Carter Steel Guitars was established by Mervin “Bud” Carter (who combined his background in music and auto mechanics to become a legend playing, designing and building steel guitars) and John Fabian in 1992. Carter was the first manufacturer to offer online ordering for steel guitars, even including a web-based tool John developed to show custom configurations and prototyping with 3D modeling. He later added a dealer-only site which allowed resllers to view currently available inventory in real time, freeing up the office staff from phone inquiries and providing immediate feedback to those needing the information. Carter retired in 2008 and in 2010 Carter Steel Guitars went out of business, following the death of John Fabian.

Source: Dallas News. Mervin “Bud” Carter obituary. March 2015.

Source: John Fabian obituary 2010