Happy to know some of the stories behind the design of this type of headless guitar and I really don't care what shape it has, I put functionality, comfort and efficiency above design and aesthetics any day, so after watching some reviews about travel guitars (yes because electric doesn't need large body) found about these Steinbergers made by Gibson and already have one coming for X-mas to replace my kid's first Strat Squire guitar ;) thanks for everything.
Such brilliant design!. I would LOVE an NSDesign acoustic travel guitar. I have an old Steinberger with Transtrem I bought for a travel guitar back in the day and it is still amazing.
Ned's bass design was genius in terms of carbon composition. I had the L2 bass then got the XL2. The fact the it's design is impervious to atmospheric keeps its sustain and ease of staying in tune is revolutionary. I remember a Steinberger ad where he straddles the bass between 2 chairs wide enough then stands on the bass.
@@Maximus091768 It's been a couple of decades between owning the L2 vs my current XL2 but what I can remember is the L2 had a warmer tone probably from the pickups. Both feel the same in terms of playability.
@@Maximus091768 Teds proprietary composite material makes it that way. Even quality made basses made of wood is subjected to some sort of temperature expansion inversion. Basically stretching the strings out of tune. That's never an issue with a composite Steinberger.
I have one of his designs made of wood, a six string model named Spirit. I bought it from Doc Yo Music and I don't know if it came from the company after he sold it to Gibson, but probably. It's a good design that could survive the change of manufacture. The guitar is not light, but it's very stable and built like a tank, very sweet to play, and I count it among my best instruments. Very nice work and a great talk. I liked the question about aesthetics and his Star Wars experience was a hoot.
Heads up the Spirits and the originals and VERY different. Spirit is in the name - it's a licensed cheaper design for mass manufacture (not Neds original design), built in the "Spirit" of the original (basically just headless and shape and bridge styling). The originals from 80's are fantastic construction, way superior to the Spirit build quality which (I had 3) were pretty bad - I actually sent a few back as well because they arrived new from factory in terrible shape, bad bindings, poor neck joins, etc, that would not be apparant to many. There were some higher end ones which had necks made by Moses in the MusicYo period. Unfortunately Moses no longer operates, so the only way to get a "new" steinberger is via LSR guitars (Ed Roman) which will make a graphite neck, and can source a NOS transtrem from back in the day. Will cost an arm and a leg though! :P The newer Japan Steinbergers are better made than the MusicYo ones - a friend got one new for only 300 quid and it's a pretty good attempt at replicating the original instrument, especially given it's all wood rather than graphite.
@@AdamRobertshaw Yeah, I've heard the criticisms about the Spirit before and can't agree based on my own experience. I have only one, but the one I have is rock-solid in build, holds a setup well and stays in tune religiously, shows little fluctuation in changing environments, has a good feel, and is an excellent player. It's also one of the most compact complete instruments I've found. I'm very happy with the Spirit I own. I'll bet the originals are sweet, but this one is sure no slacker.
@Brannon - That was/is my experience. I couldn't afford a Steinberger when I was playing guitar in a cover band for a living, but I did buy a Kramer Duke six-string headless, with aluminum bolt-on neck. Once I got it set up I was hooked. Eventually I got a real job and could afford a real Steinberger or five. I have played nothing but headless guitars on stage since 1982.
In the not-too-distant past, I owned five Steinberger 6-strings, all from the Staten Island or Newburgh factories. I was laid off and had to sell two of them. Lovely guitars. Before the Steinbergers, I bought a Kramer Duke 6-string. A poor-man's Steinberger-type headless. Great guitar, but I had to wrap the neck in a heating pad before each set because the aluminum neck would otherwise suck all the heat from my left hand while playing.
Not much new info here, but a good watch nonetheless! If you want to see more concise explanations then his old videos from the 80's Japan interviews are the best. Annoying that the questions are a bit crummy... I would love to know why he hasn't pursued the Transtrem idea any further, or any future implementation of it, given demand for the transtrem pushes prices of a single tremolo unit to almost 2000 USD!
Hello, I am writing from Chile, my English is not very good, but I hope you understand me, I have a Steinberger Spirit 4-string bass, and I would like to know if you can change the passive pickups for active ones, and if they can be changed, which ones would you recommend ...
Hello! Leonard if you want your Spirit XT-2 bass to sound closer to an original Steinberger XL-2 I would suggest that you install two EMG HB pickups in your bass and they will fit perfectly without any modification and you also have enough room for the battery in the back cavity with the electronic... Enjoy!!!
That is the worst bass guitar ever made. You could not invent a bassist torture device any worse than this plastic thing. Lack of ahead is visually disturbing, it does feel like your fingers are going to fall off the end on the fretboard. The center pivot is a really odd thing to try and get used to instead of a normal strap. By weighing so little and composed of plastic(call it composite if you want) it is thin sounding with no sustain
Happy to know some of the stories behind the design of this type of headless guitar and I really don't care what shape it has, I put functionality, comfort and efficiency above design and aesthetics any day, so after watching some reviews about travel guitars (yes because electric doesn't need large body) found about these Steinbergers made by Gibson and already have one coming for X-mas to replace my kid's first Strat Squire guitar ;) thanks for everything.
Great talk and Q&A session. Love your instruments!
Thank you very much for uploading this. Ned Steinberger is an absolute genius 🙏
Such brilliant design!. I would LOVE an NSDesign acoustic travel guitar.
I have an old Steinberger with Transtrem I bought for a travel guitar back in the day and it is still amazing.
Updated version of the classic xl bass? YES! I want one. Saving up......
Ned's bass design was genius in terms of carbon composition. I had the L2 bass then got the XL2. The fact the it's design is impervious to atmospheric keeps its sustain and ease of staying in tune is revolutionary. I remember a Steinberger ad where he straddles the bass between 2 chairs wide enough then stands on the bass.
Which bass did you like and or think was better
@@Maximus091768 It's been a couple of decades between owning the L2 vs my current XL2 but what I can remember is the L2 had a warmer tone probably from the pickups. Both feel the same in terms of playability.
@@geoffm3031 so, after all this time, the sustain is still there. It’s like 40 years!
@@Maximus091768 Teds proprietary composite material makes it that way. Even quality made basses made of wood is subjected to some sort of temperature expansion inversion. Basically stretching the strings out of tune. That's never an issue with a composite Steinberger.
Funny, my L2 is having a hard time staying in tune. New strings and all.
I have had more than 50 bass guitars in myvlife, the NS Design radius NXT4Aa is the ultimate bass guitar for me.
THAT RED GUITAR THO!!!!I NEED IT!!!
I have one of his designs made of wood, a six string model named Spirit. I bought it from Doc Yo Music and I don't know if it came from the company after he sold it to Gibson, but probably. It's a good design that could survive the change of manufacture. The guitar is not light, but it's very stable and built like a tank, very sweet to play, and I count it among my best instruments.
Very nice work and a great talk. I liked the question about aesthetics and his Star Wars experience was a hoot.
Heads up the Spirits and the originals and VERY different. Spirit is in the name - it's a licensed cheaper design for mass manufacture (not Neds original design), built in the "Spirit" of the original (basically just headless and shape and bridge styling). The originals from 80's are fantastic construction, way superior to the Spirit build quality which (I had 3) were pretty bad - I actually sent a few back as well because they arrived new from factory in terrible shape, bad bindings, poor neck joins, etc, that would not be apparant to many. There were some higher end ones which had necks made by Moses in the MusicYo period. Unfortunately Moses no longer operates, so the only way to get a "new" steinberger is via LSR guitars (Ed Roman) which will make a graphite neck, and can source a NOS transtrem from back in the day. Will cost an arm and a leg though! :P
The newer Japan Steinbergers are better made than the MusicYo ones - a friend got one new for only 300 quid and it's a pretty good attempt at replicating the original instrument, especially given it's all wood rather than graphite.
@@AdamRobertshaw Yeah, I've heard the criticisms about the Spirit before and can't agree based on my own experience. I have only one, but the one I have is rock-solid in build, holds a setup well and stays in tune religiously, shows little fluctuation in changing environments, has a good feel, and is an excellent player. It's also one of the most compact complete instruments I've found. I'm very happy with the Spirit I own. I'll bet the originals are sweet, but this one is sure no slacker.
@@AdamRobertshaw The Japan made Steinberger’s are better made?
I’m kinda curious on this one now
What do they do different?
I love steinberger guitars and basses. I wish ned had made his original steinberger in 6 string configuration
Man is a genius!
Once you strap a Steinberger bass or guitar on you, and feel it, and play it, its really hard to go back to a traditional guitar with a headstock.
@Brannon - That was/is my experience. I couldn't afford a Steinberger when I was playing guitar in a cover band for a living, but I did buy a Kramer Duke six-string headless, with aluminum bolt-on neck. Once I got it set up I was hooked. Eventually I got a real job and could afford a real Steinberger or five. I have played nothing but headless guitars on stage since 1982.
Absolutelt
In the not-too-distant past, I owned five Steinberger 6-strings, all from the Staten Island or Newburgh factories. I was laid off and had to sell two of them.
Lovely guitars.
Before the Steinbergers, I bought a Kramer Duke 6-string. A poor-man's Steinberger-type headless. Great guitar, but I had to wrap the neck in a heating pad before each set because the aluminum neck would otherwise suck all the heat from my left hand while playing.
Not much new info here, but a good watch nonetheless! If you want to see more concise explanations then his old videos from the 80's Japan interviews are the best.
Annoying that the questions are a bit crummy... I would love to know why he hasn't pursued the Transtrem idea any further, or any future implementation of it, given demand for the transtrem pushes prices of a single tremolo unit to almost 2000 USD!
Hello, I am writing from Chile, my English is not very good, but I hope you understand me, I have a Steinberger Spirit 4-string bass, and I would like to know if you can change the passive pickups for active ones, and if they can be changed, which ones would you recommend ...
Hello! Leonard if you want your Spirit XT-2 bass to sound closer to an original Steinberger XL-2 I would suggest that you install two EMG HB pickups in your bass and they will fit perfectly without any modification and you also have enough room for the battery in the back cavity with the electronic... Enjoy!!!
F**K Gibson, We love you Ned!!!
tech in 2021 still has not caught up to the transtrem bridge.... perhaps in 50 more years ;)~
he didnt talk about "why carbon and not wood" "or this is my english traductor who is not ok?
"music showcase" but they can't equip dude w a lav? cant hear s 1/2 the video
That is the worst bass guitar ever made. You could not invent a bassist torture device any worse than this plastic thing. Lack of ahead is visually disturbing, it does feel like your fingers are going to fall off the end on the fretboard. The center pivot is a really odd thing to try and get used to instead of a normal strap. By weighing so little and composed of plastic(call it composite if you want) it is thin sounding with no sustain
So, I guess you never played a Washburn? Or a Chinese bass? OLP? How about the XM2 Steinberger? Guess not.
@@davidpeters44 Why exactly would I want to play a bunch of crappy bass guitars?
Enjoy your neckdive I guess.