Steinberger Guitars part two
By MNJ
| Posted in Guitar
In part one, we outlined a brief history of the Steinberger company and the innovations in design that have kept the company at the fore when it comes to technological advancement of headless guitars and basses.The current Steinberger catalog includes The Z-Series Collection as well as the Synapse and Spirit Collections of both guitars and basses.
The flagship ZT-3 Custom is a twin humbucker, double cutaway electric featuring a bolt-on neck and a new version of the TransTrem system. This is the only tremolo system on the market that will bend chords in pitch and transpose keys. This last feature is achieved by moving the trem to the unlocked position, dialling in the required key – it will raise the pitch to F sharp or lower it to D – and locking it again. When locked, the system will act like a fixed bridge and if a string breaks, the guitar retains its tuning. The ZT-3 is a hybrid instrument, constructed from a Cybrosonic U-channel spliced into a 3-piece maple neck. The addition of a phenolic fingerboard ensures maximum stability and strength, which has always been one of the main features of Steinberger instruments. The ZT-3 has a flamed maple top and hard maple body wings as well as a zero fret and Combo headpiece which enables the use of both double and single ball end strings. The guitar is available in Trans Red, Trans Black and Trans Blue and includes a gigbag.
The Synapse Collection includes the SS-2F and SS-2F Custom, both hybrid instruments constructed of graphite and wood. The SS-2F has a set neck and the Custom has a through-neck construction. Both guitars feature EMG81 and 85 pickups and hard maple body wings and top. The SS-2F is available in Plain Black or White and the Custom in Trans Amber or Trans Blue. The Synapse Demon, which is aimed squarely at the metal market, is a through-neck design with an immense 28 5/8 scale length. Equipped with EMG81 and 85 pickups, it is available in black only and comes with a gigbag. Completing the Synapse collection are the ST-2FPA and ST-2FPA Custom. These guitars have the same specification as the SS-2 models but feature the same scale length as the Demon. The ST-2FPA is available in Plain Black or Antique White and the Custom is available in Trans Amber or Trans Blue, both with gigbags.
The Synapse basses include the XS-1FPA is reminiscent of the original L2 model but with a slightly offset body. It features a set neck, phenolic fingerboard and a single EMG-40P pickup. Available in Plain Black or Antique White.
The latest Spirit Collection of Steinberger guitars consists of two very affordable instruments, the GT-PRO Deluxe and the GT-PRO Standard, both featuring the same body shape as the GL Series and R-Trem system. The Standard has a single-coil pickup in the neck position and the Deluxe is equipped with a humbucker. Both guitars are available in Plain Black or White and include a gigbag. The basses, which include the XT-2 4-string and XT-25 5-string models, have the L2 symetrical body shape and are equipped with two Steinberger bass humbuckers, feature through-neck construction and are available in Black on the 4-string and Black or White on the 5-string.
Tags: demon, gtpro deluxe, gtpro standard, ss2f, st2fpa, Steinberger, xs1fpa, xt2, xt25, zt3