Steinberger GP2S

Rock solid guitar. Mid-80s construction, and still looks close to new today. I've used it for both gigging and recording. No frills, and the best bridge / saddle ever made.

Great guitar for distortion and slide. Not as perky in the midrange as a Les Paul, but what is? Rich sound that carries distortion very well.

Perfect. Wouldn't change a thing.

I've taken this guitar around the world (literally) several times, and it's perfect. Last year I did a gig in Europe and only took the Steiny. It performed great and never gave me a bit of trouble. It's built like a fire ax, and takes any climate change and performs like a champ.

Never dealt with them.

Overall, this is a hard guitar to beat. I've got lots of others in the stable (main ax is a LP Standard), and the Steinberger competes well with them all (LP, ES335, USA Strat, etc).

I love this guitar and only wish I could find a good supply of gig bags for it. I burn through them in about a year, traveling like I do. If somebody knows where to get replacement gig bags, please let me know.

Made in Newberg NY in 1985; body hard-rock maple; bolt on carbon composit neck; 2 passive EMG's; 3 way togle switch with one volume and one tone control pot. This guitar has been gigged with, used and abused; there are multiple dings and chips in the finish, but it is deffinately bullet proof and plays as true as the day it was born. The GP-2S is the smaller arrow head design. This model had the shortest production run of any Steinberger. The GP was a less expensive verson of the L series. It listed at $1095.00 in 1985 and had a bolt on neck. The idea was to produce a less expensive guitar so that the working player could afford to buy it. It has the S style bridge/trem. This guitar is perfect as far as intonation goes. I have never played another guitar that was so exact in my 40 yrs. of picking. Tuners are violin type 40:1 and are at the bridge.

I find that the strings that I have to use (double ball) are too slinky for my style. I would prefer 11 instead of 009. I play througn a stereo set-up using a Digitec 2112 with one out running to a Peavy Classic 4/10 and the other out running to a Roland Chorus. the guitar is extrememly quiet and is without hum. The EMG pick-ups are flexible. The guitar seems to have been made to have minimal character so that the play could create whatever tone he wanted by using out-board effects and amps. Running through a clean channel striaght up, the EMGs tend to sound rather thin and without character. But hook it up with a good pre-amp and effects and it will croon or howl. As far as being a playable insturment, there is not another mass produced guitar that comes close to the exactness of this insturment. My problem with it, is ther fact that it doesn't have a head. I am a visual player and find that I must be careful or I might play a Barr-D instead of a C chord.

This guitar is built like a battle ship. The pick-ups are balance. The only flaw in Steinber guitar is that the S bridge was made in Korea out of cast metal and will break where the tremolo arm inserts. I found this out when my dog knocked mine over. A replacement is around $500.00. Fortunatley I don't need a tremolo arm to yank on so it hasn't cramped my style of playing.

I bought this guitar in 2000 and it was made in 1985 but I would venture to say that it probably has the same factory set-up. The fihish is bullet proof. The only sign of wear (there are many trauma marks and chips) is at the trem loc. The strap buttons are solid, but you need to use a strap lock to keep the strap in place. This is probably the most durable guitar that has ever been made. One must remember that it was designed by an enginer who had the Brooklyn bridge for inspiration.

I never had to deal with the company. I did however work in Newberg and went by the factory a few times just to drool. The staff there were friendly and answered any questions I had.

I have played for 40 yrs; other guitars are Gipson ES355; Amercian Fender Tele; Martin D-28; Ovation Country Artist, Custom Ballader 6 and 12; Fender P-bass; Peavy bass; Samick ES 355 copy; Danelectro 12; Washburn Falcon; Teisco 6; Martin uke; old Harmony Mandolin; unnamed upright bass; amps '52 Gibson, Peavy Classic 4-10; Roland Chorus; Roland GP-8; digitec 2112;Carver and carvin amps. If this guitar were lost or stolen I wouldn't buy another because I am not comfortable playing a headless neck. Having said that, I will without hesitation say that this guitar is what it is ...the finest ,most precise, electric guitar ever designed or produced. I may be interested in selling or trading.

This is an American made Steiny, from the original factory in Newburgh, New York. It's got the mini-V body style, like a Gibson flying V but smaller. Other features include 2 EMG-89 humbuckers, master volume, master tone, three way toggle, 24 fret phenolic fretboard, rock maple body, composite neck, S-trem, 40-1 tuners and a fold out leg rest. It's a headstock-less model, and the tuners are found at the end of the bridge. It's size makes it carry-on luggage with most major airlines. The fold-out leg rest is for seated playing.

I play mostly bluesy-rock-fusiony stuff, and this guitar suits me quite well. The bridge pickup provides a nice clean tone, with lots of high end if you prefer, while the neck pickup is warm and strong. The pickups are remarkably silent, which was pleasant after spending big $ to get my '73 Strat that way. I use it mainly with a '72 Silverface Fender Twin, a bunch of distortion pedals, compressor, and passive volume pedal. It handles distortion quite well, though it doesn't have the dynamics of my Strat or my Ibanez. This guitar has a tendancy to just get quieter when you roll off the volume - the level of distortion remains the same, but it's not as loud. I prefer volume pots that clean up as you roll them off. The S-trem, while not as versatile as the trans-trem, is better than the R-trem. While it stays in tune extremely well, the motion of the bridge is somewhat limited as the tuning block strikes the piece that holds the saddles once you've depressed the bar too far. I had a Steiny with the R-trem and you could sag the strings right off the fretboard, a la Floyd Rose equipped quitars. That being said, the R-trem didn't stay in tune nearly as well as the S-trem. Buying a model without the trans-trem probably saved me about $400.

The action is very good, though slightly higher than I'm used to. While it does make it easier for large bends, I find it harder to mute strings with my right hand. This is easy to adjust, so really it's just a matter of finding the right setting. Mechanically speaking, the guitar is remarkable. The bridge is firm, responsive and smooth. Steinberger is noted for the quality of their hardware, but not their finish. This guitar is in great shape, but I know many folks who complain about paint issues on their Steiny's. The neck is smooth, very fast, and virtually guaranteed to not give you grief. The composite blend means that there's no need for a truss rod, no wear on the fretboard, and it will remain straight and true long after I've been buried.

This is a very well constructed instrument. The necks are built to last, and the rock maple body is very resistant to dings and dents. The pickguard virtually covers the entire front of the body, so there's little concern for scratches on the paint itself. Despite the age of this instrument (about 15 years or so) the paint and the hardware will last a long time. There is no wear on the body, and no corrosion or scratches on the hardware.

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Overall, this is one of the best guitars in my fleet. It's got the versatility that I demand and the durability necessary to make it a solid instrument for both touring or recording. I would definitely buy another, but this model is harder to find than it's counterparts like the GM and GL series. My only complaint is that, being a Strat man at heart, I find the distance of the bridge above the body (and hence the string height above the body) a little awkward. I can't rest my wrist on the body like I can with my Strat, so it takes a little getting used to - you kind of have to float your arm over the pickguard.