Bill Moore's
Pedal Steel Guitar Page
Carter makes a really nice guitar, well designed and both the ones I had sounded good. The concept of the universal tuning is very sound, there are some great players, guys like Joe Wright, Larry Bell, and Jeff Newman, who can get just about any sound out of this type of tuning.
I needed to make some changes in the location of the levers, the guitar was originally set up with a B6th Universal tuning. I wanted to be able to easily reach all the pedals and levers from one position. I ended up with 8 pedals and 7 levers, with only 6 of the levers hooked up. Here is a photo of that Carter S-12, E9th/B6th Universal.
I solved that by making a new longer lever, now it works fine. Here's a photo of the new arrangement.
Here's the set-up that I ended up with:
1 | A | B | C | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | LKL1 | LKL2 | LKV | LKR1 | LKR2 | RKL | RKR | |
F# | G# | ||||||||||||||
D# | D | C# | |||||||||||||
G# | G | A | |||||||||||||
E | F# | F | Eb | ||||||||||||
B | C# | C# | A | C# | Bb | ||||||||||
G# | G | A | F# | A# | F# | ||||||||||
F# | F | ||||||||||||||
E | D | F | Eb | ||||||||||||
B | C# | C | C# | D | |||||||||||
G# | A | ||||||||||||||
E | F | Eb | F | ||||||||||||
B | C# | G# |
The carter is a really nice guitar that sounds beautiful, but I heard so much talk about the old Emmons push/pull guitars, that when I got the chance, I bought one. This guitar is from the early 1980's, here is a photo:
This guitar has 8 pedals and 4 knee levers, pretty much a standard setup. It has a satin walnut mica finish, very nice. The guitar is in great condition, it looks like it was played very little. It has a slightly different sound than any of the guitars I've owned. It's the first I've had that sounds good plugged straight into a headphone amp, without any reverb or other effects. So far, I like it, but I still believe in the concept of the 12 string Universal tuning, I think I will play both for a while, then decide which I like best. I may concentrate on learning the C6th neck, that would probably help if I go back to the E9th/B6th Universal. Here is how this guitar is set up:
E9th
A | B | C | LKL | LKR | RKL | RKR | |
F# | F | ||||||
D# | D/C# | ||||||
G# | A | ||||||
E | F# | F | D# | ||||
B | C# | C# | |||||
G# | A | F# | |||||
F# | F | ||||||
E | F | D# | |||||
D | |||||||
B | C# |
C6th
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | LKL | LKR | RKL | RKR | |
D | |||||||||
E | F | ||||||||
C | D | B | |||||||
A | B | B | Bb | ||||||
G | F# | ||||||||
E | D# | ||||||||
C | C# | ||||||||
A | B | ||||||||
F | F# | E | |||||||
C | D | A |
Here's a photo of the back side:
After a while I found that I played the Emmons most of the time, so it was time for the Carter to go. I REALLY, like the sound I get from this Emmons guitar, it's got a kind of mid-range twang that sound great. Hands down, it's the best sounding guitar I've owned.
Update:
Here are a couple of photos of some of my recent gear.
This is a Tradewind non-pedal D-8. Made in California by Elva West. It's a nice copy of the classic Fender Stringmaster. I need to play it more!
2003 Fessenden D-10, I consider this my workhorse guitar, I guess I play this one the most.
This is a BMI S-10, Lime Green, COOL, it's a good sounding guitar, and easy to carry.
Carter/Magnum SD-10, good sounding, lightweight pedal steel. A little plain looking, but plays really well.
Amps and other stuff:
I like Peavey amps for pedal steel, I have a Session 400, a Nashville 400 and two LTD 400 amps, mostly, I prefer to use the LTD 400s. I sometimes use rack system, with a Peavey Tubefex, power amp, and two 15 inch Peavey Black Widow speakers. I use a Hilton electronic volume pedal, which is wonderful. Fingerpicks are made by Jeff Newman, and I use Herco Blue thumbpicks. And last, I usually use a 7/8" stainless steel bar.
Some links to check out:
I also enjoy photography, here are a few I've done.