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For the Steinberger XL series lovers.

Who you be interested or not?

  • I would strongly be interested

    Votes: 37 84.1%
  • Not interested at all

    Votes: 7 15.9%

  • Total voters
    44
  • Poll closed .
If a company came out with a small bodied all graphite bass guitar with some of the features that made the original Steinberger XL series bass what it was/is would you be interested in possibly purchasing one?

"Some" of the features? It would depend entirely on which of the features. If it's just "small bodied all graphite" then no. If it's 95% of an L-2 or an XL-2, then yes.
 
The only thing missing off of my Steinberger is another string. A 5W model would be great. I've been eyeing the Status stuff, but I'd be interested in any manufacturer making all-composite instruments.
 
"Some" of the features? It would depend entirely on which of the features. If it's just "small bodied all graphite" then no. If it's 95% of an L-2 or an XL-2, then yes.

This would probably be me, though to be honest, since I already have an XL-2, I probably wouldn't buy a new one.

What might make me bite though would be if they offered one that was completely faithful to the original materials and electronics, but had slightly wider string spacing, particularly at the bridge.

An XL-2 with a neck profile and string spacing of a Jazz bass? I'd pay big bucks for that. The only reason I don't gig my XL-2 more often is due to the string spacing and neck profile, which I find somewhat less comfortable than my #1. I can't slap well on it (though I don't slap much anyway). Tonally, it kills -- could be my favorite bass tone, even above my Sadowsky.

I don't see it happening though. They were very expensive to make, and even then didn't sell well. I also saw many of the molds get sold off on ebay a while back. They would have to sell a LOT of basses to spread the big startup costs out a little.
 
Ned Steinberger is a genius, and the L2 or XL2 is a true engineering marvel. I love mine, BUT...

Trust me, you don't want one made exactly like the old ones, especially given the scarcity of proprietary materials used, unless replacement parts are to be made readily available again. Many owners now have old L2s with cracked jaws and the only option for correction being to either buy replacement jaws @$36/jaw from a dealer on ebay or have to deal with Ed f***ing Roman. And did Ned really need to design a bridge and bridge saddle that takes an impossible to find 6-40 threaded screw?! I stripped two of them on my XL2 and it's been impossible to find replacements. :scowl:
 
This would probably be me, though to be honest, since I already have an XL-2, I probably wouldn't buy a new one.

Well, he did ask if we would be interested in "possibly" purchasing one...since I've still got my L-2 from 1982 I'm certainly not "definitely" interested in purchasing another!


Ned Steinberger is a genius, and the L2 or XL2 is a true engineering marvel. I love mine, BUT...

Trust me, you don't want one made exactly like the old ones, especially given the scarcity of proprietary materials used, unless replacement parts are to be made readily available again. Many owners now have old L2s with cracked jaws and the only option for correction being to either buy replacement jaws @$36/jaw from a dealer on ebay or have to deal with Ed f***ing Roman. And did Ned really need to design a bridge and bridge saddle that takes an impossible to find 6-40 threaded screw?! I stripped two of them on my XL2 and it's been impossible to find replacements. :scowl:

Um... I've had my original Steinberger L-2 for 27 years, & during that time it has toured with me through 10 different countries, been thrown around in planes, ships, buses, vans, cars, taxis, subways, been gigged nightly in grungy basement rock clubs, swanky dinner theaters, and 10,000 seat hockey rink auditoriums, been played hard and put away wet too many times for me to count...
and I've never even heard of most of the maladies you describe. Aside from changing the strings and 9V battery regularly, the only maintenance my 'berger has ever needed was a fret resurfacing. Once. Stripped screws? Cracked jaws? Dude, what the hell are you doing to that bass?!?!?
 
I am a big fan of steinbergers. But I had to sell my full body XM with a trans trem bridge because of stripped parts I could not find a replacement for.
I was able to find a XL unlined fretless that I love except that because of the faceplate design ( it is curved across the top) there is not enough pickup sticking up for me to comfortably anchor my thumb compared to my jazz bass.
 
Um... I've had my original Steinberger L-2 for 27 years, & during that time it has toured with me through 10 different countries, been thrown around in planes, ships, buses, vans, cars, taxis, subways, been gigged nightly in grungy basement rock clubs, swanky dinner theaters, and 10,000 seat hockey rink auditoriums, been played hard and put away wet too many times for me to count...
and I've never even heard of most of the maladies you describe. Aside from changing the strings and 9V battery regularly, the only maintenance my 'berger has ever needed was a fret resurfacing. Once. Stripped screws? Cracked jaws? Dude, what the hell are you doing to that bass?!?!?

Consider yourself lucky if you've never had issues. These are very common well-documented problems. Just because you've never experienced them doesn't mean they don't exist:

http://www.peekamoose.com/FAQStbg.html#jawRods

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stainless-Steel...emQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item1c0d775fbc

Invalid Link Removed
 
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I've never cracked a jaw, but I can see how it would be easy to do. If the ball end of the string was not flush or lower in the jaw when doing a string change the high torque of the tuning mechanism would make it pretty easy to crack. Just paying attention and being careful and you will probably be ok.
 
Jauqo III-X,

I'm not letting this thread die.What is it that you know,that we don't??IS someone considering producing something along the lines of Steinberger (One piece,all graphite)??

You GOTTA give us some kinda hint,man(GRAPHITE NECK,WOOD BODY.OR ALL-GRAPHITE?).That,IMO,AIN'T BEING A SNITCH,OR A RAT.


You are hilarious :)
 
Give me a remake of a 5WXL2 and I'd but it!

I have 2XQ5's, one with Seymor-Duncans and one
with EMGs. Of course I have a XL2 4 string.

I like the spacing. I think Gibson screwed
up by reissuing Steinberger USA's with
a different neck material and profile.

The only change should be the battery cover and make it
use 2 9volts. The swivel plate is great.

Maybe include a string adapter too!

Berg
 
I bought a bunch of 6-40 from this place years ago and made my own:

http://www.nutty.com/

Riis

Thanks for that link. I'd be very interested in hearing how exactly you made your own. Was it that they came in a longer length that needed to be cut to size or something? Did you have to create a slot head top for the screw too, or was there a much wider head already that you needed to file down or something? The slot head on my originals is very unusual, as it's only slightly wider than the screw itself so that it doesn't slip all the way through the jaw hole. The screw heads have to be just the right size, as too thin and the screw will go all the way through or too wide and the screw won't fit through the jaw.
 
i'd be interested in a brand new XL2A.. or a 5W-XL2A.. but, Gibson isn't interested in doing anything with Steinberger.. other than churn out the imported wood things.. and that last series of guitars was just horrible.. really, really bad..

i want an L2A, or an XL2A.. that's what i would be interested in..
 
Thanks for that link. I'd be very interested in hearing how exactly you made your own. Was it that they came in a longer length that needed to be cut to size or something? Did you have to create a slot head top for the screw too, or was there a much wider head already that you needed to file down or something? The slot head on my originals is very unusual, as it's only slightly wider than the screw itself so that it doesn't slip all the way through the jaw hole. The screw heads have to be just the right size, as too thin and the screw will go all the way through or too wide and the screw won't fit through the jaw.

The stock came in meter-long rods which I cut to size with my Dremel. The knurled tuner knob has a set screw which allows removal of the damaged screw. I threaded the properly cut replacement into place (you can cut a slot on the end if desired for a small jewelers' screwdriver) and tightened up the set screw slightly to mark the threads. I then removed the threaded replacement, located the mark made by the set screw, and flattened the threads with a small grinder (another Dremel task!). This provides a smoother, flatter contact surface for the set screw when re-inserted.

I would not attempt to create a jaw-end bulge which, normally, prevents the jaw from slipping off the thread. Sorry, that's the trade-off with this repair. Just be careful when de-tuning for string changes. Also, be sure to remove any burrs, rough spots, etc. after completing cut-offs.

This really does work.

Riis