overdriver

Jazz basses went out of fashion before, why not again?

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1343034291' post='1743915'] Was he surrounded by 5 guys telling him how awesome it looked, despite it looking like everybody else's? [/quote]

[quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1342865562' post='1741975'] Well, Fender basses are most certainly fashionable. I watched some of the T in the park highlights on the box last night, I saw maybe the first 7 or 8 bands and [b]every[/b] one of them was using a Fender bass. Mostly Jazzes, although there were a couple of precisions. Gretsch guitars seem to be overly popular these days too. [/quote] They have a very aggressive artist endorsement programme.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1342862677' post='1741922'] To be honest, all my playing life I wanted Geddy Lee's tone, only to discover many years ago that he used a Jazz on a lot of the early recordings. I get a similar tone out of my existing set up (Thunderbird/Sansamp), so I'm happy. P [/quote] Again, the casual use of the phrase " a lot", which lends itself to rewriting hsitory to suit a current trend! He used it mostly from Moving Pictures onwards. It didn't feature much before then - all Ric except for the first album, which was a Precision. He later butchered that to eb the teardrop bass. And to be honest, he sounds like Geddy no matter what he's playing.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1342720189' post='1740001'] arent alot of Mcartneys recorded lines played on a jazz bass.. ? [/quote] No, though that would suit a lot of people to believe that. Like the rewriting of Rush's recorded history. A scant few were done on the Jazz, Though he used it a bit on Band On The Run.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1304458608' post='1219300'] I think Steinberger headless basses will soon be making a comeback [/quote] This much of it is correct.

I gigged a pair professionally for a few years. One of these is a great cure the way they hang a bit funny [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/steinberger_guitars_ssh_101_strap_hook.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/steinberger_guitars_ssh_101_strap_hook.htm[/url]

We're drifting off further from the original topic But to illustrate, theses two basses are essentially the same, except for the active circuitry and badging: [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/steinberger_guitars_spirit_xt2db_standard_bass_bk.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/steinberger_guitars_spirit_xt2db_standard_bass_bk.htm[/url] [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/hohner_b2adb_bk.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/hohner_b2adb_bk.htm[/url] They seem to be shifting their Spirit stuff very cheap, as well as the Synapses in certain colours, could be time to snap up a bargain!

What differences are there, apart from the ones i mentioned? I've owned several of both and the Spirit XT2 basses and Hohners share the same bodies hardware and electronics. I have heard of some Spirit pickups being branded "Steinberger", but Ive never seen it personally. But it is possible to order Hohners with wood finishes and active electronics as well as different pickup options. A Spirit XT2 and a Hohner with the same pickup config and finish IS the same animal.

Yes.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1341924973' post='1726262'] Spirit was sh*t, but the Hohners have great tone, both the paddles and the Jacks. I've had a bunch of them too. [/quote] The Spirits and Hohners are the same, roll off the same line in Korea and get a different badge before laquering. The early Spirits got a phenolic fingerboard, later rosewood, while Hohners had active models

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1341921146' post='1726150'] Regarding the Hohners, they are excellent instruments, not toys, the Steinbergers from China are closer to toy status. The Gibson Steinberger I tried last year (a transtrem guitar) was very poor, appaling in fact, the head piece was misaligned on the neck by 2mm, awful set up, TT not calibrated properly, poor finishing. Sorry to go OT for a sec. [/quote] Thats not good, regarding the TT, very poor form. First one I've seen like that, though. And the TT you have to calibrate every string change anyway. With regard to Hohner / Spirit,, compared to the real thing, they're just so lacking in tone, due to the lack of mass, for one. Probably hyperbole of me to say "toy", but to a degree, is tand by the comment. i've had so many of them, and they were OK.

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1341901796' post='1725730'] I've tried a couple of XL2s in the past but just hate the way they hang; the nut feels as though it's too far away, like on a Warwick. [/quote] Thats how I feel about the XM2 I have, and its why I don't play it, but on my Ls, the nut is closer than on most headed basses. For me anyway. One advantage to the Streamline no-one has touched on yet is availability. You can order them new, in your own configuration

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1341870042' post='1725539'] Tonally? No idea. However I would LOVE one of those leg rests on my Streamliner. [/quote] Meh! Most Steinberger people just use the strap - hence all them leg rests gettin' lost!

Thats because they're decent, and don't usually require replacement. Itd be a good use of the same money to try other Ibanez models second-hand, maybe? You'd get an EDB500 for next to nothing s/h, and you'd automatically get a great set of pickups IN it!!

If I can - talking about sound is like dancing about architecture! To me, the XLs are more clean, less pokey in the low mid area. They have a milder tone, more hi-fi. The Ls are generally louder, which can drive your amp a bit harder at the gain stage. I put that down to the bridge and the SS pickups, maybe? Though my early L belies this a little. The Ls are made of a different blend of graphite, and I have found far more variance from L to L than from XL to XL, particularly the later the XLs got.and the earlier the Ls got In the beginning, they were experimenting with the blend of the graphite, and some even had kevlar in them. Not sure if they used that later or not I have an early L2 - serial number 0011. Its louder than the others by a significant amount, even acoustically. It has an early form of HB pickup in it, but even with an identical setuup, its got a different low mid and high sound. So to try express the idea of them being more aggressive - and it could be as simple as a gain thing - whenI play an L, its easier to get a snarly, slightly driven sound when you dig in than with an XL, which are just far more even across the spectrum or something. Now I shall tell you about the GPO in Dublin by performing a snippet of Swan lake.

Oh I have, and I'd love to own one. But to say that the basses that were the original of the species, and that most would agree are of the highest quality and have an incredibly ergonomic, albeit different, design aren't "even in the ballpark" seems like hyperbole to me. Lots of people think they've tried a Steinberger, particularly on this small island, and have actually tried a wooden knockoff, which were toys at best. As for ergonomics, well, when you get used to the strap pivot ( did any you tried have that device - just curious?) having a bass hung by strap buttons feels weird, cos you get used to being able to tilt, and move the bass without lifting it so you don't disturb your clothes, that kind of thing. So its very hard to go back to playing anything else. While the Streamline was closer in feel and spirit than any of the other other Steinbergers I have had that have bodies etc., I didn't think it was neccessarily [i]superior[/i] to the L or XL My preference is for L2s rather than XLs To be honest, given how ones attitude to a bass can change having lived with it for even just a couple of gigs, "trying" basses in shops really isn't enough, and perhaps there would be someone on the board who has OWNED both for a while, and can make a better comparison for the OP than you or I? And he actually asked what the difference TONALLY was, specifically, which neither of us answered Lots of people type "Steinberg" instead of"Steinberger", which was great for eBay, back before it started correcting the listing for people - I used to search for "Stienberger" "Steinburgh", any misspellings I could think of - snagged an XP2A and a GM4TA for cheap that way! Ah the good aul days!

[quote name='Phantomnin' timestamp='1341778651' post='1724099'] The Steinbergs arn't in the same ballpark, honestly. [/quote] Interesting...Steinberg[b]ER [/b]owners would love to know why? Also which Steinberger did you try? L, XL, XM, XP, XQ...? Or a Spirit or Hohner model? Of course, it could just be one man's meat being another man's poison??

I said [i][b]I [/b][/i]found it tiring - me personally. YMMV etc. Its the flat feel I didn't like. Bear in mind L2s are more aggressive than XL2s, also.

Glad to! I ahve 2 L2s and an XL2, but have owned several XLs, including a Transtrem XL2A! I think the original L2 bridge was better - the jaws didn't break, and it had more sustain. The strings loaded in sideways, so they didn't pop out when winding like the XL Also it was milled, and not cast like later XL bridges The headpiece on the L is better because you can use standard strings. I prefer the neck profile on the L, because I find the edges of the XL rather severe / sharp in comparison, and the profile is shallower Tonally I find the L2 is more low-mid heavy, and more like a traditional bass in many ways L2s for me! having siad that, my transitonal fretless is one of the ebst Steinbergers I've had, and sounds almost identical to my L2, because it has SS pickups. I imagine the OPs one has, too.

The L2 has a deep U profile, I suppose anything would feel flat after that, but it was definitely flatter than any of my Stingrays

[quote name='markorbit' timestamp='1341664164' post='1722429'] I've been gigging mine over the last year or so... used to drive the band mad but I think they're used to it now, especially as we've been doing some retro-styled gigs. Most people under 30 ain't seen one before so for them it doesn't have that 80's stigma and think it's quirky but cool. I was at that Police Gateshead gig in '82 which was the 1st time I saw one 'live'. Another one of my favourite players Phil Spalding was also playing one around that time. I wish I still had my original L2 that I got in the 80s but I managed to find another one in the USA a couple of years ago and had it shipped over. I actually prefer the look of the L2, more tank-like with those screws on the front plate and bridge. With my Markbass F1 amp and Berger I can travel to rehearsals on the scooter. The Berger fits in the boot! [/quote] My preference is for the L2 as well, particularly the neck profile.