Steinberger Spirit XT-25

[Marley's Ghost]

I have been pleasantly surprised by the XT-25 I picked up from Sam Ash online. The intonation was nice right out of the box and it just needed a few tiny turns of the truss rod to get the action low with almost no fret noise. The tone is piano like, but with some tweaks you can get most sounds out if it. It can be deep punchy and clear as a bell.

MAJOR CAVEAT - I strongly recommend buying a Boomerang or other Steinberger strap system. The XT-25 is virtually unplayable with just a regular strap. I coughed up an additional $130 for the Boomerang, and now it plays like a dream. There are some strap extension mods recommended on Talkbass that might work for some. I tried but could not get nearly the pivot or adjust-ability that the Steiny strap systems provide.

The compactness makes air travel easy. I have taken it on 3 flights, and it slips right into the overhead. On a tight stage it gives room to move that a large headstock does not. The tuning system is great - this baby really hold a tune. I might upgrade to EMG's or Barts as the stock pups are ok but not spectacular. Once you get used to it it is really fun to play.

[bhunt1]

Great review - thanks for posting this.

[andrew]

Thanks! You're tempting me. I've always wanted a Steinberger bass.

[blablas]

I've got one of these basses as well, the only real major thing missing is a proper place to rest your thumb on, this is how I solved it.

It's just a piece of stainless steel tubing, flattened at the ends with two holes drilled and countersunk in the flattened end, also put some small washers underneath it to raise it a bit more.

[superheavydeathmetal]

blablas! That's brilliant! You didn't by chance make an extra few to sell, did you?

[blablas]

Nope I didn't, and not planning on doing so either, I prefer to make guitar related stuff only for my personal use.

You can probably DIY one yourself, there's no black magic involved, it's just a piece of stainless steel tubing of 3x4 millimeters with both ends flattened and a couple of holes drilled in these flattened ends.

[superheavydeathmetal]

Thanks for the tip, blablas. I could probably come up with something if I put my mind to it!

Ghost,
If you do replace the pickups, do let me know what you decide to put in it. I have a Hohner B2A (and a B2AV with jazz pickups ) and I might entertain the idea of swapping out the pickups for it (The V has jazz pickups, so I would have to be careful about the dimensions. Basslines Quater Pounders won't fit unless I get the cutouts enlarged ). Unlike the Steinbergers, they have an active preamp, so I'm not sure if you can just throw any old pickups into it or not.

Also, if you ever have to adjust the intonation, I would be interested to know what you think of the licensed bridge. I can't decide if it's cheap or brilliantly simple. I guess the most important thing is that it's rock-solid and doesn't move once you do get it adjusted.

I love the headless Hohners, and I belive the Steinbergers are pretty much identical, so I'm not surprised you are as pleased with it as you are. I think they are a great quality instrument, especially for the dollar. As you said, the electronics leave a little to be desired, but I love the convenience and comfort of the small footprint and light weight, and they play like a DREAM. If I found a bass like this that somehow sounds like my 4003 I probably wouldn't ever play anything else