Cheapo Steinberger

[Matt R.]

Any of you have experience with this embarrassing, awful, goofy boat paddle of a Journey video reject?
Cause I kinda want one. Just wondered if the budget models were decent.


https://www.guitarcenter.com/Steinberge ... 4468285.gc

[Jeroen]

I have no experience with the Spirit models, but I had an old Korean Hohner B2A that was fun and very high quality. I paid about €250-300 for mine IIRC, and sold it for roughly the same when money was short. It's a quirky thing with awkward ergonomics: the neck was narrow but pretty deep and round, the string spacing was narrow at the bridge (16.5 mm IIRC), it only takes double ball strings unless you add a string clamp behind the headpiece, and despite its compact build the first few frets feel really far away because the upper strap button is behind the 21st fret.

Mine had Select by EMG pickups, some models have Hohner-branded pickups. Either way, I believe them to be guitar humbuckers underneath a closed cover. Nothing wrong with that, it sounded cool. The active electronics were kinda weird, IIRC they were a two-band boost-only affair. I much preferred the active tone over the passive tone, it had much more overtones and a brighter and livelier tone with the preamp engaged.

Edit: found a pic. Apparently mine had the Hohner-branded pickups.

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[tim]

I have an XZ-2 and it's not bad. The neck is straight, fretwork good, and the bridge works fine. As soon as I got it, I started shopping for aftermarket pickups but pretty quickly decided that the stock ones weren't missing anything critical. I got one of those clamps for the neck so I can put normal strings on it, and switched to Chromes. It fits in a guitar gig bag--a great little travel bass.

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Here it is compared to my bass gig bag.

PXL_20220209_232108915.MP.jpg (156.6 KiB) Viewed 23454 times

[tim]

That said, I don't enjoy playing the paddle-shaped basses. I like the stability the wings give it.

[Matt R.]

That said, I don't enjoy playing the paddle-shaped basses. I like the stability the wings give it.

Yeah I can see the boat paddle one being a hellscape of ergonomic dissatisfaction.
I wish I knew why I was having this craving to play one

[tim]

At least it's not a bank-breaking craving!

[paulo]

Worth a try! You'll never know.

[pjmuck]

I also have the XZ-2 and an original graphite Steiny. I have no experience with the XT-2, but if it sounds anything like the XZ-2, it's not bad at all.

I think the Spirits are surprisingly decent for what they are, but they do require an adjustment to get used to, just like the US made models. Because there's no upper horn, the first few frets feel far away, the string spacing is pretty narrow, making certain techniques like slap difficult (at least for me), and I see that the XT-2 does not come with the boomerang strap holder, which is one of the cool things about the US made ones because you could pivot your bass to a comfortable angle. (I believe there are aftermarket mods out there to compensate). But the coolness factor? Instant 80's classic. I hope you've got some Cars and Devo tunes in your repertoire.

[fivebass52]

Any of you have experience with this embarrassing, awful, goofy boat paddle of a Journey video reject?
Cause I kinda want one. Just wondered if the budget models were decent.


https://www.guitarcenter.com/Steinberge ... 4468285.gc

Matt, to be honest with you, I had one of these about 10 years back, and wasn't impressed with it. When I bought it, I think I paid about $300-350 for it. I bought it because way back in the 90's I had a Hohner/Steinberger copy, which had an passive/active switch. The Spirit just didn't have the kick without the active switch that I had on my 90's Steiney, that got stolen... I eventually sold the Spirit, and, as luck would have it, years later a bought a Hohner/Steinberger 5-string, that I use as my go-to travel bass. I bought the 5-string for about $350-400 back then, and it's a Much better made bass than the Spirit models.

I'd hold out for a Hohner model... I know they're rare, even 4-strings, but, they'll be close to the price of this Spirit, which I don't think is worth the price...

[Stingray5]

This guy from my local scene plays a 5 string Spirit and absolutely tears it up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hjajpGCY48

[superheavydeathmetal]

I eventually sold the Spirit, and, as luck would have it, years later a bought a Hohner/Steinberger 5-string, that I use as my go-to travel bass. I bought the 5-string for about $350-400 back then, and it's a Much better made bass than the Spirit models.

I'd hold out for a Hohner model... I know they're rare, even 4-strings, but, they'll be close to the price of this Spirit, which I don't think is worth the price...

I also had a B2AV many years ago. Satin Walnut finish. Rock-solid. It felt great. I loved it. I only sold it because I am not a 5 guy. I haven’t seen one come up in a long time. It would definitely be a great buy if you do find one.

[fivebass52]

This guy from my local scene plays a 5 string Spirit and absolutely tears it up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hjajpGCY48

Yes they do! Bass sounds great. Here's a lefty 5-string at Guitar Center... $529. Prices have gone up over the years, and I suspect it's probably because of the Steinberger hardware...

So Matt, these don't come up everyday, so your call....

[superheavydeathmetal]

Here’s one:
https://reverb.com/item/79370025-steinb ... 010s-black

[fivebass52]

Here’s one:
https://reverb.com/item/79370025-steinb ... 010s-black

You can't beat that price for a bass that takes up no space in the overheads, and is fun to goof around on... Hohner's are much better models, and usually, like mine, have the passive/active switch on them, which I prefer....