The Steel Guitar Forum

I've always loved PSG, and recently bought
a Carter Starter. To learn, I worked through
most of the DeWitt Scott PSG Course, and
also bought some material from Jeff Newman;
I've probably spent more time just working
out arrangements of tunes myself, though.
(Have played guitar, fiddle and other instruments for a long time, so I know many
tunes.)
My question about the Carter Starter is
the following (and directed to others who
have played one of these):
I notice that the 3rd string (which is also
the thinnest) is not as loud as the others
(when picked with the same force); it isn't
a terrific difference, but is noticeable.
(Such unevenness has always bothered me when
it occurs in fiddles - which does happen
quite a lot.) I wonder if anyone else has
noticed this or has any suggestions about
fixing it?
Does this occur with other models as well?
Thanks for any comments, and this is a great forum!
(I hope my post doesn't appear with very
long lines; I didn't enter too many "returns"
because the lines seemed to wrap in the post window.)
chas

Try a .012 on the 3rd stg, it should sound fuller and louder too.
JE:-)>

Hey Chas- I meant to answer the email you sent me. Just been really busy lately. I do also notice that that string is quite a bit quieter. Kinda annoying. I'll probably try changing the string to a different size as suggested. I've only had my starter for about a week now and it's been one of the most exciting weeks musically i've had in years. Sometimes regular guitar bores me. Do you think you could send me an email on some leads on where to buy some good instructional material? I bought Bruce Bouton's video and it's pretty cool.

Generally speaking the 3rd string tends to be the lowest output string. I think that everybody learns to compensate in their picking and I think it becomes automatic enough that you just forget about it. I do use a .012. Some people use a .010! Be aware that the CS is pretty specifically engineered in such a way as to not be real condusive to customizing. I don't know what you will find in terms of the pedal tuning or the synchronisation between the 3rd & 6th string pulls if you change to a 12.
But the main point--taking that little hair of a string and tuning it to G# is bringing this particular string a bit out of sorts with the pitch/tension/gauge relationships of the other strings. I think you will find that picking technique will overcome this problem.

I use a Jagwire .0115 for my third string. It's louder. I'm not sure how well it would work on a Carter Starter, though.

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<small><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic) Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6)

Chas...the lines wrap, you only need to do a double return (enter) when you want to start a new paragraph.

On the 3rd string loudness thing, trust me...few people will notice it if you're playing well! This rather insignificant factor comes into play on almost <u>all</u> instruments.

By the way, the 5th is louder than the 4th...etc, etc..

Chas,

One thing, just so you notice, the 6th on that guitar is a wound string. It needs to be to get it to tune correctly. Most sets of steel strings will be a plain 6th. Perhaps you knew this already.
I have a Starter also, and didn't know that for the longest time, and had a real time getting it to intonate right, until John Fabian from Carter filled me in.

I noticed the 3rd being a little weak also, but never thought it was bad enough to worry about. Curious what strings you are using?
I switched to GHS shortly after I got it, and the tone improved a lot. Jagwires are great too, and they do make a set specially for that guitar, with the wound 6th.

I love the tone of mine btw.. Amazing sound for such an inexpensive guitar.

Tom

Thanks for all the very helpful replies! I imagine I'll keep using the string gauges recommended by Carter for a while to see if I can overcome the perceived unevenness, (but a slightly heavier gauge seems a reasonable suggestion.) The guitar does have a quite nice sound. Some of the parts (e.g. pedals) were obviously made with economy in mind, but the general construction seems good. I don't know of any other "starter" model with as many pedals and levers.
chas