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Topic: Carter Guitars |
Jim Saunders
From:
Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
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Posted 27 Sep 2019 9:05 am |
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| During the period Carters were being made, they seemed to be leading the pack on sales. I don't know how many were made but now, it seems we hardly ever see one for sale. Curious to me. Could it be that their owners are just satisfied and not selling? I'd also like to know when the began production and when did it end? Anyone? Probably Al Brisco would know. |
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John Swain
From:
Winchester, Va
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Posted 27 Sep 2019 9:09 am
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| FWIW, I think they came out in '96 and ended production shortly after John Fabian died, maybe 2010. |
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Larry Phleger
From:
DuBois, PA
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Posted 27 Sep 2019 9:31 am
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| I had a Carter U12 for many years. It was an excellent instrument. It stayed in tune better than anything I have ever owned, and gave me no problems whatsoever. I received more compliments on the tone of that steel than any other I have ever owned. It is a shame they are no longer in production. I know that more than 2,000 were produced, as they posted photos of #2,000. I believe John's time line is right on track. |
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Jim Saunders
From:
Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
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Posted 27 Sep 2019 10:51 am Carter Guitars
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Thanks. That figures to be a 16 year stretch, with 2000 guitars produced. About 10 per month.
My first pedal steel was a Carter I bought in 1999. I first tried to get a Remington, but Herb quit production that year, so I bought a Carter. I sold it thinking something would be better and tried Emmons, and now Mullen. Actually they have all been good, but you know the "greener pasture" story. |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 27 Sep 2019 12:04 pm Re: Carter Guitars
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| Jim Saunders wrote: |
Thanks. That figures to be a 16 year stretch, with 2000 guitars produced. About 10 per month.
My first pedal steel was a Carter I bought in 1999. I first tried to get a Remington, but Herb quit production that year, so I bought a Carter. I sold it thinking something would be better and tried Emmons, and now Mullen. Actually they have all been good, but you know the "greener pasture" story. |
Similar story here. I bought mine in 1999 too. Still have her. I was just getting ready to order a Thomas, but Barry quit building.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 55 years and still counting. |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 27 Sep 2019 12:26 pm Re: Carter Guitars
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| Jim Saunders wrote: |
Thanks. That figures to be a 16 year stretch, with 2000 guitars produced. About 10 per month.
My first pedal steel was a Carter I bought in 1999. I first tried to get a Remington, but Herb quit production that year, so I bought a Carter. I sold it thinking something would be better and tried Emmons, and now Mullen. Actually they have all been good, but you know the "greener pasture" story. |
With all due respect to Herb, be glad you didn't go with the Rem. I'm writing from personal experience.
The Mullen guitar is of the top 2 or 3 guitars I've owned and played. It's my favorite.
I have always sat Carters at the conventions and always felt they played and sounded just fine. I have a D10 Carter right now on loan from a most generous friend. I can't compare the mechanics on the par with the Zum or Mullens I've played, but they are good guitars and I could probably be happy playing this one to the end. I would not trade a Mullen nor a Zum for a Carter though. |
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Charlie Hansen
From:
Halifax, NS Canada and Various Southern Towns.
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Posted 27 Sep 2019 5:57 pm
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Mine was born on July 8, 2010, maybe built by Al Briscoe.
_________________
I don't know much but what I know I know very well.
Carter S-10 3X5, Peavey Nashville 112, plus Regal dobro and too many other instruments to mention.
Bluegrass Island CFCY FM 95.1 Charlottetown, PE, Canada, on the web at cfcy.fm.
A Touch Of Texas CIOE FM 97.5 Sackville, NS, Canada,
on the web at cioe975.ca. |
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Charles Kurck
From:
Living in Arkansas but Heaven is home
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Bob Moore
From:
N. Rose, New York
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Posted 30 Sep 2019 3:21 pm Carter
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| I have a 2008 Carter 3&5 that I have and I almost traded but am glad I didn't. Sounds good to me and no problems. |
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J R Rose
From:
Keota, Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 30 Sep 2019 4:29 pm
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I brought a new Red D-10 and I think it was 1992. They had been building a little while at that time I think, J.R.
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NOTHING..Sold it all. J.R. Rose |
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Tab Tabscott
From:
Somewhere between Vashon Island and The mainland.
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Posted 2 Oct 2019 5:27 am Carters on the internet
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Anne Fabian told me in '93 that I was the first person to buy a Carter off the internet. Maybe the first new, production pedal steel ever off the internet. I don't know if that is true or not. But that's what she said.
The guitar I bought was a demo model they had made for Lucky Oceans. It was blonde and had "scuffed" metal parts, sort of a satin finish. I sold it to Bill Hannah, who passed on and left it to Brooks Montgomery of Salmon Idaho. Brooks was the search and rescue guy for McMurdo station, Antartica, and he took it there and figured he would learn to play it during the long dark winter. He came back north and said he would probably just learn to fly the space shuttle instead. Brooks later traded it back to me for a DeNeve dobro. I sold the steel again to a fellow in West Seattle WA whose name I don't remember. I also had another Carter, a D-10 with 9x7 which I sold to one of my neighbors here on Soggy Bog Island, Washington. He still has it and won't sell it back to me.
_________________
Tab Tabscott
Play nice.
They is none else. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 2 Oct 2019 8:22 am
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I had some dealings with Anne Fabian and that ended any relationships I might have had with Carter. 
Erv |
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Bill Moran
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 2 Oct 2019 10:06 am
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| Erv Niehaus wrote: |
I had some dealings with Anne Fabian and that ended any relationships I might have had with Carter.
Erv |
Me too Erv . What a Babe.I would have used another word here in the basement . lol
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Bill |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 2 Oct 2019 10:10 am
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Bill,
Glad we agree.
The word I would have used to describe her also started with a B----.
Erv
Last edited by Erv Niehaus on 2 Oct 2019 10:12 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Fred Justice
From:
Mesa, Arizona
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Posted 2 Oct 2019 10:12 am
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Erv, as for Anne, I bet you are the only one. 
_________________
Email: azpedalman@gmail.com
Phone: 480-235-8797 |
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b0b
From:
Cloverdale, CA, USA
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Posted 2 Oct 2019 10:14 am
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| John Swain wrote: |
| FWIW, I think they came out in '96 and ended production shortly after John Fabian died, maybe 2010. |
The first one I saw was at Tom Bradshaw's 1995 Convention in Concord, CA. It may have been a prototype. It made quite an impression there.
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-𝕓𝕆𝕓- (admin) - Robert P. Lee - Recordings - Breathe - D6th - Video |
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 2 Oct 2019 10:58 pm
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What Erv Said!!
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Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952. |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 3 Oct 2019 12:08 am
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John used to tell me that he felt that the Carter was a very good middle of the pack guitar. He didn't make any claims that it was at the top of the heap.
I have owned 4 Carter D10s, I played the last one for 5 or 6 years. I kept trading UP. The last one was a 9+8. I sold it maybe 3 years ago and am pondering buying it back.
The only shortcomings the Carters have is the parts are very small, if someone is to make changes, you need small hands and a magnifying glass ! Very rugged instruments, very well built.
I miss John, we spoke many times each month, he would call me on the way home from work , we would talk about the funny stuff and posts on this forum !
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 3 Oct 2019 2:23 am
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In 2000 I had Carter build me a D-10 8+5,Mom my also passed away around the same time.In an email exchange I explained to Anne about my mom's passing bumming me out to which she replied"Well some good must've come from that",My last contact with John was when I showed up at the Mesa show "I had changed guitars by then to Desert Rose"so I went over to John stuck out my hand to shake hands with him,John wouldn't shake my hand and made a snide remark about me going over to Desert Rose.
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Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952. |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 3 Oct 2019 3:25 am
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Carters are really good guitars.. Super light, super easy pedal action, short.light,crisp knee lever action.. Very precise stop feel on pedals and knees. Great sustain as well. Also to my ears depending on the pickup, they had a more "old school" vibe to their sound than other modern steels.. John told me that over the phone just before they built my first Carter, He said the sound of his guitars was "more of a Sho Bud kind of sound".. Not exactly like bud of course, but I played that guitar for many years, and it was certainly more of an " vintage " pedal steel tone to my ears..
There were some things in the design of the mechanism that were questionable like those little brass "dog bones", the reversing setup on the right moving levers, putting Loctite on those tiny screws making the guitars a hassle to repair and God help you if you rounded out a torx head... However, in my opinion, a simply great instrument that was very well priced, but NOT cheap, and could stand toe to toe with the very best built and best sounding steel guitars ever built by anyone... In their heyday, there were a lot of pros using Carters at one time or another... bob
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 3 Oct 2019 4:12 am
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| Stu Schulman wrote: |
| Mesa show "I had changed guitars by then to Desert Rose"so I went over to John stuck out my hand to shake hands with him,John wouldn't shake my hand and made a snide remark about me going over to Desert Rose. |
Uhmm, probably being funny, but it didn't come across that way. That doesn't sound like Johns character at all. He owned one of the earliest Emmons Push Pulls and bragged on it all the time to me !
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years
CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website |
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Chris Brooks
From:
Providence, Rhode Island
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Posted 3 Oct 2019 4:20 am
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I ordered a Carter SD 12 in 1999 and thus have played it for 20 years. Never a hint of trouble.
It came designed for my lanky frame (6' 6") and fit me immediately. Sounds good on stage and in the studio.
And for what it is worth, I had no trouble in dealing with John or Ann.
Chris |
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Roy Carroll
From:
North of a Round Rock
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Posted 3 Oct 2019 4:28 am
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I purchased a Carter from John Fabian in 2005, I had to deal with Anne. She was a total Biach and very difficult to work with. If John had lived (RIP) they would have seen a decline in orders because of her.
I went to Mullen where the customer service was very good and you could actually talk to someone that cared.
Carter guitars are good guitars though. Made well and Bud Carter design was good and they stay in tune.
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Just north of the Weird place, south of Georgetown |
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David Nugent
From:
Gum Spring, Va.
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Posted 3 Oct 2019 5:07 am
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| I believe that Tommy White recording his instrumental CD on a Carter. At the very least, he is pictured sitting behind one on the cover. |
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Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
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Posted 3 Oct 2019 5:35 am
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Tony,John was upset with me,no humor at all.
_________________
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952. |
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