Steinberger XQ-5

Steinberger headless 5 String Bass with Steinberger blend graphite Neck and maple wood body. Long scale (34"). One of the "real things", maybe one of last ones built in Newburg. First this one was called "Q5", later "XQ-5", with active EQ "XQA-5". Two body forms, mine is the first one, called "v1". Two especially for this Steinberger 5 string designed active EMG-HB Pickups. Mine is active EQ'ed, Toneblend, Balance, Volume. Boosting the bass with the tone blend don't reduces the high's and vice versa. Headless design, double ball strings, tuning bridge, some things to date uniqe with these toys, for details see steinbergerworld.com. This design is very easy to use, effective, nothing unnecessary on it, with one word: brilliant. Very usable and reliable for live situations.

On the one side, this is a typical "Steinie", but it also sounds diffently from all the other ones i owned, played and heared. By comparison the XQ5 sounds warmer, with more punch and a lot more "live" in it. I don't know the reason for this, may be it has to do with the volume of the neck (5 string, reasonably more volume) or the blend (Steinberger changed it from time to time) and/or the volume of the body.

As on all Steinies, the EMG-HB (SS) Pickup is not the best one at bridge position and so i changed it. I found the EMG-35CS as a perfect complement to the HB on the neck side and i can highly recommend it to all Steinberger players. With the CS I can add a very beautiful growl to my sound and the versatility is even more.

In conjunction with HB-CS pu's you can get 'em all, classic Steinberger sound, p-sounds, j-sounds and with a bit fiddling on XQ's tune pot and amp's eq even an alembic-like hifi sound.
The nicest sounds for me is a sweet singing sound, especially in the highs, playing pu balance at about 80% to the neck pu and near the neck, and a very growly, piano like sound with balance at about 70% to the bridge pickup and playing near the bridge pickup.

Also interesting is the EMG J-Pickup in the Humbucker housing. But the coil sits towards the bridge and i assume for a good tone it should be mounted reversed. So you would come close to a J's bridge pickup position.

Absolutely quiet, no hum, simple nothing to hear. I always play with volume turned to full.

For a good sounding b-string you don't need a 35" scale, this is a fairytale. You only need a good bass. The low b on the Q5 sounds very good, at any time you get a well defined tone and you can hear the height of it. Nothing muddy, it sounds as the "logical continuation" of the e-string. For me, the best sounding strings with this bass are Status (from Status Graphite) doubleballs with 125, 100, 80, 60, 40 dimensions. I also tried 130, 135 and 140 low b strings, but the 125 is the best one. The tone is well defined and has enough pressure and punch in it.

To avoid playing noises (e.g. not damped strings, etc.), the EMG's should be adjusted as near as possible to the strings. So the pu's "hear" more the tone of the strings than other noises. The magnets of the EMG's don't affect the vibration of the strings, with pickups close to the strings there are no interferences to frequencies as with other pickups.

With the two HB's i'd give it an 8, with HB-CS in bridge position it is a real 10. So it get's a 9 and the recommendation to change the bridge pickup.

I buyed it unused(!) from it's first owner in 2003 with original strings on it. Think this one was manufactured around '90, and the strings has got very stiff. The first thing i had to do, was to change them. Then everything was fine, action and sound, finish flawless.

Playability is nice for everything except thumping and slaping, due to the small string distance (15,5 mm at the bridge). This is normal to all 5 stringers, exept the "wide" ones you can get today. Most of the time i play with my fingers near the bridge pickup, sometimes near the neck, and sometimes i use a plec. In a few songs i thumb and slap, but i had to become used to it.

Due to the bodys form, this one is nothing for playing in a horizontal position. The XQ5 fits best with the necks end at height of your eyes. Doing so, you can play for long times without signs of fatigue.

This is my main bass and i use it almost all the time, so i expected after 3 years some wear on the frets and they still look brandnew. Absolutely nothing to see, i'm really impressed.

The only thing could be made a bit better, is adjusting the intonation on the bridge. There is only one screw at the side wich fixes all the saddles together. So you have to bring them all at a time into the right position, this is not quiet easy. I do it myself and for me, it's not worth mentioning. But if you have got two "left hands", may be you should go to a professional. Fortunately you only have to do this with changing strings thickness, e.g. from 125's to a 135's set. Normally you don't have to do with it.

One word to tuning stablity. Yes, this is a Steinberger and it stays in tune for a very long time. But the strings do not and this is quiet normal. So don't believe the stories of instruments you never have to tune. True is, they are better than almost all the other stuff you can get.

Only the bridge could be designed a bit better, a minor flaw, so i give it a 9.

It's an original Steinberger, one of the "real things". Very sturdy and durable, nothing more to say here.

I'm now playing 25 years, bass for 7 years, since 3 years in different bands. Mostly rock, blues, r&b, punk rock and a few jazzy tunes. If lost or stolen, i would be unhappy to death. Today it is very hard to get one, if not impossible. Especially a 5 stringer like this, if you can get one, get it! It's playing in a class of one's own and surely one of the best things, Steinberger ever made. If i ever could get a second one, i would buy it at once.
The only bassist i know who played it, is from BeeGees. Steinberger never endorsed. Jaco himself ordered an fretless XL, shortly before he died. He had to pay for it and i think this is recommendation enough for original Steinbergers. Perhaps i would try the new synapse from Steinberger or a Status Graphite (headless, of course).
Probably you noticed it, the only thing if love more is my wife, but she's not so good with staying in tune. ;-))

ONE OF THE LATER FINAL BODY REVISION Q5'S THIS ONE CAME WITH FACTORY BARTOLINIS ,WHICH I CHANGED OUT WITH A MUCH BETTER SOUNDING BARTOLINI SET OF PICK UPS WITH AN ACTIVE/PASIVE SWITCH ,VERY MODULAR DESIGN ,EASY TO TRAVEL WITH ,HEADLESS GRAPHITE NECK FEELS GREAT

I HAD THE PICKUPS CHANGED OUT TO BARTS THAT RESEMBLE AN ALNICO SOUND ,NICE BOTTOM WITH SOME REAL EDGY HIGHS ,MIDS ARE THERE IF U WANT EM ,,I USALLY DONT..... WARMER ,NOT AS FLAT AS A MODULUS

NICE ACTION THOUGH IT TOOK SOME TWEEKING TO GET IT THERE ,ONLY FLAW ASIDE FROM A SLOPPILY ROUTED P/U CAVITY WAS THE SLOPPY FINISH JOB ,,THANKS TO OMI OF HUNTINGTON BEACH

THIS BABYS A TANK

GRAPHITE STEINBERGERS HAVE NOT BEEN BUILT IN SEVERAL YEARS ,PARTS CAN BE HARD TO COME BY ,GIBSON DOES MANUFACTURE SOME CRITIAL WEAR PARTS (BRIDGE PARTS ) EVER SO OFTEN ,THOUGH THEY ARE NOT OF THE SAME QUALITY AS THE ORIGINALS ,GIBSON DOES NOT APPEAR TO SUPPORT STEINBERGER MUCH AT ALL ,THOUGH THEY DO OWN IT ,REPAIRS ARE REFERED TO 2 SHOPS ,ONE IN NEW YORK (PEEKAMOOSE) AND ONE IN SF? I THINK ..SEEMS LIKE THEY WISH IT WOULD GO AWAY .....THEYVE THREATENED TO GO BACK INTO PRODUCTION OF GRAPHITE INSTRUMENTS FOR SEVERAL YEARS BUT ITS NEVER HAPPANED ,,,,

I LOVE TGHIS BASS ,ITS DEFINITLY NOT FOR EVERYONE,MORE TRADITIONAL PLAYERS THAT IVE DONE GIGS WITH HAVE CRINGED AT THE SITE OF IT ,BUT ITS AN INSTRUMENT THAT SPEAKS TO ME AND I THROUGH IT

Incredible seymour duncan electronics!
The slap contour knob gives you an instant 2nd sound!
Graphite neck is light and the guitar is super short for a bass. Great for traveling!
Tuning from the rear is kinda weird to get used to. Bought a string adapter to used normal strings as well as double ball.

Best 5 string sound I have heard. Definitely graphite though.
This thing never goes out of tune!!!!

Only thing I didn't like was the back of the neck is a little grippy. Needs to be finished differently.

My bass was dropped by UPS in shipping and I got it for half price. It chipped the finish a little but played fine forever.
The 2 battery guts is a pain though. Don't leave it plugged in!!!

Steinberger was bought by Gibson and Gibson is a little flaky on bass support.

Got tired of stupid people asking me why I cut the headstock off.