Local Steel Guitar Manufacturer Leading the Market

Mark Stedman, Staff Writer
July 6, 2000 12:00AM

You can hear them on Garland-area country music artist LeAnn Rimes' albums and on the road with the E Street Band. You can find them from San Francisco to Japan.

Carter Steel Guitars, located at 617 West Kearney Street in Mesquite, [Texas] has become a world leader in the manufacturing and sale of steel guitars. Because of the revolutionary steel guitar designs of cofounder Bud Carter and the customer service and marketing prowess of Company President, John Fabian, Carter Steel Guitars has made Mesquite [Texas] the industry's epicenter.

Carter Steel Guitars opened its doors in January 1993 and within 4 years was among the top 10 steel guitar manufacturers in sales. Last year, Carter Steel Guitar was the world leader in sales, topping out at 180 steel guitars sold, with 35 to 40 being sent overseas.

In an industry with minimal demand, Carter Steel Guitars has cornered the market with a high-quality product at a lower cost to the musician. It is a market niche that Fabian says has led to success.

"As far as we are concerned, we see an increase in demand for our product," said Fabian. "We are continuing to take a larger slice of, what appears to be, a decreasing pie. Our current business plan calls for not only increasing the size of our slice, but also increasing the size of the total pie."

Carter Steel Guitars is able to satisfy the demand at a greater level of efficiency than its competitors because it outsources the manufacturing of components, he said. The guitars are assembled on Kearney Street [in Mesquite, Texas] with parts supplied by various manufacturers.

Because all the parts are already made, a musician could have a new steel guitar in no more than a day. The Company's guaranteed shipment time is 30 days on a standard order.

For those not familiar with the pedal steel guitar, which has grown in popularity, the instrument is similar to the traditional guitar only in name.

The steel guitar has no frets along the neck and is tuned to an open chord. The pedals and knee levers physically raise and lower the strings, and are used in combination to create the melodic country sound original only to steel guitars. The [pedal steel] guitar is played with a slide bar while picking the strings with the opposite hand and playing the pedals [and knee levers] simultaneously.

It is an instrument that Fabian says takes some time to grow accustomed to.

"It would typically take 6 months to a year to be able to play somewhat competently," said Fabian. "After that, you could [likely] get up and play with a band."

The success, which began in 1993 and has continued to rise, is actually 3 decades in the making.

Fabian met Carter, a Missouri native, in Oklahoma in 1972. Carter was working for MSA, a steel guitar company which would eventually go out of business, and Fabian was down to buy a guitar. The 2 stayed in contact for a number of years and eventually met again at a steel guitar convention in St. Louis, MO.

After Fabian's company in California wanted him to move to New Jersey, he decided to do his own thing.

"I called Bud (Carter) up and said 'I'm coming down to talk about building steels,'" said Fabian. "If I had not been able to get Bud, I wouldn't be doing this; I don't know of anyone else I would want to do this with."

Carter Steel Guitars sells directly to the buyer without going through a dealer, but John Fabian and Bud Carter say they hope that changes soon. Currently, market conditions are not right to sell professional model steel guitars through dealers, said Fabian.

The Company is, however, in the process of creating a beginner's line of pedal steel guitars which will be sold with instructional literature and video. The beginner's package will be sold in music stores and will cost less than professional models. This will allow the beginner to decide if this is the right instrument for them at a reasonable cost.

With pace-setting technical advancements and consumer-friendly marketing, Carter Steel Guitars is sure to keep Mesquite in the pedal steel guitar limelight.

Reprinted with Permission from the Editor, Mesquite News
Volume 98, No. 22

We welcome your feedback about our Site via Email at psgbuilder@steelguitar.com