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STEINBERGER....

ric stave

ric stave

May 6, 2006
1,878
25
Buffalo, NY
#1
.......

Hey, it's a state of mind, and hasn't been up in the top in the past couple days.......




About 6 months ago I broke down and bought a NEW Steinberger 5 string bass off of Music-Yo - thinking it would/should be the BEST in current headless/graphite neck technology.....

O. M... G..!!!!!


Not even close.



I sent the damn thing back 2x to have it checked ut and re-worked ....... they ended up replacing the neck/pickups/preamp/etc.... ........


.............and it still sucked ass.......




I took a damn $400.00 loss on the thing less than 3 months after I bought it. I tried everything to "make it right"; I WANTED to like/love it, but it just wasn't gonna happen - there's NO excuse for less than 2 SECONDS of sustain on any fret - NONE!!!

And the funny thing is, I saw it for sale on the 'bay from the guy who bought it from me and someone used the BIN, and it'll prob be up again a couple weeks from now.. just like ALL the other "new" Steinberger basses,,,,,,,,





..... I cry.



Oh, I picked up an old 'original' XL-5... it rocks. Hard.
 
#3
I got mine nearly 20 years ago.

IMG_0715.jpg


Still plays and sounds the same as it did then. :D

It DOES rock, indeed.
 
#4
Drucocu said:
...or get a hohner copy, they rock hard, too!
Click to expand...



;) I've owned 4 of them - 2 red 4 strings , a black 5 (as soon as they came out with 5's back in 1989 or '90 or so) and recently a 5 string walnut one. I was seriously considering NEVER selling the last one - it played great, was super reliable and easy to take around and wasn't expensive so I didn't worry about it at certain locations - the only thing that I wasn't too hot on was the EMG Select PU's - and if they were the HB type rather than the J type I would've had more choices on replacing them. I tried 2 different times to record with it, but it just sounded dull compared to my Rick, Warwick and G & L.

Then again, after I picked up the 'real' Steinberger (narrow 5) I couldn't see where I'd ever choose to use the Hohner in place of it. I may pick up a Spirit 5 with the body someday and replace the PU's, just for kicks, but for now I'm pretty content with my arsenal.

I just really expected more from the brand new "top-o-the-line" bass, and it certainly wasn't worth the $1500.00. I've seen a ton of them on the 'bay lately - it seems other people are finding the same thing.
 
#8
Wadge said:
Does anyone know why we cannot have a newly produced Steinberger, particularly the XL models and I'm not including the Musicyo spirits, etc.?
Click to expand...

His real name is Saul Hudson. People call him Slash. Guitar Hero III is, for some reason, the most popular video game right now. Slash is sort of the face of that game (look at the box). Gibson is issuing three different Slash Les Pauls. Gibson owns Steinberger. Gibson won't put money towards a product line that is, quite honestly, a niche market, even if the GL-2T is infinitely superior to the Les Paul.

Gibson has no innovation anymore. Not since the early 70s. And every company they buy out, except for Epiphone, fails. Maybe not Baldwin pianos, but I know next to nothing about pianos.
 
#10
Hilarious post. Genius..... :)

Dude, you should just get an awesome Status Graphite bass and call it a day.:)

andvari7 said:
His real name is Saul Hudson. People call him Slash. Guitar Hero III is, for some reason, the most popular video game right now. Slash is sort of the face of that game (look at the box). Gibson is issuing three different Slash Les Pauls. Gibson owns Steinberger. Gibson won't put money towards a product line that is, quite honestly, a niche market, even if the GL-2T is infinitely superior to the Les Paul.

Gibson has no innovation anymore. Not since the early 70s. And every company they buy out, except for Epiphone, fails. Maybe not Baldwin pianos, but I know next to nothing about pianos.
Click to expand...
 
#11
Jay Terrien said:
Hilarious post. Genius..... :)

Dude, you should just get an awesome Status Graphite bass and call it a day.:)
Click to expand...

+1
I got my XP-2 Graphite neck/Maple body back in 85 if I remember right. Great bass.

The new Steinbergers, from the few I have played seem very inconsistent. Since Gibson will never make the capital investment and tool up for graphite basses again, the best hope is getting a Status Graphite Streamline or one of their other models.

Then again Gibson could buy Moses and make graphite necks in house?:hiding:
 
#12
andvari7 said:
Gibson has no innovation anymore.
Click to expand...


Dah, What about the Robot Guitar? lol

Is it just me, but I can't see any self-respecting musician forking out the kind of coin Gibson wants for that high-tech-rich-boy-gimmic-junk. If someone can't tune their guitar and needs the Robot Guitar to do it, they better stick with playing Guitar Hero.
 
#14
me said:
Is what ric saying true? Is the USA XQ-25A a lemon, or did he just get a bad one?
Click to expand...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Bump. There must be some more opinions on this bass.

And I did check the archives, but there's not much there on this one.

ric stave,

Since you purchased your Steinie [XQ-25A?] six months ago, I'm thinking that since there wasn't much stock around then [less now] that you received a bass that had been returned by someone else. In other words, I'm thinking you caught a runt in the litter.

there's NO excuse for less than 2 SECONDS of sustain on any fret - NONE!!!
Click to expand...

That troubles me, since even a bass with FUBAR electronics should have more sustain than that when played acoustically. I mean, with the graphite neck, the thing should'a had more sustain than the average bass, no?

Any opinions on the USA XQ-25A? Anyone?
 
#15
That's what I thought at first - just a fluke, a bad one. I sent it back, they (supposedly) checked everything out and returned it to me - the dead spot (spots) moved slightly, but there where still certain frets that it wouldn't sustain a full 3 count - sucks hard when you're playing a ballad and whole notes. So I sent it back again - they replaced the neck, the preamp, just about everything except for the body itself, and it was still just as bad.

And from the looks of how many people are selling them "Brand New" or "Like New", I think most people are finding similar issues.

I'm VERY happy with my XL-5N. Completely different world from the XQ-25A, and I don't think I'll ever buy another graphite neck/wood body bass again.

I would like to try a Status someday....



bassrique said:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Bump. There must be some more opinions on this bass.

And I did check the archives, but there's not much there on this one.

ric stave,

Since you purchased your Steinie [XQ-25A?] six months ago, I'm thinking that since there wasn't much stock around then [less now] that you received a bass that had been returned by someone else. In other words, I'm thinking you caught a runt in the litter.



That troubles me, since even a bass with FUBAR electronics should have more sustain than that when played acoustically. I mean, with the graphite neck, the thing should'a had more sustain than the average bass, no?

Any opinions on the USA XQ-25A? Anyone?
Click to expand...
 
#17
I'm sorry to hear there are so many quality issues with this one. I bought one not long after they (the US line) were re-introduced, and I've had none of the issues mentioned above regarding sustain or dead spots (*knocks side of head*).

I find the XQ very comfortable and easy to play. However, there were definitely a lot of issues with the Moses necks reported, if memory serves. Another 'problem' is that the XQ itself is not an XL (not an issue for me as I've never had one of those), although no gripes here. I think if you can find a (barely) used one for $1,000.00 USD or less, that would be a great buy, provided of course you don't run into any QC issues...

I saw an XL-5W on ebay many years ago, and I thought "$1500.00 (USD) is too much for that one." I'm sure they sell for about twice that now. :)
 
#19
ric stave said:
I'm VERY happy with my XL-5N. Completely different world from the XQ-25A, and I don't think I'll ever buy another graphite neck/wood body bass again.

I would like to try a Status someday....
Click to expand...

Status are sweet and is on my GAS list.
But please don't lump all graphite neck/wood body basses together. My old XP-2 is a graphite neck/wood body bass. The difference is that it was made with the original Steinberger blend composite back when Steinberger was independent and had true quality control. She plays as good today as 22 or so years ago. No dead spots, no poor fret ends, and sustain for days. The difference is night and day to the new Steinbergers. The new Steinbergers are totally different and the quality is all over the place.

A few major differences between original Steinbergers and new ones:
Originals need no truss rod because the relief was engineered into a super stiff neck, i.e. High modulus of elasticity
New ones have minimal to no relief in the neck and require a truss rod to get the proper relief. The neck is much less stiff, i.e. lower modulus of elasticity.
Original steinbergers had a solid bridge using a quality milled steel.
New Steinberger bridges are hollow castings made of a cheap zinc alloy
Not to mention the originals had impecible quality control while the new ones have the quality control of Epiphone/Gibson.

Here's my baby:
xp-2.jpg
 

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