Steinberger Spirit XT-25 Bass Guitar
Make / Model: Steinberger Spirit XT-25
Gear Type: Bass Guitars
Cost / Purchase Detail: I purchased it at MusicYo.com for $246.49 because I wanted a 5-string bass that was lighter and easier to play.
What you like: Other than learning how to play a 5-string, I had no problem at all getting used to it. Between the low action and the small size, it's wonderful to play. It stays in tune very well. It has that classic Steinberger sound. My last bass was a Fender jazz bass with Seymore Duncan noise-canceling pickups, and I think the Steinberger sounds much better. Other band members and a sound man agree.
What you don't like: The only negative thing I can say about it concerns the Steinberger method of setting the intonation. You have to loosen a small Alan screw on the side of the bridge assembly and manually slide the bridge pieces back and forth. I find this very cumbersome because it's easy to make too great of an adjustment and it's also easy to accidentally move the bridge piece next to the one you actually want to adjust. I do know, of course, that once everything is set up properly you shouldn't have to mess with the intonation too much as long as you use the same gauge of strings, but it would be nice if the bridge pieces were made to be adjusted with screws as they are in most other basses. It does take the double-ball-end strings, which are a little harder to find. They make an adapter that allows it to take standard strings, but I haven't looked into that yet.
Construction / Quality: Very good solid construction. Stays in tune. Sounds great and plays great. It arrived in good condition a couple of days after I placed the order. I had to do some minor adjustments. The action was fairly low-just the way I like it, but the neck was perfectly straight to the point that the strings were buzzing more than they should have been. Since I didn't want to raise the action, I re-adjusted the truss rod to put a slight bow in the neck. I then re-adjusted the action and the intonation. After this, it played fine.
Bottom Line: Overall, I would recommend it to anyone because it plays well and sounds good. In my opinion, those are the two most important things when buying a guitar or bass. It does look different, due to the headless design and small body. However, it's a very good design from a practical standpoint. I have always wondered why more guitars and basses don't have similar designs. It's better balanced, easier to tune, easier to play, and was a heck of a deal.
Rating: 5 out of 5!
Author: Paul
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