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Author
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Topic: Further observations on this Carter guitar..
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Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 31 January 2004 09:04 AM
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After getting the pulls on this steel in tune and putting some time in on it,I would like to state my honest opinion on what I think of it as an experienced player. This is probably the best steel guitar I have ever owned. It rings loud clear and long with the amp off ..always a good sign on ANY steel.Mechanically it is as good as anything I have ever played ,and better than most,with all the levers and pedals smooth and precise with solid positive stops everywhere. VERY solid. It has long sustain.. as long or longer than my beautiful PRO III had. The undercarriage is assembled like a fine Swiss watch with everything in perfect order and neat as a pin. I'll say this again, Its the color and the pickup I have issues with..NOT the guitar. If it was maroon and black or even a woodgrain red and black I would probably just put a JW TrueTone in it and keep it. I do get a very nice old Fender/ZB like sound out of the "phased" position on the 6 way switch,but it just doesn't have the power in that position to use full time. Every other position on the switch overdrives the amp preamp badly and cannot be used. Yes you can be in love with something and hate certain aspects of it at the same time. I only hope the all black replacement is as good as this one in its fit,finish,feel,playability and sustain[acoustically]. No, I am not a mental case, I just can't get used to the color or I would keep it as is and just change the pickup. I will say this here and now.. based on everything I know about pedal steel guitars, I can say I would CERTAINLY buy another Carter,and would reccommend one to ANY steel player. I would tell him which pickup NOT to put on it however.. thanks for putting up with me.... bob |
Donny Hinson
Member From: Balto., Md. U.S.A.
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posted 31 January 2004 09:12 AM
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Bob, just out of curiosity, what kind of volume pedal are you using? |
Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 31 January 2004 09:25 AM
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BMI pot pedal.. not a bad unit IMHO.. Its not the pedal Donny.. The pickup seems way too hot for some reason.. it sends the amp into big time front end distortion and is out of control dark and muddy besides... Think of an amp dimed and having two pillows over the speaker!!!... Its the pickup... gotta be .......bob |
HowardR
Member From: N.Y.C.,N.Y.
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posted 31 January 2004 09:39 AM
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quote:
It rings loud clear and long with the amp off
Bob, I'm not an experienced player, but from what I understand, your Carter will sound much better with the amp turned on. I'm guessing at this but I hope that it helps...  quote:
you can be in love with something and hate certain aspects of it at the same time.
that's what's known as "marriage"....[This message was edited by HowardR on 31 January 2004 at 09:43 AM.] |
Kevin Hatton
Member From: Amherst, N.Y.
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posted 31 January 2004 10:29 AM
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Doewwwwww!![This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 31 January 2004 at 10:30 AM.] |
Mike Perlowin
Member From: Los Angeles CA
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posted 31 January 2004 10:39 AM
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quote:
I do get a very nice old Fender/ZB like sound out of the "phased" position on the 6 way switch,but it just doesn't have the power in that position to use full time.
Bob, that is easily solvable. Pick up a little MXR micro amp, then whenever you need a boost, step on it. You will be amazed at how much power it adds. Our fellow forumite Mike Brebes turned me on to this. I still think that you must have gotten a defective pickup. I have the same pickup in one of my MSAs and it sounds just fine. [This message was edited by Mike Perlowin on 31 January 2004 at 10:39 AM.] |
Eric West
Member From: Portland, Oregon, USA
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posted 31 January 2004 10:43 AM
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Well, I just took an internal poll, and I think the ProIII still has it.... EJL |
Peter
Member From: Cape Town, South Africa
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posted 31 January 2004 11:06 AM
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Bob, what is your setup (pedals and knees) on this guitar?------------------
Peter den Hartogh-Emmons 1978 S10 - Fender Artist S10-Remington U12-Hilton Volume Pedal-Gibson BR4 lapsteel-Guya "Stringmaster" Copy-MusicMan112RP-Peavy Rage158- - My Animation College in South Africa
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Stephen Gambrell
Member From: Ware Shoals, South Carolina, USA
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posted 31 January 2004 11:24 AM
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Eric, would you REALLY take a ProIII over a Carter S-10? I'm gonna see John Fabian in a couple of weeks, maybe he'll take my push-pull in trade on a Carter Starter...
And how come you didn't include ME in this "internal poll?" Southern people have opinions, too![This message was edited by Stephen Gambrell on 31 January 2004 at 11:25 AM.] |
Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 31 January 2004 11:56 AM
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Peter.. pedals 123.. standard E9
pedal 4= string 3 down a full tone[G#-F#]
pedal 5=string 6 down a full tone[G#-F#]
LNL=1st string up a full tone[F#-G#]
LNR=2nd string down down a full tone in two steps[E-D#-D] yes I use 3 E's!!
LNV=string 5 down 1/2 and string 7 up 1/2 [B-Bb F#-G]
RkR= strings 4 and 8 down 1/2 [E-Eb]
RkL=strings 4 and 8 up 1/2[E-F].. pretty wierd no??? bob [This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 31 January 2004 at 11:57 AM.] |
Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 31 January 2004 12:03 PM
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Mike.. I too had one for years and years on my decrepit old MSA and it sounded great.Thats why I ordered it! If I could lower it away from the strings It might be a bit better. Its nowhere near anything thats usable. Too muddy and way too distorted.... something MUST be changed in this pickup compared to the one I had for over 20 years.The last one was clean, bright and NICE!!! bob |
Eric West
Member From: Portland, Oregon, USA
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posted 31 January 2004 02:56 PM
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I would take a mint Pro III over ANY guitar. IN fact if I wanted one other than my bushwhipped PIII, I'd write a check and buy one. I don't care if it was made out of Chipboard™, Tupperware™ Upsidasium™, or covered with the finest Formica™.Longer Sustain? Maintenence free mechanics?, Conterfuncal Shimmy Modulation Systems? All that so they can sit in a living room somewhere? My Internal Polls are quite accurate if not scientific..I don't usually include residents of states that were covered in the EP* for my opinions. They do not take into account, like the EP, states that are or were in open rebellion. EJL *Emancipation Proclamation [This message was edited by Eric West on 01 February 2004 at 11:34 AM.] |
Jim Phelps
Member From: just out of Mexico City
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posted 31 January 2004 05:34 PM
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.[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 17 November 2004 at 08:49 PM.] |
Dean Schrock
Member From: Vinton, Ohio, USA
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posted 31 January 2004 06:12 PM
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On your pickup, this might not be the case but I bought a new guitar from a well know maker about 6 years ago and it sounded a lot like you describe yours does. Well I flipped the pickup around and the problem was sloved. The guitar was supposed to be played by the maker before shippment but I doubt it. because if he would have played it he would have noticed it. |
tbhenry
Member From: Chattanooga /USA
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posted 31 January 2004 07:25 PM
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Please give us more details, information observations, comments and feelings on this Carter guitar. Many of us are waiting with bated breath for the next exciting instalment and our eyes are glued to our computers as we wait in suspense. Please do not disappoint us!!! |
HowardR
Member From: N.Y.C.,N.Y.
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posted 31 January 2004 08:50 PM
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quote:
Many of us are waiting with bated breath
And many with bad breath.... |
Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 31 January 2004 10:19 PM
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tbhenry.. don't like my posts?? ... don't read them..... |
Ken Byng
Member From: Southampton, England
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posted 01 February 2004 04:29 AM
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I'm with Eric W on the Pro 111. Best sounding and best action of any guitar I have played. It stays with me and will be buried with me. Never let me down once in the nearly 30 years that I've owned it. My second guitar is a LDG which comes close but not quite. KB |
Reggie Duncan
Member From: Mississippi
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posted 01 February 2004 06:11 AM
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Well, the guitar is getting better all the time! Great! |
Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 01 February 2004 06:53 AM
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Reggie.. the problem is not the guitar itself. It was the just not the color I wanted and there is something terribly wrong with the pickup. Everything else about it is top notch,but I still feel I have the right to be po'd... Maybe I'm just a whiny crybaby! bob[This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 01 February 2004 at 06:56 AM.]
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Paul Osbty
Member From: Seattle, Washington, USA
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posted 02 February 2004 02:59 AM
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Bob,I suspect that model pickup has been used before. I'd really make sure that Carter and other users get in on the fix for this. Any guitar wiring is relatively simple, but it is not done with pre-made circuit boards. Wiring is a science (with some art!) and I am sure there is an answer. One poster suggested it may be installed 180 degrees out. I'd really be interested in the fix for this. You may still want that pickup. Paul[This message was edited by Paul Osbty on 02 February 2004 at 03:01 AM.] |
Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 02 February 2004 03:54 AM
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Paul.. John Fabian talked twice with me at length about this. He gave me several things to try,one of them checking the resistance of the pickup. Sure enough,I was reading between 20-24 K ohms.. this is WAY overwound, which is exactly what it sounds like.. SUPER LOUD, muddy,and distorts way too easily. Carter has been totally stand up on this issue and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it. They are builing my all black replacement guitar as we "speak" with my choice of pickups... I'm going with a Wallace True Tone..... bob[This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 02 February 2004 at 05:22 AM.] |
Nicholas Dedring
Member From: Brooklyn, New York, USA
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posted 02 February 2004 09:32 AM
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So, you don't like the color. You've said before, and are confirming here, that they acknowledged their mistake and are correcting it. So the color is actually a non-issue, right? You like the guitar, and you will be happy with the correct, black guitar that they are sending you... if I'm getting you correctly.Actually, you should be even happier with the sound on the new one. We all know how much better a black guitar is  |
James Quackenbush
Member From: Pomona, New York, USA
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posted 02 February 2004 10:03 AM
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We all know how much better a black guitar is Not to mention the quality and tone you're gonna get from a TrueTone pickup !!.... Jim |
tbhenry
Member From: Chattanooga /USA
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posted 02 February 2004 05:47 PM
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Brother Bob, I think that you have just analysed your problem yourself. In your post you said:.. Maybe I'm just a whiny crybaby! bob |
Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 03 February 2004 06:31 AM
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tbhenry.. sorry you feel that way my friend. John Fabian and Bud Carter don't. If you had just spent $2400 you shouldn't really be spending and the guitar came and was the wrong color and distorted so badly you could NOT use it at a gig, I'm sure your demeanor would have been altered toward incivility... Yes I'll agree, I was a little rough,but I'm not that good at holding my temper and the anger came out before I had a chance to cool down. Lets put it this way,if the guys at Carter understood the disappointment I felt,why can't you?? I'm actually a pretty nice guy if given half a chance. Everything else about the steel is TOP notch and I said so. If I liked the color even a little bit, I would just change the pick up and keep it. Anyway just try and understand,there are some of us that yell first and think later. I wish I were the opposite but I was wired up "reverse phase".... bob |
Ken Byng
Member From: Southampton, England
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posted 03 February 2004 07:31 AM
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Maybe this saga has reached the stage where it is a little boring???KB[This message was edited by Ken Byng on 03 February 2004 at 07:31 AM.] |
Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 03 February 2004 01:27 PM
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Ken.. geez...don't click on it in that case... |
Marco Schouten
Member From: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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posted 03 February 2004 03:16 PM
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I want to hear a happy end, so keep posting!------------------
Steelin' Greetings
Marco Schouten
Sho-Bud LLG; Guyatone 6 string lap steel; John Pearse bar; Emmons bar; Evans SE200 amp
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HowardR
Member From: N.Y.C.,N.Y.
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posted 03 February 2004 04:26 PM
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I've run out of jokes....  |
Fred Shannon
Member From: Rocking "S" Ranch, Comancheria, Texas
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posted 03 February 2004 05:27 PM
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No jokes, but a happy note. I would wager a pretty that Bob C. wishes he could do this over again, and I'll also wager that Carter Guitars, being who they are, will fully satisfy Mr. C's wishes... Case Closed as Archie Bunker would say.
fred
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The spirit be with you!
If it aint got a steel, it aint real
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Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 03 February 2004 08:07 PM
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I have spoken to John Fabian 3 times in the last few days. I thanked him HIGHLY and often because I can see that he and Bud are bending over backwards to get my replacement steel here soon. They are a most impressive organization, one I will do business with again and again....If they can put up with me!!!... bob |
Peter
Member From: Cape Town, South Africa
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posted 04 February 2004 02:39 PM
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quote:
posted 25 January 2004 12:27 AM on ELECTRONICS.
Sho-Bud split coil pickups?
Doug.. I don't think you'll like that pickup. I have one.. the 20 k is too harsh and muddy and distorts the amp terribly. the "tapped" coil has a cool sound but is kind of fendery sounding and thin.. Its not the best pickup I've had on a steel.. Bob Carlucci
Your new Carter pickups AND your Sho-Bud pickups BOTH distort? ------------------
Peter den Hartogh-Emmons 1978 S10 - Fender Artist S10-Remington U12-Hilton Volume Pedal-Gibson BR4 lapsteel-Guya "Stringmaster" Copy-MusicMan112RP-Peavy Rage158- - My Animation College in South Africa
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Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 04 February 2004 05:54 PM
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I think I know where you are going with this..The sho Bud split coil in the 20+ K position is too distorted for my taste yes. I can pretty much control it if I have to,but I don't want to think about "controlling" my instruments.. I want them to make good music. The GeorgeL in the Carter is beyond controlling . It is overwound in my opinion @ 24K ohms. I've been playing for well over 28 years and know what a steel guitar should sound like. Whether or not you agree, SOME steel guitar pickups are too hot and will overdrive an amps front end....I played my Carter a bit for a fellow forumite named Steve Spitz over the phone and he said he heard the amp overdriving. The Master on the Peavey Nashville 112 was @4 the pre was at 2 1/2 and the treble and presence were almost dimed just to get a little definition. He said it sounded like a blusey overdriven amp... I doubt its the amp because they don't distort easily ... bob[This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 04 February 2004 at 05:55 PM.] [This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 04 February 2004 at 06:00 PM.] [This message was edited by Bob Carlucci on 04 February 2004 at 06:01 PM.] |
Smiley Roberts
Member From: Hendersonville,Tn. 37075
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posted 05 February 2004 12:17 AM
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This,from the "home page":"Since January of 1997, The Steel Guitar Forum has been bringing steel players together in a spirit of friendship and a common love of the instrument." I think the key word here is "friendship"!
Let's not forget it! ------------------
~ ~
©¿© It don't mean a thang,
mm if it ain't got that twang.
www.ntsga.com |
Bob Carlucci
Member From: Candor, New York, USA
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posted 05 February 2004 04:52 AM
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Smiley.. I was really not trying to be unfriendly. I was just defending my position as it pertains to my problem with this pickup on the Carter guitar. It does overdrive the amp into distortion and a few of our friends here feel it can't happen,that its in my head etc. For my taste, I was merely relating my experiences of MANY years of playing. Some pickups just won't break an amp up and others will do it constantly. If a pickup can distort a Peavey steel guitar amp, the preamps of which are designed to handle lots of input,that pickup is too hot/overwound in my opinion. I am the friendliest guy you would care to meet believe me Smiley, but I do tend to be defensive when I feel a guy thinks I might be "stretching" the truth a bit... thanks for the reply and be assured I really am a sweetheart!!!..... well,,,, kind of..... bob |
Bobby Lee
Sysop From: Cloverdale, North California, USA
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posted 05 February 2004 09:04 AM
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FWIW, I swap pickups a lot, and I play several different steel guitars. I've never encountered a pickup that distorts. Amps that distort, yes.
Plug the guitar into a mixing board, adjust the trim so that the signal doesn't go into the red, and listen in headphones. Does the pickup itself distort? I'd be very surprised if it did.
If you hear distortion from different guitars and pickups, chances are that it's a problem with the volume pedal, amplifier or speaker, not with the pickup.------------------
 Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax |
Ulf Edlund
Member From: Umeå, Sweden
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posted 05 February 2004 11:37 AM
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If the guitar with the pickup you don't like is going back to Carter, why bother?
Maybe we could come up with a somewhat more constructive discussion. (and that goes for me as well!)Uffe |
Murnel Babineaux
Member From: Jennings, Louisiana, USA
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posted 05 February 2004 12:57 PM
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Hmmm...... |
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