Steinberger Spirit GT Deluxe

This is the most comfortable guitar I have ever played/owned. Access to the uppermost frets is smoother and easier than on any cutaway. The neck is fast and smooth. The locking bridge is really slick. There is a little latch behind the bridge that transforms it from fixed to floyd-style fully floating. Using the tuning knobs takes some getting used to. They stick a little and it is hard to make small adjustments. However, once you get it dialed in it stays in tune longer than any other model I have played. The five way switch is tightly wedged between the volume and tone knobs which makes it a little tough to get a hold of.

The body has surprisingly good tone and sustain given how small it is. Probably because of the solid neck-thru construction with double ball strings and precision tuners. There is some slight fret buzz when playing unplugged, but it doesn't seem to come through when amplified. I spent a lot of time adjusting the action to get rid of this, but no joy. Still, like I said, I only notice it when practicing unplugged. The stock pickups are Steinberger branded EMG Selects. I swapped these for EMG SLV/SLV/85 active pickups (Same setup as in the Music Man Luke..) I can't hear a difference between the neck and middle pickups in either the stock or modified configurations. I only ever use the first (Neck), second (Neck+Middle), and fifth (Bridge humbucker) positions. I use an X-Bat external battery so I didn't have to rout. The stock jack has three conductors, and the knobs fit the EMG pots, so the conversion was easy.

Factory action was off, but it was easy to adjust. Like I said before there was some buzz that I couldn't eliminate, but it is slight and doesn't get amplified. The finish is nice. The "Spirit by Steinberger" logo is a little bigger than I would like, but it's not that important to me.

This thing is a beast. It stays in tune for weeks of heavy playing. I make slight adjustments occasionally, but it stays in tune longer than anything else I have ever played. It is very light weight and the small size of the body makes it really smooth and easy to play. I have had no problems with it and never needed any repairs. This is not the only guitar I own/play, but if I had to go with just one for a while this would be it. I also own an ESP LTD EC-1000 Deluxe which is a very nice and more expensive guitar, but I play this one twice as much.

I haven't needed customer support. I bought this from Musician's Friend as a Christmas present to myself ;-) They delivered it on time, in perfect condition. The setup was a little off, but I was able to fix it myself in just a few minutes.

Love it. Play it more than anything else. My second favorite guitar is my ESP LTD EC-1000 Deluxe which cost a couple hundred more (Including the $200 of active electronics that I added to the Steinberger.) I also own a couple of older guitars, but these two are the only ones I really play. Play them mostly through a Line 6 Studio UX2 into a laptop and headphones. The Steinberger sounds great with every effects model I have been able to imagine. The bridge humbucker sounds great for metal leads. The single coils are nice for blues and funk rhythm. I prefer the dual humbuckers in the ESP for metal/punk style rhythms.

I own two of these guitars, bought one of them on MusicYo (RIP) for $299 before they stopped selling them. Bought the other one (white) on Ebay used with some smoking Bill Lawrence pickups, plus the guy set the action so it plays sooo nice. Paid $375 for it used, it was a great deal.

The band I'm in now has 7 guys and we play on small stages often, so bumping my neck onto others is no issue since there's no tuning knobs to knock out of tune! This guitar is great to travel with, it can be stored in the luggage bins just fine, I usually ask them if they can store it in their hanging closet, works half the time.

Some say the volume and tone knobs get in the way, in some ways it does if you're playing/picking more towards the bridge, I've always picked and strummed closer to the neck so I have no issues. I also have smaller hands. If you do have that problem you can always swap the tone knobs to a different kind so you'll eliminate that problem.

My black one is completely stock, the size and uniqueness always amazes people, most love it, only a few who've seen it don't like the shape of the guitar. ("The Paddle" or "The broom") The stock EMG pickups work ok, a little tinny, I have to adjust my EQ to my liking depending on the venue I'm playing at. what do you expect for a $400 guitar? My white one with the Bill Lawrence pickups sounds so much fuller,I would definitely recommend investing in some better pickups for this guitar, as well as getting the guitar's action lowered to your liking. I like it as low as possible without fret buzz.

Overall this guitar is perfect for me because I can just show up to a gig with my Steinberger, my Gallien Krueger 250ML amp (another small cool item with an XLR output) and a couple stomp pedals and I'm good to go.

This axe came with a string adapter for using normal guitar strings [great for gigs! saved my butt!], an allen wrench for the adapter, and a cheap but usable gig bag. It wasn't properly set up, but I know how to do most of that [I had to get the truss rod adjusted, but then I live in a hot, humid climate on the opposite side of the planet from its manufacturer in SE Asia].

It has a locking whammy [which also saved my butt when strings broke during a gig], a very stout whammy bar [I can't bend it], 24 frets *and* a zero fret [turns out that helps the tone sound even between open and fretted strings], and some very ordinary, unremarkable pickups. It's built very solidly, it's durable, and its finish is thick. Made entirely of maple, it's practically a baseball bat. It's a thru-neck design, very stable and rock-hard.

I play almost any style, and use this guitar with a Roland VG-88. I attached a Roland GK-2AH pickup, and that lets the VG provide the sound of almost any electric guitar I can dream up. This guitar helps by being solidly built, staying in tune, and offering plenty of sustain. The zero fret helps with that, I think. Its acoustic sound is clear, not very loud, but loud enough to let you know you've got a lively, vibrating instrument. It's not sonically dead, in other words.

I seldom use the guitar's own pickups. I find them unremarkable, and the wiring and soldering was a bit shoddy, as is the quality of the potentiometers inside. They put the wrong pot in for the volume knob, and it doesn't turn the volume all the way off. Still, this is a budget guitar, and I expected no more. The electronics are easy to replace. The guitar's basic playability is more important, and so I'm giving it a 7 to balance things out. I don't care about the pickups and wiring, but I realize you readers mostly do care. If not for that, I'd give it a 9.

The frets were finished fine, even the fret ends. The paint was fine -- no flaws detected. The bridge and other metal hardware seems to be mounted fine. The Steinberger folding knee-rest has a hinge pin that sometimes comes out a bit, but it can be poked back in with a finger. The knee rest works perfectly and puts the axe in a perfect position when I'm sitting. The guitar still stays in tune after moderate whammy usage, and I've had this axe almost 7 years now.

The volume pot is wrong, both pots come loose often, and in general the wiring is a bit thin and not securely soldered. I had to open it twice in the past 6 years so so to reconnect something. About the quality you should expect from a guitar made in a factory by cheap labor, at a low price. And it was a low, low price. I think it was a fair deal.

I gigged with it, and I should have bought another when I had the chance. It's durable, compact, VERY comfortable, but we should never take just one guitar to a gig without a backup. I made that mistake because I'm a cheapskate. It's not the guitar's fault that I broke 3 strings at once and had to stop the set to fix 'em! Other than that, it's been just about perfect, way better than I had any right to expect from a guitar that cost me about US$350.00. It's still solid, staying in tune, looking good, and feeling GREAT.

I bought it from MusicYo. They are an online only company, and as such, support is always worse than with a local, actual store. It takes a few days to get a reply to email, and the employees who answer seem unable to communicate well in writing -- or maybe they are just in a hurry. The overall effect is a bad impression, especially when you want a replacement part: they seldom have any in stock. I couldn't get a replacement whammy arm, and later, I wanted a replacement string adapter just to have a spare. Nope. Now they are also out of stock of bridges and headstock end caps, and they have been out of stock for a long time [I stopped looking after more than a year]. They were the only source for this guitar. For the price, it's fair. If you want service, don't expect that from online dealers -- that's my opinion. I give them a 5 because, for the money, I got better service than I expected, but service should be lots better. If they had any competition at all, service would surely have been better. No other vendor has been allowed to sell these yet.

Next time I find one, I won't splurge on the neck humbucker. They had one for $10 less with a single-coil neck pickup.

MusicYo doesn't seem to stock them anymore [for over a year now], & we might not ever see these again, but a group of Steinberger fans online keeps track of other similar guitars and I'm told Hohner headlesses are made by a factory that once made these. I'd be willing to get a Hohner, even buying online, just to have another all-maple headless guitar. I'm hooked and I'm spoiled by the comfort and cool, futuristic look of these guitars. If MusicYo had them in stock today, I'd order another in a heartbeat. I have to give it a high rating because it suits me and my desires so well. I always dreamed of having a guitar shaped like the classic, minimalist Steinberger, and this axe made it possible. Now that I know I love 'em, I want at least one more as a backup, in case it gets stolen!

What more could you want for a travel guitar, which is what I consider this guitar. It has a five way blend for 3 pickups (Hum, Single, Hum). The pickups are the weakest part of the guitar. Clean, not so much - run through effects - pretty darn good. I use a Pandora's box in conjuction with my travel. The finish on mine was top notch - not a blem on it. Decent frets - great finish. My only 24 fret guitar. I do wish it was a 24 3/4 scale like my Les instead of a full scale guitar. This guitar stays in tune.

Giving it a seven for weak clean sounds. Great for rock and electric blues. It is not noisy at all. Silent in fact. Again, run it though effects of some sort and you are ready to rock.

As above. Great fit and finish. Not a 10 because I am being overly picky on frets.

A little low because of the placement of the controls. It takes some time learning how to play in the little mess of stuff down there. My fingers hit the volume knob and pickup selector all the time when I first got it. Now, I have learned to work around it and make the best of it.

Never contacted them.

Overall, this is a fantastic travel guitar. I am in the military and I take this everywhere I go. It has been in 120 degree heat, at 30000 ft, in low humidity, high humidity - I have to retune alot, but, this guitar just keeps on changing shape and coming back for more. I am very thankful for this guitar. Without it, I would not be albe to play many months out of the year. All the other travel guitars I have played are junk. This is the only "real" guitar I have played that is truly easy to travel with. I do miss my Les Paul. Anyway, if you need a guitar for travel, this is your guitar.

I just had to barge in here with a response as to the proper tuning method for this guitar. Tuning is extremely easy, but you must know the proper sequence, otherwise you WILL be fiddling with it forever:

First: LOCK the tremolo into the FIXED position. You may have to pull or push on the tremolo bar if it???s way out of adjustment. (Just look right in there to make sure that little catch lever is truly locked in the proper notch.) Once the bridge is LOCKED, then tune as you would a regular fixed bridge.

SECOND: Now UNLOCK the bridge into the FLOATING position. It may now go out of tune. If so, DON'T tune the individual strings, but:

THIRD, underneath the bridge, turn that big goofy MASTER TREMOLO SPRING TUNING KNOB until the whole bridge is pulled back to same position as it was when you had it locked. You will now be in tune. You???re tuning ALL the stings at once when you turn this big knob, but you can verify that your are in tune by using a tuner on any one open string, or by turning the knob until the bridge comes back to the same position it was in when you had it locked)

When properly adjusted, there will be no difference in the floating position or the locked position of the bridge.

So LOCK the bridge when you???re tuning, then unlock and tune the master knob. Also, always lock the bridge when your changing strings, setting the intonation, setting action, or adjusting the truss rod.

This is what it is...are there better guitars for metal, for country, for whatever? Yes. Of course. Can you carry them onto a plane? No.
This is a travel guitar that is fun to play on stage for kicks. It has an good sound and stays in tune great. My band and our fans get a kick out of it. By the way, the neck width and feel is great. I love to just play it at practice. Easy to lug around of course.

I like the bridge pickup. All work well with effects too. (I use a Digitech chorus to a Marshall Guv'nor to Bad Horsie 2 wah to Presonus Blue Max compressor to Aphex xciter to a Carvin AD100 amp with a BBE in the loop. Sounds great.)
Switching pickups changes the sound a lot which is good, but the volume has to be adjusted which is a learning curve.
Not a full tone but not bad within context of the band.

Damn nice setup, great action, love the neck. Three full octaves in tune, by Gawd! Still working with the pickups...could be better and considering changing the neck to something more meaty.

Built like a tank...if, and I mean if, some airline employee pitches it around, no problem. Yes, I would use it without a backup but I always have three guitars as we change our sounds a lot in mid-gig. This is a great 3rd set, let's just play freakin' frat rock guitar.

No need yet. Seems hard to reach MusicYo. I like a phone number and appears you have to email for attention.

Been playing since age 8 but skipped 15 years and started up again with this band 4 years ago. Buncha old guys having a ball playing parties and bars. I would probably consider replacing it but might just move up to a more top Steinberger guitar. I like the look, the novelty, the ability to take onto a plane and I travel and entertain in many cities each year. Have had to rent or borrow guitars. Not any more. Chose this because it was on special and 70 bucks off. I really do like it!

I purchased this guitar from musiyo.com so check their site for info or see other submissions

I like to shred and/or play blues and it doesn't suit either one. I play thru a Line6 Spider 2*10 50 watt (which I am selling as it sucks)
The Steinberger can't get a decent strat sound or a fuller rock sound and the trem is that much to shout about either.

for the price paid it was setup quiet good and the little manual that came with the guitar were also helpful. I adjusted the pickup height but that was just for the sake of trying to do it:-). Otherwise it was fine. Although I had some troubles with the trem.

It was bought as a practice guitar so I can't tell

very good fast responding

this guitar is too heavy and the missing headstock makes it balance's a pain in the ass. Don't by this guitar - even though it is cheap.