Steinberger Spirit GT Pro

S/S/H Platinum Spirit GT PRO. Korea 2004. Maple

I play rock eg. EVH, ACDC, Rhandy Rhoads. Also more mellow stuff like Santana.
It does not have rich full sound. It's a bit sterile. Doesn't really have the rich harmonics. A change of pickups would be good. I also find it lacks sustain when compared to a full size guitar. The tones do not resonate very well they die off but not bad for the $$$

Action is good but buzzes here and there. Sometimes with the tremolo locked I get a bit of annoying buzz from a particular area then I release it and it goes away. The hardware is tip top though. Routes look a little sloppy but hardly noticable.
The platinum finish is the worst! It doesn't have a clearcoat or anything. It looks like they just sprayed it on and left it to dry - that's it! It's similar to spraying a piece of wood with a chrome spray can. It looks dull, flat and not really platinum. No protective finish so I know I would have to repaint it sometime. I almost want to spray some clearcoat on it myself!.

I got the HSS so i would have more room to pick and I also removed the middle pickup (useless on any guitar). Removed the volume knob and moved it to the tone knob so I wouldn't constantly hit it. I have no tone knob but it's another useless item.

Except for the Platinum finish this seems like it will last. Strap buttons are solid but you better get strap locks.

Quick emails. Asked about the platinum finish and they said that's how it's made..they should invest in a spray gun!

Playing 18 years. Owned Fender strat - Ibanez - musicman amp - fender amp.
I love the size of the guitar. The neck is pretty good too. I thought it would be too thick but it wasn't and I'm used to the Ibanez wizard neck. The neck is not as wide as the wizard so it's easy to chord. Great feel.

I wish the guitar had more ring to it but I guess I can't expect that with the small body. The playability factor is there but you have to mod it. It seems absurd where the volume knob is because I like to whack the strings.
Overall I think it's a great little guitar but it does feel a little cheap to me but then again it was cheap!

Plenty of other reviewers to tell you about what's on it & where its from... i just wanted to say that its got LOADS of features - 5-way pickup selection, small size, really COOL finish, & just the best trem in the world! This guitar has it all - enough features for any situation & for any player/style.

This is so versatile - i play all kinds of music (jazz to metal & everywhere in-between) & this is perfect for them all. The EMG pickups are great - they sound very transparrent & so respond EXTREMELY well to any effects you apply to them. This guitar can adapt to ANY musical situation - its amazing that a guitar costing this much can offer so many versatile sounds. I take this with me when i need to cover many different styles at a gig.

What can i say - its Perfect! Its just a little, cool, shiny black cricket bat, & i just love it. It looks so striking & it always gets good comments. Action is VERY low - SURELY an essential feature of ANY guitar.

This thing is so sturdy - its taken lots of battering & it just STAYS IN TUNE. No signs of breaking. Solid as a rock. Best i've ever had.

No need as yet.

Been playing for 20-ish years, & NO i dont work for Steinberger or Music Yo! This is just such a joy - the small, compact design is pure genius & i adore it. Its so comfortable to transport & to play & its just so sonically versatile. Other reviewers have said 'its just a travel guitar' but thats SO narrow minded - its the BEST #300 i've ever spent on a guitar (& i've had guitars costing thousands over the years) & this is the guitar i play more than any of my extensive collection of others. It does everything i need & it doesn't weigh 25pounds, & i don't crack the headstock on the walls (cos there aint one!)! I must also mention in particular the trem - its THE BEST I'VE EVER USED. This thing stays in tune divebomb after divebomb - f**king fantastic, & much better than ANY Floyd Rose any day. All this for #300 - just amazing! Get one if you're lucky enough to see one, you won't be disappointed.

This guitar is well described by numerous other postings.
This is a travel guitar, and it performs well within its design and intended purpose. I also bought the Steinberger, which added about $70 to the price -- but for travel, I consider it essential to the experience of owning the guitar.
Again: This is for travel and casual use. I always bring it with me on trips. It passes by the airport security and into te overhead cabin without a hitch.
I will give it a top rating of 10 because of the brilliance of the travel design.

The passive EMG pickups are so-so. I find the neck pick-up to tbe the only usable tone, with the middle and bridge PU's thin and bland.
I am tempted to upgrade the neck, but I am not bothered enough to bother with it (and I have a Squier tele mod stalled and gutted in the closet, much to my daugher's consternation; until that is finished, she gets to play my Lone Star Strat).

Guitar build quality is very good at the low price. The instrument tunes up well, is stable in tuning and intonation. I have adjusted the truss rod several times to accommodate different string guages and an effort to five-string it in open G for slide. Very flexible and forgiving instrument.

Guitar seems well built, but I am a casual player and have not brought it out for our infrequent gigs. I view this as a second-guitar for travel use, and not for performance (further restricted by the so-so pickups).

I am pleased and satisfied by this clever travel guitar with good quality and low price. The Spirit is 100 percent fun, good quality and total convenience, with points deducted only for so-so tone. While traveling, I am more than willing to trade tone for playing hours that I might not have if I had to carry a heavier instrument through airports and taxies. I recommend it as a "just go buy one" for any player looking to walk past airline security and carry a fun player in the overhead cabinet.
For a real good time, match it with a Roland microcube ($124.99) and never miss a session anywhere.
Recommended.

This was made in 2000, in Korea. 24 frets, solid maple body, with maple neck-through construction. 1 vol, 1 tone, 5-way pickup selector, H/S/H pickup configuration (passive), with a unique tremolo bridge that can alternately be locked for hardtail use. I can't believe they can pack this many features into a guitar that is 30" total in length.

I got mine used off eBay, and it came with a (chipboard) hardshell Steinberger case made by TKL and an adapter that lets you use regular strings with it instead of the double-ball variety, if you wish.

The neck is Les Paul-like in feel. Kinda fat for me (my favorite necks are on Jackson Soloists), but very comfortable, nonetheless.

I play hard rock/metal. This guitar suits any style. It is quiet and has a surprisingly full sound (given its size and entry-level pickups). I think the included EMG Select passive pickups are great. No complaints at all, and I have other guitars with various active EMGs (81, 85) and Seymour Duncans (JB, Jazz, Custom, Custom Custom, Full Shred) to compare it to.

I got mine used, so I don't know how it was set up at the factory. At 4 yrs. of age, it plays very well, and even arrived in tune, after a cross-country FedEx trip to get here. No loose or faulty controls.

I'm pleasantly surprised at the high quality this very inexpensive guitar emanates. It will last. The finish is excellent and tough. The strap buttons are very solid. I always use Strap Locks, but there's no problem with these. I could depend on this without a backup (nice that the bridge locks, to keep you in tune for string breakages, plus this system allows you to get a new string on in about 30 seconds), but I wouldn't, since I have several guitars.

No phone contact at all. Email only. Not confidence-inspiring.
On the other hand, they are responsive to emails (response within a couple of days).
Overall, not bad, I guess, so I'll give a 5. I got no warranty with this used instrument, and if it breaks at these prices, I'd probably just get another.

I've been playing 20+ years. I own lots of nice electric guitars, Jackson, Kramer, Fender, you name it. This guitar is unique, and I would immediately buy another if this one were lost or stolen. I love how I can play it anywhere and not worry about it. I also love its high quality, advanced features and low price. I wish they'd made one with 2 humbuckers (no middle pickup), or just a bridge humbucker. That way, they'd have more room on the body to space out the controls more. I'd also like a thinner neck, because I love thin necks.

see music-YO

The pickups are not clean. They're certainly not fantastic, if you play with effects the humming starts, changed all that anyway by replacing the passive EMG's for active ones now it's silent.
Likes and dislikes? --> Bought it because it's small and easy to handle. The gear that I use: ENGL tube amp 100 watts. Line 6 Pod, Marshall 4x10" cabinet.

Volume and tone Knobs needs to be changed.

Had a problem with the volume knob, removed it to the back because I do not use the tone knob. Removed the 5 way switch and replaced it for standard tumble switches. Now I hav room enough to play the guitar without hitting the volume knob.

Will this guitar withstand live playing? YES
Does the hardware seem like it will last? YES
Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off YES
with lots of playing? YES
Are the strap buttons solid? NO, Changed to straplocks
Can you depend on it?Would you use it on a gig without a backup? Yes

never needed

How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
Is there something you wish you had asked before buying this guitar?
If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
What do you love about it? --> Its small
What do you hate? --> nothing anymore
What is your favorite feature? --> fixed strings
Did you compare it to other guitars? --> No you can not compare it
Which ones? n/a
Why did you choose this one? --> Just liked the model
Anything you wish it had? --> No
Anything else you'd like to share? --> Buy one! You will like it

Korean, 24 fret, blah, blah, blah ... just check Music Yo for that type of info. They usually have these on sale once a year. If you register on their site, they will send you email on their specials. I got mine new (not scratch and dent) for $249.00. And well worth the price!

The pickups are clean. They're not fantastic or anything, but if you play with effects, then you can get your own tone because they don't really color it with their own characteristic. The mid (single coil) pickup is quieter than than the two humbuckers ... not that useful by itself. I play through a 68 Fender Bassman with various effects, and this guitar can get some fine tones.

The guitar is made quite well. I have a Strat and a few other guitars, and even an electric that I made myself (quite good, by the way), so although I'm not "Mr Guitar", I do know quality. This is stupidly good for the price. The neck is a bit chunky at first, but it has a nice feel once you get used to it. The access to the higher frets is better than any other guitar I have. It's actually easy to "get lost" and be playing up two frets sometimes if you don't watch out. Playing at the 20th fret is easy. I've had this guitar for about six months, and waited to write a review until I really knew it. I based my own decision to buy one on the reviews here, and I hated the ones who raved about it and then mentioned that they just got it an hour ago. Well, sure, you're excited, but give it some time to get realistic! Anyway, after six months, I can still say that it's a great little guitar, but it does have a couple of things that you might find annoying. The worst is the position of the volume knob .... very easy to rub this one while you are playing and be gradually turning yourself down. Check out a photo of the guitar and you will see how far away from the bridge it is. For myself, I plan to switch the volume and tone knobs to avoid that problem. I really don't use the tone knob, so I'll set it in a fixed position. Due to the three pickups, there really isn't anywhere for your pick to attack, but that's just the nature of the beast. Also, the humbuckers aren't actually parrallel to the strings .. a bit odd in a way, but probably no big deal. It's a little fussy to tune, but stays in tune well. You'll need to fine tune the setup, but that's standard procedure. All in all, this thing is worth about twice the price when you compare it to other guitars. It's so small and light, that I find myself reaching for it even if I only have a few minutes to play. Great for practicing your scales no matter where you are. And forget any other so called travel guitar. This guy is smaller and cost less anyway.

The guitar is a neck through (not bolt on) style and is very, very solid. No cracked head stock to worry about. No guitar stand required. Compact and rugged.

Music Yo is the only place. That's it. But ... they do respond to email quickly and I have had no problems.

I've been playing for a long time ... I make up in volume what I lack in talent, so I play LOUD. This guitar is fun to play. It's unique. Like I said, I have a nice Strat, and my own custom made Music Man Axis style guitar and a couple others, but this little guy has his own place among them and is different enough that I keep coming back to it after playing the others. Well, worth the money (did I say that before???). I actually plan on buying one of their bass guitars just like the GT Pro when they have it on sale. Oh .... one thing though ... the strings for this guitar ... they have balls on both ends! Had I known that before I bought this thing! A lot of work there ... you need to buy two sets and take the balls off the ends of one set and then put them on the other set and ..... heh, heh, heh ... just kidding!

2003 Korean Production
24 incredibly accessable frets
Solid Body (mystery wood)
5 way selector volume and Tone
Humbucker/ Single/Humbucker EMG Passive design
Order it in white by accident, everybody said they prefered it.
Complete cutaway body
Lockable tremolo (stays in tune!)
25.5 scale (strat)

Medium frets
Gig bag, Tools, Cable, strings

I been playing for over 25 years (and I still suck!)
I play mostly blues. rock, jazz.
This thing is very quiet. I use it for travel with a Korg PX4 Pandora. (Buy the PX4 today!)
Between each pickup and the combinations you can hit all of the sounds.
Pickups sound a little sterile at first, but they work well with effects.

The action was great. My brother in law prefers it to my 2004 American strat (his favorite of my strats). It plays well, stays in tune. Finish is spotless. Sometimes you can hear the pickup selector when you change pickups.

I treat it badly, yet it stays in tune well. I fly with around the world with a problems. WARNING: the gig bag looks a little like a short rifle or take down shotgun case. Smile and be friendly in customs! The two stap button with the tremelo tension knob have confused some people when they stap in on. (everybody wants to play it and loves it afterwards). I have gigged with it without problems.

I been playing for over 25 years (and I still suck!)
I also own/owned an SG, 335, several Strats, several Fender tube amps, Pod 2.3, Korg Px4, Beheringer midi floorboard, Yamaha and Epiphone acoustics, Etc.
I would like a more form fitting and more padded case.
I would order a new one if stolen the same day!
There is no better travel guitar! I have tried them all. If you fly or travel a lot you need this toy!

3 way switch is difficult to hit while playing - too close to whammy bar, but not a lot of room on it's tiny body.

I purchased it strictly for travel, and initially HATED the sound, but over the last year, by tweaking my Digitech RP100 ( which can suck, you really need to fuss with it ) and using a Mesa Boogie F-30 amp, ( Home / Gigs ) and a Roland Micro Cube portable amp ( Travel/ Camping etc. )I have finally found this guitars voice, and I LOVE it! I find myself, unbelievably, reaching for this guitar more often than my 1970 Les Paul Deluxe and 2000 Mexican Fender Strat ! Since the body is so small, the fact that it's made from crappy wood does not have much influence the tone: It's all electronics. The best quality of this guitars tone is that it's balanced: high / low tones, and between pickup selections (HSS). For a cheap instrument, it sounds pretty darn good. It's not a "quality" instrument, but it's rugged, stable, and gets the job done. It can approximate a Strat sound using the neck and middle PU's, the humbucker bridge has pretty good bite.

I was used to slim, 3/4 necks ( Les Paul ) and curved, slippery maple fingerboards ( Telecaster, Strat ) The neck in the Steinberger is thick and baseball-bat like, the finger-board is wide, and kind of flat but I've gotten used to this, and now prefer it to slimmer necks. The action is good, and the headless design with a unique bridge that can lock to become a fixed bridge is VERY stable in stays in tune no matter how much you abuse the whammy bar. String changes are tooooo easy, replace a string takes about 30 seconds!

Been using this as a travel / road / camping / business trip guitar and been throwing it into car trunks, airplane overhead bins, back-packs, act. and generally abusing it, and it's holding up very well. I leave it sitting in the car, in the sun, in the cold, in a tent, and it seems unaffected. It's small enough to sneak into work, then ditch it under the desk when the boss comes around! The only problem it had was the trem locking lever came loose and would not latch properly. I removed the bridge and tightened it up.

Never used

This guitar with a Roland Mico Cube amp( see Harmony Central Reviews, then buy one )is a perfect, portable, excellent sounding travel rig. It's compact size make is SO easy to just "grab and go".

I love all the different features this guitar offers. Especially the locking tremelo. Lots of sounds. Also like the fold out leg rest. I don't however like the double ball strings that this guitar requires. They are considerably more expensive and REALLY hard to find. You can buy them online but then you will also have to pay fo shiping-the price of an extra pack of strings. Or you can buy the string adaptor. They are sold out right now as I am waiting to buy one myself. The main feature though is the cool design. Sci-fi nerds and geeks will definitely be your biggest fans when they see you.

The sound is pretty good. You have to mess with your amp to get sounds you like. The sounds you get are pretty plain, not too much personality but hopefully your playing will make the personality. After a set up this thing sounds awsome. I really do like most of the sounds this guitar has. The neck pickup sounds nice and beefy and thick. You can get some cool combination sounds with the middle single coil when you mix it with the neck or the bridge pickup. Alone it sound ok. I usually don't love the way middle pickups sound on their own on most guitars anyway. The bridge pickup can definatley rock. I like to use this pickup to blast off screaming away into space.

I had to set it up which is expected but after that it played and sounded beautiful. The workmanship and finish on this guitar is better than my new Gibson SG. No flaws whatsoever. The surface is soooo smoooooth. It is more beautiful than my girlfriend. The neck is a little thicker than what I prefer to but I got the hang of it after a while.

Very dependable and sturdy. It will last forever if it dosen't fly off like a spacecraft. The finish will never wear off. I look forward to being burried with it because it will definitely fit in the box right beside me. I would not use it as my main ax because I prefer the sound of my SG but it will be a great second ax. This is heavy machinery.

I've been playing for 13 years. I own a Gibson SG and a custom Stratocaster. I like the Steinberger because it has features and pickup selection features that my other two guitars don't have. I may eventually change the pickups when I get bored just to get a different sound but there is nothing wrong with these pickups they sound very good. If this guitar were lost or stolen I'd cry. I love this guitar like it were a close friend from another planet. I love the ingenuity of the design and the originallity. I hate nothing about this instrument. The whammy really whams. The sound really shouldn't be compared with that of other guitars because all guitars should sound different and the sounds this guitar has don't sound like Strat sounds or Les Paul sounds so don't expect it. I chose this guitar mainly because I'm a space nerd who loves to ROCK!!! and because I've always wanted a real Steinberger but can't afford it. I chose it because I like the unique design. The fact that it does sound and play great is bonus up the booty. This guitar is not for everyone. Some people will probably say it's an ugly guitar. Some people will probably think you're a geek for playing it. My mom saw it and she thought it was a toy guitar. If you don't really like the vintage look and sound and you don't like being like everyone else and you don't care that you may be aproaching nerdism then this guitar is for you.

The user before me has the action set to low. (I never thought that would be possible, but it is). I haven't been able to stop playing it to raise it though.

I will look into hotter pickups in the future.

Only gripe I have is that the volume knob is so close to the right hand, I touch it alot. This is the only thing that reminds me that "I got it for a good price"

It kind of makes me change up the way I use my right hand... the more I think about it, I hate it. But again "I got it for a good price"

Bullet proof.

I've been looking at GT Pro's on ebay for a while and was waiting for and steal of a price. I think I did ok.

I have a real Steinberger GM4T and put it away. I use the GT Pro to "beat up on" it is an excellent guitar for the price.

The GM4T graphite composite neck really did spoil me... I never knew anything else for 13 years. If you've never tried them you gotta, every note on it is a "sweet spot" one went for almost 400 dollars on ebay... neck alone!

But to sum it all up. They don't cost very much and you can run them through ringer. Volume knob sucks and will upgrade the pickups later.