Carter Guitars

Charlie Moore · Post by **Charlie Moore** » 21 Sep 2009 4:43 pm

Well i have always played Emmons guitars for 24 years,but i bought a Carter D 10 04 model,for VERY little money,and now i have a new out look on these guitars,I had heard all along that Carter guitars were junk,cheap built,would'nt stay in tune you name it bad is all i heard,i have played this guitar two jobs and several hours in music room and find ALL that false,this little guitar has tone forever more to the bone(NV 112 amp)I't has some minor faults but not NEAR the negative things i have heard..just thought you might want to check one out,don't know the Carter people but they sure have a nice guitar IMO..thanks...
Charlie...

Danny Bates · Post by **Danny Bates** » 21 Sep 2009 4:53 pm

Good score Charlie,

I had one. It was not too heavy, sounded great and had a superlight action. What's not to like?

baxter vaughan · Post by **baxter vaughan** » 21 Sep 2009 4:55 pm

carters are good horns. i've 3 of them and never had an issue with any. sound good, stays in tune and built well and very easy to work on.

J D Sauser · Post by **J D Sauser** » 21 Sep 2009 6:04 pm

IMHO Carters are some of the finest built PSG's of these times. They are consistent in quality and tone. The mechanics are in no way "cheap" in the sense that they would be flimsy or anything similar, much to the contrary, they have even set some trends in the industry.
I think that most of the few bad remarks or insinuations we've had the questionable pleasure to hear about these instruments originated from some dying away builders and their last following of yard fools who just could not handle the professionalism facing them. Carter steel guitars has quickly established itself as the most successful builder of it's time, not without reason and certainly not on the premises of peddling a cheap or bad product.

... J-D.

John DeBoalt · Post by **John DeBoalt** » 21 Sep 2009 6:17 pm

I've owned my Carter for 8 years now. It was delivered a day ahead of the promised delivery date, and has never given me any trouble. It's always been my humble opinion that the people who voiced un-complementary remerks about the instrument were those who waited 2 years to get a different brand rather than two months to get a Carter, then found out what they got was no better than what they could have gotten much sooner. John

Hook Moore · Post by **Hook Moore** » 21 Sep 2009 6:23 pm

Carter makes an excellent guitar !
Hook

Ryan Barwin · Post by **Ryan Barwin** » 21 Sep 2009 6:26 pm

I don't know where you heard anything bad about Carters...
That's a nice one you've got, anyway.

Shane Glover · Post by **Shane Glover** » 21 Sep 2009 7:26 pm

Hi Charlie

I recently purchased a new Carter s10 . I asked forum members their opinion of Carter guitars. I had a lot of responses and of those only 2 were negative.
One pertaining to the way the guitar was made and one about the folks that work at Carter.

I am a newbie so the only thing I can compare my Carter to is my Maverick. IMHO there is no comparison the Carter kicks the Mavericks butt in every catagory.

My experience with John and Ann at Carter was very positive. I did not put much stock in the 2 negative reviews and I have not been disappointed . For what it's worth I would buy another Carter in a heart beat !!

Shane

Terry Winter · Post by **Terry Winter** » 21 Sep 2009 7:46 pm

I have been playing for some years now and have had various makes of guitars. I now have two Carters: a S-10 Mica and a beautiful new D-10 natural laquer.
I am very satisfied both with the craftmanship of the guitars and the service through Al Brisco.

Terry W

Ernest Cawby · Post by **Ernest Cawby** » 21 Sep 2009 7:56 pm

I bought s used Carter from Garland Nash, called the company to fine out about this guiitar, and John Fabian blew me away, he said it came back to them in o2 and had BCT adeded to it and all about the guitar ,From memory without looking up the records, beat that for service if you can.
The man I sold it to loves it, what more can be said.

ernie

Dan Galysh · Post by **Dan Galysh** » 21 Sep 2009 7:56 pm

I love my Emmons and Derby, but I've been playing a lot on my Carter lately and I almost forgot how good it sounds.

Matthew Dawson · Post by **Matthew Dawson** » 21 Sep 2009 8:29 pm

No complaints about my Carter whatsoever.

Andy Zahnd · Post by **Andy Zahnd** » 22 Sep 2009 12:03 am

I like my one every day more! You can't get a better steel for that price!

Thumb up for Carter!

Rick Winfield · Post by **Rick Winfield** » 22 Sep 2009 1:56 am

Well built, easy to play, and make changes to, great tone,light weight and priced right. Unlimited advice and exrea parts available from the company. I had some questions, sent an eMail,and Ann phoned me the next day to "talk it over"
No regrets, I love it. If I had the cash I'd but a Uni from them.
Rick

Micky Byrne · Post by **Micky Byrne** » 22 Sep 2009 2:36 am

Got my Carter universal here in 2003...it was a used 2000 model. I've been playing pedal steel since 1970, have had Emmons,ZB etc, still have my Sho-Bud universal...what do I use ?? my Carter!!! The mechanics are too good to be true, stays in tune, nice and light, sounds brilliant (Wallace TT pick/up)...nothing I dislike about it. Each to their own but my Carter as all Carters is a good product, built and designed by a "Master" builder. No wonder Bud Carter has been inducted into the steel guitar hall of fame for his contribution to the steel guitar world...and he's a brilliant player too. With the Carter, he took away the weight from all the unnecessary places, like his earlier creation the MSA. They were good guitars and lasted a life time, but were heavy...oh I forgot I had one of those too, the universal. Those who haven't tried a Carter...just go and do so, before passing judgement on what a tiny minority wrongly assume.

Micky Byrne United Kingdom

Carter and Sho-Bud universals..Nashville 400 and Evans Fet lv 500 amps.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 22 Sep 2009 2:49 am

Excellent purchase, congrats.

I think in the past a few have found it necessary to trash the brand but not from an Instrument perspective but rather some sort of emotional thing going on.

The very few folks that bash any brand publicly are very few in numbers and are not part of any large group. For anyone to say that the Carter Steels are cheap, junk etc means to me one thing, .they have another brand preference and have never actually played a Carter or owned one. I am not talking about the typical Carter Starter threads here, I am referring to the PRO Guitars. They probably have the Ford /Chevy thing going on and will never move out of that box.

And yes, I doubt there are many out there more knowledgeable than John with regard to Steel guitars, the Carter brand and engineering in general.

t

Andy Hinton · Post by **Andy Hinton** » 22 Sep 2009 3:47 am

My observations, for what it's worth. Most, if not all the negative coments on Carters have been on the Carter Starter. It is what the name implies & should be viewed as such. Yes, they are cheaply made. The're affordable for beginners. They do well in that application. Were never ment to be a professional Steel. I'll stick to the adgidge (spelling)

If you got nothing good to say, keep mouth shut.

Andy H.

Micky Byrne · Post by **Micky Byrne** » 22 Sep 2009 4:03 am

Well said Andy...obviously some reference to the Carter "Starter" ...and for the money good for what they are to get a new player "STARTED" without having to spend alot of money. The Pro guitars are a different breed entirely as we've all mentioned.

Micky Byrne United Kingdom

John Drury · Post by **John Drury** » 22 Sep 2009 4:19 am

J D Sauser wrote:IMHO Carters are some of the finest built PSG's of these times. They are consistent in quality and tone. The mechanics are in no way "cheap" in the sense that they would be flimsy or anything similar, much to the contrary, they have even set some trends in the industry.
I think that most of the few bad remarks or insinuations we've had the questionable pleasure to hear about these instruments originated from some dying away builders and their last following of yard fools who just could not handle the professionalism facing them. Carter steel guitars has quickly established itself as the most successful builder of it's time, not without reason and certainly not on the premises of peddling a cheap or bad product.
... J-D.

AMEN!

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 22 Sep 2009 5:38 am

Charlie Moore wrote: I had heard all along that Carter guitars were junk,cheap built,would'nt stay in tune you name it bad is all i heard, ...

Whoever said that doesn't know what they are talking about. Carter makes a fine guitar. The only reason i don't have one is that they don't make one with a wrist lever.

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 22 Sep 2009 6:36 am

I've owned three Carters, all excellent guitars. The one Earnest got from Garland was one of mine, and as I've mentioned in "BCT" Threads, I was somewhat suspicious of the idea that an already nice guitar should be sent in for an upgrade- and found that the addition of BCT to that pre-BCT built guitar improved it noticeably, just as the Carter crew said it would.

My experiences with Bud and John in person at the Carter factory were also completely positive.

The "Starters" are of course intended as entry-level axes, and as such are entirely serviceable. Many of my students have them, and with a couple of quick fixes they are just great for what they are intended to be. I think Carter will be more recognized over time for their contribution there to the entry part of the steel community, and we will see many pro players develop who wouldn't have been able to afford to get going without such an instrument.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Carter for a second.

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 22 Sep 2009 6:38 am

My main gigging guitar:

Edward Meisse · Post by **Edward Meisse** » 22 Sep 2009 10:32 am

It's the only pedal guitar I've ever owned or played. But I have no complaints. I get compliments on the tone. And it stays in tune and stays in tune and stays in tune. Now if I could just learn to play it....

Roual Ranes · Post by **Roual Ranes** » 22 Sep 2009 12:45 pm

I once asked Bud Carter how long he had been designing/building a pedal steel. His answer was since 1947. I think he got it right!

Charlie Moore · Post by **Charlie Moore** » 24 Sep 2009 9:29 am

Thanks for all the comments guys,I have to say i hav'nt had any questions about the guitar all i know is it works for me..thanks guys..Charlie.

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