Steinberger Basses...

Yes, I?ve owned a Steinberger bass. It was an XL-2, which is the original graphite version. I loved it. They have a great sound and they feel wonderful. The biggest issue with these basses is the most obvious - the look. Some people hate it, some people love it. The reason I sold mine was because I was playing in a hard rock band at the time, and the other guys felt it didn't look right, so I got rid of it. That was one of the dumbest sales I ever made,but you live and learn, hey!

Anyway, a word of warning. The basses on musicyo are NOT original Steinbergers. They are wooden copies, while the original basses were all graphite. I haven't tried a musicyo Steinberger, but I have tried a number of other wood copies. While they're often okay basses (esp. the Hohner version), they are nowhere near the quality of an original. Do not buy one of these basses expecting to get the results of an original - you won't. And, to be honest, I don't see why you would. I've seen original Steinbergers on Ebay for well under $1000, and I think that, if it's the Steinberger look that you want, you would be much better off buying a good used example than purchasing a wood bodied copy.

 

Tonto,

You must have been asleep during high school, because in the mid 80s Steinbgergers were the rage: well known bass users included Sting, Geddy Lee, Tony Levin, Danny Klein (J. Geils Band), the bassist from Loverboy, Jamaldeen Tacuma (Ornette Coleman), Jerome Harris (Sonny Roillins), Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads), Andy West (Dixie Dregs). Oh yeah, one other guy you might have heard of...Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones!!!

Most of these players have returned to using more traditional basses since then.

I have two L2 basses from the early 80s and they are well made, good sounding instruments. Despite the look, the bass they most resemble in the feel of the neck and sound is actually the Fender Jazz Bass! The thing that they are most known for is very clear sound in all registers and very solid tuning and intonation.

The current musicyo Korean made Steinbergers are inexpensive models that have the look of the originals but only one feature in common (the double ball strings and fine tuning bridge).

 

Tonto,

I currently own an XL-2 with the DB bridge and in fact, used it at rehearsal last night. They are very versatile basses and sound great over many different tones. My only complaint about mine is that it doesn't have 5 strings.

If you're interested in obtaining one, BassNW has a couple, one white, one black.

Best Wishes,

Bones

 

The Spirits are a post-Ned invention of Gibson. musicyo has some sort of relationship with Gibson because all of the lines they sell (Steinberger, Kramer, Tobias, Slingerland, Maestro, Oberheim) are brands formerly owned by Gibson. If musicyo is not outright owned by Gibson, at least they appear to be licensing the brands from them. They were hardly economical in the pre-musicyo days, with $800 list prices!

The wooden Steinie copies from Korea like Cort and Hohner that had the "licensed" bridges were just that, Steinberger received a royalty for he use of his patented bridge design after he took a few import builders to court.

Ned had nothing to do with the actual design of any of the Korean axes.

Ned did make an "economy" model, the XP bass and GP guitar. They had V shaped wooden bodies and carbon fiber necks.

 

I owned an original Steinburger...first year of production. The reason I bought it is because it played and sounded better than any bass out there. I took my time looking too. The neck felt broken in despite being a new bass, and the sound is like no other. Also, it never went out of tune and didn't seem to be very concerned about the weather either. Real easy to carry around. Light and fun to play. The only thing I didn't like was the the body style. Other than that it was an outstanding bass. I sold it cheap too....ah...foolish youth.

 

No, the MusicYo Steinbergers are cheap copies with the same body style and name, made of (cheap) wood with cheap electronics. Some of the models make them good travel basses thanks to their size, but quality-wise I think I'm safe to say that they're nothing special.

 

No doubt, the Spirits are not as well-made as the original, but I really like mine. I have a 5-string fretless and it sounds way better than I expected. I bought it for a practice and jam bass, but ended up using it at gigs instead of a bass that cost 4X as much. I've never been enthused about the looks, though...

 

Steinbergers were all the rage in the 1980's...I remember those days well...

Anyway, I've attached a link that has all sorts of cool info, Steinberger related...enjoy

http://www.edromanguitars.com/guitar/stbbass.htm

 

I understand that Gibson/Musicyo will introduce new American-made graphite-necked Steinberger 4- and 5-string basses next year. Also, Moses Graphite offers Steinberger bass necks right now. They are acknowledged as being warmer sounding than the other kinds of graphite necks.

 

Yo Steve, welcome to TalkBass!

(For those of y'all that don't know, Steve owns and operates Moses Graphite...the comment about warmth was probably a subtle plug.... )

Now, I'll put my Zon neck up next to any graphite neck for warmth....

You may remember me Steve, we've spoken a few times whilst I was slaving away at my day gig, Bass Central!

I sure hope the Steinies that they're gonna start makin' don't have the 5 squeezed into the 4 neck like the originals did! That was just goofy.

Steve, do you make a headless neck 5 with a J-taper and spacing?

 

Steve Here:

Yes guys, I do tend to present graphite as an option worth considering. I have also heard and played some truly fine, high quality, entirely wood basses and tilt my hat to those talented artisans who build them. And Joe Zon makes some really fine finished basses, as we do now also. Still, those basses generally cost a lot more than what most players can afford; whereas it is possible to get an arguably great sounding, durable bass with bolt-on necks we offer for less cost. It is simply a matter of individual taste and servicing of need.

And yes, we do offer our classic jazz bass neck headless for use with an ABM headpiece tuning system..