Steinberger GS

For those of you who aren't sure of this model, this is the reknown "Headstock" model. This was a guitar that approached almost unicorn status in that it was gone before it even showed up - or so it seems. This was more of a European venture but the GS seems to have had a new lease on life as of late. Many interested people seem to seek these out now. Anyway - my model is known as the GS7TA. It is indeed a GS and it has the highly coveted TransTrem. This allows for transposing into 5 other keys (Up to F# and G and down to D, C and B). This was an American-made instrument and was made in Nashville, TN. 24 jumbo frets and a phenolic fingerboard - all graphite composite neck with NO truss rod! Awesome! This has the incredible 40:1 gearless tuners that are amazingly still available. My particular model had a Hum-Single-hum pickup configuration but I modified it to be a dual humbucker (EMG 89s) configuration. This is a guitar that back then (1990 or so) was about 20 years ahead of it's time. The features are above and beyond what most guitars had and I will say that it is criminal that they never re-introduced this model. Ed Roman currently sells these for about double what they are worth (roughly $4000 - $6000) and although I had prepared to pay this hefty price, I was glad when one came up on eBay last month and the seller accepted my bid.

I did some pretty hardcore modifications to a guitar that has a purest following. By that I mean that some collectors would draw and quarter me for modifying such a collectible piece. I basically took the switching out and put in an Ernie Ball Petrucci switch because the EMG 89s have a wiring circuit similar to that of a 4-conductor passive pickup. What that means in English is that I have a 3-way switch that when it's set in the middle, gives me that awesome Strat sound on clean because the pickups are in series (or is it parallel?) and it only plays the inner coils on the pickups. Very cool! I use it with my Hughes and Kettner Switchblade rig that ties to a TC Electronic G-System. I have a very simple amp setup - gobs of gain and the EMGs just scream! It has a nice well-rounded sound but the graphite composite body is HEAVY! I prefer a light airy feel but the fact is, I play in at least 3 different musical projects and one of them is a straight-up cover band where we play with other tunings. Because of the tuners on this, if I want to switch to E-flat in the middle of a set instead of grabbing another guitar, I can do it if the vocalist talks to the audience for about 15 seconds. AMAZING! Overall, I don't know if the sound can get any better but it really does work in the situation that I am in right now. The other project I work with is a progressive metal outfit that we normally use 7-strings in. Now, as simple as that is, I can actually go and transpose this Steinberger down to B if I want but I have a pair of 7-strings to do it in. I normally drop this down one-step to D then "d-tune" the low string. Instant "Drop C" tuning. It can't get any cooler than that....

The beauty of this is that because it has a non-truss rod neck that's made out of a composite material, it is as straight as can be with an amazing amount of stability. My action is crazy low and I can fly on this guitar! It has a relatively flat radius (around 15") and the frets are big enough to have that "shred feel" to them. All of the routing and such was done very well and I have no complaints about the finish. When I first got it, it had a strange type of quilted top on it. I changed that around to a color that was more suitable for this progressively-styled instrument: chameleon! I bought a pint of cyan to green paint and had it basecoated and sprayed - JUST the top. The neck and back of the body is black - personally, I like that look. So with the factory look, I'd call it a 7 - after I was done with it - I have to give it an 11! We'll split the difference here and call it a 9.

"Will this guitar withstand live playing?" I love this question! I immediately introduced the GS to my live setup. My cover band plays a very diverse section of songs so I use a 7-string (tuned to standard), a Suhr (tuned to standard) and a JEM (tuned to E-flat). This GS is my backup to EACH of those guitars yet I use it as a main instrument. It's pretty amazing. If I had to, I would play this maybe one night without a backup but normal practices dictate that you should always have a backup guitar. We'll see how my chameleon paint will last.

There are forums, famous people available by e-mail and Ed Roman! Steinberger overall is a part of Gibson and I really don't think those people like talking about these guitars let alone one that is super rare like the GS. I have the un-filled out warranty card for it still - so cool to see that but lucky for me, I have built up a network of support from some people that used to work for Steinberger as well as those who don't scalp the prices. Beyond the forums (which can be very helpful) I would really like to see something dedicated more to the GS models.

I have been playing about 25 years now. I own drums, keyboards, basses and a full home studio. I am really discriminating about the guitars I play now. I am endorsed by some great companies and I have very strong opinions about my gear. This guitar is a gem! The seller on eBay was incredibly helpful and was 100% professional. If this were stolen? Stolen? perish the thought, but those parties responsible would be running for their lives because the world isn't big enough to hide them! I would have to say that I really don't hate too much about this guitar but I wish it were lighter. I love the neck and the TransTrem - cannot argue with how cool either of those are. You can't compare the GS with too many other guitars - MAYBE an MC/1 from Brian Moore - but this hardly compares with other Steinbergers since it's the "headstock" model. The other thing I wish it had was the ability to transpose pitch in half-steps. I understand that Steinberger has recently released the ZT-3 which will have the third generation of TransTrems that will go up and down a whole step in half-step increments. That would be an awesome feature on this guitar. I am happy to say that my search for this fantastic guitar is finally over!