The Steel Guitar Forum

I have an opportunity to pick up a S10 Carter Starter in excellent condition this weekend for a grand. 3 pedals, 4 knees. I was thinking I could lug that one around much easier than my Dekley. I don't really want to be dragging the Dekley back and forth between the house and practice mostly. I checked prices and it is looks like a decent deal? I don't really know? It is a 3.5 hour drive one way but I think it would be worth it.

The starters are great little beginner guitars. $900- $1000 seems to be the going price. Try it before you buy it. It is not a Dekley.

I Had a Dekley and a Carter and I'd grab the Carter. Those pakwood Dekley's are beasts, but reliable. So are the Carters. I also didn't like the narrow string spacing. Jim Smith was always nice and accommodating at Scotty'. Is the Dekley a single, double or a twelve, Jerry?

Shouldn't rain on your parade, but since you asked, I'd say $850 tops for one of these guitars.

I admit I've never owned one, but the couple I've played were pretty flimsy, wobbly and just not very good playing guitars.
They are entry level guitars, student model, however you want to phrase it.

They also have a few issues with one or more knee levers/hubs but some techs say there is a fix for that. I dunno. JMO. FWIW.

Right you are, Jerry. I think another factor to consider is use. A couple of songs on a gig or some serious wood shedding?
The rods for the Carter Starter are welded into place and can''t be re-rodded, limiting tuning experimentation. I could be wrong on that.

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON A CARTER STARTER.

I played a Carter Starter for years before I upgraded to a Mullen G2. It served its intended purpose of introducing me to steel guitars without breaking the bank. I did have to spend a lot of time (and money) to repair the LKL and RKL levers because they were just plain worn out.

Bottom line - I wouldn’t dismiss the idea of getting a Carter Starter, but check out its condition first.

I've only played one Carter Starter, but it was unplayable, un-fixable, and flimsy. $1000 is considerably more than what Starters retailed for new, and they're no longer made, which in itself should be a red flag.

It looks like the OP's issue is the weight of his Dekley, which can be mitigated somewhat by carrying the legs, pedal rack and rods in a separate case, or even a gig bag. Another essential is some kind of hand-cart. I use the Rock'n'Roller Multi-Cart and I can't say enough good about it. Strong, lightweight, folds up real compact. Both of those things can be had for far less than the $1K that the seller wants for his Starter.

Yes, Dave.

I started on a CS almost 16 years ago and may hold the record for longest ownership, so I'm an "edge case" here. It's still my grab and go guitar for jams, practice and campground gigs. Carried in a cheap keyboard gig bag it weighs about as much as a 6 string guitar in a hard case.

Sure it was built to a price but I disagree with the idea that has anything to do with why they'are no longer made. The Carter pro guitars are no longer made either. The CS shortcomings are well documented on this forum. The knee lever stops are a weak point but can be improved. The bellcranks are welded but do have multiple holes for some adjustment. They are light, so if you're used to heavy guitar, you may push it around with forceful knee lever actuations. Factory set up is to drop string 5 on RKL but I changed mine to drop string 6. No first string raise. I replaced the factory tuning keys with some slightly less cheap ones from Stew-Mac. Front legs are not adjustable and rear legs have only about 1" of adjustment via threaded feet on the ends. I could use my pro model legs on the CS but don't need to.

I'm sure there's some "dogs" out there but mine plays in tune and stays in tune. Maybe that's because I started out on it. Price? They sold for around $800 new but had an optional case for around $100. Maybe they haven't appreciated much.

A Starter is three steps backwards from your dekley. Not even close.. If you are looking to pay a grand for one, I think you are overpaying,by quite a bit. Some are better than others.. None are good. They range from unworkable junk,to almost passable, borderline players that don't sound too bad. Frankly,I wouldn't do it. In my opinion you are wasting your money buying starter.....

If you can get it at a good price, and it plays well, I'd say go for it. I had a CS and used it for recording and fly dates, and it never gave me any trouble. If you can go more money, I'd highly recommend a Stage One for a light gigging guitar.

The reason why it is no longer made, as are the pro Carters, is that John Fabian (the owner of Carter guitars) passed away, and the company folded. Didn't have anything to do with the poor quality. Many players make use of the Starter. I sat down and tried one out at a music store in San Jose CA. I was not impressed one bit. But, it filled a void in the pricing structure of pedal steel guitars, making it somewhat easier for beginners to afford one to get started on.

Bob Sykes wrote: 1 May 2025 4:22 pm The knee lever stops are a weak point but can be improved.

I got one when they were new. That was the biggest flaw, to me. The knee lever or stop (it's been a while) was light aluminum I think, and bent after a while, and wouldn't play in tune well. I have read there were people who came up with fixes (mine is long gone).

If I had to, I could play a gig on one. It played well, and sounded decent. But it is exactly what it was designed to be, a relatively inexpensive student model. I wouldn't get one if I could afford something better, but it certainly would be fine for someone starting out.

If I remember, I paid $750, with inflation, that is about 1400 now. I could see paying half that used (which is typical for Most used musical gear), if it is in good working order.

OK, well maybe I was too hard on the Starter. It's just the ones that I've played seemed lacking in several areas.

I suppose if one has never touched a pedal steel, they might find the excitement of newness enough.

I started on a Red Baron where many players here had nothing good to say, so it's all relevant.
The Baron was limited in the copedent setup but was a much more stable guitar than the CS.
Also, I've been a mechanic just about all of my life and I tend to forget about all the fixes, mods etc. that I do to my own guitars where others may not want to or have that ability.

So, if you're handy with tools, have the time and place and have an analytical mind, you can probably overcome a lot of the shortcomings of these guitars. Best of luck.

The Carter is a lightweight toy compared to the Dekley for sure I see, but I can leave it at the studio and not have to lug my 80 pound monster back and forth. That is all I wanted it for. I don't really care if I overpaid a bit, it was close enough to drive to and check it out so it wasn't sight unseen. I don't play it that much, I am too busy playing guitar and keyboards. For the few tunes I will be playing on it, it should do fine. If not, I sell it but I don't want to be moving that Dekley around. I was a machinist for about fifty years and have made lots of parts and still have buddies in the business. I might switch some parts out to make the Carter a bit more sturdy. I would start by changing out the wooden pedal bar to stainless steel or aluminium.

Jerry, with your background you won't have any trouble easily overcoming the shortcomings of the Starter. Fabricating some positive solid stops for the knee levers will take care of most of it and as you see there are any number of ways to do that.

The pedal rack as made is not so flimsy as to not be able to play accurately although it won't love a very heavy foot. I improved one a great deal one time by attaching aluminum T stock ( fairly heavy, I had it on hand ) to the front of the pedal rack with. Probably a total of 15 minutes involved, looked good and was quite sturdy.

Just be careful not to bump the knee levers and bend the mounts and you can get lots of good service out of that guitar.

I have said many times that for $5 more and 5 more minutes assembly time they could have made a darn good guitar out of those.

Nice Dekley!

I have made stop brackets for the Carter Starter before that can be added fairly easy. These give you a positive stop and firms up the LKL & RKL.

Does anyone know if Carter Starter parts are available anywhere. I need two of the changer end springs. As I recall, when Carter Guitars ceased operation, Al Brisco of Canada bought the remaining parts inventory. Any help anywhere?

When Al Brisco retiered he sold the remaining parts to Michal at PSG Parts.

While I have been a CARTER fan, I feel these "Starter"-models while a valid price-value concept back over 25 years ago are way over priced. There a lot of "Pro" level single necks to be had of similar age from brands which don't have any "vintage vibe" or "rarity factor", which are good and you will be able to develop upon for years and, if you find it's not for you, resell without too much difficulty.

just my opinion. .. J-D.