Steinberger Synapse XS-15FPA

I owned a five strings version of this bass and I love it due to the size and comfortability. The sound is little bit off versus 2 pick-up basses and the piezo was sound is not quiet woody due to the construction of this guitar, made like a tank which makes the piezo pick-up so bright but my overall rating on sound is 9 out of 10.

Just little note for evryone. BE CAREFULL TO THE TRUSS ROD. this part is suffering alot of stress due to neck is supper strong so don't force to straighten up the neck, Why I'm saying this?...I used turque wrenche when udjusting the truss rod and I noticed I was putting 50in/lbs just turn little bit, for the size of that screw head I think this is way out of suggested torque value.
once you brake just kiss your bass goodbye.

When I recieved my bass, look like not setup at all, string too high, pick-up is too low

This guitar is built like a tank

I'm going to give 9 out of 10

Standard Synapse 5 String, as described above and on www.steinberger.com. This one is a FACTORY 2ND and a REFURB unit from musiciansfriend.com. Mine is Translucent Amber. Made in Korea. 1 EMG + 1 PIEZO BRIDGE. Active electronics. Neck through body construction with nice smooth heel to the neck. Satin finish all over the bass (I love this--it sounds and smells like WOOD! Kinda strange coming from Steinberger). Came with gig bag only. I find it interesting that there was no "Thank you for buying a Steinberger" card included, no owner registration, no warranty card, no accessories catalog, no owners manual (e.g. how do you adjust this thing, or change strings?) And how do you deal with this weird strap horn? And where do you get an appropriate, gig-worthy, Steinberger-worthy guitar stand for this thing?

I need to weigh this bass for the record--it is quite light. However, there is a lot of mass to the neck. The neck is quite thick and wide for my tastes. I tend to like slim necks (originally being a guitar player.) I wish they made a 4-string version of this bass with a D-tuner.

I've not yet played this extensively--I'm travelling a lot these days. From what I can tell of the electronics, the tone seems limited. Not real deep like my Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, not capable of being bright like my active Music Man 5-string. I would say initially that this bass is "piano-like"--clear, focused, and very consistent all over the neck. Though it's not all graphite, it definitely sounds like a Steinberger. It seems quiet for now--I'll follow up after I plug it into my SansAmp TRI-AC pedal. I like the slap tone on this bass--it has a nice spank to it. Not sure what kind of strings are put on at the factory, but they seem more like Stainless than Nickel. They are a little rough on my fingers, but I like my strings sort of "broken in" a little. Not dead, but at least "warmed up".

Bottom line--I don't think this bass will be particularly flexible; seems like more of a one-trick pony from a tone standpoint. It just depends on if you like the trick or not!

The action from the factory was pretty lousy. Again, this was a REFURB unit, but I really don't see what they refurbished. I took it to my guitar tech, who had it setup with some TLC in about 20 minutes. He charged my $30--well worth it, in my opinion. The bass plays much much better now.

He also tightened every screw on the bass. I was sick when I first played this bass--the string retainers in the locking nut were all loose, and rattled horribly. Apparantly, there was NO QA inspection before this thing left the factory or the vender for that matter. Very disappointing.

There is a chunk of wood chipped out of the rear control cavity near the jack plate. It won't affect playability, but it sucks that it's there. That's why they gave me the big $300/400 discount.

This bass will save my back--which is why I bought it. I'm in 3 projects right now, and all the heavy instruments are killing me. For the sake of tone, I may use other basses for live shows, but for rehearsals, I will use this one for a while. The bass seems solid as a rock mechanically. I like the quality feel of the control knobs. There is a center detent on the tone controls.

We'll see. Haven't dealt with them.

I've been playing 34 years! Have Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, Music Man Stingray 5-string, Music Man 4-string fretless, Ibanez SoundGear SR885, Ampeg SVT-3PRO, EDEN Traveller, Trace Elliot AH-350, Eden 210XLTs, Eden 410XLT, SWR Workingman's 12. SansAmp Acoustic DI, SansAmp TRI-AC pedal. I play prog rock, alt rock, classic rock, some country and country/rock, funk/R&B/Motown.

I considered a Fender Stu Hamm Urge II and a Kubucki X-Factor. But I was also looking for the compactness, because I am on the go constantly. The size of the Steinberger is very appealing to me.

If it were stolen, I'm not yet attached enough to say I'd get another one, but that may change. It seems extraordinarily practical, that's the bottom line. I wish it had individual adjustable bridge saddles, a more sensible strap horn, a J/P/J pickup arrangement, a passive option if the battery goes dead, a slimmer neck, a 4-string version, and maybe snappier color options. I really wish for some cool accessories, and I wish Ned Steinberger all the success in the world--he is the most innovative person in the instrument world. I can't wait to try out more of his instruments. I wish Guitar Center would carry his full line so we the people could check out all his cool inventions!

5-string headless; Made in Korea; Satin black finish; volume, blend, treble, bass knobs; One Active 18v powered EMG pickup; came with a gig bag, owners manual, 2 allen keys for adjustments; rest of the details are on the Steinberger site (www.steinberger.com)

For everyone who is wondering, the sound is nothing like an XL-2 (I own one). It's a very plain sound, probably due to the single EMG pickup. I wasn't able to get it beautifully warm or beautifully bright. It sounded sort of plain at both ends of the spectrum. The sustain is pretty good, but doesn't outweight the other shortcomings. For the money I spent on this bass, overall not very impressed.

Either there was no factory setup, or it was setup terribly. As promised by Ned, this bass sits very comfortably on the body. The weight is distributed evenly. All frets are easily in reach. The EMG pickup makes a great thumb rest for finger-style players. I couldn't get the action as low as I wanted, but I'd call it a "medium" action fretboard at its lowest (I'm not a guitar tech, so don't fully trust me on this).

I've only had it for a short while, but it feels very solid. Plus, I trust Steinberger's durability.

The thing looks great, and feels great, but it's only mediocre-sounding. The all graphite XL-2's have much more personality. I wish it had 2 soapbars (P/J) instead of just the single P. I also wish you were able to lower the action a bit more (maybe a tech could have done this... not sure). For $1100 not worth it... maybe for $500.