey, I'll have to echo the remarks that have been made so far, the Carter is a great steel at a great price, and their customer support is second to none. Go for it.

I have yet to find anybody who does not like my S12U. IMHO, I got a lot of bang for my buck.

I love mine. I recently borrowed a 68 Twin Reverb and it sounds amazing through it.

I love my S-10! Great steel at a great price!

I bought a new D-10 last October and am really impressed with it. I have no complaints. Plus there's a ton of information about the instrument on the Carter website.

You may always find a guitar you like better than an other for x-reason, but in every case you will never be wrong with a Carter. Not just the most bang for the buck, but an excellent company which stands behind a consistent product.

I had two, only thing I may ever have regretted was selling them.


... J-D.

I just recently bought a Carter. It was my first pedal steel after years of playing non pedal. I'm still stumbling around on the pedals. And not having had another pedal steel, I have nothing to compare it to. But it is a serviceable machine. It is half the price of most other guitars I looked at. 5 pedals and 4 knee levers weigh 45 pounds in the case. The website is a goldmine of information. I'm very happy with the tone. And I found Anne Fabian of the sales department to be very charming and a pleasure to do business with. I have nothing bad to say about Carter.

I've had two Carters. Will probably buy another one.
Stays in tune forever, sounds very good, has very good sustain, a joy to play and easy to haul around. What is there not to like about them?

I'm on my 3rd Carter D10, the current one is an 04 9+8, there are many fine Steels out there, this is certainly one of the best in my opinion.

reliable
rugged
just plain consistent

I don't tear mine down, I transport it in my van setup. No issues, never. Stays in tune, stays together !

good luck

t

I Heard Tommy Detamore Play his D-10 Carter Through his 1972 Fender Twin and It Sounded Awesome!

Last year about this time I visited John at the Carter shop in Dallas. Ordered a new red U-12. They promised it in something like 4 months and it came in 2 months! John & Anne are real easy to work with and as honest as they come. The case for mine was not correctly made & they shipped another one and paid the shipping on the original one back to the factory. It's a great guitar. I also get to play a Carter D-10 at our rehearsal studio that is not mine. Never changed or broke a string and stays in tune all the time. Mine is the same. Buy one, you won't regret it.

Since switching from 10str E9 (on an old Sho-Bud) to 12str XE9 I have played:
1) a '73 MSA (5 + 4, white woodgrain mica) good guitar, but heavy, the single coil sounds great but hums and aftermarket pickups won't fit
2) a '83 Sho-Bud (8 + 5, red laquer) never quite had the sound of my round front s-10, lacking in bite or something, and always felt kind of stiff
3) a '?? Fessenden (7+5, red woodgrain mica) good sound, nice and bright, easy to work on and the best vertical KL ergonomics, but I didn't stick with it
and I am finally happy with:
4) a '95 Carter (7+5, black mica) plays great, sounds great, and feels like home, (except for the vertical KL ergonomics are a bit awkward)

I have been a long time Emmons push pull guitar player and quite honestly I will never sell that guitar because it has tone that I cannot duplicate with any other guitar. But you know what,I have tried just about every all pull guitar and the Carter I also have(with Truetone pickups) has tone which I find really works for me. I like it so much that I used it exclusively on my new cd which I recently finished.I never thought once about bringing in my old faithful pull pull pal and I think that says a lot!!

They're excellent and rock solid. I have two now and no plans to part with either one.

I really appreciate all the comments. I too have talked with Ann and she seems like a very nice person ! The guy that played steel with me for years used Carter guitars. He told me I could'nt go wrong with one.Sorry to say he was in an accident and will probably never be able to play again, so I recruited my brother to front and I am gonna try to double on guitar and steel. I have had a Maverick for about 6 months. I find it has a hard time staying in tune and I have outgrown only one knee lever. thanks to all you guys positive feedback I will call Ann And get one ordered. One more thing D10 or S10 or SD10 ?Thanks again for all the info !!