Magnum guitars

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 13 Dec 2012 10:15 pm

Just curious about the Magnum guitars. Are they just a Carter without polished parts or are they mechanically different. Never saw one in Carter booth in Dallas and have never played one or even seen one but heard they are good guitars. Where we're they sold or who sold them?

Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 13 Dec 2012 10:34 pm

Magnum Steels were similar to Carters because they were built by World Class Steels. They had similar designs as the Carter steel.

Keith Davidson · Post by **Keith Davidson** » 14 Dec 2012 3:19 am

Henry, I had a Magnum Pro Select. No where near the guitar that my Mullen G2 is but still a very good guitar. A good sounding guitar that played well, always stayed in tune and was well made.

Bill Ladd · Post by **Bill Ladd** » 14 Dec 2012 4:30 am

Undercarriage identical to Carter, powdercoated finish on top rather than polish, powdercoated aluminum legs and pedalbar. I've played both brands and they sound the same to me.

I play a Magnum D-10 professionally* both live and (on rare occasion) in the studio. I love mine and plan to keep her at least until I can afford an Emmons p/p!

*guess you'd say semi-professionally now, since I rarely make a living at it anymore!

Rich Peterson · Post by **Rich Peterson** » 14 Dec 2012 5:28 am

Magnum used smaller diameter crossrods.

Bill Ladd · Post by **Bill Ladd** » 14 Dec 2012 6:00 am

Oh yeah, and the single arm stamped bell cranks. Oops, forgot about that.

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 14 Dec 2012 9:37 am

Thanks everyone for their comments. So as I understand, a Magnum is just a Carter that has had some corners cut to cut down price. The pics I've seen are great looking guitars and I know Carter's are great guitars also. I've just never seen Magnums for sale or advertised new so was just wandering where they came from.

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 14 Dec 2012 9:57 am

The business model, as I understood it from talking a number of times with John Fabian, was that the Magnum was Phase Two of the Carter Starter project---design and manufacture a steel guitar and market it in a more mainstream music store system---the mail-order networks like Musician's Friend & Sam Ash etc. First the C-S to get people into the game, then the Magnum to give them something to move up to--all in a marketplace more familiar to guitarists and other 'non-niche'...ie. steel guitar...consumers.
And for clarity--the Carter Starter bears no resemblance to the Magnum nor does it share any parts, I don't think. The Magnum is a pro instrument.

Jeff Metz Jr. · Post by **Jeff Metz Jr.** » 14 Dec 2012 10:08 pm

The Magnum steels used to be available on Musiciansfriend. I am positive that they have since been removed from the catalog. Thanks

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 15 Dec 2012 1:51 am

They would probably still be around if John had not died and Carter was still in business.

What a loss his death was to our community.

F--- cancer!

Quentin Hickey · Post by **Quentin Hickey** » 15 Dec 2012 4:01 pm

Sarah Jory has some videos up on youtube playing a magnum and sounds great!

Bill Ladd · Post by **Bill Ladd** » 15 Dec 2012 4:50 pm

As does Bobbe Seymour.

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 15 Dec 2012 7:12 pm

No disrespect to Magnum or Carter, but Sarah Jory and Bobbe Seymour would sound great no matter what they played.

Jim Hoke · Post by **Jim Hoke** » 15 Dec 2012 9:10 pm

I played one once at Bobbe's and the thing had absolutely zero cabinet drop. I checked w/ a tuner.

Micky Byrne · Post by **Micky Byrne** » 16 Dec 2012 2:51 am

Quentin, Sarah would sound great playing on a plank with 1 srting attached

No seriously, she has played many brands and sounded good on all she played. She's now playing a German built WBS.

Micky Byrne U.K.

Ray Thomas · Post by **Ray Thomas** » 21 Dec 2012 7:38 am

I've owned one, sorry I sold it.

Gary Preston · Post by **Gary Preston** » 26 Dec 2012 8:51 am

One of my students had a new one . It sounded good and played well but it was a cheap made guitar . One thing i did notice about it was that it seemed to stay in tune real good . You buy what you can afford right ? I'm not being mean just honest . G.P.

Bill Miller · Post by **Bill Miller** » 26 Dec 2012 9:13 am

I've never played one but I do have a Carter which has served me well. It's probably true that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but visually the Magnums have little appeal. It's mostly the cheap looking powder coated legs. I've seen better looking legs on an ironing board and just that feature alone would be a deal killer for me, whether or not the guitar sounded o.k.

Jim Hoke · Post by **Jim Hoke** » 26 Dec 2012 9:30 am

I agree Bill. If I were judging an instrument by performance alone, I'd own a Magnum, but, doggonnit, it just doesn't look like a serious steel guitar. I guess a lot of players feel the same about GFI.

Rich Peterson · Post by **Rich Peterson** » 26 Dec 2012 12:50 pm

If I didn't like the powdercoated legs, but liked the guitar, I'd have the legs stripped and chromed or have replacements made.

I used to be dismissive of Fender Telecasters because they looked cheap. Don't care about appearances as much as I used to.

And no one pays attention to the steel player anyway, so what difference does it make? http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/images/s ... iggrin.gif

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 26 Dec 2012 3:37 pm

Jim Hoke wrote:I agree Bill. If I were judging an instrument by performance alone, I'd own a Magnum, but, doggonnit, it just doesn't look like a serious steel guitar. I guess a lot of players feel the same about GFI.

I'm sorta like you, it has to look like a serious guitar before I'll play one, out that is. The GFI and the Magnum and the other guitars like the Encore and ETS just don't look like real guitars even though they sound and play just as good as any pro type guitar. Now the Emmons P/P looks impressive to , even to folks that don't play. I don't know why??

Jeff Metz Jr. · Post by **Jeff Metz Jr.** » 31 Dec 2012 4:53 pm

I think it just has to do with being tasteful. Looks shouldn't be important but the fact is...they most certainly are(to me anyway). It almost always comes down to these few cosmetics that tell me whether the guitar looks serious or not.

1.Raised neck
2.Key head
3.The way the pickup is mounted.
4.Chrome (polished) endplates
5. Color scheme

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 10 Sep 2023 2:45 pm

Since i started this post back in 2012, Ive become the proud owner of a Magnum D-10 and can truthfully say its on of the most favorite guitars I've ever owned. Thats all i play now. It sounds good and plays good and stays in tune. Ive owned several Carters and i much prefer it over a Carter. Instead of the dog bone rod hookup, it has bell cranks like a 14 hole Legrand, i believe they are 11 hole. It has a little spring that holds the rods onto bell crank that makes it very easy to move or change setups. The changer is also different than a Carter with 4 & 2. Four raise and 2 lower.
These arent cheap made guitars. Only thing maybe youd call cheap is the anodized finish instead of polished aluminum. Howevr, i really like this finish. It’s durable and no maintenance. Just wipe off is all you have to do. Another big plus is this guitar is very light. I didnt weigh it but very easy and light to carry. It has GeorgeL pickups with an E66 on C neck. E neck pickup doesnt have a model number on it. Right now, for playability and tone, i wouldnt trade for anything.

Danny Letz · Post by **Danny Letz** » 10 Sep 2023 4:14 pm

I think the George L pickup without a number on it is probably a 10-1. It's a tad darker than an E 66. Had one on my S10 Zum and liked it perty good.

Keith Bolog · Post by **Keith Bolog** » 21 Oct 2024 5:44 am

I read this entire 12 year old post. In defense of Carter/Magnums:

Do not pass up an opportunity to buy one of these excellent guitars.

Carter's attempt to make an affordable starter guitar unfairly blemished the entire pro line and bled over to the Magnum line,
which is a pro level build in every respect, not cheap at all. The shot blast finish on metal parts probably to blame....we are used to shiny pretty.
The happy result for any buyer is a relatively lower street price than a 'gold standard' PSG.

I can also testify to ZERO cabinet drop, and it has a nice 'growl'.

The only cons I can find: rear legs have limited, although adequate adjustability, and the beefy Carter case makes this lightweight guitar heavier to haul around than is necessary (58 lbs). Neither should be a deal killer.

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