Maynor, can you elaborate on what EMG said about "tuning for bass"? When I talked with Rick Hunt years ago, he didn't mention that.
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Steinberger Spirits
- Thread starter Michael Vee
- Start date
Maynor, can you elaborate on what EMG said about "tuning for bass"? When I talked with Rick Hunt years ago, he didn't mention that.
As I understand it, the winding is different for a bass pickup than for a guitar due to low frequency, bigger strings etc
I forgot to follow up on this. I heard from Alex Miletich, my current contact at EMG after the passing of Rick Hunt. Alex said there are no custom windings currently available from EMG. The H4 and H4A would be the same models for guitar or bass.
I had not talked to Rick in years. I was unaware he'd passed away. Good guy and very knowledgable. RIP, brother.
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That's unfortunate news. This was for the H7 7 string guitar pickup that fits the 5 string Spirit. It may be just a drop in, or it may be a "hidden menu" item.
This is definitely not what I heard years ago. The pickups are identical.
So, still have my XT. I have kept it because it's easy to play on the couch and drag around the house. I don't gig with it because of the ergonomics standing up. It's not a bad little bass. Today I decided to record with it. Everyone is so eager to swap out the pickups almost as a given when getting one of these, I have thought about it but honestly they are not bad. At least mine aren't. They are the Steinberger branded most likely Epiphone pickups. Anyway I did some recording today. Dirt simple chain. Sound Devices USB-Pre into Reaper. The recorded tone from this bass is fantastic. Really just fantastic. Clean with authority. Perfect for cutting through in a mix. I was genuinely impressed. This may be my recording bass. My other basses are American Fenders, and are no slouches by any stretch but this records very well. The pickups also play really well with pedals. I wouldnt be so fast to swap them out.
Dave, I have stock EMG Selects in two of my XZ's and I think they are just fine. For the third XT, I wanted to hear what the EMG HBCS actives sounded like. It's quite different, but the Selects are very good sounding. It depends on what you want to hear - EQ can go a long way to change up the Selects' sound.
Snert is right about the XT strap fixes. We've had several people in this thread come up with some ingenious solutions over the years. Read back in the thread and track those down.
Snert is right about the XT strap fixes. We've had several people in this thread come up with some ingenious solutions over the years. Read back in the thread and track those down.
the strap fixes are well documented, but a Rube Goldberg approach to a problem. The solution should be integral to the bass as built. For that reason I cannot take the bass seriously for any gigging where I have to stand. For recording it's a great bass. For anything laid back where I can sit it's also a great bass.
Here's how you fix the standing ergonomics issue. I don't know why Gibson (in their interest in selling lots of instruments..
) didn't add this simple and (relatively) inexpensive fix which makes the thing totally playable comfortably and would have made it a lot more attractive to players like myself who like the Steinberger vibe but don't have the wherewithal financially to get a classic model. Yeah it's not the same thing as the originals BUT is a really good quality, good sounding instrument in it's own right and agreed, the stock pickups IMO are just fine and sound good.Some time ago I had several of these strap extenders made for mine by a friend who has a plasma cutter, I have a few in powder coated black left that I'd part with...
Really? Why? As an engineer, I find that the extenders like those on the NS Stick, which mine are modelled after, are simple, cheap, elegant (from a design POV) and they work; you can also tweak the length and position so it works best for you. A pivot plate is better, but for a bass in the price range that the Spirit is in, is impractical.
If I were to use a Spector, Thumb, Tele bass or a Hofner, all of them would be a larger ergonomic nightmare for me, let alone how I would need to mod them to make them work, which would be far more invasive than the Spirit. Not to mention, most of these cost significantly more than the Spirit.
maybe Rube Goldberg is a bit of a stretch, but honestly the bass should come with what it needs to be playable out of the box. The original Steinberger solution worked well and required no drilling, or having a machinist handy. Not trying to discount anyone's efforts or preferences. Stating my own personal opinion. We know what those are worth. I do not doubt for a second that your extender, or others do not work well.
Machinist? A strip of steel from the hardware, 2 or 3 holes drilled with a battery drill (which I'm sure you can borrow easily enough) and a 1/2hrs work and it's done.
The pivot plate and the Boomerang are far more expensive and would bump the price markedly for a Spirit even if they are better, and I own both of them. My solution simply works, simply.
Fix the ergonomic issues with any of the other basses I mentioned that have the strap pin positioning issue as simply and cheaply.
not sure what you are on about here, or why you are taking this so personally. It's pretty simple, the bass is not playable as sold. Period. End of sentence. Therefore I can't take it seriously as something I would want to gig with. For banging around the house, vacation or recording sure. It actually sounds great. If the fixes are cheap and simple maybe it should come that way. You do you, I'll do me.
Steinberger Spirits were/are nice instruments in the lower end price point. They are intended to reflect some of the designs of original Steinbergers. Some people like the Spirits as they are, and can play them with a strap on, just fine. Some never could used to the different feel of the standing strap hang, chose not to mod them, and sold them. Some of us here saw the Spirits as a modding platform. We've modded other basses as well, and like to change our instruments up and make them uniquely ours. We run the gamut in this thread!
Let's be honest here. Gibson makes and sells them for the novelty. The design of the original strap mounting system came YEARS before the Gibson Spirit line came about.
Even Cort and Hohner, with their B2 copy, slightly contoured the body shape so it would have some positional pressure on the gut.
Spirits are not that cheap. They are expensive enough that Gibson could have implemented a better way to mount the strap to the body.
All of the Gibson Spirit examples I have handled had something wrong. They can be fun, but they're a boondoggle if you have to hire time at a machine shop to overcome a design flaw that wasn't even there on the original.
Well opined, Frankie. Thanks!
I don't know that any mods to a Spirit would require anything other than hand tools (as Snert said below) or basic luthery tools.
I know several of the metal hangers that have been presented in this thread did require machining, but that's about it. I think several have posted that they did theirs via 3D printers. And then we did have the "Rube Goldberg" versions. Hey, whatever works!
I don't know that any mods to a Spirit would require anything other than hand tools (as Snert said below) or basic luthery tools.
I know several of the metal hangers that have been presented in this thread did require machining, but that's about it. I think several have posted that they did theirs via 3D printers. And then we did have the "Rube Goldberg" versions. Hey, whatever works!
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Don't need any tools!
EdO sold me one of his and it works great.
He said he has a couple left. Just contact him for goodness sake. Done!
I use my spirit for fly dates only. It's not a particularly great instrument but it serves a practical purpose and sounds decent enough to work with.
The reason I only use the spirit is because of the double ball string requirement.
I won't use a grub screw system in any situation that I don't have a backup instrument available.
EdO sold me one of his and it works great.
He said he has a couple left. Just contact him for goodness sake. Done!
I use my spirit for fly dates only. It's not a particularly great instrument but it serves a practical purpose and sounds decent enough to work with.
The reason I only use the spirit is because of the double ball string requirement.
I won't use a grub screw system in any situation that I don't have a backup instrument available.
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I like my Spirit as is. The cheapest, simplest, and most elegant fix is to simply mount the rear strap button halfway back and on top. Done.
It balances better, and sits more to the right. No hooks, no parts, nothing. The other screws in the photo were from an extender which did NOT work that well imho. I've been gigging with it like this for two years. Not a single problem (use strap locks, kids). It hangs on the wall just fine too. Honestly I don't see what all of the fuss is about.
I like my Spirit so much I just picked this beauty up on Reverb. If this belonged to one of you, thank you.
Edit: I've been looking for one of these for a LONG time. This one (according to the seller) is flawless.
It balances better, and sits more to the right. No hooks, no parts, nothing. The other screws in the photo were from an extender which did NOT work that well imho. I've been gigging with it like this for two years. Not a single problem (use strap locks, kids). It hangs on the wall just fine too. Honestly I don't see what all of the fuss is about.
I like my Spirit so much I just picked this beauty up on Reverb. If this belonged to one of you, thank you.
Edit: I've been looking for one of these for a LONG time. This one (according to the seller) is flawless.
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