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Steinberger headless L & XL's -- anyone own one?

#24
WalWarrior said:
I hear ya brutha......these days you can't let stuff out of your sight for even a minute. Great basses. Congtrats on keeping yours. That thing will be worth a mint someday! ( As if it's not already)
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Surprisingly enough, it hasn't appreciated that much in value. I think I bought it for around $1k in 1988, and it's only worth around $1800 now.

Some day though, I think people will rediscover the unique tone of the graphite Ls and XL basses. At that point, prices will rise because there's not another bass made that sounds like an L or XL. I don't want to be caught without mine when they get expensive. Mine is near-mint and wouldn't be cheap to replace then.
 
#25
I've owned three, two L2s and an XL-2. I really prefer the older model EMGs on the L2s, they are much warmer, which was what i wanted from mine, for reggae with labella flats.

They are wonderful instruments, and make for a perfect travel bass. i always thought the string spacing was a bit tight, but otherwise great to play and the tone is huge, clean and very unique, but in the end I prefer some wood in the tone. The last one I owned was mint and had a very low serial number, and it sold for well over $2500.

the only caveat i can mention when shopping for one is to take into account the possible cost of a refret: the frets seem very soft and many have a great deal of wear, and refretting is more expensive than ordinary basses. Make sure the neck is straight, too, as there is no trussrod and some early ones have bowed a bit.

I'd like to get another soon and promised myself to keep it this time.
 
#27
Aussie Mark said:
At the moment I have an XL2A-D in the air over the Pacific, on the way to me, courtesy of the currently strong Aussie dollar.
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Funny, I bought this one from a consignment shop in Australia (last year I think?) for $1210 usd Shipped. I was pretty excited about it!

red-xl2.jpg
 
#29
BartmanPDX said:
With the Detuner? Lucky S.O.B.

Nice snag. If that's the one I think it is, you got yourself a pretty sweet bass on the way.
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Thanks, yes it has the Detuner. I bought it from another forum I hang at, but I think it may have been advertised here for a little while as well.

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#31
Hoover said:
Every time I plug it in I think "man, this is an amazing sounding bass!" and remind myself why I endured years of looking like a complete dweeb with this stupid oar strapped around my chest.
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I HEAR YA!!!!
I had a L-2 (#895) which I sold. I picked up an XL-2 and added a D tuner to it. It was my main bass in the 80's. :bassist:
I still have the original bridge w/tuners that I should get around to selling one of these days.
 
#32
Hoover said:
Every time I plug it in I think "man, this is an amazing sounding bass!" and remind myself why I endured years of looking like a complete dweeb with this stupid oar strapped around my chest.
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Projecting your own personality onto the bass, I see. :)
Seriously, I think it looks elegantly simple.

Aussie Mark said:
Thanks, yes it has the Detuner. I bought it from another forum I hang at, but I think it may have been advertised here for a little while as well.

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Very nice score there. I'd be jealous, but the detuner on my B2ADB Hohner has never gotten used.
 
#36
iamthebassman said:
Johnny, thanks for that link!
Where are you in S.Texas? I was born and raised in Corpus, living in Austin since '90.
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No problem, I found that song while looking to actually see how Dee plays the songs we're covering when Elton's not the videostar.

I'm about 100 miles outside of Houston(transplanted from New Orleans to Texas in 1989 FORTUNATELY!).
 
#37
BartmanPDX said:
Darn right it was. Red Ls and XLs are rare, and going up in value.

Red GLs go for sick prices these days.
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I saw a red GL go not that long ago on ebay. That was a disgusting price! I have no clue what a red xl would fetch, so it really is tough to put an accurate price on em. I do wish I had a better ballpark guess though. Someone else want to put one up so I can watch it? ;)
 
#39
I have a P

The P have the hard maple bodies

I changed mine with active EMG 40's.

Its sounds more like a L with the pickup change.

I never really use it.
 
#40
I had an XL2 in the late 80s / early 90s and I really dug it, but I sold it to invest in a custom 8 string. I dug the tone and the look, but not everyone I played with agreed with me. Plus it was quite a bit heavier than I expected. So I let it go. I don't miss it enough to buy one now at the prices they go for, but if Steinberger ever got the model going again, I might pick up a used one at a reasonable price. It was a great bass for city living, that's for sure. A Steiney + an Avalon U5 = one great ultra-portable rig!
 

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