The Steel Guitar Forum

Hi folks-I'm new to the forum, and the pedal steel, but I'm working my way 'round. I've been reding the forum, and don't see Carter's get mentioned that much. I'm thinking seriously about getting one, just wondered what players thought about them.
And Ivan Guernsey builds the BEST resonator guitar in town!

Yes, that is true, but Carroll Benoit builds the best in the world.

Carter Psg's are great steels and in my opinion, as good as any of them out there..

I think you will get responses from a lot of Carter players..

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Jerry Wallace-2001 Zum: D-10,8+6, "98 Zum: D-10,8+8,Nashville 1000,Session 500 ,Session 400 head only amp,Tubefex,ProfexII, Artesia, New Mexico
http://communities.msn.com/jerrywallacemusic http://www.jerrywallacemusic.com

I think everyone that has an opinion should voice it, but this may be best taken care of by E-MAIL. Steve is a great guy and is looking forward to good honest opinions from this forum. Lets not let him down.
Bobbe

I play a Carter and think it is a great guitar. Definately buy one.

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Carter D10 9p/10k
Richard Sinkler

Especially for beginners-you will have a hard time outdoing the value-they build an excellent guitar for the money, and their support is great.

JOhn

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Fulawka D-10 9&5
Mullen Royal Precision D-10 8 & 5
"All in all, looking back, I'd have to say the best advice anyone ever gave me was 'Hands Up, Don't Move!"
www.johnbarnold.com/pedalsteel
www.buddycage.net

Stephen-We can only give you our own individual opinions, and you have to decide for yourself, after trying them out.

That being said, I have had a lot of steel guitars , and I never had a bad one. There was some better than average.

As far as the Carter is concerned , I had a couple of them and liked them. They are lightweight, and played well, and a very good buy for the money.......al

Carter makes a fine product. Al Brisco, Steve Smith (anyone who was in St. Louis in '99 can attest to the tone he got out of his Carter), Mark Van Allen, Bobby Black...just some examples of terrific players who play those guitars. I've spent a fair bit of time examining and playing their guitars, and have enjoyed the way they felt and sounded. There are a lot of great guitars on the market these days, and Carter is one of them for sure. Like John A says, real good value for the money, but beyond that they are just plain good guitars.

Carter makes an excellent guitar at a great price. They excel in after service and customer support. They may not have the market cornered on that but they certainly are far ahead of all the rest.

I don't mind voicing my opinion openly.
Mine is a'97.
It tunes exceptionally well. I still use the original stock pick-up which is an E-66 and it cuts like a knife in the band setting.
I have tried one of the later models and I was even more impressed with the sound.
I am sure there are others just as good...but compare the price tag and the weight.

You have to add the Derby to this list too of great steel guitars. I agree that Carter does alot to promote the steel guitar industry and their guitar is well made and sounds good.Steve you need to try alot of the brands and see which one you like.Buying a steel guitar is like buying anything else you need to try them out.Now there are Derby fans and Emmons fans and Sho-Bud and Franklin and Carter etc...Just go and try out what you like the tone ,feel and quality off.Everyone now makes great guitars and you wont find a LEMON in the bunch.Dont buy a guitar cause your favorite player is playing one, he is not playing YOUR guitar, you are. Buy it for you, not him.You will get a ton of opinions on the forum some good , some not so good!Buy the guitar you like and play it . IT IS THAT SIMPLE!IT IS NOT LIFE OR DEATH!I would buy a double neck ten string with 8 &4 or 8 &5 though.You can always add if you think you really need more changes.My guitar has 8 &5 but my knee levers do double duty, they all work on both necks, just a thought for you.I WOULD'NT HAVE IT ANT OTHER WAY!

2 necks are better than 1.
Budget's the Boss tho'
Try'em before buyin'
and Welcome to zee great Forum Stephen ! <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by CrowBear Schmitt on 22 April 2002 at 12:31 AM.]</p></FONT>

Are you talking about the Carter Starter or there pro level instruments ?

Bob

BTW: I love my Guernsey reso also. Every pro reso player I've bumped into that checked it out tried to get me to sell it to them on the spot !<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bob Hoffnar on 22 April 2002 at 01:00 AM.]</p></FONT>

i guess they are alright but every time I look at the name on front it gives me nightmares of the nasty voise on the telephone at the factory. but im stuck with it until money comes by to get rid of it snd get something better

My friend bought a brand new carter D-10 And when he set it up and started to play it, It walked so far out in front of him, I told him to add wheels to his seat, and follow that sucker, it would save on buying gas for the car.... It was just to light and it wouldnt stay in one place very long.So he sold it .. There has to be some weight to them or this is what happens.....
Billy.......

I agree with Mike, I have a Carter, I was delighted with the before sale and after sales service and the staff at Carters are always willing to listen and advise. If possible try as many makes as possible, personal choice rules.

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Ron (Chippy) Wood
Carter S10/Pad

Stephen, I sent you an EMAIL, call me. I play a Carter and really like it. I have a very fine friend here on the Forum who doesn't really care for Carters but he is still my best Forum friend . He's gonna have to come to my house and steal all my 3 cats for me to really get mad at him ! There are so many fine guitars out there and you can't go wrong with anyone of them. I beleve most important is getting a guitar with at least 4 and probably 5 knee levers.
tp
TPrior/SteelGuitarHomesite

I play 2 Carter U12 guitars and love them. I guess I'm just a cave man but I think they sound every bit as good as my old Sho Bud D10 Professional.

A lot of folks think it's the guitar and or the electronics that make the tone. I'm from the camp it's the hands, i.e. Buddy Emmons, Huey, Rugg et. al. will sound great on a Push Pull, Carter, Sierra, Sho Bud, Marlin, Fesse, Fulakwa, Williams, Zum whatever. Fact is you typically can't tell what a player's tone is on a recording as the engineer has added a bunch of stuff before it makes the mix.

Finally the Carter is light! If you plan on gigging this is a huge advantage. Also the customer support is great!<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Robert Todd on 22 April 2002 at 07:35 AM.]</p></FONT>

I think Rusty really gave some great advice. I'd like to add my own two cents.

I agree that there are a lot of really good steels being made today, and a lot of great bargains for used steel guitars.

Now, consider these two facts:

1. Your first steel will probably not be your last, and...

2. New steel guitars lose a lot of value the minute you buy them. You can confirm this yourself just by looking at the buy and sell on the forum.

I think it makes most sense to buy a new steel when you are sure it's the brand you want and/or you need an unusual setup that doesn't come up often on used steels.

For somebody starting out, I think the best option is to buy a good name steel that is just a few years old with a reasonable setup (e.g. D10 8&4 or 8&5). It's best to be able to see it in person before you buy it, but if you can't, make sure you have a lot of good quality photos and make sure you can return it if it's not what you expect.

Now, the downside of buying something used is that there are unscrupulous people out there who might try to rip you off. You can eliminate that risk by buying from a reputable dealer of used steels -- there's a long list under the links section of the forum. Other forumites can vouch for their integrity.

But, if you don't feel confident about going the used route, then by all means, the Carter is a good choice from a reputable company. And you might just find that it's a steel that you'll never want to sell. (You wouldn't be the first)

B.Jenkins- I'd liked to say that your friend must have been pretty rough on that guitar. I am sure that is not the norm..

I have found the Carter to be very stable for it's weight. And also still reasonable price, compared to a lot of others.

The tone with the Bill Lawrence 712 is very good, so you don't need a lot of weight to make a good sounding guitar.

The Carter, Excel, Williams, and GFI are all examples of good lightweight guitars.

When a player is young , Weight is not even considered.
I used to carry around a 95lbs D12 MSA for years, with 10 Pedals and 7 knee levers. I found out that you don't need all that to play good music. And it is a lot easier on your Back!.....al