The Steel Guitar Forum

What is it about the Carter Starter that
so many people out-grow it so quickly !?

Ed...Purchasing a Carter Starter, as in any beginner instrument be it guitar, banjo, etc., you are purchasing a unit that been manufactured as inexpensively as possible in order to attract novice players. Due to these manufacturing shortcuts, certain instruments have inherent limitations which some serious students may feel are inhibiting their progress and therefore, may soon seek to upgrade to a more professional grade unit.

David, I don't think that could have been stated any better.

Yes, of course. Thank you. But what is it spesifically in this case ? Or are the flaws too numerous to mention ?

Ed... I wouldnt' call them flaws. The Carter Starter is intended for someone new to this great instrument that can't afford / or doesn't want to invest $4,000.00 for a sweet D-10 until they find out if they do have the desire and talent to play the steel. It's just a smaller investment until you find out for sure if your gonna hang with it. Thats why they named it the Carter "Starter". I've played one.. no, it's not my Mullen D-10 but it's exactly what it was designed for. Good Luck

I've traveled what I expect is a well traveled path that started with guitar, went to dobro, and now has gone to pedal steel. I found a used Carter Starter very cheap a couple of weeks ago and bought it knowing that it was not a professional instrument and had limitations. It's how I've always bought instruments that I wanted try out. I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with PSG and I can see that I have a lot to learn before I outgrow my Carter Starter, but I am certainly checking out the classifieds for something better..... uh... eventually.

the one drawback that has been discussed here at length is the F lever that butts up against a screw head. It's real easy to strip the lever away, leading to an inexact sound and feel. several practical solutions have been posted here

the carter starter is just fine for learning l.h. and r.h. technique, imho
are there better options for a first steel? maybe, but the starter served me well for a good while ... back when other options for student models were very limited

Ed,
You might peruse this thread to get an idea of what you may encounter and ways to fix them.

Clete

I had one a few years back, the first time I was gonna take up learning steel. I didn't really like it. It wasn't bad... just seemed kinda cheap, so I returned it. I bought another used psg on eBay, which was better quality for the money spent, IMO.

I have a friend who has a Starter, & has had it for a couple years. Sure, he'd like a nicer psg, but he seems satisfied with the Starter... for now.

When I got my Emmons student model, I was impressed by the quality. Student, schmudent, this thing has tone & is really a quality instrument.
But, the Starter has more knee levers, right outta the box.

Just my 1 1/2 cents... FWIW

rd

One reason beginners move on from their first steel is 'The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side' syndrome.

They think that their playing limitations are caused by the steel, when in fact it is their inexperience that is the main culprit.

I started with a Starter, and it served me well for two years (even gigged with it for a while) before I moved on to a 'pro' model. I think it served its purpose quite well; as others have stated, it's a cheap way to get your feet wet and see if you're going to get serious about steel. Kind of like buying a cheap Strat copy to learn on. Once I figured out what I was missing, I was ready to move on up.

Same here Bryan. Started on a Starter in 05'. My first electric guitar was a sunburst Carlo Robelli strat copy in '76

richard,
Yes! Its like blaming your tennis game on a bad raquet.
I dont have golf clubs, so I always blame my game on the rentals once a year.

Clete

I'm another who started with a Carter Starter, because of the low entry price point and number of knees. I actually asked the wife to get it for me for Christmas and it made a great "under the tree big gift". It came with everything needed and everything worked well, except for the useless vinyl tote bag.

I worked on it for a few months and then moved on, but could have easily kept it. I sold it to help finance my next steel. In hindsight .. I should have kept it as a spare guitar to leave at rehearsal spots, etc. It did everything an E9 guitar should do, except you can't make any changes to the setup (which is totally unecessary for beginners). I was able to gig with it and it sounded and performed great.

They can be had used on ebay for $400 range .. a very low investment for those testing the waters.

I started with a SHO-Bud Maverick and played it for awhile but couldn't keep in tune and had tonal problems but it was a way to start. It all depends on how you want to start. If money is no problem start with the best you can afford.

Ed Altrichter wrote:Yes, of course. Thank you. But what is it spesifically in this case ? Or are the flaws too numerous to mention ?

I started with a Carter Starter. It's an o.k. guitar to learn on.

I thought it sounded o.k. and the 3 pedals, 4 knee levers will be enough to keep you busy for a quite a while.

To answer your question about the "flaws":

-LKR knee lever has a long travel. It's not very fast.

-The tuning keys are not good at all

-The guitar moves when you play it

-When you do discover changes that you like, you won't be able to change the setup.


IMO, these days there are better guitars to start on for close to the same price as a new Carter Starter.

Rick

I got my Carter Starter a little over a year ago. After 3 months of practicing hard, found a band that would put up with my PSG playing and I gig with the CS most weekends. I got a Carter D10 a couple of months ago which I took out to the gig once so far, and that was mostly to show it off. Sure the D10 is much smoother mechanically but I'll continue to gig with the CS until I learn to play C6. It's good enough (for me)at this point in my PSG career. The main limitations with the CS are (as mentioned before) flimsy knee levers and my biggest gripe is the cheap tuners. They have a fair amount of slop but once I tune it, it stays and plays in tune well. If I keep the CS long term I'll probably replace the tuners.

Ed, at the top of the screen, do you see that little word Search under "The Steel Guitar Forum"?

Type in Carter Starter and you'll find that over the years it's been the most talked about topic on the Forum. Just read through what's already been said over and over again. No need to repeat it all here.

FWIW, I am as green as they come and just made my first purchase of a PSG(well, second.. I had an MSA a while back that never got used because I got put on deployment!)

I tried a Carter Starter and did not like it at all. It felt cheap, rather "mickey mouse" and hearing someone else play it beside other PSGs, the tone wasn't so great.

anyway, I ended up with a brand new GFI Expo S-10, and I love it so much... very well built, sounds amazing...


and the best thing, I don't think I will ever *have* to upgrade. I am a poor southern boy, so I am a big believer in buying once.

Chances are you will in time. We all do. Have fun with PSG

When I decided to buy a PSG I did some research on the pros and cons of student models, and most of the info I found suggested that I go with a used professional quality guitar.

I bought a Carter Starter when they first came out. Having played non-pedal for 40 years I decided it was time to try out pedals. (Yes, I am that slow. I didn't start the Procrastination Workshop for nothing. )
Anyway, it was a disaster, and after a few months I boxed it up and bought a Sho-Bud Crossover. The difference was amazing. The lesson is obvious: get yourself a decent instrument or you're at a disadvantage to everyone else right from the start.

I just got my first PSG last week, yup, a carter starter. Now I get to become familiar with pedals , levers, tunings, chords, single note passages and more importantly my right had technique. Since I'm a beginner on a budget, it is more than enough instrument for me.

spend your time practicing and it'll do you just fine...when it's time, you'll move on, but there's lot's to be learned first...until you can make the string grips, play smooth rolls, block single notes, etc, the best guitar in the world isn't going to make you sound spectacular...I have GAS (guitar acquisition syndrome) as bad as the next guy, but I know I need a lot of practice a lot more than a better guitar (can't stop looking, though!)
keep at it and good luck!

I was going to answer but decided Id be better off to keep my thoughts to myself since about anyone that knows me what my input would be.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...When you dissect it...You should see....a duck