Setting up a Steinberger L2 Bass- Can I do this myself?

[Sharp Shooter]

Hello,

I'm a newby near as the forum looks great!

I have an old Steinberger L2 bass that I pulled out of my closet after 20 years since I last played it. The strings need changing of course and a good clean up.

Can anyone give me any info on how to set up my bass? I don't want to spend $65 at the guitar center when I can do the adjustments myself.

I know there are dozens of websites showing how to set up an electric guitar but I can't find anything for a Steinberger bass.

Can anyone give me a link or string and pickup height measurements to use? Since there's no truss rod, I'm not going to mess with any of the neck's adjustments.

Thanks.

[251]

Go to; Steinberger World Click on the Technical Info tab & scroll down to Bass Setup Instructions (1982)

Find the SteinbergerWorld ListServer in Yahoo Groups. In addition to the Headless Forum on TB; Headless Club???
it's a good place to post your Steinberger questions

[Sharp Shooter]

Thanks.

But it doesn't really give me the measurement spacing for the E and G strings along the frets.

Also do you know the spacing from the humbuckers to the height of the strings?

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by Sharp Shooter

Thanks.

But it doesn't really give me the measurement spacing for the E and G strings along the frets.

That's your intonation adjustment; it will be marginally different for every set of strings you use, so it can't be set to some "factory spec". You have to set it with an accurate tuner.

Originally Posted by Sharp Shooter

Also do you know the spacing from the humbuckers to the height of the strings?

I don't remember Steinberger ever publishing a recommended pickup height, but fwiw that's pretty easy to set by trial & error. Mine are probably 5mm for the bridge pickup; you'll need to make the distance greater for the neck pickup just to balance their outputs.

Do you know about the saddle locking screws on the right side of the bridge?

[251]

Originally Posted by Sharp Shooter

Thanks.

But it doesn't really give me the measurement spacing for the E and G strings along the frets.

Also do you know the spacing from the humbuckers to the height of the strings?

Find the basics of set up for a variety of basses here;
ALL BASIC SETUP QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE - TalkBass Forums

[markorbit]

Because the Steinberger has no truss rod you don't have a lot left to mess up. Just set the string height to your style of playing and raise the pickups to a point before heavy playing forces the string to hit them. If the low strings are louder then lower that side of the pickup etc. Use a tuner to set the intonation by moving the saddles back and forth by hand which is a bit fiddly compared to other basses. I bet these hardly need moving.

How's the neck after 20 years? Still as straight as ever? Unfortunately not all Bergers are as true as they were.

Got a picture of your L2?

[darkstorm]

You dont need measurements for action set up or for pup heights. Since those completely ignore giving the bass personalized setup for you for best action. And of course they also ignore setting up pups for best sound to you. I wouldnt let GC do a set up on a guitar or bass. Id have more confidence in the neighborhood dogs to do a better job.

To set up pups, raise them till string would be hitting them when played. Then listen to the pup solo and adjust it down for best to you sound. Repeat for the other pup solo. The play both pups full on. If you want a little bit brighter tone for that cruising voice (both pups on full) either raise the bridge pup a little or lower the neck pup a little. If you want a little bit warmer tone eithe raise the neck pup a little or lower the bridge pup a little. Then adjust tilt for the pups, relative height below the strings for each side as desired for string to string tonal blance as desired. A set of measurements will never ever give you best soujnd for you. Thats only got by experimenting and adjusting to personal taste. The same holds true for action setup.

[F-Clef-Jef]

Check to see if your bass has the little locking set-screw on the top-side of the bridge/tuner assembly. You need to loosen it a little before adjusting anything on the bridge. The set-screw (if your bass has one) locks the bridge pieces together once everything is adjusted to your liking.

[Jazz Ad]

Originally Posted by Hoover

Do you know about the saddle locking screws on the right side of the bridge?

They lock the saddles in place.
Undo screw, adjust intonation, when it's done tight back the screw and it won't move.

[Turnaround]

Originally Posted by darkstorm

To set up pups, raise them till string would be hitting them when played. Then listen to the pup solo and adjust it down for best to you sound. Repeat for the other pup solo. The play both pups full on. If you want a little bit brighter tone for that cruising voice (both pups on full) either raise the bridge pup a little or lower the neck pup a little. If you want a little bit warmer tone eithe raise the neck pup a little or lower the bridge pup a little. Then adjust tilt for the pups, relative height below the strings for each side as desired for string to string tonal blance as desired.

Perfectly good procedure if you ignore distortion, magnetic pull causing strange overtones and intonation issues. But those are probably covered with the "until it sounds good to you" advice.

[mikezimmerman]

Originally Posted by Turnaround

Perfectly good procedure if you ignore distortion, magnetic pull causing strange overtones and intonation issues. But those are probably covered with the "until it sounds good to you" advice.

Well to be fair, active EMGs are a lot less prone to those kinds of problems than your typical passive pickup due to their low magnetic pull. You can get away with putting them a lot closer to the strings, so this is not such crazy advice (in the experience of someone who's owned several L2's and XL2's, plus a handful of other EMG-equipped basses...)