Steinberger Spirit XT-25

black
24 fret
H/H passive
gig bag

I use the neck pickup almost exclusively. No tone - it robs too much volume. The bridge pickup has no balls. I know it shouldn't have thunderous bottom, but my Tele thumps harder. I will say the neck pickup deserves a 10. Full and clean. My Ampeg V-4B just doesn't sound right with any other bass.

Came as a 1. Paid MusicStop to make it a 9.5. Out of the box, the strings were laying on the fretboard, the neck pickup wasn't even connected, and the tone pot was falling out.

I play this bass 3 times a week and it never fails. Tuning climbs a bit from sitting with the last set of strings, but before that it would stay in for months. I don't have a backup. I have broken the E and replaced it mid-song. I've dropped it, thrown it, speared and batted drunks off the stage,(stay away from my mic), and occasionally hit a few rocks across the yard. I don't think I could break it if I tried.

Is 6 weeks too long to get from California to Nova Scotia? FedEx lost track of it in Halifax. It sat in a third party warehouse for 4 days with no info on the box. Lucky for me an employee opened it up and with just a last name tracked my parents down. Musicyo wanted me to send back to be fixed, so they wouldn't re-emburse my cost for the soldering and set up at MusicStop. They weren't apologetic and offered nothing. The gig bag zipper messed up the first time I tried It, and I've been trying to get a hard case ever since. The website says it is either out of stock or it isn't even listed.

I'm sold on Steinberger's and if I find one second hand anywhere I'll buy it. I've Been playing for 16 years and have owned Series A, Squire P-bass, Cort by Steinberger. If anyone can suggest a good bridge pickup, I would have my perfect bass. I already have my perfect amp, an Ampeg V-4B('76 to '79), a Traynor TC410 cab, (a 15 would be a nice addition), Boss tuner pedal, Planet Waves cables, Dunlop .60 big triangle picks.

See other reviews & Music Yo, but basically a black Steinberger broom, hard tail, two unusual covered humbucker pickups w/ pickup rings, 3 adjustment screws and pickup covers, two volume knobs, one tone, no switching, flipping leg rest, five strings. I'll give a 7, you don't need more in a bass.

Mechanically it sounds strong and clear. Electrically, rich, full, warm and bright, pianoish. No idea how well it fits in a mix. The pickups, thank goodness, are very good (good luck finding replacements).

Pretty well set up, except the rubber on my leg flip is kinda squashed and the result was that the grooves in the legal flip showed on the finish. That buffed out, and maybe the rubber is getting less squashed. Mainly, these things are baseball bats (with good action, though), pretty generic and typical notions of luthiery, well, for the most part cease to exist. Odd that they stamped a not fancy serial number on the side in small white type under the leg flip, I doubt there's much point to that.

Probably the most durable instrument ever (except maybe for old graphite Steinbergers).

MusicYo: pretty helpful, not bad. They should be, since they don't actually have to do sales work (the website takes care of that).

The body seems a little oversized to me. I bought this mailorder because I liked my Steinberger guitar. If I'd tried it first, I probably would have held off and eventually bought a Mexican Fender Jazz. Not much to complain about, though. Wife complained when I brought this one home, though. I brought it out of the bag the other day and the B string broke at the ball after a few days playing while bending strings. I hope it's just that the strings it came with are cheap, don't want to be busting lots of B strings. Gotta say that the center of that string was remarkably thin, we'll see what the official Steinberger/LaBella string looks like shortly. If it isn't better built, Houston, we may have a problem.

Korean production, 24 frets, 5 String
Controls: 2 Volumes, 1 Tone
2 Passive H-Picks (Select by EMG)
One-piece Maple Body
3-piece Hard Maple Neck
Black finishes
Body: Steinberger "stick"
Bridge: Patented Steinberger Bass Bridge with direct-pull 40:1 fine tuners
Tuning System: Patented, Steinberger Double-Ball System
Accessories: Gig bag (surely not deluxe...), 1 cable

I love this shape, thus it would be a 10: with the folding leg rest you also get the chance to use it while sitting.
I put it down to 9 just because I don't appreciate much the control configuration: soon I'll set it like 1 Volume, 1 Tone, 1 Balance (between the 2 picks): it's not that difficult knowing few electronics.

Now I play rock and this bass perfectly fits my style. I use a Behringer bass modelling amp (BASS V-AMP PRO) and connect to both a stage monitor and directly to the mixer: it took me just 5 minutes to find a good live combination.
No noise, absolutely. Even if it employs passive eletronics, the gain is good enough not to need any further gain.
Sound is simply "clear": with full tone, it has very sharp timbre, expecially with bridge pick-up. Warm sounds can be reached by means of the neck pick-up and less tone. I consider it very versatile, but you should use some effects and EQ anyway.
Actually, when I sometimes play in acoustic gigs (like in small pubs and such), I prefer avoiding tones at all (cupe sound in contrast with the acoustic guitar).

I do like this bass: good on stage, clean in studio: sure, it's not the best on the market, but for such a price, I haven't found any better.

I knew that new instruments aren't neither tuned nor well set-up, but when I first opened the case and played it, all strings buzzed. Few days of rest in my room and the neck slightly bent... Man, I was terrified. I waited two days more 'till everything settled down, then I operated on neck and action and in two sessions everything was fine. After that, it needed no further adjustment at all: now I have been playing it for some months. Two "air-mail jumps" (from Korea to USA, and from USA to Italy) can be the cause?
On the other hand, pick-ups where perfectly set and finishes look good and robust.

I have a double-ball set of strings on stage and I forgot about carrying a back-up bass (which I leave home now): it seems risky, but changing those strings is very fast.
No adjustments are required any longer and I almost forgot about tuning...

I bought it from Music-Yo, and this means internet and air-mail. The carrier was very kind and precise. Package was well made: I also bought the hard shell case and they put the bass inside, which is definitely a good idea some sellers forget about (have you ever received a package, twice as big, just because the retailer didn't want to un-pack and re-wrap???)
Warranty? I don't think there is any.

I've been playing bass guitar for 20 years, but with a 7-year stop in between. I started with a Squier P-Bass and played Metal, then I played as a session-man in few gigs and I bought an Ibanez SoundGear 885 I still own. I came back "on the road" again five years ago to play rock.

I've loved this bass since I saw it for the first time, and I finally decided to buy it when my Ibanez started "feeling its age". Definitely happy of the deal: I would buy another if it were stolen or lost (i don't think you can break it...).
I love the shape, the dimensions (lenght and weight) and the powerful sound (no noise, clean and great sustain). And I loved to have all those feature for such a price!
I don't like the control configuration (I'll change it) and the fact I have to pay VAT and import taxes, which raise the price at least of 30%. But this is an EU citizen problem... and it apply to any instrument...

Number of Strings: 5
Body Material: Maple
Neck Material: 3-piece Hard Maple
Neck Joint: Thru-Neck
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Fingerboard Radius: 14"
Scale Length: 34"
Frets: 24
Neck Width at Zero Fret: 1.625"
Pickups (passive): Bridge - EMG Select Humbucker, Neck - EMG Select Humbucker
Controls: 1 - Neck Pickup Volume, 1 - Bridge Pickup Volume, 1 - Master Tone
Bridge: Patented Steinberger Bass Bridge with direct-pull 40:1 fine tuners
Tuning System: Patented, Steinberger Double-Ball System
Additional Strings: - Light
Overall Length: 38.50"
Finishes: Black, White Laquer
Accessories: Deluxe Gigbag included

I'm giving the features a rating of 9 because... well... it's got everything a bass needs to be a bass plus a gig bag and leg rest. It's not like I had to go out and buy a bridge for it. The really nice feature that made it a 9 was the folding leg rest. It's solid... it's metal... and it actually allows you to position the bass more than typical body styles do. I generally like the neck more vertical, and the folding leg rest allows that with no complaints.

I mostly play Jazz, Classic Rock and Funk. I have gotten absolutely ZERO noise from this bass where my P-Bass sounds like a 5 million volt power transformer.

The neck pickup is very warm and lively. The bridge pickup is typical to what you would hear from a bridge pickup. This bass is not dark sounding. It can be bright or warm depending on where your volume/tone knobs are... but all the tones I've played with so far are rich and full.

Based on the price I paid ($280), I didn't honestly think this would be a studio quality bass. But I could definitely see some uses for it in the studio. Like I said, I couldn't get any electronic noise from it if I tried... and the strings resonate like a mutha!

As for popping/slapping, it has standard 5-string spacing. It's pretty close for any fast/intricate stuff. But I give the pop/slap sound on it a B. Good, but not great.

I give the sound a rating of 8. This might be stretching it a bit when comparing it to active electronics and good passive PUPs with more control knobs. But for the price of the bass, and considering the pickups are $30US retail, it cannot be beat! I am seriously impressed with it's sound!

N/A - Do factories actually set-up guitars now? LOL

I paid for a setup. I told my tech to do the truss rod, intonation, oil the fret-board and drop the action as low as possible WITHOUT fret-buzz. I need to bring it back. All 5 strings are buzzing between the 4th and 6th frets. Not terribly, but enough to bother me. But I also don't hammer my finger into the frets. I have a very light touch. I noticed if I did hold the strings down harder, the fret-buzz minimized.

I noticed some MINOR flaws in the body/neck finish. No chips, scratches or dents in the finish. It kind of looks like a few specks of white paint. Nothing that hurts the finish... nothing that affects the playability... and nothing that will ever be seen without inspection.

I give the bass a 7 here (I'm not including the set-up cause I wouldn't play ANY bass straight from the factory). Everything was solid... Bridge, tuners, strings, frets, strap knobs, PUPs and control knobs. As I said, the only problem was in the finish, and it's really not worth mentioning. The one thing that brings it down to a 7, is the way this guitar sits when you are standing with it. The top of the bass (B/E string) pivots forward a little. So much that you cannot see the frets unless you bend your right knee (left knee for left-handed players) to tilt the bottom up a bit. There are markers on the side of the frets, but those can only do so much.

Many players don't look at the frets so that might not be a big deal. But it is still slightly awkward to play and this could be a major thing for some people.

This bass could definitely withstand live playing. All the hardware is solid! More solid than I've seen on basses that cost twice as much. Of course, the bridge and leg rest remain as the Original Steinberger patents. For those of you unfamiliar with the original Steinbergers... well... in the event of a nuclear war, only Cockroaches and Steinbergers would survive.

The laquer is thick and tough. I don't think it's going to wear off in my life-time. The strap-buttons are solid and of good quality. I cannot see a strap falling off under normal live playing (unless your strap is worn around the button-holes). You could get pretty intense on stage on shouldn't have to worry about it falling off.

I never go to a gig without a backup, but I would feel safe with this one. Some reviewers said they could use it as a weapon. That is no exaggeration! When my friend saw it, they said, "You could take someone out with that thing!"

No complaints, definitely a 10 here!

I have no clue. I opted for the standard (free) shipping and it came 3 days later. I had no problems with it so I never had to get a hold of them.

I did email them several months prior (because they were out of stock) and they sent a prompt reply telling me they expect more in in November... which they did.

I don't know what the warranty is. But I don't think a musical instrument needs a warranty.

I'll give this a 10 based only on the quick shipping and prompt (and accurate) email they sent me.

I've been playing on and off for about 12 years. I have played/tried a lot of different basses over the years. Personally, I've never been a fan of the way Fenders feel - they tend to be too heavy, and I like a narrower string spacing. (that gives you an idea of what I like)

At the time I purchased this, I was looking for a decent intermediate 5-string. I tried a Warwick Rockbass at the music store and fell completely in love with the feel, weight, playability and sound of that bass (for the price). The Steinberger tops the RockBass in sound (and price) but I still liked the weight and feel of the RockBass a little better. Like I said, the Steinberger sits a little weird when it's strapped on... but not terrible.

If I lost this bass, I'm not positive I would buy another. It's a good bass and worth twice as much as it costs, but I might consider a 5-string with a little wider string spacing and a little better feel. However, one thing that no other bass can touch, is the size of the Steinberger. This has got to be the greatest full-size bass to gig around in. It is highly compact and can fit almost anywhere.

I'm going to give this bass an overall rating of 9. If money was no object, I would give it a 6-7. For passive basses under $1000(US), I would give it a 7-8. But you just can't beat this bass if your budget is under $500.

5 string steinberger headless 24 frets 2 volume controls and a tone control 2 emg humbuckers (passive) rosewood finger board in black accessories inluded a gig bag and a small cable at first it wasn't so comfortable but now i am used to it

pickups makes no noise thats why i gave 10 i had fender standart jazz bass which makes alot of noise. and i prefer this instead of fender standart jazz bas sound is very goog i play dream thater and stuart hamm this bass give me all i need

everything was good when i firts got the bass from fedex

this bass is a tough one as some body said above u can use it as a weapon

buy it from music yo they have a very good customer support they send the bass 3 days late and i e mailed them they paid my money back and they answered my e mail in half an hour i recived the bass in 3 days

i have been playing for 5 years if it were stolen i am not going to think immdiatly buy another one without thinking i love the desing of this machine no head strange body i love it. this is my 4 th bass i had fender washburn and in my opinion steinberger beats them all in sound and qualty

Korean made headless with Steinberger double ball string tunning system. A five string with EMG pickups, 24 frets, small body with flip down knee rest, neck through body, rosewood fretboard, 2 volume one tone control knob. Was available in a wide selection of colors when I got mine either white, or white, or WHITE. Needless to say I got mine in white. Very cool tuneing system with small turn knobs at the bridge of the instrument (NO headstock). Not a very ergonomic bass it weights just as much as my full size jazz but it's much smaller, hangs weird on a strap with neck strap screw which must be instaled buy the owner (ships in the bag).

Tight metalic sound very crisp when adjusted (see action). Smooth overall but not very high output from the pickups, Clean no noise. I bought it because it's small and I want to travel with it, only 38" total fits in small gig bag. Worst use of the term "Deluxe gigbag" ever used in sales. There is absolutly nothing Deluxe about this bag it's just a cheap hunk of thin vinyl. Sound is a six overall because it's clean and useable. Makes great punk, rock, thrash, hard core, metal sounds, I would not use it with my acoustic Jazz trio.

Worst set up on Earth! There were no real construction flaws it's a solid built bass. But out of the box it was full of buzzing frets and noise all over the neck. After adjusting the string hight three times I decided to adjust the truss rod, and raise the pick ups closer to the strings. Fortunatly they ship the bass with two Allen wrenches which fit the truss rod and the bridge string adjustments you WILL NEED THESE! Whole bass is painted with thick white gloss finish which is not what I like, I prefer a real wood finish neck back which feels better to me. Control knobs are impressive, very solid feel. Would give it a higher number but factory set up was so poor.

Lives up to it's reputation as one tough son-of-a-bitch. Would make great weapon if I ever needed to protect myself on stage. Stiff neck does stay in tune, hardware is durable, nut and bridge both look really well made of Black cast metal. Better input jack than most, cable will not fall out till you pull it out. Now that it's adjusted looks like I'll have this bass for years. Wouldn't use it on gig without backup because I fear the double ball strings will break to easy and be a pain in the ass to change

Music yo.com No personal contact. I don't think this internet dealer is to interested in customer support, but hey you can't beat the price
for a good quality five string.

I've been playing for over 15 years, also own Fender Jazz fretless, and P-bass, Yamaha TRB5, Sigma acoustic, and a Samick which I bought in a pawn shop for $75.(see my other reviews on Harmony central). Play through GK 1001RB amp or SWR WM160 heads with Hartkey or Carvin cabinets. Even though the set up on the XT25 sucked it's still a good value for the money, and the ulitimate travel Bass because of it's small size. It may be worth spending money to have it set up by a professional guitar tech because where else can you get a good quality five string for under $300. In terms of value the construction and sound is worthy of about twice the price paid. Would recommend as first five string for player who does NOT have custom quality expectations.

Bought new in 2001
Made in Korea.
Headless 5 strings Bass
2 EMG Select pickups
34" scale
Came with gig bag.

The EMG pick up was weak and noisy. I have to turn the tone knob almost all the way down to reduce the hums.

The biggest drawback with this bass is the sympathy sounds coming from the non fretted strings. Since the sustain on this bass is excellent, that means all the unwanted sympathy sound from other strings also rings forever. I really had to work hard when playing to mute the nearby strings.

Maybe flatwound or pressured wound strings would help.

Action, and Finish were very good. The bass balance is ackward and will take time to get use to. It leans up and away from you so it is hard to see your fretting fingers when playing.

It looks like this bass is very reliable.

Bought new from MusicYo.com.

Don't expect good customer support from them. You can only communicate with them via e-mail. And they will answer you only if they feel like it. I had a real difficult time with them.

Get rid of the pickup noise and sympathy sound, this bass could be great.

I like the compact size and light weight. It is an okay bass if using it as an "emergency" backup. But for $289, it is not too bad.

Can't tell you the year, but it does say made in Korea on the elcetronics cover. This is the small "square body" headless deal with 5 strings, 24 frets on a rosewood fingerboard (with a "zero fret"), 2 passive "EMG select" humbucker-looking pick-ups with volume controls for each and a master tone. Uses the double-ball string system with five tuners build onto the bridge--although you can get a "string adaptor" that allows you to use regular single ball strings. Body and 34" through-body neck are supposedly maple. Was available only in black when I ordered and came with two allen wrenches, an inexpensive instrument cable and a pretty decent nylon gigbag. Also has a flip-down bar on the bottom of the body that allows you to sit and play the instrument balanced on your leg--works very well.

More info:
http://www.musicyo.com/product_specs.asp?pf_id=048

Kind of bright, relatively clear--a full sound overall. Brightness might be in part due to the light gauge strings that come on it. Is pretty quiet. I'm currently using a SansAmp Bass Driver DI and a BBE DI-100 and it comes through decently. Certainly isn't a "perfectly classic sounding bass" but it works for me. The most adjustable part of the sound comes from the volumes of the pick-ups. Tone control has some effect, but is not overly drastic. Sustains very well.

Came with a decent setup out of the box. I adjusted the truss rod slightly and might tweak it a little but it's fine as is. This bass is pretty stout. Plays very easily (probably easier then my Ergodyne 705), slaps and pops pretty well in the 1.5 inches or so between the neck and the neck pick-up--I'm used to my Ergo 705 and at first kept hitting the neck pick-up, also still looking for a place to rest my thumb when playing. Strapped on it's very balanced. Playing seated it balanced slightly toward the neck which I like. Seems to me that it balances closer to the bridge than I'm used to meaning I reach further out to the first couple of frets. Got used to it rather quickly. Would also like to note that the B string is very solid and not flabby.

This thing is stout. Considering the bass itself, I would rely upon it without a back-up--exception: would always want a back-up in case of string break, as with any bass

Haven't dealt with the manufacturer, but musicyo.com got this thing to the doorstep very quickly (US Postal Service). Ordered the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, arrived Friday afternoon. Didn't talk to a live person throughout the transaction but it worked as advertised, this is how e-commerce should always work!

Been playing almost a year on bass, guitar before this for many years. I have an Ergodyne 705 and although it feels more "substantial" than the Steinberger, but it's also a lot bigger. Had I known about the Spirit when I was shopping for a first bass, this would've been the one. Bought it because I wanted a back-up and anticipate a bunch of travel in the near term, will work nicely for both, might actually be a primary instrument. Also will work well in the church thing where space is a premium for the music folks. Overall, this is an incredible value! Blows my mind that it's offered for only $279.99.