Steinberger Spirit GT Pro

Janyooary 2004 - Happy New Year, and all that from the Uk. Yes, we can get dese babies over here from MusicYo UK, and first, let me declare an interest. I wanted a Steinberger or a Hohner copy ever since I saw them way back when. And now I got the Deluxe Gt-Pro (HSH) and it's a great machine. And a lefty. Now, you've read all the other reviews or you're about to because you WANT this guitar. So go get one, they're well worth the outlay, even at UK prices. But - and it's only a small but, there are a few niggles....

First, I can't play C&W on this thing. That's a real bonus! But I can get HEAVY on the neck pickup, and I can get mellow/twangy on the bridge/middle. I play through a Marshall Valvestate Combo with a tube pre-amp, and an all tube Jim Torres Tiny-Tone combo. I have a Line 6 Pod if I need it. But the Steiner drives both amps really well, with no hint of the weak pickups described elsewhere. The centre pick-up (of course) has less output than the humbuckers, but that's great. You can turn down without using the footswitch on the amp just by flicking the p/u to the middle. I don't think the GT-Pro has the same sustain as my Burns Marquee, but then the Burns don't have the balls of that neck humbucker on the Steinberger. So there's plenty of variety in this guitar ,and kinda its own clean sound. I kinda get to hear more of what fingers are doing, if you catch my drift. I play punky rocky stuff, and the guitar is much better at it than I am. I LIKE the small size, the cool engineering, the ability of this thing to stay in tune, and the sheer convenience of a 30" guitar. I DON'T like guitars being compared with each other, 'cos they're all different, so let's move on.

Here's the niggles. The set-up was odd as delivered - the action was too high and there was a lot of fret-buzz on the top of the neck. I've lowered the action and given the truss-rod an eighth of a turn clockwise which has improved things a lot. So if you can get a pro-setup or someone to help you, you can easily improve the factory set-up. The pickups really do sound fine. There's a lot of variety here, most of it pretty clean. Where I'm backing off the drive with my Burns the Steinburger is clean and crunchy, especially on the lower p/us. The neck pickup delivers a gutsy driven sound, but without the dirt. Maybe that's a combination of the guitar and the tube amps but it certainly sounds cleaner and yet 'thicker' than my Mr Clean Yamaha Pacifica. The other flaw is the socket for the Trem arm. The grub screw that holds the arm in place is already worn. That's ok - there's one on the other side. Otherwise the finish is good, and the guitar solid and well made.
By the way, there's no nut on the guitar, so if you're a lefty and you're offered a righty Steiny I think you can re-string this for l/h playing - the knobs and switch will be at the top of the guitar, ( and the socket) but the trem has a hole on either side. So maybe you could use a GT-Pro easily upside down.

I don't play live. The guitar is solid as a rock and the finish is deep. STrap buttons ok,

Mine came from Music Yo UK. I gotta phone call after I placed the order to say the guitar had arrived from the USA but had a small scratch on the back. I asked them to send it over - the scratch was tiny. I kept the guitar, they helped me out with a good price. Service from them (Mike Thomas) was first class with Mike calling me every day to make sure the guitar had arrived and was ok. . I'd buy from them again.

I chose the Steiny because I liked the look. Now I have one I use it all the time and I'm selling my Yamaha. I love the range of clean rich sounds, and the portability, the looks, the COOL. I'd like it to have a better locking system for the trem arm. I'd like it not to have a huge sticker on the top reminding me to lock the trem when tuning. I'd like it to have a little less fret buzz. And if it got stolen I'd buy another. This is probably the handiest guitar in the world. And it sounds very very good, especially through tube amps. It also oozes cool and the Steinberger engineering design is very handsome. Whad else do ya want in an electric quitar? Buy one for your second-best axe and watch it take over your playing! Oh, the tone controls seem to produce a wider range than on my other two guitars. How cool is that? Great value for money and a hugely useful guitar you'll grow to love within a week. And you can carry it on your motorcycle. :-)

This is a follow-up to my previous review concerning the tremolo bar. I had stated that it was too loose for the hole it went into. Turns out that the person that I bought it from on ebay must have given me the wrong tremolo bar. I contacted musicyo to see if they sold a lefty tremolo bar, but they didn't so I bought the right handed tremolo bar for the lefty Steinberger. I'm actually glad I did because not only does the tremolo bar now fit snugly in the hole, but also since it is angled for a righty, it sits closer to my hand so that I can grab it easier and bend it down evenly over all the strings. I am now very happy with the tremolo, and my apologies for my previous complaint.

You probably already know all the features, from other reviews, or technincal information, so I won't list them. My favorite feature, though, would have to be the bridge. It is designed so well, and works perfrectly. I barely ever have to tune it, even through very heavy trem use. The gig bag isn't bad(what can you expect from a gig bag), and the pickups arent as bad as they are made out to be.

I did the pickup modification(mentioned previously) and raised the single-coil. It made quite a difference, but the sound before doing this was alright. The sound is sort-of like a Kramer, but not as rich. There is no pickup noise(even from the single coil), and the variety of sounds coming from this thing is amazing! There is a slight rattle sound under heavy playing(unplugged) when the bridge is locked to a fixed setting. This is probably just a loose screw, and isn't always present.

The action from the factiry wasn't very good, but still playable. I knew that I would end up adjusting the action anyway, so I wasn't disapointed. I did have a problem with some fret buzz from the first 4 frets(even with high action), and with further investigation, I discovered that the neck was bowed a little upwards at the 12th fret(middle of neck closer to strings then ends of neck). I adjusted the truss rod, and now it's fine. The action can be quite low without fret buzz, and the intonation and action are easy to adjust. One gripe I have is that all of the pickups are angled forward slightly. This doesn't do too much to the sound, just looks sort-of weird. The fretwire is pretty good. The finish is great, but one edge wasn't properly painted. This guitar is about the easiest guitar I have ever had to tune or change strings.

I would definatly play this live, especially with its tuning stability. The finish will definatly last(looks like the plastic-coated it or something). The sound is nothing short of solid, and the strap buttons are too. There are two strap buttons on the back, which is nice, because if you have an old-fashioned leather strap with two strap holes, you can use both for more stability(COOL!). I would gig with it without a backup, and it will probably be my main guitar.

I have contacted Music Yo with questions about a different guitar, and the responded in 5 minutes-GREAT! From what I have heard they send out free parts, and are very polite with their service. Perfect 10!

I have been playing for 9 years(classical for 8, and rock for 1), and am in two bands. Check out our websites at http://apex.drastic-creations.com and http://www.geocities.com/staticlineband. I have a nice Behringer 120 watt 2 speaker amp(which I highly reccomend!) and a Gibson Black Beauty 3 pickup Custom Les Paul(which I also highly reccomend!). I purchased this guitar pretty much as an exact opposite of my Les Paul(tremelo bridge, newer sound, small body, light weight, inexpensive, etc.), and it has lived up to it's expectations! I only wish that it had a sustainer pickup(I may install one later) but that's kind-of unreasonable

I bought this guitar off ebay. I'm a lefty, and it was the only one I've seen on ebay so I jumped at it. Even though I bought it used, it was like new even with the stupid sticker on it (more on that later). I don't think the previous owner had it too long because it wasn't even set up. From all the posts for this guitar, I don't think it's necessary to go through the features, but it does have a lot of good features. It has a very full neck akin to a Les Paul.

There have been a lot of posts that the EMG Select pick-ups are awful, especially the single coil in the middle, and I was expecting that I was going to have to replace the pick-ups; however, after some adjustments to the guitar, I was very pleasantly surprised. In order for this guitar to play well, there are a lot of adjustments that must be made which I am going to go over now.

1. When I got the guitar, the action was way too low. Great for speed riffing a la Yngwie, but not good for chords or regular soloing. Also, lots of fret buzz, and the intonation had to be adjusted. You loosen an allen screw on the side of the bridge and then make your adjustments. After raising the action though, the notes rang clear and had great sustain.

2. Now for the pick-ups. When I first got the guitar, I wasn't happy with the sound except for the 1 and 5 position on the switch (neck only and bridge only). The single coil sounded weak and much lower in volume than the humbuckers. Then I remembered a previous post that recommended reversing the wires on the five way selector switch for the bridge and middle pick-ups. Open the back, get your soldering iron, and take the two white wires on the switch that are closest to the neck and reverse them. You now have 1-neck, 2-neck & bridge, 3-bridge, 4-middle & bridge, and 5-middle. At this point, the 2 position (bridge & neck) sounded great and added another color to the sound palette, but 4 and 5 still sounded weak.

HERE'S THE SECRET YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR: Since the middle pick-up is naturally weaker then the humbuckers, you have to adjust the pick-up heights. The problem is that the middle pick-up can not be raised very far. Upon taking the pick-up screws off, I found there were no pick-up springs for this pick-up. Get yourself some pick-up springs (you may have to stretch them a bit, put them on the pick-up screws under the pickup, and screw the pick-up back into the body. You will now be able to have the single coil closer to the strings than the humbuckers, and the difference is like night and day. You now have 5 very usable settings.

I don't think people will throw out their Strats, Les Pauls, or ES335's, but the EMG's (with the above modifications) give new flavors to these sounds. In fact, the sounds are very wide ranging and now very pleasing and musical. You will also have to adjust your amp settings from what you were accustomed to with your favorite guitar, but at least now, you can use the sounds.

From the above tips, it is obvious that the guitar was not set up at the factory, and the pick-ups needed major adjustment.

The finish was perfect; however, put a sticker on the upper edge to remind you to lock the tremolo when changing the strings, etc. When you try to remove the sticker, the glue stays on the guitar and you have to carefully remove it - took me over an hour. Very poor planning. They should have used a tag.

The guitar is heavier than you would think for a guitar this size, but it is well-balanced so it is not oppressively heavy.

I have a big complaint with the tremolo bar. It is not properly sized for the hole it goes into. There is a set screw next to the hole that is supposed to be tightened when the bar is inserted, but it doesn't do any good. The bar still falls out. I have resorted to wrapping duct tape around the base of the bar to keep it in the hole, but since you have to take the bar out when you put the guitar in the case, you have to keep re-doing the duct tape. Another example of poor designing. Maybe I'll be able to find something better to line the hole with.

Everything seems solid on the guitar, and I would gig without a back-up.

Too new to tell.

I've been playing about 38 years and gig every weekend with the Hitt Men Band in the NY/NJ/CT area. Check our website at www.hittmen.com. Being a lefty, my options are not too great, but I have managed to accumulate a 1970 Gibson SG Special, 2 Strat copies that I have heavily customized (the only original parts left are one pickguard and two bodies), and a Fender 65 Reissue Telecaster. I love my guitars (except for the SG since it reminds me of my ex), and I am very excited about adding the Steinberger to my arsenal. After making the improvements and considering the price I paid, I would definitely replace it if it were stolen or lost.

It's very comfortable but takes some getting used to especially with regards to neck position. Since it sits differently than my other guitars, I have to make sure that I am fretting the right frets. The little bar on the bottom that flips out for when you are playing seated really works and is a great idea.

I don't like the way the tremolo bar doesn't stay in place, but I'm still working on that problem.

I'm going to enjoy gigging with it, and I believe that with the modifications I mentioned above, it now has some very usable tones. Definitely a good bargain.

Korean made, 24 fret maple paddle guitar. I got mine in white, with the 2 humbuckers and single coil in the middle position.
Featurewise, this guitar is typical of most, and the features have been described already. Overall, this this guitar's features are very nice.

I really like the sound. I'm running this little guy thru a 5150 combo. The pickups are ok, I guess. Not hot, no personality, but they are not as horrible as everyone says. Personally, I"m replacing the bridge with an EMG 81 active. It may be too bright with the all maple body. We'll see. But for a guitar basically the size of a baseball bat, this is a really nice instrument. Very bright guitar. If you are looking for a dark, bluesy guitar, this is not it. But sounds great to me. Kind of like the old original Steinbergers. I guess that was their intention.

The Set up from the factory. Where to begin. Breathtakingly horrible. In all fairness, the website tells you that it will need some adjusting. But my God, it was bad. Pickups, hardware, all looked great. The paint is very thick. I was shocked. I had a very, very, tiny nick down below the trem. Took two days to see it. Not even visable. All the other reviews seem to show a flawless, thick finish on the guitar. Even the neck paint was impressive. No cracks or breaks or bubbles. Very impressed for this price range.

You would need to sandblast this thing to get the paint off. Overall, the trem and hardware really seems to be good stuff. I would have no problem gigging with this guitar. I have some really nice guitars, like Ernie Ball Axis, Wolfgangs, telecasters, and this guitar really holds its own on the quality end of things. I"m not embarrassed at all to play it, and the tone is really very good.

Music yo.com is only accessable via email. I don't really like that. They do respond to any questions though within 24 hours. I emailed them about the nick, and they said to email them a pick of the damage, and they would send me the extra strings I ordered but they forgot...I didn't get charged for them to begin with. But I am now wary of their ordering system. I ordered extra strings, never registered on their order. Good thing though. I've heard to get your Steinberger strings from juststrings.com. Don't get the musicyo strings....they are garbage.

Overall, I really love this guitar. For the money, and the fun, it's one of my favorites. Plus, let's face it. The reason most of us buy it, is because it looks SO COOL. Right? Be honest. Also, a purchasing note. save yourself some money, and become a memeber at musicyo.com. just get on their mailing list. I got a coupon via email for the GT Pro. It made the guitar go from $319.00, down to $265.00. They mail this coupon out about 2 times a year. Again, I love this guitar, and for this price point, in my experiance, you will be hard pressed to find a better guitar. Even Guitar Player magazine reviewed and compared the GTPRO to other similar instruments, and the GTPRo came out on top, and not just as a travel guitar. In general, great litte fun guitar.

spirit GT PRO
made 11/2000
neck through boat oar shape
H/S/H
lame ass EMG selects
tremelo

The actual guitar is solid as a rock

I play flatwound strings, so i had to get the string adapter
the strings it came with sucked anyway, if you want to use double balls don't get them at Music Yo
the stock pickups sucked ass too so i tossed them for some DiMarzios
Air Norton neck, and a multibucker at the bridge
I left the EMG select in the middle
I took out the 5-way switch and put in 3 mini switches
now i can turn any or all pickups on and i have coil splitting too
so I have lots of great tones

the guitar arrived on time
and set up pretty well
like I said I play flatwounds, so I had to adjust the truss rod,intonation,action for the heavier strings
the black finish is flawless

this thing is solid as a rock
my hand has turned some hardware silver instead of black but oh well
I've had it 3 years and no problem

I don't know about returns, but it arrived on time

this thing kicks ass
get one, but if you try to steal mine I'll beat you to death with it

Lots of good stuff. Maple construction(thru-neck w/ maple wings), but not obnoxiously bright due to the small body.H/S/H pickups (pickups are one of the only weak points on this guitar).Trem is pretty good. Dives well, but only about a whole note up.Quality is impressive with all components.Mine's white. My next one will be black. 25.5(Fender) scale length. Neck is very comfy.Roundish, but not too fat or wide.

I put an old Schecter Z+ in the bridge position. It's wired straight hum(series, out of phase).This thing is at 13.5K and it fries. My friends are selling their stuff to get these(the guitars that is). No Bull.Through my old Pro Reverb,it's good. Really,really good. Really.

The guitar was not set up when I got it.Intonation, string height, neck relief,fret leveling, all needed attention.The paint is perfect.All hardware is perfect. I've owned Kahlers, Floyds, Washburns, Fenders, etc. Steinberger trems are by far the best for my needs.The reason I give it such a high rating in this category is because I always set up any guitar I buy to be played by me. Although a bit out, it wasn't anything to get bent over.

Once I get used to the hang(the neck is a bit to the left(looking down) as compared to a Strat and quite a bit left as compared to a LP)It'll be my main. My Strat is already on the stand lookin' pisssed. Rock solid. 10.

Dealt with the company online. Asked a question. Holy Moley, I got an answer in about 4 minutes. Repaired? What for? It won't break.

I've been playing 25 years or so.I just love this thing. It' so goofy. My friends think I've lost my mind...until they hear it.I've owned and own all the names. You know 'em. It's the deal of the century.I'm gonna sell my LP and get a couple(or 5) more.I can't say enough good things about this little guitar. Stays in tune better than a PRS. Even with the trem. Do yourself a favor and get one.Really.

You know. I think it's a pain in the ass to tune b/c of the small knobs on the trem and the fact that the trem floats, but part of that is the nature of the beast.

Also, I would strongly recommend using a locking strap system, such as a locking Planet Waves strap, because guitar straps fall off of the dinky strap buttons quite easily. Unless you are a motionless robot ( buckethead? ), use a locking strap system.

I don't think that the tuning stability of the trem is so hot, but others seem to have better ( ? ) results. Hmmmmmmmm. But, it you wish, it is easy to lock the trem down with a small lever underneath the tuners.

Tiny. Comes with a crappy gig bag. Good value.

I like the neck / middle sound, it does sound kind of like a strat to me. Overall, it sounds pretty decent, good for the price. I'm going to experiment with different pickups. It definitely does not sound like "the s-it", but you can make it sound sweet if you touch it the right way.

It needs a set-up, straight-up, but I'd be surprised if you find many guitars in this price range that don't. And, people like different things in a set-up. No apparent finish flaws.

Seems pretty tough. I would gig it without a backup, but hey, I live on the edge, and that lifestyle's not for everyone.

Musicyo was cool about shipping me another Tom when I got a blemmed Tom with a Slingerland kit, and I would think they support these guitars in a similar way.

I've been playing for 82,000 years and own a bunch of guitars and motorcycles. I love that it is small and portable, and I like that it has a trem. I buy all the guitars that Guitar Player tells me are good, and they are usually right. I wish it had a sustainer pickup, and my wish will come to be granted, in time.

Steinberger all wood, neck through, headless guitar with R Tremolo. Three EMG passive p/u's -- HSH. 24 thin frets, slim and fast neck with nice rosewood finger board. Volume and Tone control. Black finish. Comes with gig bag and allen wrenches for neck and bridge adjusments. Made in Korea -- where so many great import guitars are made now.

I play classic rock and blues. The guitar is capable of a large variety of tones. The middle PU is a single coil wired out of phase so when it's combined with the neck or bridge PU, the sound is a nice, single coil sound. Guitar is quiet. Pick ups are thinner than what some players are used to but they are designed to be cleaner and more transparent. If you need to load up on the distortion, use some pedals or the OD on your amp.

The guitar came well set up. I lowered the action, b/c I like my guitars with very low action. Guitar had one very small finish flaw right where the jack is. No big deal. The neck is a nicely finished rosewood. Neck and frets were very smooth and well finished and all the frets were even (try finding that on a USA Gibson these days...). Only flaw was the knob on the PU switch was loose. I emailed and a new one was on the way to me in less than 24 hours.

Guitar looks solidly assembled. The pots are pretty modest quality but work smoothly. Guitar weigh a bit over 7 pounds so don't let the size fool you. (Some Les Pauls weigh in at about 9 pounds). It's solid and feels good. It's as if you can tell the neck through design has given it a solid foundation. Early to tell how it will hold up over time but looks good...

I emailed MusicYo with some questions before buying and received rapid responses. Had trouble with the knob on the 5 way switch and they responded by email and sent one to me within 24 hours. FedEx failed to meet the 2nd day air delivery date and I asked for a refund. Fedex said I had to go thru the shipper so I emailed MusicYo. They immediately credited me with the extra cost for the quicker shipping. I'd say all that merits a "10".

I've been playing for 37 years. I own vintage guitars and have played hundreds of different guitars over the years (even if I didn't own them). Just like Guiar Player Magazine said, this is a steal at this price. It's one fantastic value. I got mine when they were on sale and the basic shipping was free. The guitar is amazingly easy to play. The action is great. The craftsmanship, considering its price point is outstanding and it is a deceptively great guitar. My band members can't get over how it sounds. No, it's not a Les Paul Black Custom or a Custom Shop Strat, but it has ringing sustain; great action; a slim, fast neck; a good variety of tones; and is incredibly portable. If you feel compelled (and I might do it one of these days) throw some Seymour Duncans on it and it will scream -- for about $375! Everyone knows how great many of the Korean made guitars are these days -- that's why PRS, Fender and others are making guitars there. This is one great axe.

2003 STEINBERGER GT-PRO DELUXE

EMG PICKUPS ARE LACKING IN DEFINITION, MUDDY SOUNDING
SWAPPED OUT FOR GIBSON P.A.F. IN THE BRIDGE POSITION AND THE GUITAR SOUNDS RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING. SET THROUGH MY LITTLE MARSHALL MG, I CAN NOT THINK OF A SOUND THAT THIS GUITAR WON'T MAKE.

THIS IS NOT A BIG DEAL WITH THIS GUITAR. VIRTUALLY EVERY ASPECT OF IT IS EASILY ADJUSTABLE, THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO IT REMINDS ME OF WORKING ON A CAR OR OTHER PIECE OF FINE MACHINERY. EVERYTHING BLEEDS OF QUALITY, WHETHER IT IS THE WAY THE KNOBS TURN, THE BOLT ACTION OF THE SELECTOR SWITCH, OR THE EASE OF USE OF THE TREM. JUST WISH IT COULD COME IN SLIGHTLY HAPPIER COLORS.

YOU CAN ONLY DO SO MANY DIVE BOMBS AND TREM EFFECTS WITH ANY GUITAR, BUT THIS ONE HOLDS UP JUST AS WELL AS SOME MORE EXPENSIVE GUITARS IVE PLAYED. WHEN PLAYED AGGRESSIVELY, THE STRAP SOMETIMES COMES OFF, BUT THAT'S FINE.

DOUBLE BALL END STRINGS ARE NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND IF NOT SPECIAL ORDERED. IF I HAD KNOWN THAT, I WOULD NOT HAVE BOUGHT THE THING. JUST KIDDING.

THERES NO SUCH THING AS AN OVERALL 10, BUT THIS COMES CLOSE. I THINK OF IT AS A "SPORTS-GUITAR." AFTER PLAYING THE STEINY AWHILE, A STRAT JUST FEELS CLUMSY. WHEN YOU PLAY THE TYPE OF MUSIC I DO, YOU NEED A FAST GUITAR. THIS GUITAR IS GREAT FOR ANYBODY, BEGINNERS OR ENTHUISIASTS. A GREAT CONVERSATION PIECE AND IT JUST LOOKS FREAKIN COOL. THERES NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT, MUCH UNLIKE A STRAT, AND IT IS PROBABLY THE BEST $250 I'VE EVER SPENT IN MY LIFE.

Just bought it from Musicyo.com Made in Korea. 24 Frets lIttle body solid top. H/S/H configuration with RTrem. Passive EMG Select Pickups Black, with a Mini Gig bag. Not the most beautiful guitar I've bought but it is in good shape (no scratches, no dings finish is shiny all parts seem solid.

I have A Reissue 60s Strat a Les Paul and I've owned a few hollowbodies, acoustics and classical guitars. I'm gigging and rehearsing more often and I needed a nice travel guitar to avoid killing my self with the wieght of an amp, pedalboard, and guitar so I bought this little guitar. While doing my homewrok I noticed some of the bad reviews about the guitars setup and I was concerned, but I had 90 days to try the guitar so why not!!! And to be honest the guitar sounds really good EVEN WITH THE STOCK PICKUPS. You have to acquaint yourself with the guitar first so that you know what kind of settings you can use for any particlar song. I had to adjust my Boss GT6 pedal board a little to compensate for the difference in the pickups but Iwas able to get some really nice sounds. I like the sound so much I wrote 2 songs on the 3rd day I had it!!! I might change the pickups but only if I can find a good set for a low price otherwise the guitar stays as is and I use my fingers and amp/pedalboard to get the right sound.

Not Amazing but good. I didn't have to do anything to it accept get another PLug for the Guitar strap. What do you want from a $250 guitar? By the way it is easy to carry and stands straight up when placed against a wall, well balanced.

It has stayed in tune for 3 days!!! nice!! I checked every time I picked it up and it stayed in tune. I couldn't believe it. It seems strongand the set neck is pretty good for any guitar at this price.

No clue haven't had a problem yet so I can't tell.

One thing though get strings and look for them yourself, I went to Sam Ash and asked for the strings for this guitar and they said they didn't have them. I was upset becuase I always carry an extra set no matte what. Then I walked over to the register after picking up a Strap peg and nice leather guitar strap, I looked over at the guitar strings and there they were. 10+ packs of strings for the Steinberger at $5.99 a pop. I bought 2 packs.

I can't believe you get all this for $250
1. a nice sounding guitar
2. travel friendly package
3. nice tremolo
4. stands against any wall on its own without a guitar stand
5. stays in tune for a long time

I would buy another one if this one was stolen or I break it somehow.
I might buy another one just in case they go out of business.

I am not really going to completely review the features on this axe because anyone who is reading these many entries should know already. However, the EMG pickups are okay and the switch to the single coil is a nice feature. I really like the tremolo set up and the tuning mechanism. There is some great design thinking on this instrument. I got this guitar for Christmas 2002.

The sound is a bit different from my Strat, SG, and of course my beloved ES-175. Anyone who bought this guitar for a classic sound is fooling themselves. If you want to get a Strat sound, then buy one. This axe has its own sound. Not a lot of sustain but it does me fine. If you fool around with the tone and the pickup selector, you can get some sounds that I think sound fairly unique. I usually run this guitar though a ton of effects, which I think was the original purpose in its design. I use a Johnson J-station effects unit and this guitar sounds great with that. I also have played it through a variety of amps, including a bass amp while channeled through the J-station. It is great for most stuff except straight ahead jazz. However, it is great for silent practicing my scales for jazz, playing heads, sight reading, and chord/melody. But if I play my usual jazz music live, I whip out the ES-175. But this sucker really cooks when I play live blues.

The guitar was not set up. As a long time guitarist, I either set up my own axe or take it to a luthier to get the best set up. I enjoyed setting this one up myself. When I set or reset my ES-175, I usually take it to a luthier to the tune of $125. But this guitar is for real fun and I liked messing with it when I first got it. Also, I would get all the extra "whatchamacallits" like and extra tremolo bar, string adapter, strings, etc. because they look like they are easily misplaced or lost. The guitar was in perfect condition from MusiYo when I got it for Christmas.

I take this guitar everywhere because I bought it for travel. I am also the Guitar Club supervisor at the high school where I teach. It goes with me every morning. I play at a blues club on jam session nights and I get a lot of comments, stares, cheers, and "wow is that a real guitar?" I suggest that one uses the leather strap from Steinberger so the axe will not slide around your shoulders. On the plane, it went right in the overhead and the security folks had no questions. If a rattlesnake comes on my pooldeck, I could probably slapshot him off with this guitar. However, I have read that the tuning rig at the bottom can give out over time. I think the finish is so solid that it has a half-life of 30,000 years.

MusicYo was extremely helpful in sending me info and accessories.

I got this guitar for fun and travel. I am a straight ahead jazz guitarist (Montgomery, Burrell, Malone, Farlow, etc.) and this axe is for the sole purpose of not carrying my big jazz box everywhere. I play rock, blues, punk, etc. with my students at school. Sometimes I take my J-station and hook up the headphones and practice quietly. Anyone on these pages who compares this guitar to others is not really thinking. I have been playing for thirty one years and have owned many guitars but each one has its own sound and eventually its own story. This guitar is just plain fun and with some creativity (which is what music is all about) you can make some incredible sounds with a Steinberger. I think it is an incredible value for what I can do. Besides, this is the only guitar I own that I can put behind the seat of my pick-up truck.

This guitar has proven to me that not all Korean made guitars are garbage. Neck through design, H-S-H Select by EMG pickups with 5-way switch and one tone on volume. Mine is the Platinum (silver) model with a Steinberger locking trem (very nice feature!) and came with a basic gig bag.

I was worried that this guitar was going to sound lousy because of the price, but it sounds great. I had 2 DiMarzio Dual sounds ready to drop in when the guitar arrived, but I really like the tone of these Select by EMG pickups! You can get a sound close to a Les Paul with the humbuckers and you can get a in between Strat like sound in positions 2 & 4

This guitar arrived so badly set-up that it was close to unplayable. The pickups were way too low, the strings were so low they were buzzing everywhere. The guitar was bought as a cosmetic flaw...but I still can't find it :-)

I would say you could hit baseballs with this guitar and it would hold up, there just doesn't seem like theres anything to go wrong on it.

I had some issues with the p*ss poor set-up and was pretty much blown off by www.musicyo.com. They didn't even have the courtesey to answer my last email. Musicyo lives up to there poor service rating...if you want good service/support, deal with a local music shop. I had to deal with musicyo to get this particular guitar, if the guitar was available somewhere else (it's not) I probably would choose not to deal with musicyo again.

I've been playing since 1974. I've owned Strats, Les Pauls, Flying V's, many, many Electra's and lots of other guitars (33 and counting so far over the years). My favorite amp is the Fender Super champ, but I also love Traynor Guitar mates & Studio mates and have dabbled in Marshall's. I bought this guitar to replace my faithfull long serving Cort Steinberger copy. The Cort had 2 humbuckers and a fixed bridge, I loved the Cort but the Steinberger is a much better player. With a trem and 3 pickups the Steinberger offers more playing options. I've owned the guitar for a month, and it truly is one of those hard to put down guitars. I would replace this in a heartbeat if it disapeared.

I like setting up my own guitars, but from what I've read and what I've seen about musicyo's set-ups, be prepared to have this guitar completely set up after you recieve it...they aparently don't even look at them at the shipping facility. If you can live with this, you'll be buying a guitar that has a lot of bang for the buck!!!

New Korean made headless cricket bat of a guitar with two EMG Select Humbuckers and a single coil, Steinberger bridge, volume, tone, 5 way selector switch, 24 frets and a gadget for you to play it on your knee. The neck is pretty deep but not too wide and it's supposed to be 25 1/2 inch scale but it feels and looks smaller than that. Basically a super strat set up with a headless body.

The body doesn't sound all that small considering the size of the guitar and the EMG Selects do a reasnoble job of it. They aren't great pickups, they don't have bags of tone and character but they do sound 'ok'. At the moment that's good enough for me. I'm not interested in buying the latest and greatest and most expensive guitar kit out there. It's all a false economy forking out for all that stuff trying to make you sound better when usually its your technique or imagination that is making you sound bad. Rant over. The sounds you do get from this guitar are pretty much what you would expect, it's a fine palette of humbucker based tones which are very neutral.

As a result of this you sometimes wish you had a guitar that has more character, be it warmer and rounded or hotter with sizzle. Either way it is up to you to make changes to your pickups if you want more.

The action was a bit high but I found the trem to be painless to adjust. After lowering the action to a nice height I felt sure that the low E string would start to buzz if I went any further. It's very playable though.

The only thing about the finish that was annoying was along the edge of the fretboard. It wasn't done very well. Apart from that the finish seems to be pretty well done.

I'm carting this guitar around with me whenever I go away for work. The 'Deluxe' gig bag supplied isn't very 'Deluxe' at all so think about getting a hardcase.

All seems solid on the guitar though.

No idea. Pretty shitty I should imagine being an internet only company. I can't think of when I would need to call them though so its largely irrelivant.

I can't get too excited about this guitar to be honest. It is very, very average.

But it is also largely inexpensive and I am judging it with my other well made guitars that cost a lot more. It doesn't outshine any of them in any category, other than portability, but it also isn't much poorer than them. So for its price I think it is a very good guitar indeed.

I had an interesting thought on the whole headless look. Back in the late eighties you could buy vintage pre-CBS Jazzmasters or Jaguars for very little money, but today they are 'in fashion'. Back then I bawked at the idea of playing one. It's kind of like the same thing with Steinbergers at the moment, nobody would want to be seen with one in a public place but for how much longer? Will the day come in about five years when the cricket bat look will be back in vogue? Crazy? perhaps... but can u be sure.......?

I'm awarding a '9' considering its cost. Like I have said, its a perfectly usable bat for the money. In the meantime I'm going to save up and buy a real graphite Steinberger in anticipation of its unexpected but meteoric to the forfront of fashion. Maybe even David Bowie's Tin Machine band will experience a come back.... nah!

solid body, deluxe version with two humbuckers sandwiching a single coil, passive EMG pickups, FULL 25.5" scale (yeah!), came with gig bag, one 3 ft cable, allen wrenches. Maple neck. Glossy finish, reasonably well-done. 5-way control switch identical operation to the Fender Strat, made in Korea. Excellent value.

sound is reasonably good, especially considering the money. I run it through a Korg PX-3 Pandora, and it sounds just fine. Not the sustain of a Gibson Les Paul, but then again, look at the size of the body. This has got to be the best compromise in sound/portability in a travel guitar.

Action was factory set-up a bit low, actually, and the E string fret buzzes a bit. Will adjust soon, directions are on the musicyo.com website. Other than that, it's a basic guitar in terms of build quality, although the parts themselves are rugged enough... especially for the money.

This guitar is built very solidly. I expect it to stand up to a fair amount of abuse, as long as it's not excessive. Finish seems thick and durable enough. I would probably replace the strap buttons with the locking type. I don't gig, but I could easily see myself playing this guitar as my primary one, because of the small size and lightweight make it very comfortable to play.

musicyo is not big on excess communication, but they do field customer requests, and respond quickly. I will continue to do business with them!

I haven't been playing very long at all, but I found that it was very difficult to get practice time in when on the road, travelling, etc. As a 'travel guitar' and a versatile practice tool, I can't think of a neater product out there.

I looked at just about every travel guitar imaginable: Martin Backpacker, Ibanezes, the Traveler guitar, pignoses, everything, you name it. I researched it very thoroughly, and it seems that the Steinberger is the only guitar with a full-sized fretboard that musicians could- and often did- also use for their main instrument. At 30" in total length and less than 8" at its widest point, you can carry this thing just about anywhere.

All the smaller scale acoustics were still fairly bulky, and didn't even have a full-size fretboard. As a beginning guitar player, I needed a small, portable instrument with a full-sized fretboard and standard tuning. Plus, the fact that it's electric means that I can practice in public areas without creating excess noise with my bad (but improving) playing ;-)

The Martin seems like a true toy ukelele in comparison. I think the closest comparison would be to the Traveler Guitar (made by Fender), which costs about the same, and boasts a 'stethoscope' for private acoustic operation... that, plus it looks very cool...

But the fold-down arm doesn't look that robust, especially with the outboard wiring joining it to the body. It is quite a bit lighter than the Steinberger, however..

But the weight is a good thing! By no means heavy, but still robustly built, this guitar feels like a guitar, not a toy. Granted, the frets seem a bit low and not particularly positive in feel, but for the price paid and all the other features this guitar has to offer, I think it is a bargain, and an absolutely essential practice tool for me. If it somehow got lost or stolen, I'd buy another in an instant. In fact, I may just buy another one as a backup anyway. I like it that much.

The supplied gig bag ain't terrific, but it does the job. The shoulder strap is positioned in an akward way so that the guitar doesn't settle over one shoulder when toting it around. I'd like to see a more comfortable, longer, and better thought-out strap on this one. The nylon is thin and cheap-looking, and the interior padding is pretty thin and not dense. I've just ordered the aftermarket, 'deluxe' gig bag from musicyo, as well as the hardshell case (which I also wish came with a shoulder strap). It seems a bit silly to spend well over $130 to protect a $320 instrument, but I take this thing EVERYWHERE with me.

In short, this is a completely unique product that comes to the consumer at what I consider a very good price. Sure, there are cheaper guitars out there, some pretty decent in quality. But the extreme portability, excellent design, very good fit 'n' finish- especially for the money-- all make for a good guitar, and an unbelievable travel guitar. I love it!!!

I'm also curious to see how well the string adapter works with standard strings. I've ordered the adapter, plus a few sets of both the double ball-ends and standard type strings, also from musicyo.

Korean built (2002)all maple through neck headless (and almost bodyless) guitar. This is the current incarnation of the early '80s GL series which using synthetic materials rather than wood. One volume and one tone control, plus 5 way switch (a la Strat). This one has a white finish. It is the Standard version, which means that it has a single coil at the neck position (the Deluxe version has a humbucker here), single coil middle, plus a humbucker at the bridge. The pickups are EMG Select passive ones. The design is often disparagingly referred to as a "cricket bat", but I feel that this overlooks the beauty of Ned Steinberger's vision of functionality over form. The bridge is essentially a tremelo type but it can be locked into position for a fixed bridge response (e.g. for faux pedal steel bends). The detailed specification may be found on www.MusicYo.com, the only distributor for these instruments.

The passive EMGs have a very clear and clean tonality which works well as a foundation for processed sounds. The volume and tone controls each have a nicely gradual effect. The tone control covers a good useable range from bright to dark. I use a Korg AX1G processor into a Fender Princeton Reverb silverface amp (from the 70s). Any tendency towards a clinical or sterile sound from the digital processing is mitigated by the warmth of the amp's tubes. In spite of it's small and unprepossessing appearance, the guitar encompasses an impressive range of tones. The neck pickup at low level gives a vibrant rhythm sound. At higher volume with some treble rolled off, it yields a good jazz or soul tonality. The neck and middle combination gives similar results but with more edge to the sound. Either of these positions give a good blues sound, with the gain turned up a little. Try using the neck position with some gain and all treble rolled off - instant Santana! The middle position is a good allrounder for clean sounds. Can sound a bit like a Gretsch or a Tele, depending on how much or how little treble is rolled off. Good for rockabilly, old style rock n'roll, or country. I like this position. The mixed middle and bridge position gives a slightly Strat like "quack", but has a darker character. If one is seeking a pristine Strat response, one might be disappointed. However, in my view a perfectly good tone in it's own right. The bridge humbucker is not too dark and has a surprisingly good treble response, plus of course the ability to overdive the amp's front end. A good generic rock tone. So, a versatile instrument that can cover a lot of bases. The downside? Well, the noise levels, whilst generally low, increase when used via the processor and when the volume control is turned down. But we are dealing with passive single coils and it would not be realistic to expect the instrument to be noise free. This is only an issue in certain recording situations and even there, I can live with it.

The action is a little high for my taste but not so much that I cannot live with it for a while until I get around to adjusting it. The supplied (somewhat skimpy)gig back includes Allen keys. Intonation is fine. The tremelo returns to pitch well, although I only use it for gentle waggles on country and surf tunes. The website provides advice on setup, albeit for a conventional guitar. But the principles hold well for the headless instrument. I may chicken out and take it to a guitar repairer to get it setup a little more to my taste. Nevertheless, it plays well enough as it is.

This is second instrument I received from MusicYo. The first had an electrical fault - only positions 1 and 5 worked on the 5 way selector. I returned it the Nashville distribution point using the procedure detailed on the website. I received a replacement (which was fine)only 8 days later, not at all bad considering that I live in England. I have also received a credit card credit for the original shipping costs, as promised in MuiscYo's terms and conditions. These people have certaily delivered what they promise. The guitar is certainly good enough to be my sole gigging guitar. My only niggle is that the lever to lock the bridge seems a little stiff and I have to use a screwdriver to prise it into unlocked position, a little impractical if one is on stage at the time. It may of course loosen up with use. The instrument does seem to be very solidly constructed and durable, despite it's diminutive size and liht weight.

It's slightly unnerving to deal with computer programmes rather than human beings, especially as in this case I was obliged to return the original instrument because of a fault. However, the website is well laid out and with care it is possible to navigate around it and sort out problems without recourse to e mailing their customer support (yes, they are real human beings). I have found MusicYo to offer good intruments at competitive prices and to be quick to resolve matters when things go awry. I would definitely deal with them again. They have an excellent niche in the market, sourcing instruments and selling directly to the customer, relieving the latter of the additional costs which would otherwise have been created by middlemen. They have also given the public the opportunity to own one of the most original and practical designs to emerge in the history of the electric guitar - at a very reasonable price (and no, I do not work for MuiscYo!).

I have been playing for over 40 years and own Fender, Gibson, Ovation and Martin guitars. My preferred sounds tend to lie at the cleaner end of the spectrum and the clarity of this instrument's sounds suit me well. It is lightweight, takes up little space and it's ergonomics appeal to me. Since it costs less than my other instruments, I feel less "precious" about it and thus tend to end up playing more than the others. I would definitely replace it if lost or stolen. I would like MuiscYo to consider an option with active pickups and/or EQ in order to broaden the tonal spectrum still further. Alternatively a coil tap option on the bridge humbucker would be useful, say with a pull/push tone control. I know that no instrument can be all things to all men, but the ability to "twang" a little more if wanted would be the icing on the proverbial cake.

see "Action, Fit & Finish" below

i give it a 2 only because of it's small size, otherwise, it'd be 1

the emg select pickups are shit. weak output, and kind of muffled very unpleasant sound.

- pickups
thin, had to remove the middle pickup just so i had some room to pick. replaced the other picks too.

- zero nut
this is the most retarded guitar nut idea of all time. if you bend a string within fret 1 to fret 7, the string slides a bit across the zero nut and everything is out of tune, since the lenght of the string just changed too.

- fretwork sucks
terrible. had to have the whole fretboard redressed because of the horrible fretbuzz

- body shape
when i played it sitting down, the body dug into my wrist, had to round off that corner just to prevent carpel tunnel.

- tone controls
the components are bottom of the barrel, noisy and flimsy. the volume control is also right next to the bridge pickup, where i rest my pinky, and end up unintentionally turning down the volume. had to put in all new parts and move the volume pot towards the bridge.

- bridge
if you ever loosen the set screw, you'll be playing 52 pick with the parts because all the saddle pieces are free-floating. and this means you'll have to reset intonation too.

- tremolo
doesn't stay in tune at all. totally worthless.

- neck
fat neck. difficult to play. about the opposite of the ibanez vai wizard neck

this is the one good thing about this POS, it's one solid piece of wood. could be used as a cricket bat without any ill effects

of course, wood alone does not a guitar make, the rest of the parts are shit.

i've bought several things from musicyo.com and emailed them and emailed them, and emailed them with NO RESPONSE AT ALL!!!

the only option is to get an RMA and send their shit back.

i see that now they have an phone number to call, but they didn't when i bought stuff from them

this guitar is shit. everything i bought from musicyo was shit, and i ended up returning almost all of it. should have returned everything, but i kept the spirit and the tube10, which turned into a project too and is on par with this guitar: the worst tube amp i've ever played.

2002. H/S/H. Body is solid. Other features already described by others. I got the adapter so I can use regular strings. The $25 adapter should be considered part of the price unless you plan to spend the rest of your life buying double ball end strings. $25 for an adapter is steep.

My list price is 319 +25 for the adaptor.

The strap button is in the back of the neck. When hung, the guitar with the small body leans forward so I can't see the strings. This may be fine for someone who is more skilled but for me it is annoying. I can see my freting fingertips. For playing it is quite comfortable (like the Lace California Twister) because the whole guitar is rolled forward. Less stress on fretting hand. Of course, you have to know what you are doing so because you can't see your fretting hand fingertips.

If you use it sitting down, you have to use a angeled cable plug otherwise the cable will jab you in the leg.

Guitar is very solid. Metal knobs. Switch has plastic parts. However, just because something is plastic doen't mean its lower quality. The fit of the back panel is better than that of my les paul.

The R-tremolo is the lowest priced tremolo in the steinberger price line. It is still a piece of art. Looks like many parts were machined. Love the trem lock. Tuners are beautiful and with 40:1 ratio, never slips. Trem springs easy to adjust. Wish they designed all guitars this way.

Gig bag is really low quality. The shoulder strap is a joke. The all metal tremolo with intergrated tuners came with a coating of grease. The grease gets all over the body and ruins the strings. After a day of playing and cleaning, all the grease is gone. There is so much metal that can get corroded that I don't see how this could be avoided. Expecially considering there is no hard case to prevent moisture/rust. Finish is great except rough where the body was routed for pickups. The H/S/H are close to the strings and leaves no room for the pick but that's the nature of the beast. The les paul black beauty has H/H/H and no room also.

The best part of the guitar, of course, is that it is small. I leave it in the office and take it on trips. Even though it is not designed as a travel guitar, it is the best travel guitar in this price range.

25.5 inch length for the thickest string. Read the spec if you want the official line.

I give it a 9. Took one point off for fretwork. Except for the fretwork being a bit too wide, the fretwork is great.

Not as good as a stratocaster or a les paul. EMG select (cheaper) passive pickups. The humbuckers sound crunchy. Hard to get a mellow tone like my les paul which also has humbuckers. The single coil doesn't sound clean either. I don't know if this is typical of guitars of this price range.

Plan to replace them with Gibson burstbuckers or PRS dragons. It would be real cool to have a top notch sound from this unique guitar.

The body is tight and sustain is long. It is suitable for playing on vacation and in the office.
Would I gig with it? I feel I need extra practice to get used to the forward tilting body. Sound is mediocre at the moment so I'll definitely not gig again with it. I used a cybertwin and marshall combo but can't get a decent sound. Check back when I get the dragon pickup upgrade. I plan to leave it stock for a month.

for $350, action and fit were great. Setup is fine but could use a bit of tweaking. Its not a bolt on, not a glue on, but a one piece neck. The neck feels great. If I were blindfolded, I can slide my hands up and down the edge of the neck and not feel where the frets are. Wish I could say the same of the fender or the les paul. Frets feel like they were sanded flat but not properly filed until they are narrow again. Frets are nice around the headless head but a bit wide as you get closer to the bridge end.

Strap buttons were loose. One piece of photocopied instructions. But then, Fender gave me the wrong instructions (gave me pre-delta tone instructions for a deltatone guitar). Gibson has no instructions at all.

Looks very durable and reliable. I dropped it and it dented my hardwood floor. I've gigged with it and I would do so again after I replace the pickups.

? Haven't dealt with them.

Very good travel/office guitar. Tough and you can take it anywhere. Only negative is the fretwork and the insipid pickups. I've expected to replace the pickups anyways so I am not annoyed.

GT Pro owner here. I wanted a travel guitar so I could practice while on the road. It worked out great for that. I changed the Passive pu's out for a Gibson '57 RI on the Br., a Fender gold lace sensor on the center and a Dimarzio Fred at the neck. They definately improved the tone. I might try a different neck PU.

It gets a good variety of sounds. Not as good as other guitars that cost 3 times as much but it is passable and improved with the Pick-up modification.

Neck is straight and does what it's supposed to do.

The bridge is failing at the plate on the adjusment screw for the unlocked bridge position. It is cracked and bending and cannot bring the bridge to the pitch of the locked position. I've had it 2 years and I'm afraid it's out of warranty. I have been trying to find and aquire a replacement bridge. but no luck so far...

Over all it does what I need except for the bridge problem. If I find a way to replace the bridge I would like it more.

Made in 2002. Manufactured in Korea. 24 Frets with H-S-H configuration 5-Way selector. Select by EMG pickups. Maple Body w/maple neck-thru construction. Boat Oar style body. Gig Bag included

I play everything, mostly 70's and 80's rock. I use it with a Korg PX4 Pandora. The guitar is dead quiet, the pickup output is not real high and does not have a lot of color, but that is what effects are for anyway.

Guitars purchased through Music Yo do not receive much of a setup. The buyer is expected to perform the final setup on action and intonation. This is not a problem for me because the company makes you aware of this from the start. If you do not know much about setup you can get good information from the website.

Fit and finish of guitar was excellent

Fretwork was good

I don't gig but this guitar would work well. Everything seems very solid and well made. I normally have two guitars handy because I like using alternate tunings.

Company is very good about respoding to emails. No problems so far. 90 Day no fault return.

This is a great deal for the money. I have always been pleasantly surprised with Music YO and their products. This guitar is no exception.

Purchased brand new from Music Yo, Korean guitar (not that this matters if the guitar works well), 24 fret maple body/neck (neck through),... although I suspect that if I strip the guitar to repaint it, I'll find that it's either a maple plywood or made from multiple pieces of maple,... a standard trick used by most manufacturers today to save money. 1 volume, 1 tone, 5 way pickup selector for the HB/S/HB select pickups. It has the Steinberger R-Trem, which is a cheap rendition of the real thing. The R-Trem is a knife edge trem, unlike the S-Trem, which runs on ball bearings. More about the R-Trem later. Came with a gig bag.

I must confess, I was actually pleasantly surprised by the sound. The sound was a lot bigger than I would have expected for a guitar of this size. I was able to get a remarkably resonant sound out of the neck HB. The middle pickup doesn't have too much character, but the bridge is quite useful. I wish it had a coil splitter, but I suspect that the HB pickups are single conductor, and hence you can't split them. The pickups aren't too noisy,... a bit noisier than the DiMarzios in my other guitars, but then again this could be the shielding. Overall, the variety of sounds is not spectacular,... just the kind of range you'd expect from a HB/S/HB guitar. I guess the 'maple' this guitar is made out of makes it quite bright, but not too bright. The neck-through design has certainly helped with sustain, and has also taken out some of the 'twang' you get from a bolt-on design. That's the way I like it.

The factory set-up wasn't very good, but shouldn?t bug people too much,... it is a guitar you order over the internet, from a shop-front-less distributor of a mass produced Korean instrument,... what do you expect? I was a bit disappointed with the fret work. The frets were levelled and smoothed, but they did not appear to be recrowned. This causes intonation problems, especially on the lower strings when they're played on the upper frets. Fret buzz was noticeable, and there were a few dead spots on the neck (poor sustain for some positions compared to others). It also looks like they started off with rather large frets, but they over-levelled them, resulting in rather wide and low frets. This is a bit of a hassle for legato playing. In the future I might re-fret the instrument. This should solve the problem. Even at this price, I would say that the fret work is below average. I was more impressed with the fret work on Monteray(?) guitars.

Oh yeah,... one of the things I found frustrating about the guitar was that the tremolo arm got in the way of the pickup selector. You have to reach over the tremolo arm in order to change pickups.

One thing I did really like about the design of the guitar is the balance of the instrument. The tiny body and no headstock thing has really grown on me. It's a super-comfortable instrument to play. The original Steiny's were such a brilliant idea,... especially in fiberglass, with a hollow body.

I have no serious worries about the guitar at this stage except for the R-Trem. I have seen many of the old Steiny copies in second hand shops. Invariably, it's the tremolo that was stuffed up. The design looks a bit dubious on a few fronts:

1) You need to adjust the action on each saddle individually. This is the only knife edge tremolo I know of where this is necessary (I wouldn't call a strat tremolo a knife edge)

2) To adjust either the action or the intonation, you must loosen a very tiny grub screw at the side of the tremolo. This screw simply puts pressure on the side of the saddles, pushing them against each other and against the other side of the tremolo. This is the only thing that holds the saddles in their place. This is also a problem, because I can imagine that this tiny grub screw is going to wear out VERY quickly. I'm the kind of person who re-adjusts the action every few months. This tremolo is not going to hold up to that kind of constant adjusting. Also, the heaviest string you can get for this guitar are 10-46's. The Tremolo does not appear to be able to handle anything heavier, since there is only one tremolo spring (which incidentally is in compression as opposed to tension). You can't add more springs, or change the spring with another tougher spring.

3) The locking mechanism for the tremolo (to turn it into a fixed bridge) is just a simply clip. Firstly, this means that the tremolo must be at the correct angle in order for it to lock. Secondly, it doesn't lock very well, since there is still a bit of play in the tremolo, so that kind of defeats the purpose. About the only thing it would be good for is if a string broke. In this case you would have to put the tremolo in the 'neutral' position with the tremolo arm using one hand, and with the other you'd lock the tremolo. Even then, perfect tuning is not guaranteed, since there's still a bit of motion possible with the tremolo lock engaged.

I'm in an interesting position in terms of customer service. I'm actually from Australia, but I got a friend in the US to bring the guitar with him. The reason for this is that even though MusicYo do ship to Australia, they were quoting something like US$250 for a US$320 guitar. This is crazy! Given the fact that the South Pacific/Asian Market is quite large, wouldn't it pay for Gibson to open up another Music Yo distribution centre somewhere in this region? The damn things are made in Korea after all! I was a bit unhappy that MusicYo refused to find another way to ship my guitar other than FedEx. I'd be very interested in purchasing more products from them if the shipping was a bit more reasonable for this part of the world. Note that my comments are from my persepctive here in Australia. I hope(!) things are different in the US.

O.K. As I said above, I'm anticipating problems with the tremolo. Perhaps I will purchase a spare one. The fret work wasn't great. The pickups do the job. So overall, it's average value for money. I guess the thing tha gets it over the line in terms of overall rating is the novelty aspect of it. Also it reminds me of the real thing played by the great guitarists of the time! I can look in the mirror and pretend I'm Allan Holdsworth!

Lots of features for the money. Great long neck, locking trem, three pickups, with five-position switch. And it's small, really small. A great travel guitar and a great back-up guitar (no more luggin' two full size axes to every gig). You can get a lot of different sounds with this guitar.

I like the clean sound of the stock EMGs, but yes, they are underpowered. So turn your amp up a notch, you'll be fine!

This thing actually has decent tone and could be used on a jazz, country, or R&B gig. Probably not the ticket for rockers, though.

The thing that sold me was that it does sound good, and you can get a variety of tones with it. Neck pickup = Gibson. The in-between positions give you a Strat and a Tele. No, you won't trade your Les Paul, Strat or Tele. But if you need these types of sounds they are there.

This guitar is my back-up, behind a Heritage jazz box or a Strat, depending on the gig. Certainly doesn't rival the tone of the Heritage (apples to oranges), but may challenege the Strat as it is more versatile and there is not as much tonal difference between the two.

Sounds good with my Vibroverb or my Tech 21 Trademark 60.

Had no problems with the set-up (maybe musicyo.com reads this board?).

Seems indestructible. Again, a perfect backup guitar. But only time will tell.

A friend bought mine and they sent him the wrong color. They let him hold the first one while they sent him one in the right color. That's cool (although they still got the color wrong the first time).

A friend bought one and brought it over and I immediately went out and sold a guitar I wasn't using so I could get one of these. The neck plays nice, the tone is decent, and I can get a variety of sounds from it. At a mere $320, this is a steal. You could easily spend two or three times that and not get as good a guitar.

This is a great backup guitar. I can just stash it next to my amp. It doesn't take up much space, is not likely to be broken, and I know I can get some good sounds with it.

pretty cool guitar for the money

I run my guitar right into the mixer 12 pedals 3 distortions,boss blues driver,marshall jack hammer,ibanez metal charger with phaser,flanger,etc.The humbuckers sound cool but the single coil "sucks",sounds like crap,I don't even use it,I think im going to put a duel rail in the middle,but other than the single coil ...not bad

for the money pretty cool

its a guitar what can go wrong with it

havent dealt with them yet

hands down steinberger makes the best travel guitars,this guitar rocks its a keeper in my books..I would have gave this guitar a 10 if they would put some differnt pickups in

Considering the price, there are quite a few. It is made in Korea. The Spirit GT-Pro guitar features the same body-shape as the Steinberger GL Series and features a headless neck with a Double-Ball tuning system. Kits are available for conventional strings. Other features include a Locking R-Trem system with direct-pull, 40:1 ratio machine heads, three passive (HB ? S ? HB) EMG Select pickups, which are a tad weak. Considering the cheapest Seymour Duncan?s would add over $200.00 to the cost, the EMG?s don?t seem that bad. It has a folding leg rest (too bad the Martin Backpacker doesn?t have one) for playing comfort while sitting. It has 24 frets making it kinda cool sliding up to that highest E. It is I believe the world's most "travel-friendly" guitar ever made. It comes with a heavy-duty gigbag (it really does look like a rifle bag) and, being only 30" in length, fits almost anywhere including airplane overhead luggage bins. Make sure it?s on top of the heap. Strap holders accommodate both righties and southpaws. An often-overlooked feature is that you don?t need a stand, you just lean it against any surface.

People, this is an inexpensive guitar. For the money, you can?t beat it. It sounds good unplugged as well.
The solid maple body and though neck design account for the good sustain and tonal quality. 5 position switching with the reverse polarity single coil gives a wide range of sounds. I use a late 70?s Roland Cube-60 and an Ibanez PT-5 and am very pleased. I am not comparing the sound to my Stratocaster or Les Paul, because that wouldn?t be fair. But compared to similar priced models that I can ?travel? with it stands alone. When I travel with it I play through an Arion HW-2 Multi-Effects/Headphone Amp. Most adequate.

Buying a guitar online is to me NOT the way to go, but for the price I again got what I paid for. When you?re saving big on one thing there is always a trade off. You can?t have it both ways. Having set up many stringed instruments in my 35+ years playing, I didn?t expect a perfectly adjusted instrument to arrive at my door especially via UPS. Upon arrival the fit and finish were very impressive. Smooth black finish with no flaws. It was on par with much more expensive instruments. The action needed about an hour of work to set up. I?d say it has done very well considering it has gone more then two years and many trips since then.

I've had it over 2 years now and it is as it was. It should last a lifetime. It is built solidly and has seen it?s share of falls and careless passengers throwing their luggage on top of it. The wiring and hardware are more then adequate. MusicYo also stocks replacement parts cheaper then most. I would recommend strap locks if you?re going to play standing up.

MusicYo is great to do business with, but there is no customer support, as far as I can tell from Gibson.
If you go the Gibson website and click on Steinberger it takes you to MusicYo. They refer you elsewhere if it isn?t their high-end stuff.

I have been playing/practicing guitar 35+ years and I have many mainly higher end guitars (Gibson, Martin, etc) so when I say this one is worth the money I mean it. The Bottom line is that for the money it?s a very good guitar, comfortable to play and decent tone. Good guitar to sit around with and play when the mood strikes or if you need to travel. You can even pack it in you luggage and check it when you fly.
I have, but remember it isn?t totally indestructible. I would definitely replace this guitar if lost or stolen.

Steinburger Spirit GT-Pro from MusicYo.com. Standard setup (2 humbucker, 1 single coil). The gig bag was really poor. I plan on buying a hard case, or at least the better Steinburger gig bag from MusicYo. My rating of 7 was due to the bag.

Once I got the guitar setup properly (see below), it had a great, electronic tone. I was able to warm up up somwhat using the EQ on my Kramer Amp. The single coil center pickup was very low output. I was able to raise it slightly, which helped. The bridge pickup gave a great sound for playing leads.

Ok, right out of the box, all the strings buzzed, the intonation was terrible etc. I spent a few hours setting it up. I used the instructions on the MusicYo site (the link was under Product support-Kramer (the second Kramer section on that page) Electric Guitar Setup, along with a book, "The Player's guide to Guitar Maintenance", by Dave Burrluck. This was only the second guitar I set up, so an experenced person would take much less time.

I had to loosen the truss rod by almost one turn, and individually adjust the height of the bridge saddles. For intonation I had to adjust each saddle, which wasn't easy, since they all move once you losen the bridge screws. I was unable to get anywhere near proper intonation on the low e-string, until I changed it to a lighter one (I had ordered a set of light strings from MusicYo with the guitar. I'm pretty sure that the guitar comes from the factory with 10s).

This took a few hours, but I had to spread it out over 2 days, to let the neck adjust after each truss rod adjustment.

But, after all was done, the guitar plays great. Very little to no buzz (none through the amp), great intonation, easy action, and the guitar stays in tune for hours of practicing.

I called MusicYo, and they told me that this was typical, and was one of the reasons why the price was so reasonable.

The bottom line is, either set aside some time for set up, or set aside some money to have an expert adjust it. Check out the link on the MusicYo site that I've mentioned to see what is involved.

I've only had the guitar a week, so I can't comment on this. However, the Steinburger strap has very soft leather ends. I've almost had the guitar hit the floor once, when the strap button pulled through the hole. I plan to sew the hole smaller, and use the quick release buckels to take the strap off when I need to.

The finish on the guitar is great, I've checked the wiring, and it was clean and well done. They even shielded the back of the access plate, since it is plastic.

MusicYo was great to do business with. They answered my questions via phone, and web quickly. There is no customer support, as far as I can tell from Gibson.

I have been playing guitar off and on for year. My first experence was classical. Lately I' ve been learning popular music, finger style, and blues. I have a Martin BackPacker Guitar that I was using when traveling. I think that the steinburger, with a Korg Pandora (not purchased yet) will be my new travel rig. I also have a Squar Strat, that I don't like, and a higher end steel string acustical. The strat doesn't stay in tune very well ( I even tightened the bridge to get rid of the tremolo), and is not that comfortable for me to play.

Years ago I saw the first Steinburger bass. It made me want to quit guitar and take up bass, except for the high price. A few weeks ago I saw an ad for the steinburger in Guitar One. I went to the musicYo site, and so strongly expected the price to be in the $1000s, that at first I read it as $2,690. I had to count the digits to see that it was only $269.

Bottom line for me, Great guitar, comfortable to play (once set up properly), nice tone. Really fun guitar to sit around with and play when the mood strikes.