lowregisterhead

For sale is a beautiful bass that I imported new from the States myself 3 weeks ago, and despite it being a truly glorious instrument, it's not for me... sadly I think I may have spent too many years playing snarling 5-string graphite things with preamps... Custom Shop 1960 (stack pot) light relic Jazz in Olympic white, matching headstock, gold hardware, mint green pickguard, rosewood board, the most beautiful birdseye/flame maple neck, brown tolex case and all the case candy - strap, lead, manual, certificate etc., as brand spanking new as a relic'ed bass can be! Light, at only a little over 9 lbs. Never gigged, been out of the house once to a rehearsal, fear took hold and I put it back in the case. £1800 (was £1995) (was £2250) SOLD SOLD SOLD....

Now sold, thanks for your interest, folks...

[quote name='Thornybank' post='1191195' date='Apr 6 2011, 10:38 PM']If you can ping it to CIty Link in Guildford (7mi) on a Saturday morn, I'm for it. Cheers[/quote] Sorry, it would be a mammoth task to try and box it, which any carrier would require. It would also cost a wad to send it, I'd think. Don't know what it weighs. Collection in person is the only realistic option.

Also now on up on eBay, but as long as there are no bids, I will end the auction - get in quick!

[quote name='Stag' post='1188712' date='Apr 5 2011, 10:16 AM']The best sounding cab ever, IMO. The rollbar makes it real easy to move, and it has a kickplate for getting it up onto the back 2 seats of yer car. £450 is a great price for this, is it one of the older American built ones?[/quote] Yup, it's a US made one (just added a pic of the rear label) not sure of the age, I didn't buy it new. Shame it has to go, but it's just not getting used. Priced to sell, as you correctly noted!

A few battle scars in the tolex, but in full working order... collection from near Woking, Surrey (less than 10 mins from A3/Jcn 10 of the M25). £450 buys you a belting cab with much more grunt than a 4x10, but without the back-breaking weight of an 8x10... Call Dave on 07976 301994 NOW SOLD

It is a weird old market for these, because despite being genuinely great basses, some people are completely dismissive of the Steinberger, although you can be pretty certain none of them have ever even picked one up. I've had three XL2s and an L2 over the years, and I still have a very rare XL-5W 5-string - I've referred to them all as my 'Marmite' basses - people either love them, or really, really hate 'em! Post some pictures. You might be surprised at the level of interest. LRH [quote name='Pete Academy' post='761513' date='Mar 2 2010, 09:03 AM']To be honest, I've seen very few people using them lately. There was one I saw that sold in Europe for 2200 euros. It was in better nick than mine and was totally original, but the serial number was in the 1300s. That's what makes me think mine is just as valuable. If I can't get near that amount or swap it for a nice Jazz, I'll keep hold of it. Thanks for the info. [/quote]

Yes, but no, not really. They were made up until 1998. The earlier ones are definitely better, though, IMHO. Good luck with the sale! LRH [quote name='Pete Academy' post='761505' date='Mar 2 2010, 08:56 AM']Mmm...well I thought the clue was in the year, as in 1983. No? I might try eBay. Cheers. [/quote]

Dear Points Of View... why, oh why, oh why do people always pidgeonhole Steinbergers as "80's basses"?? I might be interested if you're including a mullet wig and a pair of legwarmers in the sale, though... Another Steinberger owner P.S. You could try posting on the Steinbergerworld group on Yahoo, or the much-maligned eBay, of course - I sold an L2 on there not long ago. You should still get at least 1500, as long as you're willing to ship to Europe. [quote name='Pete Academy' post='761482' date='Mar 2 2010, 08:21 AM']I've been considering selling my 1983 Steinberger L2, serial number 610. Steinberger sticker logo (not stamped) and push-in knee rest. I changed the single tone pot for an EMG bass/treble active stacked and have unfortunately lost the original pot and knob. It's well gigged. This bass is the actual one featured in the Tony Bacon 'Ultimate Guitar Book', as I loaned them the instrument for it. I was hoping for a couple of grand, but that might be a bit optimistic in the current economic climate. I would consider a swap for a nice 70s Jazz, preferably maple neck with pearl block inlays. If anyone is remotely interested, I can put pics up. 80s covers band anyone? [/quote]

[quote name='bassatnight' post='741704' date='Feb 11 2010, 08:02 AM']Looking for a Trade for my all Black Status 5 Graphite String Fretless, just can't get on with 5 strings as much as I have tried so looking for a 4 stringer. Would prefer a lined fretless but open to anything fretted or otherwise (within reason) I have a gas for Fender, Musicman, and just about anything decent - try me! Steve.[/quote] Nice bass. Would it be impolite of me to point out that you've missed a bit painting behind your radiator??

[quote name='Cairobill' post='742117' date='Feb 11 2010, 02:22 PM']They look unique but feel and sound great...killer necks, loads of sustain and a pure warm tone that isn't 'graphitey' in a sterile way.[/quote] True! I've owned a Status S2, and a couple of Stingrays with graphite necks over the years, and they all had that nasal mid-range bark that the Steinberger just doesn't suffer from. Design? Materials? Who knows - it's just a great bass. Right... that's it... withdrawn from sale! I knew this would happen once I started discussing all its good points...

[quote name='Stacker' post='742103' date='Feb 11 2010, 02:01 PM']Ebay, for me, is getting more and more dodgy. with people breaking payment instructions, doing unwarranted chargebacks on PayPal (cos they've decided they don't like the item or had a spat with the seller) and maliciously getting auctions taken down. I'm seriosuly thinking about not using it for selling any longer. Shill bidding - as the Seppos call it - is becoming rife over here, too, and I've been on the end of that. Incidentally, when I finally got my old XL2A back in my hands via ebay, I noticed that the only guy that was bidding against me in the last few minutes turned out to be a guy would bought and sold mobile phones and software; not [i]once[/i] did he buy a guitar or bass! Go figure! Anyway, I digress. Much better to have a forum like this to trade on. Have you also tried the Steinbgrger goup on [url="http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/steinberger_world/"]Yahoo?[/url] ?[/quote] I did try posting on the Yahoo Steinberger group, but didn't get much of a response, and this from supposed Steinberger nuts. Perhaps I'm just destined to keep it for now...

[quote name='lapolpora' post='741291' date='Feb 10 2010, 06:38 PM']Somebody, somewhere is dying to have this and will pay your asking price for it....you just need to find 'em and best of luck with that. Something tells me that might be a collector in Japan. I'd consider putting it on Ebay (International) at the original asking price if only to raise awareness of it, and to direct potential buyers to make you an offer here or TB if it doesn't sell. I bought a 4 string XL2 in December and I'm so happy with it - an absolute monster bass. However it's not my everyday bass and I haven't taken it on a jazz gig yet If anyone told me and my 'Berg to F off they'd get the same back. [/quote] I've thought about it, and it's a bit scary - it always feels to me as if you sort of lose control of the sale once it's on eBay. If I put a high price on it, there's also the issue of the cost of listing it, with a reserve, even if it doesn't sell. If I enter into negotiation via a forum, there's a bit more room for maneuver for both parties, and the process helps to ease you gently into accepting that the bass will soon no longer be yours! Another problem is that discussing this on an open forum may result in my talking myself out of selling altogether...

[quote name='greyparrot' post='741237' date='Feb 10 2010, 05:40 PM']OK. Where did you get it then? and how much for? how many have been made? I had a stunning spector redwood that was 4k only 24 ever made. Was a nightmare to sell.[/quote] Do I detect a hint of sarcasm? Ok then... (1) America (2) More than my missus was happy with (3) About 50. As fabulous a bass as a Spector is, I'm not sure it's quite as iconic as the Steinberger, but probably more generally acceptable. I've called all the Steinbergers I've owned (and I've had 5 of them over the years) my Marmite basses... you either love 'em, or you hate 'em. And some people REALLY hate 'em! A mate who is a real vintage nut came over to have a look at one of my first Steinbergers because he'd never seen one in the flesh. I asked him what he thought. "Shouldn't be allowed" he said, slightly tongue in cheek, but added that if he turned up to do a gig with a Steinberger for any of the bands he worked with, he'd be told in no uncertain terms to f*ck off and come back with a real bass. That must be the liberal, open-minded, creative demeanour that we've all come to know and love in the music industry at work, then.

[quote name='bassaussie' post='740699' date='Feb 10 2010, 10:16 AM']I've got an L2 as well, and feel much the same. It's a classic. LRH - you seem confused about why there's no response, but it's been pointed out to you. Steinbergers are collectible, but like any collectible, there's a threshold to their value. I realise you feel very strongly about how nice your bass is, but just because you feel that way doesn't mean everyone else does, and regardless of some of the prices we see attached to vintage instruments these days, anyone buying a piece like this wants to believe they're paying around the market value. I'm really curious as to how you arrived at your valuation. I believe you originally wanted £6000, you've now lowered that by 25% to £4500. Were you advised to price the bass this way, or did you come to these values yourself? I don't mean this as a criticism, it's just that you obviously want to sell the bass, yet you're confused by something that I think appears fairly obvious to everyone else.[/quote] Thanks for your thoughts, but I'm not at all confused about there being no offers, as it's a very niche instrument, and will appeal only to a small percentage of players. I did receive a fairly respectable offer the last time I posted, but I decided to turn it down. What I had expected was a bit more reaction, comment and conversation about the nature of the beast itself, where it came from, even what it cost me. It's an unusual thing, after all. The first figure I put it up for was, you could say, speculative. Being as rare as it is, I had thought that perhaps the very fact one of these had turned up for sale would spark some serious interest, even if it was only within a small group of enthusiasts, who I know exist. The price was based on what I feel it's worth to me, although that's not to say I wouldn't consider a lower offer, but unless it was a figure I was completely happy with, I will simply keep the bass, and perhaps offer it for sale in a year or two when the economic situation improves. Thanks for your interest - y'see... this is what I meant! :-)

Eighty-odd views and no comments? I'd welcome your observations (with the exception of "too many strings" or "too much money" obviously...) :-)

Sorry - all the talk about how great these basses are has made me reconsider, and I've decided to withdraw it. Thanks for all the positive comments! ------------------------------------------------------------ WITHDRAWN Offered for sale is one of the original carbon graphite composite Steinbergers - an exceptionally rare XL-5W ('wide 5') bass. As many of you will know, you just don't see these for sale, as they only made about 50 of them. There are some 5-string versions of the X-2 and XL-2 out there, which were basically standard width 4-string necks with head and bridge conversions to somehow cram the 5th string on, resulting in a very narrow string spacing, but the XL-5W was built as a 5-string, and therefore has a very comfortable 17mm spacing. The previous owner rescued it from a shop in the States, and had work done at the Peekamoose workshops in New York to make it beautifully playable. Cosmetically, it's in good condition, but not immaculate, and as such could be said to be primarily a player's instrument, although still extremely collectable. Included in the sale is another completely unused bridge and tuner block, the original pickups and circuitry (a more recent EMG preamp and pickups are currently fitted), brass and aluminium string adapters for non-double ball end strings, a Packhorse flight case, a Ritter gig bag, and several sets of assorted double ball end strings. It's fitted with the NS Boomerang strap system, and the original pivoting strap plate is also included. Price: £4,500. May p/x for a Wal 5 string.