Steinberger Brochure, NAMM 1988 (PDF)

[Winslow]

The recent thread on old catalogs and magazines reminded me that I have one in particular I've held on to, and won't be sending to the recycle bin. I've always had an admiration for inventors and innovators, and when Ned Steinberger's line of instruments emerged, he quickly joined my mental list of people I thought were cool for breaking with convention, and trying something new and different.

I haven't the foggiest idea what I was doing at the NAMM show when it came to Atlanta in 1988 (some of the grey cells from that time are hard to access), but somehow, I wound up going, and happened upon the Steinberger booth. Sitting over in the corner, quietly unassuming, was none other than Ned himself. I picked up one of their glossy brochures, made my way over to him, and introduced myself. He couldn't have been more gracious, and chatted with me for a few minutes about his line of instruments. At that point in my life, I was nowhere near being able to afford one of those sleek basses I so coveted, but I figured an autograph would be nice to have in the meantime, so I asked Ned to sign my brochure. He seemed a little bemused at a request more typically made of the famous folks who played his products, but he kindly obliged, with a nice inscription.

I thought some fellow TB'ers (particularly in the Steinberger and Headless clubs) might enjoy seeing the brochure in its entirety, so I've scanned it into a PDF, and attached it below.

Enjoy!

 

[gigetto]

The XM bass was the innovation that Gibson gaves to the Steinberger to colmate the differences between production/selling/request.
The Body Spirit that was made after, i Think, was the best bass ever made for ergonomic/sound/portability....

 

[Oddly]

Probably the bass I regret selling most was my XL2.
It was my first seriously expensive bass...can't remember exactly what I paid in 1985, but it certainly took a couple of month's gig money.
It sounded great, was comfortable, and always got noticed (admittedly it usually got laughed at, until people heard it play!)
I only kept it for 3 years ... traded it for a Fender P 5-string, which I never gelled with.
Seemed like a good idea at the time...

 

[Winslow]

Probably the bass I regret selling most was my XL2.

I am still GAS'ing for an XL2, and probably still just as unlikely to get one.

 

[Oddly]

I am still GAS'ing for an XL2, and probably still just as unlikely to get one.

Just been looking at what's being asked for one now, I really really should've kept the damn thing, even as an investment.

 

[brianrost]

The XM predated the Gibson purchase.

 

[Richland123]

The recent thread on old catalogs and magazines reminded me that I have one in particular I've held on to, and won't be sending to the recycle bin. I've always had an admiration for inventors and innovators, and when Ned Steinberger's line of instruments emerged, he quickly joined my mental list of people I thought were cool for breaking with convention, and trying something new and different.

I haven't the foggiest idea what I was doing at the NAMM show when it came to Atlanta in 1988 (some of the grey cells from that time are hard to access), but somehow, I wound up going, and happened upon the Steinberger booth. Sitting over in the corner, quietly unassuming, was none other than Ned himself. I picked up one of their glossy brochures, made my way over to him, and introduced myself. He couldn't have been more gracious, and chatted with me for a few minutes about his line of instruments. At that point in my life, I was nowhere near being able to afford one of those sleek basses I so coveted, but I figured an autograph would be nice to have in the meantime, so I asked Ned to sign my brochure. He seemed a little bemused at a request more typically made of the famous folks who played his products, but he kindly obliged, with a nice inscription.



I thought some fellow TB'ers (particularly in the Steinberger and Headless clubs) might enjoy seeing the brochure in its entirety, so I've scanned it into a PDF, and attached it below.

Enjoy!

Being a Steinberger player (which I will be playing tonight and tomorrow), that is a very cool, signed catalog.

 

[Winslow]

Being a Steinberger player (which I will be playing tonight and tomorrow), that is a very cool, signed catalog.

Thanks Rich! I remembered your mentioning your Steinberger, and thought you might enjoy this.

I'm not sure what's going on with the picture I put in that first post. It was there earlier, but it looks like the forum software is having some difficulty with attachments. (Maybe it's made of some of my leftover 80's grey cells.)

But the PDF is still working, so I guess that's what counts.

 

[mongo2]

When they came out I tried the early version at the local shop thinking it would be much lighter than my basses but it wasn't so I passed.

 

[Winslow]

Hey hey, the pic's back! Thanks much, @kesslari and the Mod Squad!

 

[murph7489]

oh man, I would love to have that XL25...someday I will have it..

 

[Chrisk-K]

No tone wood can compete with carbon fiber, for Allan Holdsworth’s Steinberger produced the most surreal guitar tone ever heard in universe.

 

[Spidey2112]

Probably the bass I regret selling most was my XL2.
It was my first seriously expensive bass...can't remember exactly what I paid in 1985, but it certainly took a couple of month's gig money.
It sounded great, was comfortable, and always got noticed (admittedly it usually got laughed at, until people heard it play!)
I only kept it for 3 years ... traded it for a Fender P 5-string, which I never gelled with.
Seemed like a good idea at the time...

I purchased mine in '86, as a backup for my Ric...

... $1500, new... white, with soft case.

Yeah, they were cool and fun to play.

 

[Spidey2112]

Just been looking at what's being asked for one now, I really really should've kept the damn thing, even as an investment.

Again, I feel your pain... see you at the counseling session, tonight.

I'll be playing my NS Wav Radius, which is cool, too... but not the same.

 

[chuck1073]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane! I've always regretted selling my XL2T. I still have and do play my L2 though.

 

[subtlestew]

That's so wonderful! As a college student in the late 80's, and a huge Rush fan who saw them for the first time live on the "Grace Under Pressure" tour (on which Geddy played a Steinberger,) I was both a fanboy and very intrigued by the design concept. I actually smuggled a sales booklet that contained numerous pictures and reprints of reviews out of E. U. Wurlitzer in Boston, which was the local Steinberger dealer. I would pore over it for hours in my bedroom for weeks. When they got a white XL2 in stock early in the summer of '88 I paid a deposit and saved all of my earnings from waiting tables while I was home from school for the summer to put toward that bass, which I took home on 8/8/88. I still have it!

Thanks for the post... here's mine:

 

[Winslow]

I'll be playing my NS Wav Radius, which is cool, too... but not the same.

That is another cool design! Yet another thing for the someday-when-I-hit-the-lottery GAS list.

I eventually got an NS EUB, which is also a very cool instrument, but again, definitely not the same thing.

 

[Winslow]

Thanks for the post... here's mine:
View attachment 3563401 View attachment 3563403

That's a very nice bass, and looks well cared for, too! Most excellent!

 

[murph7489]

That's so wonderful! As a college student in the late 80's, and a huge Rush fan who saw them for the first time live on the "Grace Under Pressure" tour (on which Geddy played a Steinberger,) I was both a fanboy and very intrigued by the design concept. I actually smuggled a sales booklet that contained numerous pictures and reprints of reviews out of E. U. Wurlitzer in Boston, which was the local Steinberger dealer. I would pore over it for hours in my bedroom for weeks. When they got a white XL2 in stock early in the summer of '88 I paid a deposit and saved all of my earnings from waiting tables while I was home from school for the summer to put toward that bass, which I took home on 8/8/88. I still have it!

Thanks for the post... here's mine:
View attachment 3563401 View attachment 3563403

yeah, interestingly I saw that tour too, and it got me interested in the Steiny as well...I read that Geddy ended up switching basses because he said that he found the steiny to be unsatisfying in the bottom end...

 

[Winslow]

I read that Geddy ended up switching basses because he said that he found the steiny to be unsatisfying in the bottom end...

I read something similar, though I did note that he was still using the Steinberger when I saw them on the Power Windows tour. Of course, he switched from Steinberger to Wal not long after that.