Carter Starter vs Sho Bud Maverick - Better beginner PSG?

Daniel OBrien · From: New Jersey, USA

Just getting started, and getting lots of conflicting opinions on which is a better instrument on which to learn. Thoughts from you more experienced folks? Dan OB

James Wolf · From: Georgia

This opens up a can with a lot of folks. I will just tell you what i know. I learned on a carter starter. I played a maverick once and i have to say the tone was killer but in the end, i was happy to get back to my starter. I just couldnt seem to get the mav to stay in tune. Jmho

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

I would not recommend either. Both are pretty crappy. If you are serious about playing the steel look at the zum or gfi student steels. In my opinion any less of an instrument is not worth the hassle.

If you are set on either a maverick or starter both are no longer in production so the value is based on the particular instruments condition. Which is probably bad because they both are so flimsy. The carter may have more levers but what difference does that make after that aluminum foil bell crank bends .
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Jordan Bissonnette · From: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I was scared to even answer this question..... but here goes!

I have Maverick... and tone is killer and I honestly only need to tune it once a month even when I'm moving it around from show to show... but that being said.. over the years I started spending money on it adding extra levers , new pickup , now my Maverick can do most changes that a pro model can... but with the money I spent on it I would have been better off just spending 1000$ on a Zum steel or something from the start, I just saw an MSA with all the levers and pedals go for 1000$ here on the forum too. But it was a neat learning process adding levers myself.

I love my maverick and I use it for rehearsals or travelling since its so light and easy to carry around. I have now purchased a pro steel with all the knee levers as it was annoying trying to learn songs since 90% of tab out there was using some levers I didnt have.

that being said though... you can play some pretty cool things with 3 pedals and 1 knee lever... but you'll probably just end up buying a 2nd one in a year or 2 like I did lol..but it's nice having 2 if you can afford it. One that if it gets beer spilled on in a dingy bar is not the end of the world.

but I wish someone would told me this before I bought my maverick because I wasnt on the forum then. and I overpaid for my maverick... i'm embarrassed to even admit what I paid for it lol.
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Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

And you will get a lot of varying opinions. Here's mine.

The Starter is cool because it has 4 knee levers right from the start. But it had some bad quality issues (that many have found ways to overcome). The Maverick is a better built guitar (IMO), but lacks the knee levers and they are not easy to add.

My advice now days is to see if yo can come up with the few extra hundred bucks to get a new Stage One, Simmons or other new starter guitars in the $1000 - $1300 range. My drummer didn't listen to my advice and paid over $700 for a Maverick on Ebay. He always asks me about licks I play, and I just have to tell him, "you aren't going to be able to play that one because you don't have the knee levers required for the licks". He now regrets that purchase and wishes he would have bought the Stage One I recommended.
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John Scanlon · From: Jackson, Mississippi, USA

Carter Starter certainly has a few of its own issues, and you can read all about that elsewhere on here, but there's no getting around the fact that - since your question is simply Maverick v. Carter Starter - the CS has three more knee levers than the Maverick. Almost all tab and courses you will run across will use a minimum of two knee levers (D and E, or E and F, depending on your preferred nomenclature); almost any other guitar you play or later graduate to will have 4 or 5 knee levers as well. You buy a Maverick, and you're simply choosing to buy an instrument which flat does not have many of the abilities of a modern guitar which are now widely accepted as basic. That's like buying a guitar with only 4 strings (not a bass), and no ability to add more strings.
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Dave O'Brien · From: Florida and New Jersey

Dan - Good advice so far. I don't know your budget but consider getting the best older pro guitar you can afford. MSA BMI Dekley for example were so well made they are virtually impossible to wear out. There's a nice MSA lacquer D-10 on the forum for $ 1400. sure you may not use the C6th neck for a while but then you might like it. I know one guy who learned it first! I sold lots of new Mavericks back in the day and nobody ever stayed with one - but the guys who bought good guitars still have them for the most part.
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Patrick Thornhill · From: Austin Texas, USA

As a new player and Carter Starter owner I'll throw in my 2 cents.

Had my guitar not been essentially free, as I traded an underplayed dobro for it, I probably would have held out for a Stage One. By all accounts they are beginner guitars built with professional components and quality. But a thousand dollars is a lot of money, and if the CS and Maverick are the only options, I'll cautiously endorse going with the CS.

I'm not terribly concerned with tone right now. I'm focused on learning to play the contraption! Very Happy

With that in mind I'm happy that I have 4 knee levers rather than just 2 (GFI) and definitely glad I'm not working with just one. I don't know what the single lever on the Maverick does, but I think you'll quickly miss not having both left knees. The E lever (LKR) gets you a V chord on any of the major triad string groupings, and the F lever (LKL) at the very least allows you to play some harmonized scales (and probably a whole lot of other stuff that I haven't learned yet).

If you get a CS you WILL have to do something about the F lever at some point, however. The RKL uses a pan head screw as a stop, which is a little ghetto, but works. For some inexplicable reason the "stop" for the F lever is a round head screw. Couple that with the "tin foil bell-crank" (excellent description)that the lever is attached to and you have the recipe for what I started out with: a lever that was ground down at the top and no longer stopped where it was supposed to. The good news? The aluminum angle and rod that the CS is built with are literally available at Home Depot. I made a new lever and a stop this Sunday for $4, and am going to make myself a 1 inch lift kit at some point, as I can get under it just fine right now, but I can't get my foot on a volume pedal without raising the guitar.

So I guess if your goal is to learn contemporary styles of playing, and don't mind having to be your own guitar tech, the CS will ultimately be a better investment than the Maverick.

Rich Gardner · From: Columbus, Ohio, USA

Great comments thus far. I owned an Maverick for a couple of years and soon found its shortcomings as far as levers go. I sold it and a couple of years later I bought an CS. I really liked it and learned quite a bit on it. I sold it before having any real issues with it. I now own a Zum Stage One. It's a big step up from the CS as to the quality. I've owned it for a year and had no trouble with it. The price was very reasonable. I would avoid the Maverick and CS levels and jump right in with a Stage One. Just my two cents.

Patrick Thornhill · From: Austin Texas, USA

John Scanlon asked about my homemade F lever and stop, so I thought I'd post a couple pictures for anyone who might be interested. Not exactly high quality workmanship, but does the job reasonably well. Kind of like the Carter Starter itself. Winking

Larry Bressington · From: Nebraska

Been there done all that, and waisted a lot of money over the years...If i had to do it over id get a 'Used' Single neck 'Pro model' for about a Grand and save on all the up-dates, you might only spend a few hundred extra. Just my 2 cent's if it's worth that much. Very Happy

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Daniel McKee · From: Corinth Mississippi

If you are serious about playing steel I would try to find something with an all pull changer so you can have more knee levers but in my opinion the maverick isnt all that bad just limited in changes and after a while you really will want those other changes but a maverick can really get you a long ways I still play mine all the time.

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Well, I've owned both and I'll volunteer my take on the subject. Bear in mind that I will be referring to a 1st generation Maverick, the model with the blond lacquer finish, wood neck, and Gumby peghead. Some of these guitars had NO knee levers, others had one, which lowered s.2 1/2 tone and s.8 1/2 tone.

Yes, the CS has more levers, and in that respect is "more versatile," per se. But the quality of manufacture leaves much to be desired. OTOH, the changer on the Maverick is essentially the same as the Sho~Bud Permanent, the Marlen, or for that matter, the Bigsby.

If you began learning to play steel in the 1960's, or had a non-pedal steel, or a Sho~Bud with only one lever, you learned the judicious use of slants as well as pedals. You also used s.2 instead of lowering s.4 for that note, like Jimmy Day and Lloyd Green did (and do.)

Because of my background in steel, if faced with a CS or a Maverick, hands down the Maverick is the far better constructed guitar.

Last month I bought a 1st Gen. Maverick to use as a 10-string non-pedal guitar, and I use it full-time in the Alvin Crow band. It's perfect for that. I also recently bought another FGM for a student of mine who also wanted it for non-pedal playing. The tone of these instruments is superb and they are of solid manufacture.

I vote Maverick.

"Don't dis the Mav!"

ADDENDUM: I see beginners pay premium prices for mint-to-good condition Fender 400s. I can dig the vintage Fender vibe, but the 400 is an S-8 with 4 pedals. Experienced players may want a 400 for a capricious retro fling, but for a beginner, better to get a Maverick.
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Asa Brosius · Posted 27 Mar 2013 6:22 pm

i owned a cstarter, and i've played several mavericks-i'd say go with a cstarter- chances are it will work better simply by virtue of being much more recent. it has zero mojo compared to a maverick, but may be more reliable, which is important in general, but critical when starting. however ive never played or seen a mav in great condition.
that said, im fully in the 'get neither' camp. a second hand pro s10 can be had for a few hundred more- any model is far superior to those mentioned above, and will probably maintain value much better.

asa

Leo Melanson · From: Massachusetts, USA

I echo the comments from others ... buy a pro level guitar in the 1k-1.5k range.
The CS and MAV have an attractive price point for those who want to dabble .. but if you are serious about playing the instrument a good guitar will help you learn faster and will be more enjoyable to play.

The good news is .. that if you decide to buy either the CS or MAV (if you cant afford more or are just dying to get into playing) you can resell them here on the forum, and the values of steel guitars remain steady .. making it possible for all of us to trade up. I started with a CS and have traded up 4 times and now have a top pro guitar. It would have been nice to start with this guitar .. but I learned so much about Sho Bud, Emmons, etc. along the way. Its all good .. enjoy.
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Kevin Lichtsinn · From: Minnesota, USA

I am a Carter Starter owner. I paid $350 for it at a pawn shop. Yeah, I had to do some tweaking, but the thing sounds great to me, it stays in tune, and I am having a blast learning PSG with my starter. It does have its drawbacks however as others have already stated above. Knowing what I know now though, I would say that if you have a $1,000, I would suggest buying a new Stage 1.

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

in a flat out dog race..

why are we comparing a guitar with 4 levers to a guitar with maybe NONE or 1 ?

I too had a 1st generation Maverick, I added the one knee lever..., it was kool..I kept it for 6 months...it did what it was supposed to..it go me kick started...

But when I got to the next Steel which was a 3 + 4..I had no clue what the knee levers did and it took a bit of time to get it together..

the first 6 months served me well on the Maverick,but only for Peds AB and sometimes C... Lowering the 2nd string with the ONE lever was not a highlite !

Today is different.....more choices...

Why spend 6 months or a year with an Instrument where you already know it is lacking ? Why spend 6 months or a year on an Instrument that is NOT preparing you for the next one ?

A starter guitar at a low cost is a value..why are we talking about killer tone on a $350 instrument ? For the first year we will have killer tone , out of tune and off pitch playing .... ????

Comparing a Carter Starter which is about the same price as a Maverick is nuts...

All wood blonde body with Killer tone is not a per-requisite to learning how to play.

If possible step up to a guitar in the category of the Stage One or other brand MODERN ERA student models which of course brings you near $1000 or so...these are really nice Instruments and will far exceed your initial learning period..they will carry you into gigs....over the long haul they may be cheaper as you may decide not to part with it at all !

Should you find a used PRO guitar, 3+4 or 3+5 for a reasonable price in good shape.., overall, that will be the best purchase as it will carry the best re-sale opportunity. You don't buy those for lets say $1500 and sell them for $500....you buy them for lets say $1500 and sell them for the same price or thereabouts...
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