I remember Gibson broke the moulds and plugs. Ned would have to do all that from scratch again.
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Steinberger Club
- Thread starter king_xanadu
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Anybody know where to get a two-screw leg rest any more? My guitarist's dad snagged a very old (L, if my cursory search of the serial number database is correct) Steinbox and it needs a battery box/door and a leg rest.
Have you tried Headless USA? Also there may be individual fabricators on Etsy or eBay-
Both leg rest and battery cover are different on L2 and XL basses. The two-screw (foldable) leg rest for the XL bass may become available again from the HeadlessUSA store, currently it's sold out. The same is true for the XL2 battery cover.
Maybe already posted, review/demo of Ned's latest creation (1) of (12), so I don't anticipate ever touching (or even seeing) one but..... damn. The new Dingwall headless looks pretty good too, and they finally came up with a string claping system at the headstock that looks like it works. '
Got it! It's an XL2. Also, I'm on the waitlist for the two parts when HeadlessUSA makes them again.
Not sure if I’m where I need to be, y’all. Apologies if not. I’m new here though my membership is old.
I’m trying to find an old Steinberger bass. I played in bands through HS and college in the 80s. What can I say…. I gotta get one in this lifetime! (I have a Spirit by Steinberger, but…. I want the real deal!) Any advice on how to proceed? I’m a bit nervous about the lack of adjustability and don’t want to buy one from a distance and wind up with a warped pile of problems. Any guidance y’all could provide would be much appreciated! Thank you! -Brett R, Columbus, Mississippi
I’m trying to find an old Steinberger bass. I played in bands through HS and college in the 80s. What can I say…. I gotta get one in this lifetime! (I have a Spirit by Steinberger, but…. I want the real deal!) Any advice on how to proceed? I’m a bit nervous about the lack of adjustability and don’t want to buy one from a distance and wind up with a warped pile of problems. Any guidance y’all could provide would be much appreciated! Thank you! -Brett R, Columbus, Mississippi
I wouldn't worry too much about getting a bad one. I’ve purchased many Steinbergers over the years and every one of them had perfect neck relief and played very well. I’m sure there is a bad apple now and then, but I’ve never ran across one. I currently have a pair of XL-2s, fretted and fretless, both bought sight-unseen and both perfect. In fact every Steiny I’ve ever owned was bought sight-unseen and none were anything but spot-on. TalkBass classifieds and Reverb are probably your best bets for finding a good one these days.
I've had three: An XL2A, an L2 Transitional, and an L2. The latter had a bit of up-bow around the 5th fret that wasn't mentioned prior to the purchase, though fortunately it didn't result in any chocking up the dusty end. A bass-playing mate bought an L2 back around 2015, and again had up-bow that wasn't mentioned. It caused enough choking that he had to get the neck PLEKd. So, it's important to get as much information on the neck before a purchase is made.
I've had my XP-2 since 1986, never a lick of trouble with it... except that time I dropped it and chipped the neck! Almost invisibly repaired, so alls well. I built a mahogany body for it a few years back just for kicks, I kept all the original parts, including the original Nomex gig bag in case I ever decide to sell it. haven't played it in a while, but I always go back to it eventually.....
I bought and sold a few before keeping the one I'm selling now, 2 L2s and one XL, my experience was that the necks were all in great shape and flat, the reason I sold them was due to other factors, like preferring the L2 sound to the XL2, one had rust on all the screws, and one was just in worse overall shape and I decided to get a minty one instead. The neck on mine did bow slightly when I put the big LaBella flat set on them, so I took them off right away. No problem with rounds and with the .105 laBella flats.
Whilst the actives of the XL2A were powerful, I preferred the warmth from the L2 pups to those of the L2 Transitional and the XL2A
BAM!!! I now own a 1985 XL-2!! It looks great. Just got it from UPS 30 min ago. So...for those in the know. The strap swivel thingy.... That was off the guitar for shipment and I'm curious. Simple enough to screw it back on, but I ASSUMED that it was a free swiveling type of a thing when it was fully screwed in. I screwed it on and notice that if I tighten it up it is simply a conventional screw. i.e When you tighten it in place that's where it is. That surprised me actually. I suppose one puts it on and tightens it in place where it feels most comfortable??? Or...do you only tighten it up so that it swivels freely??? Also, any string recommendations for the bass?? I like light gauge strings typically, but wondered what the hive thinks... Perhaps light gauge don't sound as well... (Obviously a Steinberger newb here!!)
The screw should be in some sort of bushing - the tightness of the screw controls the amount of friction you get moving the boomerang to the correct position.
There is no reason that you would need to remove the boomerang for transport - the forward strap peg clips into a notch on the back of the bass at the rear.
Congrats on the new bass! Hopefully others will chime in on the string question but when I got my Steiny it was loaded with 0.105" stainless strings. I found the action a little high. Since you can't adjust the truss rod, I went with D'Addario ESXL 0.100" nickels. Action is comfy now and it sounds great.
