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Are Steinbergers still sought after?
- Thread starter FishDub
- Start date
Hey guys, I actually wanted to get myself a Steinberger and then I saw the prices on eBay....the fact they all use special strings actually really rubs me the wrong way too. But the idea of a lightweight headless bass with two humbuckers rubs me the very right way, so I searched for other options, one of them being the Ibanez Axstar bass:
Supposedly it can use standard strings which I really like and they go for cheap on Ebay, does anyone have any experience with these basses? I really like Ibanez anyway so getting another Ibanez would actually be nice.
Supposedly it can use standard strings which I really like and they go for cheap on Ebay, does anyone have any experience with these basses? I really like Ibanez anyway so getting another Ibanez would actually be nice.
Jimmy Tebeau of The Schlag still plays one. And beautifully no less. And makes a good living doing it.
Hey guys, I actually wanted to get myself a Steinberger and then I saw the prices on eBay....the fact they all use special strings actually really rubs me the wrong way too. But the idea of a lightweight headless bass with two humbuckers rubs me the very right way, so I searched for other options, one of them being the Ibanez Axstar bass:
Supposedly it can use standard strings which I really like and they go for cheap on Ebay, does anyone have any experience with these basses? I really like Ibanez anyway so getting another Ibanez would actually be nice.
I had a blue one, it was upgraded with EMGs. Sounded OK. Usual Ibanez quality, which is to say, very good. The Steinbergers could use standard string though, they made an adapter.
- Apr 6, 2013
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- Agent for Scandinavian countries: Stick Enterprises Inc.
That's actually Chucho Merchan, who is most famous for being the bass player with Eurythmics: there's also a great fretless L-2 solo by Chucho somewhere around YouTube.
While you're searching, make sure to watch the very interesting period interviews with Ned Steinberger. His story is a very interesting tale of how too much sudden success can actually destroy your business!
I had to chuckle a the "New Wave" comment... EVERYBODY who was a serious bassist in the 80's had a Steinberger, from Tony Levin (a prototype fretless model) to Lee Sklar. And yes, even Jaco: he is quoted in an interview saying how much he loves the Steinberger, which Sting had turned him into, and how he was afraid of leaving the safety of his trusted a Fender Jazz: had he gone the L-2 way, this would be a very different discussion
Though I don't play it all the time, I have an early Brooklyn L-2, which is a killer bass. I do get the occasional "the 80's called, they want the bass back" remark, but it inevitably takes one single note to shut everyone up.
It just sounds that good.
The wood neck knockoffs like the Hohner seemed to sacrifice the primary advantage of Steinbergers other than the tuning: the incredibly stable neck. It just feels exactly the same now as the day I bought it in 1986, it's like a solid-state bass. I dinged it up pretty good and just recently repaired it with black gelcoat, looks great. The Kubicki was the only other bass I thought really equaled the Steinberger at the time, that had an incredibly strong laminated neck that was nearly as stable. I never had any trouble getting double-ball strings in the guages I like, stainless last forever. People always bring that up, was never an issue for anyone I knew who had one. Ned Steinberger has come up with a new tuning system that uses standard strings, the guy is a genius, but didn't always make great business decisions.
Electronics are not an issue but honestly I couldnt find a Steinberger for a good price. So I opted for the next best thing, the Ibanez. I just hope there will still be some second hand ones by the time I have the money.
The Axstar is actually pretty kitchy cool, it fit in well with Ibanez history of weird basses like the Ergodynes with the composite bodies. They are very solid in their own right, I wouldn't be disappointed to have my Axstar back, they pop up for sale pretty regularly actually, certainly more then graphite Steinbergers, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one.
The Washburn Status was also a very decent instrument, another way to get the headless thing without robbing a bank to do it.
I stand corrected! And I now recall having learned that years ago. It even says so in the credits. I guess I originally assumed it was him because he is on the album. Weird how we sometimes fall back on "facts" like that. Maybe this time it will stick.
Way back when, I saw/heard this performance on MTV at my friend's house a handful of times, and everything about it mesmerized me, but then they stopped showing it and life went on. The sound of that rhythm section haunted me for many years.
i've received offers for my '89 XL-2A, but i'm not selling it. BEAD tuning is just phenomenal on this bass. Ned modified the circuitry for me when i dropped it off to repair a faulty ground. it bumps severely hard on the low end. incomparable, ime. drool
- Apr 6, 2013
- 425
- 466
- 57
- Disclosures
- Agent for Scandinavian countries: Stick Enterprises Inc.
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
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- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
Don't anyone tell me Colin Moulding did too!
Sweet! Did you have to modify the neck endpiece for the B string? Since there is no nut per se, that would be a permanent mod? I'd like to try that tuning on mine if it doesn't require a mod. Those neck endpieces are hard to find and expensive.
The bassist (Phil Spalding) of the 80's super group GTR almost exclusively played a Steinberger in their short-lived career.
- Sep 4, 2010
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- Endorsing: Martin Keith Guitars
Ah thank you for that! I totally forgot about Jamaladeen Tacuma. Here's the 80-ties, awesome clip
And here he is playing his Steinberger with all the other string players from the Prime Time band, at Ornette Coleman's funeral service, just 2 weeks ago.
