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Steinberger Club

#1,447
jglunt said:
Nice! I can't say I'm familiar with that model, though I've seen them on Reverb and Ebay. Is that a graphite composite bass or a bolt-on neck?
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XP is a graphite neck bolted on to a wooden body. Other than the L and XL series, all of the Steinbrger basses are bolt-ons. Many of the XPs are passive, too. The M and Q series were active, using the same pickups and EQ circuits as the XL until the very final days of production. I recall some of the late XQ bassses using Bartolinis!
 
#1,452
brianrost said:
XP is a graphite neck bolted on to a wooden body. Other than the L and XL series, all of the Steinbrger basses are bolt-ons.
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I know that many of us, myself included, don't consider the new Spirit XTs as real Steinbergers. I have a 1988 XL, but I also have a newer Spirit XT25. Frankly, they're really the bottom of the barrel in the Steinberger brand. Heck, I think an old Hohner or Cort copy is probably better. (Apologies to any of you who like them!) BUT, they are neck-through, not bolt on. Also, the Steinberger Synapse basses (and guitars) are neck-through. I had a 4- and a 5- string Synapse and liked them a lot. I wish I still had the 4-string. (I'm just not much of a 5-string player.)
 
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#1,453
foal30 said:
Very much like the LaBella Flats on the L2

Worth a punt for anyone interested IMO
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What's the tension like on them? I've been curious about them for my xp2-a, though i've been diggin on roundwounds for this bass.

And just an aside, don't tell anyone, but this thing is becoming my #1 after years of pretty well exclusively slinging a rickenbacker. It goes on tape very well and it's very versatile. I have yet to try it on a show but for how comfortable and great sounding it is, i think it'll be a hit.
 
#1,454
jglunt said:
I know that many of us, myself included, don't consider the new Spirit XTs as real Steinbergers. I have a 1988 XL, but I also have a newer Spirit XT25. Frankly, they're really the bottom of the barrel in the Steinberger brand. Heck, I think an old Hohner or Cort copy is probably better. (Apologies to any of you who like them!) BUT, they are neck-through, not bolt on. Also, the Steinberger Synapse basses (and guitars) are neck-through. I had a 4- and a 5- string Synapse and liked them a lot. I wish I still had the 4-string. (I'm just not much of a 5-string player.)
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I have the 4 string XT (no offense taken) which IMO is a perfectly fine player (think Epiphone, Squier etc). I'm sure it's nothing like the original (never had the opportunity to play one) but it's actually a pretty decent bass in its own right despite it's price range. Plays and sounds just fine, I can get a good P bass tone i.e. from it. Like any of them it's almost worthless without the strap hook, ergonomically difficult to play on a strap. Fortunately I found a strap hook for it and actually got a friend with a computerized plasma cutter to make me several more (if anyone's interested...) so issue resolved. Any claims that they're junk though are way off base.
 
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#1,455
EdO. said:
I have the 4 string XT (no offense taken) which IMO is a perfectly fine player (think Epiphone, Squier etc). I'm sure it's nothing like the original (never had the opportunity to play one) but it's actually a pretty decent bass in its own right despite it's price range. Plays and sounds just fine, I can get a good P bass tone i.e. from it. Like any of them it's almost worthless without the strap hook, ergonomically difficult to play on a strap. Fortunately I found a strap hook for it and actually got a friend with a computerized plasma cutter to make me several more (if anyone's interested...) so issue resolved. Any claims that they're junk though are way off base.
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Yes, they're decent little basses, and I think mine weighs in at somewhere around 7 1/2 lbs. Can't beat that. They were built by Epiphone in China or Korea so the build quality is reasonably good. Mine is the quilted transparent red, so it's beautiful! As far as I can tell, the pickups are essentially the same as the pickups on the Thunderbird that Epiphone calls the E1 these days. They are pretty weak, so I have to crank my amp compared to all my other basses. Plus they sound awfully dark to me. I added a Seymour Duncan STC-2C-BO active EQ, which is inexpensive and gives me much greater tonal options and better gain. Squeezing the battery in requires that you carefully plan the routing of your wiring. Like you, I also fashioned a strap hook out of aluminum and had a machinist friend of mine cut it out for me. That makes it much more comfortable to play. Mine is the 5-string model. If you have one of these and decide you'd perhaps like better drop-in pickups, you're out of luck. No pickups are available for it without some routing of the bass involved. There are pickups available from EMG for the 4-string version. My real point, however, was that they're not a bolt-on neck, and the build quality plus the neck-through construction plus their weight make them desirable.
 
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#1,457
Does anyone know if all L2s were equipped with the SS pickups? I could swear I have seen internals of some L2s on youtube etc that have the HB. I have #818 headed my way as we speak and I guess I will find out but the seller didnt know and didnt have the tool to open it..Curious..
 
#1,459
Greetings and salutations! My first electric guitar was a Hohner G3T, which was the gateway drug into Steinberger-land for me. At one time I had a GM4T and a Q4 (with Bart's and a fireburst finish - my first bass ever!!) and eventually had to sell them (but let's not revisit that history, shall we?)

Point is I have a Q5 parts-Berger inbound and I'm happy once again to be in the 'club' (besides, I've had three sets of Status double-ball strings lying around for a few years after getting rid of my last headless, a Spirit fiver, and want to use them :)). This thing is ugly and has suffered some egregious violations in it's past (like currently sporting a Spirit neck on it among other atrocities) but there's an original neck on eBay so I hope to eventually build it back to it's original glory.

No pics as of now but I'll gladly validate my membership when it arrives and chat more about it.

Raz
 
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#1,460
If you aren't a collector and would intend to play a Steinberger bass that you purchased, how much would you be willing to pay (in U.S. dollars) for the following unicorns?

XL25W
XL25WUF

I am aware of an XL25WUF that is potentially available for over $10,000 USD. However, given the fact that I could have a fretless 5-string Status Graphite Stealth or Streamline built for under $3000 USD, I'm inclined to be skeptical of that collector pricing for the XL25WUF.

I own an XL2UF, but I've never had the opportunity to play (let alone see in person) an XL25W of any kind, let alone a UF. I've also not had a chance to see or play either an SG Stealth or Streamline in any form.

if anyone has had the pleasure of playing any of these instruments, especially fretless versions, what are your impressions? Are XL25W prices grossly inflated by their relative scarcity and collector value? Has Status Graphite matched and even exceeded the engineering advantages achieved by Steinberger's XL series?
 

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