Steinberger XP-2a
 

The "a" stands for "a" very cool bass. Wrong. It stands for active EMG pickups. (Nine volt battery) If you play funk and have never tried a Steinberger, you are missing a wonderful experience. Not bad at all for Who, 80s and modern rock either.

It has a bolt-on composite neck (no truss rod) onto a wooden body. So it is a little lighter than the XL-2 and L-2 models. Better balanced too - it doesn't need that swivel horn thingy. Also more adjustable since the neck can be reset. I've owned two XL-2s and to my ears, this guy sounds really close, if not the same.

Please note: it was rewired like an XL-2 before I got it so it no longer is a collector's specimen. The wiring and pots were changed. Again, it sounds great. It's not in pristine condition, but it's not a beater either.

Comes with a Hohner gig bag that fits.

I'm selling it because:

1) I'm over my four bass limit.

2) I don't think I'll ever play in a funk or 80s band again. Too old, time is running out.

3) I find the action a little high. Now, I'm a lazy old guy who likes floppy strings and very low action. The double ball rounds on this bass are pretty tense and so the action feels high to me.

That said, I measure about 1/16 from fret to the bottom of the strings on the fifth fret and 1/8 on the octave. So I guess it's more of a function of the string tension that bothers me.

In fact, for funk and/or slap, you might want to raise the strings up a bit, so maybe those measurements are low.

But if you wanted to get the neck flattened out to John Entwhistle specifications, you're gonna be looking at spending $550+ on a refret.

It just came back from Peekamoose music in NYC where some work was done on the bridge, the neck reset and the bass set up. That cost over $350.

So the price is not unreasonable.

$740 shipped con USA.

Other places, please PM me.

Thanks

XP-2a Pix
 

More pix.

Even More Pix
 

Ayunh.

Very interested here...where is the battery compartment on this, and what type of work was done on the bridge?

The battery is under the pickguard. So you have to take the whole thing off. Not the world's best design, but not a huge issue if you are changing the strings anyway. (I read someone's posting somewhere talking about having a custom pickguard made with a little door for the battery.)

Bridge - nothing serious. One of the claws was very hard to turn and another a bit grouchy. They replaced the threaded shafts on one or both of them. Now they turn more easily. They also did some other odds & ends.

It's easy to carry around. No head = less length.

Trades? No need for another bass, ouside of that RD bass on sale here.

Wish list = One of those old Alembic preamps. And or one of those new Crown power amps (not the 1500 watt one), I need the 2500 watt baby for my PA.

Thanks!

What is the relief at the 7th fret? (i.e. putting a capo on the first fret, holding the string down on the last, the distance between the top of the fret and the bottom of the string)

Will do that tonight.

My wife & I tried to measure the distance a bunch of ways. But we couldn't get a good reading with a ruler.

What I can tell you is that an index card folded over once slides into the gap and stays in place but does not visibly lift the strings.

When I folded the card over again and then slid three sheets into the gap, it appeared to lift the strings.

This is the setup the famed Peekamoose folks did a coipeof weeks ago. I think it may be a little too low, at least for slap playing.

Tempting :)

I'm curious about resetting the neck on this bass. How is that done? considering that it does not have a trussrod/

It has a bolt-on neck. Almost like a Fender = four bolts. You can put shims in to reset the angle. Even I was able to do that, whch is pretty good.

Is it more tempting at $700 shipped?

The bass is sold. Thanks for looking.