Depending upon the preferences of the listener, this was either a good thing, as it made the instrument sonically clean, or a bad thing, as it made the instrument sound synthetic and unnatural. The all-synthetic construction gave a very smooth sound and feel, immediate note attack, and very even tonal response. In 1990, the design would win Ned Steinberger a "Design of the Decade" award from the Industrial Designers Society of America. L-series basses came with one or two pick-ups a high-impedance DiMarzio or two low-impedance EMGs, with the L2 having two EMGs. The rationale for the overall design was the elimination of unnecessary weight, especially the unbalanced headstock, and the use of modern materials, such as graphite, for their advantages over wood. Depending on the tailpiece, calibrated or uncalibrated double-ball end strings were used, with the former required in order to use the transposing feature of the TransTrem vibrato unit. The tuners utilized a finer than normal 18:1 gear ratio, with 40 threads per inch, which gave slower but more precise adjustment and helped reduce string slippage. The headstock was eliminated, the tuning hardware instead installed on a tailpiece mounted to the face of the guitar body. Initially produced as an electric bass and later as a guitar, the instrument was made entirely of "Steinberger Blend", a "proprietary" graphite and carbon-fiber mix in two pieces: the main body and a faceplate (the "blend" being an off-the-shelf carbon fiber "system" from the DuPont product line). The best-known Steinberger design is the L-series instrument, sometimes described as shaped like a broom, boat oar, or cricket bat. By not forcing guitarists to detune to play lower notes, the Trans Scale allows guitarists to maintain consistent tone while playing in a lower-than-standard range. By moving the capo closer to the end of the neck, one can play notes lower than standard guitar tuning without having to detune. One of the guitar models, the Trans Scale model, features a longer than average scale length and a built-in adjustable capo. The two guitar models most resemble the original Steinbergers with rectangular bodies only slightly larger than the originals. The new instruments are part wood and part graphite composite, and are not interchangeable with the original Steinberger guitars. This comprises two guitar models and one bass guitar model. The latest Gibson/Steinberger line, known collectively as the Synapse line, are produced in South Korea. Enthusiasm for the instruments has now revived to a sufficient extent that they are again being produced and sold, although the newer versions share few commonalities with the original "Newburgh" designs. With changing musical fashions and the complex manufacturing and inordinately high prices putting off buyers and producer alike, Gibson stopped selling Steinberger guitars in the mid-1990s. An NS Bass Guitar (headless) was added later to the production line. All of these instruments have a number of interesting innovations in materials and design. Ned Steinberger has operated a company called "NS Design" since 1990 and produces electric violin family instruments: double basses, cellos, viola, violin. Gibson still retains rights over the "Steinberger" name, precluding Ned Steinberger from calling his new instruments "Steinbergers". The company was eventually sold to Gibson in 1987, although Steinberger remained part of the company for some time. A company, Steinberger Sound, was duly set up to manufacture the basses and later the guitars on a larger scale at Newburgh, New York. Though Young was more than twice Steinberger’s age and had no experience with musical instruments, he joined forces with Steinberger after getting great feedback from his son, Gary Young, a recording engineer and the original drummer for Pavement, who took to the instrument and understood the appeal of its construction. ![]() ![]() While attempting to source materials in an industrial area of New York City, he visited Lane Marine, a lifeboat builder, where he met with Bob Young, an engineer with deep knowledge of carbon fiber. The first Steinberger basses were produced in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York by Ned Steinberger, essentially alone. Although the name has been applied to a variety of instruments, it is primarily associated with a minimalist "headless" design of electric basses and guitars. The name "Steinberger" can be used to refer to either the instruments themselves or the company that originally produced them. Steinberger is a series of distinctive electric guitars and bass guitars, designed and originally manufactured by Ned Steinberger.
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