The Steel Guitar Forum

been away for awhile but cancer is gone and ready to start again. I found a carter starter I think, has 3 foot and 4 knee, but looking at the mechanics underneath was shocked at how cheap it all looks, I had to sell my old MSA for medical in November but, have the new guitars got that cheap? it might be ok but just shocked me, the guy bought it new a couple of years ago but never could get it set up right, hes only asking 700 but just wanted some input thanks guys

The Carter Starter's MEANT to be cheap. They're disappointingly cheap. The Stage One is about a grand and is much more robust.

The C-S is what it is. It serves its purpose for an absolute beginner to get his feet wet. If you have already experienced a solid pro guitar (MSA sure is) then I can't imagine you could be happy with the C-S unless you cannot, no way, no how, afford more.

And $700 is too much for a used one.

wow guess living in colorado I don't see many steel uitars for sale so don't reallly have much selection, hearing 700 is alot helps though, will keep looking, 5 month of chemo without insurance , need to keep it under a grand

Where in Colorado?

Ft Collins/ Loveland

found a really old shobud , 3 x1 , but it looks like wires undercarriage not even rods?

That sounds like a Maverick. It'll sound better, but won't be very satisfying with being three knees short of what you used to have.

thanks guys , guess patience might be a virtue

There is a GFI SM S-10 on the forum for 850, I think these are great entry level guitars, plays like butter, stays in tune, very light weight, you might want to consider one of these

At the moment, there are no Stage One guitars on the forum, except one in a package deal at $1250.
I don't dig guitars short on knees, but here's one that don't suck: http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=304402

Frank and Lane gave you some pretty good advice there.

Back in the day I had a couple of those. The first was a 3x3. It was easy and fairly cheap to add the 4th lever.

Price was around $125 for a lever kit the last time I looked. It's on the web site anyway.

Way to go on beating the cancer. Keep up the good fight.

the only comment I would add is that a Stage One is not really a Student "Starter" guitar. It may very well be used by students but at the end of the day it is a premium little Steel . The Carter Starter is exactly what is described. They are indeed playable and can be set-up but cannot be changed unless you have some "skill" and the workplace/tools to do it. One issue which is near impossible to resolve is the RKL. The throw is just way too far .

I have a couple of students who own them and they do serve a purpose. But I don't feel comparing them to a Stage One is a fair comparison, they are not apples to apples, even price wise. The Stage One is clearly in a different category.

If a student or new player were to ask me I would always recommend a Stage One first, for a few extra $$$ , even used, what you get is much more overall satisfaction, then add that it is always a viable instrument for res-sale as long as it is maintained in good condition.

Should a new student need a Steel for mid 5's, the CS would fit the bill. They can indeed learn ABC and the E levers to keep them busy for a very long time. I would agree with everyone above, more than mid 5's would be too much and probably very difficult to re-sell for more. Stage Ones are not selling in the mid 5's so for someone on a very limited cash outlay, the CS can serve the purpose at the right price.

Compared to a Maverick, the CS , even if you only used 3 +2 or 3+3 , to me is preferable. They can be played and the basics can be learned.

thanks again guys, I will hold out for at least a stageone, I definately don't want to spend money on a guitar that I might have already outgrown, tty

Tony Prior wrote: One issue which is near impossible to resolve is the RKL.

Tony, did you mean to say LKR?

Well, my input is that I still use my Carter Starter for tight spaces, such as small gigs in diners. The only thing for me that was absolutely substandard about its original setup was the pickup. Once I installed a used E-66, it was a whole different guitar.

For what the guitar is, it will do quite well in 'calm' settings, such as restaurants and churches... but, I would not trust its construction to hold up in places where drunk people may trip over or fall on it.

So, I think $700 would be 'okay' only if it were well-maintained... barely played... and had a hard case and replacement pickup. Otherwise, I would try to talk it down to $500 or less.

Jeff Harbour wrote:

Tony Prior wrote: One issue which is near impossible to resolve is the RKL.

Tony, did you mean to say LKR?
.

Jeff, maybe, I thought the RKL was lowering the 5 string as standard , I was thinking thats the one with the real long throw, but maybe it's LKR. I don't own one , I just know one of them has an excessively long throw.

If it's LKR then for sure I stand corrected ! Won't be the first time, or, uhhh, the last

Yes, RKL does lower the 5th string... But it probably is the LKR (E's to Eb) that you remember as having the long throw.

Honestly though... this and all other potential mechanical shortcomings are not noticeable when I am playing in real time with other musicians. They are only there when I'm practicing at home and thinking about it too much...

Steven Albrecht wrote:thanks again guys, I will hold out for at least a stageone, I definately don't want to spend money on a guitar that I might have already outgrown, tty

You won't be sorry. The Stage One is a FAR BETTER guitar than the CS.
Jb

As well as Stage One, Doug Earnest makes the Encore, and it's even better.

The Carter Starter's not a bad little steel and with the original pickup they have great tone, but the knee lever stops were horrid....small screw heads. The knees and attached parts are aluminum and if bent the slightest bit they miss those screw heads and don't stop till somewhere around Arizona or California lol. Easy to remove screws and replace with better stops. If a Carter Starter's all your budget allows then get one.

They're flimsy and dance around while your playing them, but it would be something to get you back into playing. If you could get it for say, $500 you could probably get your money back when you are able to get something better. If that's all you can swing right now.

Congratulations on being a cancer survivor. Best of luck going forward.

once again you guys are great, will wiat just a bit see what comes up, just beeen away for a bit and don't want to forget the things I have learned

Patrick Huey wrote:The Carter Starter's not a bad little steel and with the original pickup they have great tone...

I should clarify some information on this issue...

At some point during production of the Carter Starter they switched the manufacturer of the pickups (probably to keep the end cost minimal). I'm pretty sure the one I have is a later one. The pickup it came with always had a significant loud hum, making it impractical in public.

Now with that in mind, I've read that the earliest Starters had a custom pickup made by Bill Lawrence. There is a good chance that was a much less noisy pickup, but I've never seen one to compare.

Patrick, was the one you've played possibly an early one?

My first steel was a carter starter. It was flimsy and the throw on the knees was crazy but I didn't know the difference so I was pretty happy because it was the best I could afford. I got a sho bud pro III about six months later and of course that was infinitely better. My thoughts are that if that's all you got, use it. I think I sold mine for 50$ less than I paid new so that was less than 10 a month rental as far as I could tell.

I do think 700 is a lot considering mine was 700 new I think. That was over ten years ago though.

I reckon too. Carter Starters at the right price are great for starters. Mine lasted a year and a half. The economics/availability over here in Australia is a bit different, but a good value good-enough playing guitar. I didn't ever play a better guitar until I bought my Pro-1 (from Jory here on the frum)