Steinberger Synapse XS-15FPA Custom Fretless

Made in 2006 in the USA, 5-string, hollow graphite/wood composite neck, phenolic fingerboard, dotted but unlined fretless, one EMG 45P magnetic pickup, piezo bridge, and EMG preamp with master volume, magnetic/piezo blend, bass, and treble. Active 18V electronics, it's headless and has the small triangular "broomstick" style body. The headpiece allows you to use normal single ball strings as well as the Steinberger-specific double-ball strings...this is good, more string choices!

There's only two things missing in my opinion. I think all fretlesses benefit from a flexible mid EQ as well as bass and treble EQ. Since the onboard electronics are EMG, Steinberger should include the functional equivalent of EMG's Vari-mid control (semi-parametric mid with sweepable center and cut/boost control). A mid control is a default expectation on a modern bass. Now, that said, I haven't actually needed a mid control on this bass, or at least not yet.

I think this bass would also benefit from a magnetic bridge pickup. The one mag pickup is in the sweet spot and that works, but it's a little difficult to get a really nasally tone out of it. A bridge pickup plus a magnetic pickup blend control would fix that.

I'm subtracting one point only because of the lack of a mid control and the lack of a bridge pickup.

A brilliant idea was making slots to store the allen wrenches on the bass itself (behind the bridge). Excellent, no more lost allen wrenches. The flip-down knee stand is a good idea, but I never use it (don't play sitting). Since these don't easily fit onto any guitar stand, I wish Steinberger would also figure out how to add some sort of kick-stand so that you could just flip that open and set the bass on the floor!

I was a little concerned about being able to get the intonation perfect (if there is such a thing with a fretless) given the odd-ball bridge. (There's height and forward/backward/swivel intonation adjustment, but it's not independent by string.) However, I do have to say that the intonation is as perfect as I can reasonable tell using fingers only. I would rather see independent string height and intonation adjustment, but the odd-ball bridge adjustment does seem to work fine.

This is where this bass absolutely shines. I've owned 4 fretless basses including this one, and this bass has the extreme bite, articulation, and monstrous growl that I was searching for. It's a very unique tone...it's definitely not woody and organic. This bass has an unusually even growl across the lower and upper registers that it just really sings, and cuts through a busy mix quite well. Up in the higher registers it has a raspiness that's got an almost saxophone-like vibe to it...great for playing melodies! The articulation is remarkable...attack on notes is just instantaneous. If you do busy licks, they come across just like you intend with this bass. It's sensitivity to fretting hand touch is also extremely good...fret a note firmly with your fingertips and it sounds "less fretless"...fret a note softly using your fingerpads and it sounds "more fretless". This is an excellent characteristic in my opinion...being able control "how fretless" is sounds with your hands only. Growly and mwah-ful...it's a pleasure to play.

If you've ever heard a Zon fretless, I would call this Steinberger Synapse "the poor man's Zon". Both of these two have very similar graphite/wood composite necks, phenolic vs. phenowood fingerboards, and smaller bodies. Compare sound clips from Steinberger and Zon...the similarities in tone are astounding!

I'm subtracting one point because it's difficult to get a highly nasally tone without a magnetic bridge pickup.

Everything is absolutely excellent in this category. Better than I would expect for a bass that's about $1200 new. The only observation I will make is that the finish on the wood-grained models is a stain only...if you sweat or have greasy hands, you'll likely get a greasy spot just above the pickup where many bassists rest their thumb. This would be a concern with one of the solid-colored models...only with the stained models.

I haven't had this bass long enough to make a really good assessment, but it sure seems rugged. The neck is stiff and doesn't not move! In fact, during string changes if you start by tuning the B-string and move up to the G-string (5-string bass), by the time you've tuned all the strings up to the G, the B-string is only about a 1/8 step flat. On any wood-necked bass, I usually find that by the time I've tuned all the strings from loose to in-tune, the B-string is at least a half-step flat, maybe more. This neck is stiff, but hollow, lightweight, and resonant!

I have not dealt with Steinberger customer support, so I can't offer any valid opinion here.

For the price, I think this bass is a bargain. It's so lightweight, comfortable to wear and play, excellent tone and playability. I personally do not particularly like the broom-stick body style, but I love everything else about this bass. It's a truly professional instrument with almost no compromises.

Steinberger should consider making a 6-string fretless as well though...if you want a 6-string that sounds similar about the only choice is a Zon.