Steinberger Spirit XZ Reviews 
5 / 5 based on 2 reviewsFor the price, this bass is way better than anything else out there. The low B has no flab, the string spacing is wide enough to slap yet tight enough to play fingerstyle comfortably, and the pickups are nice. The neck is the real jem on this, but then again, that tuning system is fantastic... I have a lot of positive things to say about the Ste... [read more on Audiofanzine]
heads on fire rated this unit
on
2011-11-07.
I began searching for a lower-proced bass by researching every possible option- then I saw a bassist playing a Steinberger. I hadn't even considered a Steinie because the graphite neck versions are scarce, and cost upwards of $1200. But, I looked them up anyways. It turns out that Music Yo offers the Spirit line of instruments at very competitive prices. I ordered my bass for only $279.
This bass shares a few things with any other instrument in it's price range: a hardwood bolt-on neck and passive pickups. Other than that, it is a very unique instrument. The headless design eliminates the nut, instead employing a "zero" fret. This keeps the action nice and tight, and I've found there's less fret buzz too. the tuners are located in a nice, heavy bridge assembly, with large indiviually adjustable saddles for each string. The body in nicely shaped, fits me very well, and gives easy access to all of the frets. The sound from 2 EMG-designed humbucking pickeups (passive) is rich, and fairly immune to outside interference. The headless design is full of positive design features, but you should go to Steinberger's site for all of that.
The neck position humbucker seems to me a little too hot. I'm used to playing with active P/J pickups, so it may just be a matter of preference, but the balance between each individual pickup is tricky, and too sensitive for on-the-fly adjustments. The body is a bit small for playing while seated- the instrument is lower than larger body styles.
The string receiver at the end of the neck is not perfectly matched, and there is a slight edge where the neck joins to it. I've found a few indetations in the wood, that were probably put there durring manufacture, but before finishing, because they are under the translucent finish. Finally, the string set that came on the instrument are no doubt the "MusicYo" brand, because the nut end of two of the strings were poorly wound. $27.50 in quality double-ball Steinberger strings fixed that, and were well worth an immedaite string change anyways.
Bottom line is: for less than $300, this is an awesome instrument. This instrument is a design masterpiece. It looks good, sounds good, and the headless design features are incredible. The direct-pull tuning is easy, fast, and accurate, while the balance without a traditioinal headstock is very comfortable. The instrument fits in a standard guitar case to boot! 5 outta 5, fo rthe price.
Calibrand rated this unit
on
2002-09-05.
