The Steel Guitar Forum

I have been playing a Carter Starter for awhile now and there are some things that I do not like about the guitar. I was wondering if other Carter Starter players have found ways to improve on the instrument.

The tone is my biggest complaint. A friend of mine has a Emmons that he plays through a Nashville 400 and a Boss delay. Playing his guitar I almost sound good. Not as good has him but not bad. playing the Carter Starter through his rig, there is a laughable difference. This not an instrument that I would ever play out with.

Has anyone tried replacing the pickup or have found other way to improve the sound?

The next complaint is the LKR. It travels 4 times as far as the other knee lever and there is no adjustment for the travel. This is the way it was designed and built. I am starting to get use to it, by anticipating that lever early so I can get there on time, but I am afraid that I am learning bad habits.

Finally, the surface of the pedals are made out of smooth aluminum. I am having trouble keeping my foot from sliding off the pedal when I am rocking from the A pedal to the B pedal.

This has nothing to do with the people that make and sell the Carter, they have always been helpful and friendly, and I understand that there pro models are good guitars.


I think I know the answer, I just need to start saving up for a better guitar.

Thanks

Steve

Can't help you with the knee lever I'm afraid, but, I would have a think about glueing some emery paper (for smoothing down metal)to the top of the pedals or an alternative grip material (Bobbe Seymour)has a similar aircraft grip material fixed to the legs of his guitar to enable him to tighten the legs when he's on the stage.

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Ron (Chippy) Wood
Carter S10/Pad

I'm surprised there is no adjustment on the knee lever travel? Are you sure? & have you
talked with Bud or John and have they confirmed that there in fact is no adjustment for that knee??? Putting the rod in a different hole on the bell crank will change the travel (& the action!) & tho I have never examined a Carter starter, there are usually at least 2 holes in the changer fingers on a steel & putting the rod in a different hole there also will change the travel & the action. Maurice explained that to me way back about my first MSA! Whenever that was?? Early '70s? Maybe

On the CS I looked at the knee lever stop was a screw that goes directly into the bottom of the body.
The top surface of the knee lever hits the screw when fully enguaged.

<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Pete Burak on 18 August 2002 at 12:46 PM.]</p></FONT>

I did talk to John about the knee lever travel. He said that because of the way it was designed that that was just the way it was. I think that was one of compromises they made to help to keep the cost down.

Chippy

I was thinking the same thing. There must be some kind of material that is applied to a surface when traction is important. Maybe something at Home Depot?

Steve

Steve, I might have a solution for the slick pedals. At boat dealers, they sell a rubber (not emory) self adhesive black non-skid material to put on boats to prevent falls. It comes 4" wide and I have used it in a lot of miscellaneous places. I think it would work great and look sharp too.

Steve,

I added self adhesive non-slip material to my pedals, works fine. I think I picked it up at Home Depot or Lowes. Just cut it to size, peel and stick. The knee lever is not adjustable. Mine sounds fine, I play it through a Nashville 400 w/ peavey mod. I also have a Nashville 1000, but the Carter sounds better through the 400.

Recently purchased a new Emmons LeGrande II, of course it plays and sounds better than the Carter Starter..BUT it cost almost 5 times as much. I have gigged my CS, I like it's portability and small size, and it sounds fine with the band. For the money the CS is a fantastic guitar.

Regards, Patrick

Steve, I'm sure someone with a little mechanical aptitude could shorten the knee lever travel. I play with rubber, or foam-soled shoes, so that would take care of any "slipping". As far as the sound goes, no...it's not a $4,000 Emmons, but it's certainly adequate to learn the instrument. It's an "entry level" steel, and anyone who "stays with it" is expected to graduate to a finer instrument...maybe you've reached that point. I have played many steels that are far worse, and there was a time I'd have sold my soul for anything as good as a Carter Starter.

Sounds like you've "outgrown" this entry-level instrument.

It did it's job getting you "started", now it's time to move up.

I'd advise you not to modify it. That will not help it's resale value, and it was not designed for that. Save any $ you want to spend on mods, for a pro-level guitar.

Carter makes fine pro-level guitars, as do many others.

I do not remember the name of this stuff, but it is available at home depot. It has a peel off sticky back and a gravel like non slip material in the front. You can cut it with scissors to fit the pedal. ( I did this years ago on a steel due to the slippage problem you mentioned) Hope this helps

Steve,
I also own a Carter Starter. I called John Fabian about the LKL travel problem. He suggestes that I back the screw out a bit. That helped. However it still is'nt a dead stop. As far as the Pick up goes I fully understand your frustration. I started
with a Peavey Blazer 158 practice amp.I even called Mr. Lawrence about the Pick up. This pick up was specifically designed for the cabinet characterisics on the Starter. i was told that it could and should not be changed out. I never could get the sound that I wanted.
Then I purchased a Nashville 400 from Larry Behm that helped the sound tremendously. It's no Emmons but It sounds pretty darn good. There are times that I want a fatter tone. I believe my next guitar will either ba a Carter with BCT or an Emmons or a Derby.
I'm used to the slick pedals. I normally practice in tennis shoes. So slippage isn't a problem when rocking A&B pedals.

Overall I've been pretty satisfied with mine. But I still don't have "That Sound". We got what we paid for an entry level pedal steel. I do believe that Bud Carter did a excellent job on making a Pedal Steel guitar affordable to the masses. Don't give up. I'm still working on out growing mine. Going through alot of growing pains here. As you probably already know the Pro axes aren't cheap to buy.
I'm sure it's meticoulos &labor intensive to build one of these.

This is just my experience so far.

Hope this helps.

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Keep on Steelin
Carter 4/k 3/p Thanks Larry

First off, try not to compare it with the Emmons guitar. You have a sound that was planted into your mind by your friends guitar and no matter what, you won't think you guitar sounds as good. That happens to me all the time, I hear other guitars that sound great (read that as "I THINK at the time that they sound better") and want to get one of that brand. But, away from the outside influence, I think my guitar sounds great. Others do too. I guess it's the old "I want what he has" syndrome.

The Starter is a "starter" guitar. It may well be that it is time to trade up.

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Carter D10 9p/10k
Richard Sinkler

Steve,
You might try bead/sand blasting the contact surface of the pedals,My $0.02 worth.

Bill F.

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Steve..
It sounds like your ready to move up.If your budget is limited take a look at some of the MCI guitars that are for sale.I have two and don't think I will ever get rid of them.Just for comparison I also have a Legrande 111.I play with Nashville 400s and a Evans SE-200 ,and A Emmons Legrande 600 amp.A wee bit of delay and a wee bit of chorus makes all the difference in the world.The amps are all a little different but they all sound good.My best friend is playing on a new Mullen that sounds wonderful to me.He says I don't know how you do it but the MCI has a great tone.Anyway just a thought..Good Luck..
Buddy Van

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Thanks for all your feed back. I really appreciate it.

I have one more question. I live in Atlanta, Ga. Were is the closest place that would have a variety of pedal steel guitars I could play.(I under stand that I am going to have to drive some). I would like to try out as many different makes and modals as I can. It would be great if they were all in one store, but it would be nice if they were at least in the same town.

The next guitar I buy I would like to play for a long time. I might as well start to obsess about it now.

Thanks

Steve

hi Steve,
I live in Norcross, Ga just outside Atlanta. You would be welcome to come over and play my Carter and/or my Emmons Legrande.

There are NO stores in Atlanta or surrounding areas that carry steels or steel products.

I stock and sell George L products for the Atlanta pickers.

Drop me an email if you would like to come over and I will get you information.

The best place to see all the different guitars is at one of the larger steel guitar shows.

Bill Ferguson

I purchassed a set of Jagwire Stainless strings for ms C/S and was really impressed with the improvement in tone. Remember, these guitars are assembles and strung, then boxed and shipped and warehoused and finally sold to us. The strings can be quite old before we plug in.

I like the idea of some non-skid on the smooth pedals. That will be easier than taking an engraving class and cutting little diamonds with pointy tops on them!


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Carter Starter and the cutest little Peavey you ever saw!

As far as the pedals go, there are a couple of companies that make a paint-like non-slip coating that has a rubber base. It ends up looking like black paint with sand in it.
Otherwise, I'd just take coarse sandpaper to the pedals.
bl

Hi Steve.
Many sports stores sell "grip tape" for skateboards. It is sticky on one side and rough on the other. It may be an easy fix for your pedal slippage.
As for the knee lever, I had some trouble with that on my CS. After some examination I found that the KL was bent slightly away from my body and would miss the stop screw completely. Missing the screw caused the KL to travel and then some... The aluminum bent easily back to the correct position, and the guitar played much better.
As for the tone, I have been happy with the sound. I also play a MSA S10 with an E66. The sound from the Carter is much more bright. Tone is whatever sounds best to you! Play what you like, and good luck!
Brian