Steinberger Synapse

[Greatbiglows]

Anyone got one of these?

[LeftyJ]

These are so cool! Haters will say it's not a true Steinberger 

 

 

...but while the neck and the body wings may indeed be made of wood, the neck does have a carbon graphite U-shaped profile which the truss rod runs through and a phenolic fingerboard which add a touch of the rigidity, evenness and clarity the original composite Steinbergers are famed for. They're cool basses, and the range of tones of the EMG DC and the piezo bridge is huge, if mostly modern. 

[anzoid]

Had one a few years ago. As LeftyJ says, the DC + piezo was a great combo. But... the one I had was way heavier than it looked, surprisingly so, and the bridge was, in my opinion, its weak point. Proper intonation was difficult because of the limited range of movement and the fact it was just one solid block. The bridge sits in a bow-tie shaped slot so you can only realistically pivot it round the centre point, and there's very limited space to move in. The one I had would also not work with the double-ball strings I used to buy from Status Graphite, they were too short. I remember reading somewhere other people finding the same thing. Steinberger brand strings would, apparently, fit - but not all other brands.

 

I ended up with an NS Designs Radius WAV 4 which, despite the similar bridge layout (one piece) was just overall better and lighter than the Synapse. The piezo in the WAV 4 was also smoother compared to the Synapse which proved to be a bit scratchy. The fit and finish on the WAV wasn't as good as the Synapse though.

 

Still wish I had the Synapse though because it was miles ahead of the Spirit XT-2s that were around at the time - the Synapse at least felt like an advance (for a wooden Steinberger...) compared to the warmed over rehash that was (is) the XT-2s (of which I've had a few too...).

Edited March 30, 2022 by anzoid

[Cosmo Valdemar]

That bridge... 🙄

[NickA]

On 31/03/2022 at 10:52, Cosmo Valdemar said:

That bridge... 🙄

Awful.  Why would any designer skimp like that if they knew anything about basses.

 

On the other hand, double basses etc have bridges that are just at right angles across the strings and no one worries about it.  Just avoid playing chords and no-one will notice 😁

[overdriver]

On 30/03/2022 at 07:34, Greatbiglows said:

Anyone got one of these?

Yeah I’ve two of them

 

never noticed the intonation being terribly out

 

theyre punchy and ballsy

 

i never use the piezo

 

 

[crazycloud]

On 31/03/2022 at 06:53, anzoid said:

Proper intonation was difficult because of the limited range of movement and the fact it was just one solid block.

That's what put me off one. Prices have also risen lately, and there are few available in the Antipodes, so I'm probably not going to ever get one, no matter how curious I am.

[Oldman]

On 30/03/2022 at 07:34, Greatbiglows said:

Anyone got one of these?

Do you still want one?

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 01/04/2022 at 14:53, NickA said:

Awful.  Why would any designer skimp like that if they knew anything about basses.

 

On the other hand, double basses etc have bridges that are just at right angles across the strings and no one worries about it.  Just avoid playing chords and no-one will notice 😁

I guess it is designed to only intonate perfectly with one particular type, brand and gauge of strings, and in E standard tuning.

 

Or just never change the stock strings and you are good. 

 

But yeah, that still doesn't sound like the brightest idea to me either.

 

Same concept as the wooden "bridge/1 piece saddle" of the Danelectro Longhorn bass though, but at least that actually allows you to at least adjust the angle of it. 

 

Edited September 17, 2022 by Baloney Balderdash