Steinberger GM4S

This review is a 2nd visit from the review posted 3/14/2007 by Steve Speier. Probably beneficial to read that one over first. I'll not rehash the commentary there. This review is purely differences/additions that have become apparent to me since that review. The changes made to the guitar to warrant this review is the guitar now has a Moses Graphite replacement neck (same type of neck as the stock guitar) outfitted with extra jumbo stainless steel frets - along with extra care in the installation of the neck & fret finishing done by a respected luthier.

Really impressed by the sustain on this guitar, as well as the immediate attack. One might find it a little lacking for playing fat, growling blues - but on the flip side - bright and clean is something this guitar does very well. The pickups are very quiet. I've not played a lot of guitars - but I'd wager that she's not as flexible in the range of sounds she can produce as some guitars. More like she excels in her range. I really like it as she complements my other guitar, which excels more at the humbucker blues realm of sound.

With the new neck, extra jumbo stainless steel frets impeccably installed - playing this guitar is a *luxury* that can actually spoil one to the exclusion of other guitars. Once one acquires a taste for this guitar's compact size and body shape, I find I don't like standard strat style body types guitars quite as much. In particular, I like the lack of body behind the bridge. With the Steiny there is less body to try to pivot the neck away from your reach (plus being shorter) - particularly noticeable & nice when playing a lot of open position. I'll still stand by my original statement that this guitar is very *comfortable* to play. She really chords well with her neck shape and flat radius. Maybe not as fast as some necks, but along with the new frets - she's a bending machine!! Very nice addition - the extra jumbo stainless steel frets to the Moses neck. Recommended!

The S trem is very good. The only beef I have is that a lot of whammy bar use will tend to break a high E string. This is because the bridge holds the string by balls (so to speak), and the pivot takes place there. Working it back and forth, it will likely cause it to fail there eventually. At least it's easy to change strings. Almost fun - except for the price of double balled strings that you also have to mail order to get. Rarely are they carried by local stores near you. So yet another bright spot tip: You can get a headpiece that will allow the use of standard single balled strings. I don't gig - can't speak for what may go on there, but I play a lot and occasionally outdoors with large temperature differences. Nary a problem with the guitar staying in tune and performing. Find the knobs a bit easy to turn and I sometimes inadvertently adjust my volume. Really though this is nitpicking. She seems pretty tough.

I haven't had to go here - mercifully. A better question about the date this review was written is if you can even get a USA Steinberger. Always out of stock.

I don't know if I would go through the hassle of trying to replace this guitar in its present state. It took months to get this one close to *perfect*. I would definitely be heart broken. If you *do* get a good stock USA Steinberger - I would recommend the extra jumbo stainless steel option. And the best way to do that is to get a new neck and have the frets/neck professionally installed. You will NOT be sorry!

I got this (2007) guitar because of the mix of features. Particulars were: 24 frets and 25 1/2 scale. The controls out of the way (not a fan of a strat's volume know placement) yet still accessable. The s-trem that also locks to simulate a fixed bridge. Good access to the upper frets. On this last point there seems to be more than 1 USA body style. The GM4R that I first tried to acquire has greater cutaways than the GM4S, which I liked better, but I still like the access OK. It's a pretty guitar and I like the styling and headless look. The pickups are active and a bonus (I'm not that knowledgeable) over acceptable passive pickups. Also important was jumbo frets, though I like extra jumbo better. More on this later. Also the price was right for the above features available on a single guitar.

When I first played this guitar, I was alarmed. It wasn't a warm fat sound like the humbuckers on my Schecter. Rather thin and sterile for blues and rock (my opinion). But when it was time to play shimmering clear appeggios, I discovered this guitar's element. Nice. It's very quiet, and for what it does, it does it very well. With proper amp setup I think you can approximate what you want OK. It certainly won't replace my other guitar, but that said it can go where it can't. I guess I'm saying it's not a jack-of-all-trades. But I like it.

I think there's quite a quality control issue where these guitars are put together. This was my second attempt to acquire a Steinberger. The first was a GR4R and came in such an obvious mess that it was send back right away. I couldn't believe that it could get past QC! So apparently there isn't any. The following is my thoughts about it: The parts themselves seem to be of quality and arrive separately to be assembled. Here's where it goes wrong. The frets were not dressed. Heck the truss rod was just loose! The action was pretty high and not really intonated. At least it was put together properly - just seemingly in a hurry and not given TLC finishing one should get for a $1200 guitar (my opinion). Could not really get the action down because of the unfinished frets, but the neck seemed OK - soooo - I went ahead and spent money to have the frets dressed and setup. Very pleased with the results. She's a joy to play. Hard to describe. Not the greatest playing guitar, but maybe the most comfortable. I like the balance and compactness of this guitar. With the neck shape, she excels at playing chords, yet still very good at runs. I find myself reaching for this guitar first a lot.

I'm not a professional and I've had the guitar only about 2 months. But the s-trem seems to be a brick s**thouse, the neck doesn't move, and in general the guitar has a solid feel. I don't see what there's to worry about. Stays in tune incredibly well. Even if goofing off and trying to divebomb away. The connector seems OK. The strap buttons are the smaller variety, but hasn't proven to be a problem for me. I'm not one who does anything that would lead to a problem however. Has that 9 volt battery requirement for the pickups. Lasts a long time - just don't forget it :)

Well they accepted my GR4R back without a hassle. They sent out the guitars promply. Their online site seems to work pretty well, so I haven't had to actually call them. So far I've not a reason to doubt them.

I've been playing about 5 years and a perpetual beginner. Also have an older Schecter C1 (24 3/4 scale). I got this guitar because I wanted a second guitar with a trem unit, as well as a step up in quality. No doubt about it, the s-trem is nice, and is the best feature of this guitar. The headless composite neck too is nice. It seems smaller than it really is and is appealing to smaller players. I say this because my petite wife likes to play this guitar! Yes - I would replace this guitar, but to those reading this at this time period - be prepared to keep sending them back till you get a good one !CAVEAT EMPTOR! I'm not alone in this, have shared email with others saying pretty much the same thing. I think it's worth the trouble. An extra note - because it is a bolt on, I'm getting a second neck. They can be purchased with or without the frets installed. I'm getting a fretless neck to that I can have extra jumbo stainless steel frets installed and extra attention paid to getting the guitar setup really well. I'm really hopeful that this will make it almost perfect.

I bought this GM4S new from Musicyo.com in 2003. H-S-S pickup config with a standard 5-way selector, the S-Trem bridge (which can be locked down on the fly for non-trem playing) 1 volume 1 tone controls, EMG USA-made pickups, the Moses graphite neck w/24 frets 25.5 scale. My guitar has a decent flamed maple top (i'm not an expert but i would guess AA grade) ordered in Honeyburst, which mine looks like Godin's Cognac, sort of a amber-ish color, very nice. Came with a nice hardshell case, fairly decent sized accessory compartment (just wish it was a bit deeper).

I play a variety of styles, but mainly hard rock/metal, and thru a Line 6 Flex III. My GM4S gets a good sound for any style that i've played with its EMG pickups and is nice and quiet. Some minor nit-picks i have with it is the 2 single-coils are not quite as powerful as the humbucker, so when switching from Humbucker to the Singles there is a dropoff in volume. Also I'm not sure I am a big fan of the EMG's as they sound a bit sterile compared to the non-active pickup guitars I've owned (Gibson SG, Carvin DC160T, Godin LGX?3), but still sound ok and should be good in the studio. Unplugged, this guitar sounds better than almost any other solid-body electric i've played, but you dont buy an electric to play it unplugged, just an observation.

Straight out of the box, this guitars finish was flawless, the neck and bridge were fitted properly, all the controls were snug/no noise, cavity plates fit properly with screws snug, output jack nice and snug. 2 years later and being played almost daily this is still true, the guitar has held up very well. The fret job out-of-box was a different story, the frets not being seated properly (B-string had dead spot at 9th fret position) and were not polished. The guitar still played very well though, without figuring in the dead spot i wouldve rated it an "8" out-of-box. I took the guitar to Eldery Instruments in Lansing, MI and a $100 dollar seat-n-polish job later, WOW! about the best action electric I've ever played, period. A "10" post-fretjob. One thing that may turn off potential users is the neck is very fat compared to other necks (not wide like classical guitars, but fat as in top-of-fret to where your thumb-tip usually rests) but after using for several months i do not even notice anymore, and i have small hands (no jokes please).

I've owned this guitar for 2 years and has held up extremely well. I dont gig, but i do jam with friends on occasion and I play it daily and it is still as solid as when i got it. Also with the double-ball strings/zero fret combo, I rarely have to even fine-tune it, i once went 8 weeks of daily playing before i even touched the tuners, it stays in tune that well.

I bought an el-cheapo Korean version of this guitar before buying the US-made 1, and althought it too played fairly nice I had trouble with the high-E string breaking as soon as i would put one on. They answered my e-mails promptly, and took the guitar back no questions asked, as there web-site says. I have to ding them tho as there is no phone number to talk to a live representive, it is all e-mail support. 30 day money back period, i believe.

I've played guitar for 24 years, owned a 70's Gibson SG with cheapo aftermarket pickups, a 1984 Carvin DC160T i bought new (and still own), a Godin LGX (or LXG? cant remember)3, and have played numerous other guitars over the 24 years, and this GM4S is the best playing electric i've played. I can go to my local guitar-supercenter and pick up Les Pauls, PRS', Jacksons etc and i havent found one i like better than my Steinberger. If it were lost/stolen i would be ordering a new one the next day. This rating might be a "10" if i were to throw in some Seymour Duncans in place of the EMG's, but for now...

2004 model, killer flame top, EMG 85 & 2 SA's. Described by others. Improvements over original 80's model include, nicer tops, S trem (TransTrem is useless crap), Moses Graphite neck is adjustable! Yay! This is the biggest improvement and the reason I bought this guitar after owning a few of the original 80's models and sold them all.

Others have written negative things about the sound of this guitar. I've found the amp has a huge impact on tone. Try this guitar through a great tube amp and you'll be blown away. Clean tones ring through and chime like fine crystal. I've played this guitar though several amps before I found the tone I was looking for. People...Experiment for God's sake!!! Matching guitar with amp is an art in itself. Learn your gear!

Very well made. No flaws. Neck is stupid stable. I love it! hardly ever needs tuning. Truss rod on newer models allows custom action tweaking till your hearts content.

I've had various 'bergers since the 80's. All hold up well. Great stuff. I especially love the XL basses. Unique look, sound and stage presence. Never had anything fail.

The best warranty is one you never need.

How long have you been playing? 30 Years
What other gear do you own? ES-335, 2 LPs, SG, Strats, Artist, RG's, V.
Is there something you wish you had asked before buying this guitar? No
If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else? Probably. I've already bought three of these over the years. The new ones are better than the originals.
What do you love about it? What do you hate? What is your favorite feature? I love the unique design, feel sound, stability. Body is a bit small, but you get used to it. More comfortable standing than sitting.
Did you compare it to other guitars? Which ones? Why did you choose this one? Nothing compares.
Anything you wish it had? Bigger body. Even hollow!!!
Anything else you'd like to share? Very cool axe.

Made I guess in 2004. Some of it was made in the US but a lot of this guitar is Asian. See other reviews for details.

The top is nice but it looks sloppy

Hate the sound of electric guitars? You might like this one because it doesn't even sound like a guitar. It sounds terrible = piercing, biting, no mids at all. I can't even find an amp it sounds good in and I'm playing Marshall, Boogie, and Fender! :/ You plug this thing in and the sound coming out of makes you think you have a drill or something plugged in.

Action = a joke. Worst setup I've seen in ages. I think even an Esteban could beat this thing on setup.

Fit = okay but I've seen plenty guitars 1/2 the price with much better

Finish = same as above

I dunno? I'm not keeping it. High priced junk if you ask me.

If this guitar cost $400 I wouldn't be so harsh but give me a break. Anybody happy with this guitar at the going price could be happy with anything.

Played for 14 years. I play in 2 bands currently and have a full compliment of professional gear. This Steiny can't cut it in the real world of club gigging. No way. It might be okay for bedroom hobbyists with money to burn but not pro and semi-pro musicians.

See other descriptions below...

I have 20 guitars, a variety of Ibanez, Fender, Gibson, Zion, etc., and bought this specifically for it's original sound. Like others have mentioned, the graphite neck and EMGs give it a natural compression which is unique to this instrument. When recording, this guitar sits very well in a track mixed in with Strats and Les Paul type guitars. This is also the best trem on the market. It absolutely will not go out of tune! The maple top gives these new 'bergers a slightly brighter sound than the originals.

I've owned a few 80's 'bergers and these new models from MusicYo are right up there with them in quality. The new ones certainly look better! The 1/4 inch thick, flame maple top is beautiful, as is the finish. Neck joint is tight. The Moses neck feels a little different, perhaps less stiff than the original. More wood-like. Having a truss rod is a big plus in my book. This gives you the ability to really tweak your setup and get these axes to play as good as anything out there. The bodies seem to be made by the same Korean supplier that makes the Spirit line, (I'm guessing here), but these are higher quality. Mine is cut from a single piece of Mahagony with a 1/4" tiger stripe, maple top. Very nice! I was almost expecting a veneer and was pleasantly surprised they did this one right. The guitar was not setup when I got it. I understand why other reviewers may have been unimpressed with their guitars. No biggie! Take a few minutes to learn how to set up and intonate your damn guitar! Sheeesh! After a few turns of the Allen wrench, this baby played like a dream! The neck seems a bit more narrow than I remembered the old ones being. More like an early 70's SG. The S trem is truly awesome and much more usable than the highly overrated TransTrem in my opinion. It appears to me that MusicYo is buying very few parts to maintain the Steinberger USA line, so costs are probably quite high. At $1149.00, they are not making much on these considering the cost of the parts involved. Kudos to MusicYo for keeping graphite neck 'bergers alive and well!

Seems very reliable. I've never had an R Trem or S Trem fail. TransTrems, however are a different story. (A waste of good metal in my opinion!) Lifetime warranty, no worries!

MusicYo is awesome to deal with. I've returned a few items I've purchased there, and they never gave me a hard time. Great folks!
30 day return policy is great!

Been playing 28 years. Owned everything at one time or another. Would certainly buy again...in fact I did. I love the way this guitar looks, plays and sounds. I wish they had a 7 string version! Buy one!

This is an update to my previous post (San, 12/22/03). I have done extensive work on the electronics and pickups. I swapped out the EMG's for two Dimarzio ProTracks (neck/middle) and a Tone Zone (bridge). I have also added a second tone control that blends between a 250pF capacitor in parallel with the circuit, and a 500k resistance (from the pot) in parallel with the circuit. This was done to thicken up the tone of the pickups, and does so very well. (NOTE: The pickups were initally swapped out for Carvin TBH-60's and a DiMarzio PAF.)

With the pickups changed to DiMarzio's and the capacitor running parallel to the circuit to shift the tone range down slightly, this guitar sounds beautiful. I'm playing through a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI with GT's in the preamp and ElectroHarmonix 6V6GT's in the poweramp, biased at about 85%. (Biasing makes a HUGE difference... as does the amp... but I digress.) With the ProTracks, the guitar sounds full and balanced across the spectrum, with a slight shimmer, but definitely a humbucker sound. The pickups are musical, with no sterility that my ears can hear... this is due in large part to the amp, too, though; I had it biased at about 70%, and the sounds was alot more sterile, with less sustain (which is to be expected). The only distortion I've used it with is the Keeley-modded TS-9, and it sounds decent; but really it's too full to sound really good with an overdrive pedal. When I turn the second tone pot to the 500k resistor in parallel, the pickups have more bite, and the overdriven tone is a little smoother. The ToneZone sounds excellent too, smooth but mid-rangey for that killer metal tone.

In any case, after swapping the pickups out, this guitar sounds beautiful. I'd highly recommend removing the EMG's and putting in passive pickups to run through that warm tube amp of yours. It really makes the Steinberger an excellent guitar, and the graphite neck becomes a benefit, not a negative. Pre pickup-swap: 6 or 7. Post swap: 10, no reservations.

After actually going through this guitar's guts, I gotta say I was a bit harsh in my first review. The control cavity is very nicely shielded, and the electronics job was actually first-rate, very professional (I've seen a few wiring jobs in my time; this one was probably the best I've seen). I'll bump this up to a 9.

Still kicking. Built very solidly.

Well, the pickups and biasing, plus my custom tone job, made all the difference. If you don't feel confident enough to mess with the tone control, just put in the pickups; they'll still sound great. For more info on pickup and wiring mods, check out www.guitarnuts.com, excellent start for beginners. I'd buy the 'berger again, I'd make all the same mods again. With the mods, the guitar is a 10.

USA, newburgh,white with black binding. 25 frets(zero fret), stainless steel. volume and tone 5 way selector. h-s-s, emg SA SA 85. i dont remember what the body is made out of, neck in graphite without the phenolic board. s trem. the neck feels great. ver yfast and smooth.

i play hardcore and prog metal.. mostly melody and rhythm pieces, no fancy runs or much. i do ALOT of two handed tapping. lots of harmonics with the bridge 85. the sa on the neck gives a super clean bell like tone... almost acoustic. very quiet. i use and peavey transtube special II 212. the graphite neck adds a kind of compression, kind of neat.

i bought it used so it definately needed to be setup to my standard... tunde well 3 steps down

i can drop it kick it throw it... stays in tune... never have to tune it unless i mess with the trem. i would gig without a back up

never dealt with them... though once i asked music yo a question... very thourough answer

i would like to get a trans trem.
i will only sell this guitar uf things get tight financally

see below

very clinical and cold

too narrow and what I would call a high to medium high action. not that fun to play.

The finish is okay, I've seen better and I've seen worse (but not at this price)

sending it back post haste

impersonal and electronic. who cares.

been playing for 15 or 16 years. I own a Parker that kills this guitar (but admittedly cost more).

I wish that music yo would use truth in advertising and say up front that they are just slapping these puppies together as fast as they can with little regard for quality control. Just sad, really.

This was my one and only adventure into the world of Steinberger just a waste of time and money.

I do like the S-trem as does everybody but that in itself is not sufficient to keep the whole guitar.

I sold a carvin DC400 to get this thing and I'm wondering how on earth I can get it back.

This guitar is the style of Steinberger that has a strat-type body. It has 3 EMG pickups in a HSS configuration. There is a master volume, master tone and a 5-way switch. The vibrato is the Steinberger S-Trem. The body is alder with a flamed maple top. This guitar has plenty of features for me. I never use the middle pickup on any guitar and will probably remove it, because I tend to hit it when picking. I love EMG pickups and have them on two other guitars. This is the first time I have used the 85 and I like it just fine. The tremelo is very smooth and has a locking clamp, which works well and a spring tension adjustment so one can set the feel of the tremelo to one's own tastes.

I play in two bands, one is sort of described as "angular" guitar rock, sort of like MX80 or older Voivod, with many other influences. I play a lot of dissonant chords and rhythmic single line stuff. I use moderate distortion and a variety of effects. The other band is a combination of black metal and stoner rock influences. This guitar works well for both types of music. There always seems to be enough clarity to be able to hear what's going on through the effects. The guitar is totally quiet and well shielded. The sound spectrum from this is very full range, neither bright nor bassy.

I can find no fault with this. The clear green finish is really pretty. I cant find any blemishes. The frets are nicely dressed. There are no flaws on any of the metal parts. Great care seems to have been taken to wire the electronics cavity neatly and shield it totally. Gibson should let the folk who put their regular guitars together take a look at these. I'v had some iffy Gibson guitars in the past few years(Gibson owns Steinberger).

I have not had this long, but I can't imagine having any trouble with it. The graphite neck is far less fragile than most wood necks.

I have not had to deal with them yet, other than making the purchase, so I don't really have an opinion.

Until I bought this, my main guitar was a Parker Nitefly. This is quickly becoming my main guitar. If it were stolen, I would probably order another one immediately. IT is very comfortable to hold and play and it sounds fantastic.