The Steel Guitar Forum

Wondering about getting a lite weight steel.How does the carter starter stackup?

If you can find one, an MSA Millennium is pretty light, and sounds great. The MSA Studio Pro is just a little heavier, and sounds just as good.

The Jackson BlackJack Custom is a lightweight steel with a wonderful sound!

Brett

Jerry,

Here is what I have gathered from reading the forums. The Carter Starter is generally not considered a quality instrument. If you search it here you can read details, but it is usually not recommended.

Base on past posts, you are clearly knowledgeable about the pedal steel, so I won't bore you with a beginners lecture. I will, however, make a plug for Doug Earnest's steels: I own a Stage One, and it is a superb guitar, limited only by the fixed coped. If a friend were shopping today for a light single neck, I would advise him to look at Doug's new model (designed by Bruce Z), the Encore, that puts a pro changer on a Stage One body with no frills, just excellent tone.

Others to look at, but which I have no experience with, would be East Texas Steels, Legend, Mullen's Discovery, Justice Pro-Lite, Simmons, and no doubt others.

In the end, however, I can not imagine getting more "bang for the buck" than with Doug Earnest's Stage One and Encore instruments.

Good luck!

GFI, CARTER Pro, MSA Millie or Jackson would be my choices.

If you want a good pedal steel that sounds good, is playable and keeps your cost down, you might want to consider a Justice S10~3x4. You can check out my thread on this guitar at: http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=232318

Lakeshark,
Give me a call on this. I've just discovered the new ETS light weight and it's "feenomanal".
I like it so much that I also have just become a dealer for them.
Light,(22 lbs) but very steady, with balls to the wall sound and sustain.
BB
281-856-9453

I would second what Douglas said about the Stage One. In August, I brought one back to Beijing and am so pleased I did. It is the model where you can't change the copedant (though some Forum members have managed to do that). The price for the quality is amazing. Plus, a person can get a lot of music out of a 3 & 4 setup. It stays in tune, has short firm stops, sounds good, and I have not broken a string yet the past 4 months. 42 lbs. in a solid wooden case.
I aim to get another with the changeable copedant next summer. steve t

I would personally find a mid-1970's ShoBud Pro I. Personally. I would.

I have to admit, that is the first time I've ever heard a Sho-Bud called light weight

I can attest to the very light weight of Doug Ernest's Stage One, which also comes with a nice case. Mechanically, this thing is holding up to the rigors of a new player and stays in tune very well. I am fine with the 3-4 set up, but for a few bucks more, Doug's Encore looks just as sweet of a deal with the aforementioned pro changer, new keyhead
design, thicker neck and various other sundries. I really like the sound of Doug's pickup design and he is easy to work with. The sound is very full, and up high on the neck I can get a real sweet chime that is comprable to much more expensive guitars. This is a great time to be a player with so many builders considering the "fly-weight" market.

Hey Jerry!
There is an easier (and less expensive) way to lighten your load. Most of the lightweight S-10's are still around 40 lbs. with their case.
My old Emmons D-10's (and yours) are only 30 lbs. That's figuring the body itself though.
So I carry that seperate in a fully padded gig bag which adds nothing to the weight.
The legs, pedal rack, & rods are in a wooden case that I put together (12 lbs).
Something to consider...and you don't have to sacrifice the C6th neck!

How much do you want to spend?

I agree with, Douglas, Steve and Daniel. I've had my Stage One for sometime now, its a sweetheart, I play it almost every weekend on my gigs as well. I did however put my name in for the new encore just to get a vertical lever and one more floor pedal. Stage one has 3x4 usually could be plenty enough though.

I have a Stage One and an ETS. Both superb and light weight. My ETS is set up as C6 and has 4 pedals and 5 knees and weighs 26 lbs. out of the case and about 42 lbs. in the case. The Stage One 3X4 is an outstanding little steel that weighs 22 lbs. Both steels can be set up in about 2 minutes. They both stay in tune and play as smooth as glass and sound wonderful.

My choice would be ETS or The Justice Pro Lite. Both are great guitars, sound and play like pro guitar.

I really don't know about any of the light ones, other than to say I've heard good things about the cheap Zum. I don't recall the name of the modal, but it's the first cheap one they came out with, and still have in the line. I understand they have another, a little more expensive, coming out soon. Michael Douchette plays one of the cheap ones, I think, and it does sound good. You might look him up on the forum, and ask him about it. He likes it because it is so light, and he plays it on the pro circuit.

Bill

Bill, you seem to be referring to the Stage One that has been discussed above (and the new "Stage Two").

Again depending on how much you want to spend (most seem to be assuming that the quest here is for an "inexpensive" model, while the OP only asked for "best-sounding light weight"), Williams is another contender (gorgeous (single color) lacquer finishes for no upcharge). My Williams SD-10 weighs the same as my GFI Ultra (GFI, too, has only been mentioned once...).

The ETS is a remarkable sounding guitar. Even the guitar player noticed!

I really like my Mullen Discovery. It is light enough to carry onto a plane and will fit in the overhead compartment in the case. It has wonderful sound and playability, and it is very stable, even being lighter in weight. I'm sure there are other great choices, but that is the one I'm familiar with.
Jake

Fred Glave wrote:I have a Stage One and an ETS. Both steels can be set up in about 2 minutes.

Really....2 minutes? What makes them such a quick set up (compared to any other steel)?

My ETS sounds and plays great. Larry Agan and Bud Carter have done a fine job producing this new lightweight guitar.

Setup is pretty standard, 4 screw-in legs, pedal bar with sliding leg clamps, 3 pedal rods, and flip it over. But I'd need a pit crew to do in 2 minutes! Maybe 3 on good day?

Okay, I tend to exagurate a little. But from where I was before, setting up a lightweight single neck compared to a heavy D10, it sure feels like 2 minutes, especially with the way these 2 steels stay in tune. Next time I get the opportunity I'll have someone time me, but I can say with certainty that it is pretty DG quick.

Fred I'm with you. I'm 71 years old and I can get mine up in less than 2 minutes. I have however learned how to screw 2 legs on L/R one in my left hand one in my right hand at the same time.

Excel with a BL710 pu, 40 lbs in case, Larry