Steinberger GM7TA

Body: Book-Matched Figured Maple Top on a Solid Alder Body
Neck: Steinberger M/S Blend? (One piece graphite neck and fingerboard, with Adjustable Truss-Rod)
Provides unsurpassed clarity and sustain with an added touch of warmth.
Bridge Pickup: EMG-89 with Coil Tap
Middle Pickup: EMG-SA
Neck Pickup: EMG-89R with Coil Tap
Bridge: Patented TransTrem Tranposing Tremolo System
Scale: 25.5"
Fingerboard Radius: 16"
Frets: Dunlop 6150 Jumbo
Number of Frets: 24
Nut Width: 1-5/8" at zero fret (4.1cm)
Strings: Calibrated LaBella USA S1046 (010-013-017-026w-036w-046w)
Electronics: HAZ Lab Active EQ
Controls: 1 - Master Volume
1 - Master Tone
1 - 5 way Pickup Selector
1 - Two way coil-splitting switch
Length: 30-1/4" overall length (77cm)
Avg. Weight: 7.75 lb (3.5kg)
Warranty: Limited Lifetime (See warranty for details)
Accessories: Steinberger Hard Case Included
Color Options: Black, Clear Amber, Clear Blue, Clear Green, Clear Purple, Clear Red, Cherryburst, Honeyburst, White

Sounds like a dream. The damn thing is the worlds most perfect guitar.

None better, trust me

Built like a brick shithouse. Incredible

Extremely helpful

Awesome piece.

2005 made in USA
24 frets
solid flame maple top clear red
Transtrem
Includes a very nice hard case
see MusicYo.com for more details

Full sounding from Strat to Les Paul with quiet operation

Almost Perfect.

I needed to tighten the output jack, and the Trem is a bit off calibration.

Its nice and compact with robust hardware except for the 5way switch knob is a bit loose

solid and playable

I've had my dealings with music yo but they have improved greatly, as I am glad to say having tried another purchase, I am blown away at the night and day difference of improvement they have made. Still a funny name for music store. Prompt and personal responses to questions

23 years of playing.
I also own a Carvin DC135C, Ibanez RG570, Ovation Elite, and a little Yamaha classical.
I would replace it if it were very unlikely lost or stolen.
I love the headless style and transtrem, I dont hate anything about it. The trem takes some getting used to.
I've compared this to the Newburgh model they offer and this is far better.
I wish it had a sustainer.

Love the feel of the guitar, the electronics, neck, action etc. The damn thing is just sexy to look at. I have a honeyburst GM7TA and I really never liked burst finishes of any kind but this one is awesome. The trem could have a bit tighter action though. As well the transposing feature could be a bit more secure.

Changed out the 89 in the bridge for an 81. The 89 didn't have enough gain for me. The 89-sa-81 setup is quite versatile. The active tone is quite impressive as well. Running this into my triaxis/gmajor/2:90 is guitar playing bliss.

Bought it used so I don't know about the factory setup but it was setup fine when I got it. I had to calibrate the transposing feature of the trem though.

So far so good, haven't had any issues yet.

N/A

Have been playing for over 15 yrs and this is the most versatile guitar I've owned. I love the look, feel and function of the guitar. I think I got quite the deal on a pre musicyo stenie. Not that I wouldn't mind one of those either. If it was stolen I would definately get another after I hunted the theif down etc.

I bought my first Steinberger about 15 years ago. Then, in 1993, I upgraded to the GM7TA black, made in USA. It has the standard gear for the model (TransTrem, EMGs, splittable Humbuckers, active EQ). For me, it is the ultimate guitar (I have friends that are guitar collectors and I still haven't found a guitar better than the Steinberger).

I found the TransTrem a bit hard to use in practice. It is well thought out and almost very good, but IMHO not quite there, so that for recording, I'd rather tune the strings up than use the transtrem to tune them up.

I play instrumental stuff, some subtle non-distorted stuff, some all out heavy stuff, typically via a Rocktron Chameleon.

The guitar has very little noise, which is important for me.

The only thing that has appeared over time is a crackle when you turn the volume knob. I guess that contact spray would solve that.

The guitar was very well set-up. However, the connector to the guitar cable was not very well fit into the wood. It had a slight angle, which is unprofessional for a guitar of that price.

Otherwise, flawless.

Very good dependability. It beats my other guitars (Jackson USA)

This guitar has been my "guitar love of my live". If it ever failed, I'd try to get the same thing again.

I bought this guitar used about 10 or 11 years ago from Sunburst Music in Sydney, Australia. I'm sure that it's a pre-gibson model. It has the squarer profile of the earlier GM's and is colored white with black binding around the body. This thing is fully loaded with all the good stuff; solid maple body, Trans-Trem, EMG's, active tone control, 40:1 direct pull tuners, Steinberger blend neck etc. I actually bought this guitar with a genuine Steinberger form fitted hard case (case was made in Canada) made & shaped specifically for the GM guitars, and not the regular gig bag. The case is wooden but REALLY well made, this case has copped an absolute hiding in the 10 or so years that I've had it and only now does it need some attention!

The GM7TA has been my main guitar since I bought it 10 years ago and ran it through a Marshall JMP-1 preamp ,JFX-1 f/x and a Kitty Hawk valve power amp. I play mostly heavy rock & metal. The GM can sound any thing from very warm to very bright, beyond clean to straight up metal and anything in between, it's a really great all rounder and can do absolutely anything you ask of it with total ease. But in comparison with my other guitars (80's Kramer Nightswan, Ibanez JS-2 (the original chrome one), and more recently, the customised JEM7DBK & UV777BK 7string) it sounds & feels a "clinical" & "sterile" to me. This is because of the active electronics (pickups & tone control) and the graphite neck, but I'm being REALLY, REALLY picky here as I'm spoilt for choice, but please make no mistake this is one hell of a great guitar, but to me it just lacks that certain sonic character of the others. It just does it's job and does it well with no quirks or fuss. The active tone controll is pretty cool also allowing a very wide sweep of tone from very bassy to shrilly high treble tone.

I bought this guitar used so I don't know what the factory setup is like. It felt great when I bought it all that time ago & still feels great today. The finish isn't as good as the more modern flawless finishes of Ibanez & Music Man because if you look very closely at it the wood grain does show through but it's still a good over all result. The fit of this guitar is second to none, it all fits together so well, no need for shims or spacer to allign the neck or nut. The only gripe I have is that the trans trem may reqire readjustment when you change the strings, but if you know how to do this it's a relatively simple proceedure but can take a little time to get it perfect, but once it's set it stays set. Apart from the small gripes it is fantastic. Manufacturers should take a page from Steinberger's book.

Manufacturers take note:- This is where IMHO believe that Steinberger has it all over any other manufacturer in the history of the guitar. These things are the most consistent, reliable & roadworthy instruments one could ever lay down their hard earned for. They are consistent, reliable & durable to the enth degree, nothing, but NOTHING even comes close to these guitars. They are always in tune. The neck is damn near nuclear warhead proof. If you break a string, just lock the trem & you can finish the song in tune, then go change a string in about 1 minute flat, what other guitar can you do that with?? The trem however, does need maintenance in that it may require periodical bearing changes to maintain its flawless operation, but this is a very seldom thing & the bearings can be easily obtained from bearing suppliers. Parts are no longer the issue they once were now that the GM's are being re-released. I didn't like the original strap buttons (they were plastic & this giutar is relatively heavy for it's small size = recipe for disaster) so I replaced them with a Dimarzio clip lock srtap. I've always been able to depend on this guitar and apart from a few packs of strings & batteries for the active electronics (they last for ages, I haven't replaced mine for over a year, but you never know!)this thing is totally dependable & can be used without back up. It simply will not fail you.

This guitar has never failed me in 10 years. Only now does it require bearings, but this is rather easy to do yourself if you're familiar with the trans trem & it's workings.

Apart from it having a little less character than my other guitars that I own it really is worth having because it is just so dependable, it never changes, it's always good, in tune & ready to play. It is no longer my main guitar, that duty has gone to my JEM & Universe, the Steiny is a backup. I just feel that they ultimately sound & feel better to me than the Steiny, & I can get very intimate with them because they respond to my playing style so well and are also more responsive and sonically more versatile & better sounding than the Steiny, but as I said earlier I'm spoilt for choice and am being VERY, VERY picky. Belive me this guitar will definately not disappoint a prospective owner. I've thoght about selling it a few times but there is absolutely NOTHING that can replace this guitar except another Steiny. If it was stolen I would attempt to get another without hesitation.

This Steinberger was purchased over EBay. It is GM7T with a flame maple top finished in what looks to be cherry sunburst and a maybe alder back. The transtem is great for locking into a fixed position or using heavy whammy (read always returns to zero pitch). Haven't taken the time to calibrate the Transtrem for all of it's feature but i"m sure they work well. It has two EMG89s in the brige and neck and a EMG single in the middle. I never thought I was a fan of this configuration until I tried it with these pickups. You can get a two humbucker tone or a three single coil tone in the same guitar.

I play mostly Top 40 covers from the 70's to present day in a bar band and a few original songs. Up to this point my main axe is an old Charvel that has been stripped down to bare wood and added on to with EMG pickups. During that time I have had a Ibanez Talman, a Fender American Stat, and a Danelectro U52. Out of all of these nothing came close to my Charvel (remember it has been changed from it's orginal configuration. The GM7T has sucessfully accomplished this goal. My amplification is a Line6 POD throgh a peavey amp(hey it is only for volume.

I have no idea how it came set up from the factory since I bought it used. The story on this one is it was shipped from the mountains of Colorado to the flatlands of Missouri and when I got it, it was perfectly in tune. This guitar will stay in tune for years and allows the ability to lock the bridge to do double stops and whammy until your heart is content. The finish has a few pick scrapes on it, but other than that it is beautiful. The flamed maple top is perfectly matched. I know this is no small feat, take a look at the $3000 dollar Les Pauls that the flame just doesn't quite match up on for a good illustration.

Drop it pick it up and play again with no worries. The hardware seems very durible and I have beat the heck out of it. The finish is very good. I've tried and cannot find a fault with it. I have played gigs with this guitar alone as much as I can. I had a backup in the case but ususally I have at least two guitars setting right behind my incase I break a string or something more tragic. With this guitar if you break a string just lock the trem and keep playing. It is much quicker than changing guitars.

na

This is a great guitar and I've been playing for 12 years. I've owned it for about 6 months and never has anything replaced my old trust Charvel for this long and remeber I have a American Standard Strat that is great as far as those guitars are concerned. Can it sound just like a Strat or Paul? No. But it comes close and can do any style of music. This is the perfect guitar for a all purpose bar band player.

Manufactured in 1992, USA, 24 frets, composite neck and wood body, headless, one Volume and one Tone control, EMG PU's HSH active. White finish with black bindings, full body (strat-type). Transposing Tremolo, 40:1 Tuners at rear of the tremolo unit (double ball-end system). Gigbag was included.

Very good sounds from clean to ultra-distortion. You can almost do any
style, you just have to change the settings of the tone-control...
Mainly playing 80's and 90's cover the guitar combined with an Engl Preamp 530 and Poweramp 930/60 does exactly sound as I need it.

Perfect setup... There's definitely nothing to complain about, as you would expect from a guitar at that price-segment

First there is no way to ruin the neck, it's rock-solid. Can't say anything about the transposing-tremolo, seems solid but some parts may wear off on excessive use. If that spare parts are needed, it's about 50$... Seems to be okay... Finish is excellent. No backup needed, complete changing of string-set within one minute (incl. tuning), if a string breaks just lock the trem and you're back in tune

Lifetime warranty limited to the first owner. Never tried to deal with the company, i think they don't exist anymore (Gibson took 'em over as far as i know).

I believe it was manufactured in last 1997 in the USA. As you probably know, Gibson bought out Steinberger and this is one of thier creations. The body has an ash back with a quilted maple top. One volume, 5-way switch, coil tap, split treble/bass control. HSH pick-up configuration by EMG (89-SA-89, later changed bridge to 81). Strat style body stained red with trans-trem. Steinberger blend neck - no adjustments needed. Came with a padded gig-bag and all necessary tools for adjustments.

I bought this guitar from a local music store in Madison, Wisconsin. It, and its two other counterparts, had been sitting there for over 2 years. I walked in and wasn't even looking to but it and I noticed the other two had been sold. The salesman said that I could have it for $500 today. They couldn't move them - there is no market in Madison for this kind of guitar. Everyone wants to play Korn, and though you could do it with this guitar using the trans-trem, no one wants to pay that kind of money for one - at least the original price of 2500 (that's before the price increase to 3450)
the only thing that I did not like about the guitar was the EMG 89. I felt that it was weak and "tinny" sounding. I swapped it for an 81 and all is well.
The trans-trem was out of whack, but I found some information on the internet and actually emailed Ned Steinberger himself and hw helped me adjust it. Seems complicated but if you have the right tools, it is not that hard and in fact, I might say that it is easier to adjust than the Floyd Rose.

Since the guitar had been in the store for a long time, it was really out of whack. I received a free adjustment pass for purchasing the guitar, but when I took it to the set-up deparment didn't want to adjust the trans-trem - which is the reason I bought the damn thing anyway. They told me that it was just a gimmick, and that it really didn't work. The fact of the matter is that I have found that by using the callibrated strings from LaBella, it NEVER goes out of tune and plays totally awesome.
As I stated earlier, I did not like the EMG 89 pick-up - at least in the bridge position. I own a Wolfgang and I play everything through a 5150 combo - I felt that the EMG 89 was not pushing as hard as it could and I actually hated the sound. Everyone has their own ear for their own tone and I needed something with MORE drive. I switched it to an EMG 81 and have loved it ever since. I left the 89 in the neck. I like using the coil tap for clean tones and the 89 is great with the clean tones.

I have been playing this guitar since early February and have had no problems with it. Changing strings on it is actually a blast because of the double-ball ended strings. As long as I can remember to take the guitar out of the case when I get home from practice or a show, the strings last a long time. I have not been really impressed with the Gibson company but this Steinberger is an exception. I would have to have a backup because it doesn't cover all of my musical styles, however, if I was only playing one style, I would have no problem taking only this one guitar. It is rock solid.

When I picked the guitar up from the store, it was missing the transposing pin. I told the salesman that I was not going to pay for the missing pin and he said that he would order it and it should be here in 2 weeks. After 2 weeks was up, I proceeded to call the sotre again and remind them that I had ordered the pin - the Gibson rep was just in and he had placed the order directly with him and I should have the pin within the week. Never came - I finally called Gibson myself and placed the order over the phone. I thought I was going to have to pay, but they didn't charge me for anything - not even shipping - no questions, no BS. I guess I'm going to place the blame for the lost 3-4 weeks on the store salesman or the Gibson rep that calls on the store.

I would be devastated if this guitar was lost or stolen - I waited a long time for one of these and ws prepared to pay a bundle for one. I was lucky - Gibson shut the Steinberger factory down last year and has not reopened it. Just before the shutdown, they jacked the prices of Steinbergers up as much as $1000 - I'm not sure if a Steinberger is worth $3500, but I certainly think it is worth $2000.
I would have to say that I would buy another one - if I could ever find one for sale - but I would never get one for $500 again - that's the disappointing part.