The Steel Guitar Forum

Looking around for someone starting out. He saw one a these for sale. I've never seen one so couldn't give an opinion. Are they any good?

They are OK, they function but are not the greatest. The knee levers
require more movement and sometimes do not have a good feeling stop point when engaged. If this is what one can afford, you can start learning on one. I had a student who had a Carter Starter. Within a year he wanted a better guitar and did move up to a pro level instrument.

The knee lever stop problem is easily fixed. I think it's a decent option for a beginner, and it should be good for at least several years of learning. At $650-$750, it's probably an okay-buy. But at the $800+ I've seen some selling for, there may be better options (if you're willing to wait, and have cash).

Here's a video of Terry Crisp playing one, and it shows that the guitar is a lot better and more capable than most players give it credit for:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT1TvjnlYHM

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There are two generations of starters... the original ones had 1 adjustable leg and the LKL lever problem people speak of. The later generation had two adjustable legs, and the LKL problem did not exist any longer.

I got one of the later generations and it's been great, but I did have to add some L Brackets from home depot to create some hard stops. I also put in an George L Pickup because I prefer a humbucker over the single coil, but that's preference.

It's not a great build, but the guitar stays in tune, plays well & sounds good. It's not very adjustable, but it is logically setup, especially for a beginner to intermediate player.

Just my 2 cents.

+1 on the George L pup. I have been playing my Starter almost 10 years. It's not the weak link in my playing.