Steinberger Synapse SS-2FA Custom

2008 Trans amber custom Synapse
2 EMG active humbucking pickups
3 way selector switch
1 vol x 1 tone

I drove over 125 miles one way to the nearest Steinberger dealer because I didn't know which guitar I wanted to purchased having never seen a Steinberger of any model. I played the Spirit GT, Synapse standard, Synapse TransScale, and the new ZT-3 custom. I loved the small foot print of the Spirit GT and its basic trem but the tone was lacking and thin - couldn't use this on a gig IMO. I also eliminated the ZT-3 because I wanted a travel guitar and not one having a conventional body. The transposing trem was cool but not compelling for the styles of music I play (plain vanilla rock). That narrowed the choice down to the TransScale and the standard Synapse. My main interest in the transScale was the piezo. It has a blend control - one way all way is piezo only. And the other way humbuckers only. In the middle you get a balanced mix. The piezo was nice but not compelling. Ned says the goal wasn't to emulate an acoustic guitar and it doesn't. I wasn't crazy about the capo system but if the piezo had been compelling I probably would have bought the transScale. Since the piezo wasn't grand it didn't over come what a consider negatives of the capo system (markers, side slots, sloppy strings if you got to baritone length without the baritone strings. So that left the standard as my choice. I figured by the time I got better pickups installed on the Spirit I'd be up to $550 or $600. The Synapse was gig worthy tonally as it was so I bought the Synapse Custom instead of struggling the Spirit to get it to be gig worthy. I was prepared to buy any one that resonated with me when I left for the store and was not predisposed to one over another except I was sold on the capo either before or after trying it - it seemed a distraction to me.

The tone was surprisingly good - much better than the demo on the Steinberger sites. Those sound clips kept me from seriously considering a Synapse for at least a year until a dealer opened close enough to check it out first hand. If you crank the active pickups into pedals you can get some really usable distortions, etc. It can't get strat sounds or heavy LP sounds but the tones are acceptable in a pinch as backup guitar easily. The EMG perform as expected.

The action was okay but not great. I took it to a local Plek shop and had the neck scanned. They found two frets that had raised up and fixed those. About a week later the high E string was catching on two other frets on the side of the neck so I took it back to the Plek shop and had them fix those frets (they re-fret guitars and are experts). The frets have settled down now. So too has the setup which surprised me. I figured with the reinforced neck it would be rock solid. But it was 2 or 3 weeks before everything stablized - perhaps a change in temperature and humidity. The finish is satin so it may absorb or loose moisture. My apartment is pretty dry in the winter so this may explain these issues. The tuners are 40:1 however the tuner head has a small diameter. So you are changing pitch it seems as fast as you would with an 18:1 tuner at least that is the perception. These tuning heads are extremely close together too. The tuning took about 2 weeks to stablize but now the guitar holds its tune. It also took me about an hour to adjust to playing without a headstock. You don't realize how much you key into your neck position from the cue the headstock gives you on a regular guitar. When it is not there that cue is gone. But you quickly adjust and build a better mental model of fret distances without the headstock as a reference point. If you don't like this feel at first don't worry - after an hour of playing you won't miss the head stock at all. In fact it's nicer that it's not there!

I'm using double ball strings so I've had no chance to test the set screws to hold single ball strings. I've had the guitar only 2 months and it seems okay other than the fret stability mentioned above.

n/a

I've been playing off and on since the late 1960's.
The guitar is reasonably good sounding but not great.
The compelling feature of this guitar is its form factor.
The guitar is incredibly convenient. I leave it leaning
against my desk and grab it on breaks when inspiration
strikes. I can type on the keyboard with the Synapse in
my lap. The guitar was much shorter in perspective than I
was anticipating. I can put it behind the driver seat
of the car without pushing the seat forward. In the case
the Synapse feels like a folded pool cue in length although
slightly bigger around in the case than a case for a pool
cue. It's a solid guitar for what it is designed
for - I chose it over other Travel(er) guitars which I also checked
out before deciding on the Synapse. I definitely would replace
this guitar if it were lost or stolen. I have even taken it
to bed with me and played it and leaned it beside the bed. I get
some of my best musical inspiration when I'm on the edge of sleep
almost in a dream like state. Don't have to get up now just grab
the guitar and play a few licks to make sure I'll remember them
in the morning. I never did that with another guitar. Because of
it's extreme convenience I'm giving it a 10 overall even though it falls short on items mentioned above.

The neck is quite wide and thick but I got used to it. It's very light at first and made playing rock music difficult but now i'm used to it, I love it.

Finish....apalling - more later.

Sounds good when beefed up through an amp but played without distortion - poor.

Pickup selector switch is crackly, little noticeable difference between pickups [and I'm a discerning player too!].

I got a white model. There's all sorts of finish flaws....black paint on it, badly routed edges and corners, dents in the fingerboard, loose jack socket....the list frankly goes on and on and on. BUT there's something I still like about it for some reason.

Hard to say -way too soon.

Terrible through Gibson themselves. The shop I bought it from were incredibly - unhelpful. Delivery was VERY late - thought it was never going to arrive.

Been playing for 20+ years. I own a load of guitars and as a guitar builder feel I know what's right. This has so many flaws that I can't count. That said, I do like the guitar. I just feel they should have made it properly. If Yamaha can make a Pacifica like they do, why not Steinberger?

Steinberger Synapse, EMG 81 at the bridge, EMG 85 a the neck, active, 22 frets, SS2F model (non capo/piezzo). Awesome bridge that keeps the best tune and changing strings cannot be easier. Will rate it an 8 because I do not like the HH pickup configuration and a piezzo pickup could have been added to this model and was not. Recommend an HSS configuration. I am considering changing the neck pickup to an EMG 89, but that is another 120$.

Another minus is the ridiculous strap hook. That is coming out soon too. It doesn??t feel secure and it gets in the way. Would prefer 24 frets.

Sound at first was thin and canny, extremely high output. Was not very happy at first. Then I copied my patches to a new bank and began toying with them. After a while I had some very nice sounds. This thing sustains to the moon and back. Again, the neck 85 is too hot for me and I will probably change it to an EMG 89 soon, looking for that bright, bell-like strat in the 4th position clean sound. This is about the only sound I haven??t dialed in yet.

Very good. No complaints, nice finish, nice action straight out of the box. Now, this is the second Synapse I order. The first one was a mess that I never even plugged in. Returned it immediately. This one is much better built.

Seems very durable. More sturdy than most guitars

Gibson??s customer support seems to respond in monosyllabic words. Not that much help.

Been playing for 20+ years, Own a 2005 Jackson soloist and a Hohner G3T, a GSP1101 and too much miscelaneous stuff to list. If stolen I would buy again, hopefully by then they will have the HSS option.

Love: bridge and nut, fretboard, portability, sustain, comfort and tuning stability. Great quality control on the second one. Pretty crappy on the first one that I returned.

Hate: Strap Hook.

Prefer otherwise: Pickups, 22 frets instead of 24. Firt impression is that this is a great guitar for the money if you get one of the good ones, if not, return it and keep trying. I feel it is worth the wait.

Lastly, it came with a battery that expired in 2006 and was rusted. Mmmm, wasn??t happy about that. It also came with two sets of strings in the bag and an extra cable (crap). At first I thought it may be another return, but so far I haven??t been able to see why it may have been returned if it was. This would generally imply a lowered overall score, but since I am still in the honeymoon phase, I will let that go, for now.

2007. Specs as said in other reviews.

Clear a with a lot of power, a little. Hard tostay clean, but nice overall. Not the best for jazz. But it can work. The overdriven sound (which i do not care about much) is nice.

Nice fretboard, well above what one expects for the money. Not really set up. But I can do it myself and the guitar went operational half hour. The design is solid. The pieces are well made. The assembly was poor. Many screws were not tightned to the end! But give the good base, a plus screwdriver was all it needed.

Seems solid

20 year playing. I own a 75 strat, gretch white falcon, guilx x-700 and AA, classic ramirez. This is great value for the money. It was ment to be a travel guitar, but I find myself playing this guitar a lot as is light, and has a nice neck/fretboard.

I have the custom with the amber sunburst. The finish is matte and with a strong yellow amber color. The top seems a little rough but you can only feel it with your fingers but not actually see it. I probably wished the guitar had more shine but it looks OK. I know that if you ploish it with car polish it will shine. It has the usual Steinberger traits as mentioned by others but the body is a little larger and the top has a dressed away curve. The strap hook has some paint bubbles on it but I might sand it down and repaint it. It has 2 active EMG's with that heavy but clear tone. The overall finish could be better cause satin finishes take time to get accustomed too. the bottom line is I like the sound.

I usually play jazz F hole guitars but I wanted a guitar that was solid but with a clear tone and easy to carry to the gigs. This is it cause it's not ever gonna get smaller. I only use the bridge pickup and turn the tone to 3 0'clock setting. I might open it up for more treble. This guitar can get lots of treble when you want it. I use it for a pleasant jazzy tone. We seniors don't like them high shrilling notes. It has a little more sustain but pleasant. I can play it unplugged for practice and still hear it a little. I use it through Evans, Roland BC60, Centaur acoustic amp and straight to PA mixer and they all sound good. I changed the strings to 10-46 but might go one step heavier. I use the double ball Steinberger but may eventually use Elixer coated strings. I might also use flatwound light strings 10-46.

The finish could be better but it's the sound that counts in the end. Lots of flame in the top. The action was high but I tighten the truss rod and lowered the bridge saddles. It's very easy to do and now it plays perfect. People have not liked the strap hook but it's not a problem for me cause I don't like to play above the 17th fret. With the 2 strap hooks on the wings you can set the guitar leaning without it falling over. It's good to have small sized guitar to gig with and it is easier than carrying a fat jazz guitar around. The sound is not the same but the Steinberger still can get some fat, clear sounds. It also stays in tune better and changing the strings are a breeze. I am getting very accustomed to it's mini size and I am blazing licks all over it.

The guitar will last as long as you don't forget it somewhere being it's so small and portable. The finish is not the best being matte but I still like the overall convenience of size and weight. I used to own a XL bass and it stayed in tune for 1 week. I don't know if the guitar will do that being it's partly wood. The larger body seems more comfortable to me. I can sit on the couch and play it dropping down the leg extention. The body is thick and it will last forever. As long as all the hardware does not wear out I forsee no problems. As they suggest, do not over tighten anything

I have no contact with the company.

I've been playing for 45 years and have owned every guitar on earth. I like the small size of this guitar and ease of transport. Having the tuners on the right side is convenient. You can hold a chord and tune with your right hand. The sound is thick and although I am accustomed to jazz guitars this guitar is a working machine. I don't care if I ding or scratch it, it's the heavy solid tone that I want yet with lots of note definition. I play it straight with no pedals or effects. It'll make me play better and different. I lowered the action and it can't play any easier. It sounds good and easy to carry. It came with a small gig bag so I can carry it on the plane.

Korean made - 2005/2006 i think
White laquer finish (up back of neck also)
EMG active pickups (51 and 55 i think)
Usual - carry bag, allen keys as standard
You also get a lead - although it aint up to much and ive binned mine.....

I play mainly classic rock - play a bit of modern BLS stuff and rhythm for Vai Satch etc. Amp wise I use a JMP100 watt head through a 2x12 vintage Marshall cab, Vintae 25 watt speakers. I use a Keeley mod DS1 to a Boss SD-1, to a DD3 and a CH-1. To compare sounds, I currently have a Ibanez RG550 (STOCK pickups) and a Ibanez PM301 with decent Dimarzio pickups....

Out the box, the guitar had 9 guage strings so I immediately changed them for 10's. Using the double ball type strings, the whole process took less than 5 mins and the new set of strings were on, and relatively in tune. Took about ten minutes for the strings to completely settle in, but anyone readin this who has a floys setup will appreciate that 5 mins to change them all, and have it in tune by 10 mins is amazing!

Once I had some heavier strings on, plugged it in and was pleased.

The sound you get is heavy, but defined and not mushy. My R550 is a mush machine and nothing sounds quite right....this is the opposite, ever chord is powerful and flick to the neck pickup and the sound is rich and creamy and the sustain reminds me of my old les paul. The body may be small, but when played acoustic, it resonates just as much, if not more, than most full sized guitars - put that with some 10's and the active pickups, and its "ballsy".

The pickups in this are used by BLS - Metallica to name two, and if you drop your tuning, you can recreate the heavy but tight chops that they use. Pinched harmonics take a while to get out - probably coz im not familiar with the sweet spots on the guitar yet, and the fact the action is a wee bit high, but when you catch one, its Zakk Wilde alright >:0

Its not nice clean however, but hey. Who cares right?

Ive noticed the setup with the pickup selector and the knobs is really difficult to get used to. If you have moved up to the neck pickup, forget bein able quickly move back to the bridge pickup as the volume knob gets in the way. Ive got big hands, others might not find this a problem.

The pickups are quiet, unless i have all pedals on and the amp cranked. Under normal circs, they are perfectly quiet. Bear in mind however, that these pickups easily caught the sound comin out of my Hifi speakers - but they are just mics at the end of the day so i guess this means they are powerful and sensitive. I tried screamin though the pickups (like Mr Vai regularly does) and it actually sounded quite good (but im sad)

Finish is adequate. Its white laquer - what more can i say. Theres no cracks etc and the finish is what id expect.

Pickups are high out the box, but so are the strings. Simple to adjust so dont worry bout it.

Ive already had to tighten the volume knob, probably coz i was hittin it every time i tried to change the pickup selector lol. Small allen key tightens them up within seconds, nothin to worry about

Couldnt say for now really. I imagine due to the shape, it will stand up to giggin etc, coz theres less of it to hit. The static trem seems solid enough. I did have a problem when changin the strings, as when i loosened the saddle on the back to get the old string out, the saddle came away from the screw, obviously not meant to move it that far out (but needed to for the string) - easy enough to sort by pressin the saddle back towards the screw and gently tightenin again until it regripped, just watch out for it!

Id never play without a backup - but then again ive always used floyd type trems which are a nighmare to restring and keep in tune. I reckon mid solo if you lost a string, a quick bass solo later and you would be soloin again (i estimate it would take approx 2 mins to put a new string on and have it in tune)

The tuning pegs are very responsive. very. The reason it takes so little time to tune up is that by the time you have your new string secured, you have pretty much got it to concert pitch. As for down tunin, ive only really went down to drop D, which is effortless. I reckon you would have problems goin really really low, as the strings may pop out at some point, but if you wanna play that low your probably gonna need a 7 string anyway

No idea. From what i can gather they seem pretty happy with their products, so hopefully customer service will be spot on. Ive never had to ring any manufacturers about any guitar, cant see why this one will be any different.

Ive been playin for about 13 years now. Been through loads of gear and guitars. This one is better than i expected for the money i paid. Id gig with it and I like the fact they are so easy to carry around, and sound so good WHILST also bein very different. Not many people have these, thats one of the main reason i bought one. Plus, the cost of buyin the pickups alone kinda means its too good not to buy.

Dont expect frills and awesome finishes, this guitar has two things, simplicity and sound. Sounds what matters at the end of the day, and if you not plannin on playin loads of clean stuff, this one will definately be a great guitar to purchase.

Transparent red, Korean made (so I'm told), 22 frets (plus zero fret); "wings" of guitar body made of flamed maple.
2 EMG humbuckers, one volume, one tone (passive I think), "blade" type 3-position pickup switch.
Came with a reasonable gig bag.

This guitar's big brother, the TranScale, has a built-in piezo pickup, which sure would have been nice to have on this one, but it isn't offered on this model. I didn't spring for the TranScale, since I never would have used the 2 additional baritone frets available.

This Synapse comes with a combination headstock, that supposedly lets you use regular strings, as well as the famous Steinberger double-ball-end strings. Well, you can't use single-ball strings, the combo headstock won't grip the non-wound strings firmly enough. The high E and B strings slipped right through the headstock when I tried to tune them up. This isn't a major issue for me, since I really like the convenience of the double-ball strings, but it clearly does not work as advertised. I'm downgrading my rating on the instrument a point for this reason alone.

This guitar cuts through a mix very well, while not sounding at all shrill. I'm coming off of a Carvin SC-90, which always sounded too bright to me. The 'Berger has a midrangy sound that gets through. Played clean, the pickups don't have that very bright, single-pole sound of a Tele, but then again these are humbuckers. I particularly like the way it sounds through the Marshall models on my POD XTLive, with some overdrive added. I'm not sure why exactly the sound works, but I know it does for me.

The guitar was very nicely set up, right out of the box it came in. The neck pickup is a little bit too high, it's quite a bit louder than the bridge pickup when switching, so I have to adjust it a bit.

I didn't note any flaws in this area.

I'm not currently gigging live, so I couldn't say how this instrument will hold up.

As far as the strap holders, the guitar comes with a front strap-hook that's basically a formed, curved piece of metal that juts out from the guitar body, right around the 12th fret. There are 2 problems with this - the strap hook gets in the way when you're playing, and you can't put a Straplock on it. There's a guy on the Steinberger_World Yahoo group who makes a replacement for it that accepts a Straplock. I got him to make me one, and now the setup works much better for me.

Well, I called Gibson regarding the combo headstock issue I mentioned above. That was about 2 weeks ago. They were supposed to be sending me a replacement headstock unit, but I haven't seen it yet. I don't know whether they were BS'ing me on the phone, or if it's taking longer to get to me than they said, but I don't have it yet, so I'm going to downtick them at this point.

I've been playing over 30 years. I own a variety of other instruments, including an LP, a Tele, the afore-mentioned Carvin, a couple of Ovation acoustics, and a Taylor 714.

I was intrigued enough by the guitar's design that I didn't really beat up its reviews too much before going for it. Frankly, there really aren't that many around, even though the guitar was introduced over a year ago. I like the sound of it enough where if it were destroyed, I'd probably get another one.

There were clearly some issues with the design of the headstock and the strap arm, both mentioned above. I'm surprised the designers (probably including Ned Steinberger) let those things get through, especially the headstock problem. Even so, I deem those issues to be peripheral to the actual instrument's playability and sound, both of which I like a lot.

Non-US made, I assume Korea from other writings.
Transparent red finish
22 frets
"knife" style pickup selector
EMG 81 and 85 humbucker pickups, 1 passive tone, 1 volume
Combo headstock that (supposedly) accepts non double-ball strings (see comments below)
Gig bag

Design problems:
Combo Headstock:
The combo headstock, which is advertised as accepting both double-ball and non-double-ball strings, doesn't work with unwound high E and B strings. There is a set screw mechanism that is supposed to hold the string in the headstock, but the string slips. Based on posts in the Steinberger_World Yahoo site, this is a known problem with this design, but it isn't clear if Steinberger/Gibson will fix it or not. I have contacted them, and they are supposed to be sending me a replacement headstock, so we'll see if (1) they follow through and (2) the replacement fixes the issue.

Strap hook:
The strap hook touted as a feature is a design flaw. You can't put a StrapLock or similar on it, which is a problem for me. As noted below, I had a replacement made up by someone from the Steinberger_World Yahoo group, and the replacement not only allows a StrapLock connection, but also gets the strap hook out of my way when playing up above the 12th fret.

No piezo in non-TranScale Synapse:
The non-TranScale Synapse should also come with a piezo pickup, which it does not currently. If you want the piezo, you have to buy the TranScale. I knew I'd never use those extra baritone frets, so I didn't bother with it.

It sounds fabulous. I don't know if it's the EMGs that make such a difference, or the wood of the body (and I don't even know what that wood is). Sound from the guitar is clear and articulated, even when pumping it through a PODxt Live high-gain amp model with added distortion. Cleans are a bit less lively, but I think that's the POD rather than the guitar.

Action was a bit high from the factory, but it was easy to lower - this is personal taste rather than a factory error. The satin finish is well done. There are no fret irregularities that I can see. The intonation is pretty well set up, it plays in tune up the neck.

Seems solid enough. One design flaw is the inability to put StrapLocks or similar on the instrument as noted above. The guitar is probably light enough so that you wouldn't absolutely need StrapLocks, but I put them on all my instruments due to sad experiences of the past.

I've only had it a month, and I haven't gigged with it, so I can't really say how it will hold up.

We'll see if Steinberger/Gibson follow through with the replacement combo headstock (see string problem noted above)

Been playing acoustic and electric guitars for about 35 years. I own a variety of acoustic and electric instruments including a late 70's LP, Tele, Carvin SC-90, Taylor 714, Tak EAN series, a couple of Ovations.

I really like the Synapse. I wish that it had the piezo that its sibling TranScale does. The strap hook thing and the malfunctioning combo headstock are a shame, I would have thought someone would have discovered that these are a problem earlier on.

2005
KOREA
24 FRET
FLAME TOP TRANSPARENT GREEN
3WAY SWITCH EMG 81 AND 85
MAPLE NECK-THRU
HARD TAIL STEINBERGER BRIDGE

THE PICKUPS ARE GOOD AND CLEAR
EMG 81 AND 85 SOUND GREAT

THIS GUITAR WAS PUT TOGETHER IN KOREA BY A BLIND PERSON!!!!!!!!!!
My new Synapse came in last night model ss-2f in transparent
green....first of all I would like to say i was very happy when the
box arrived..and then this is what i observed..1) it came with NON-
Double ball end strings they were regular strings possibly 11 or 12
gauge......2)there was a chip in the figerboard on the first fret by
the high E strings.....3)The ninth fret side dot marker was completly
missing? 4)the two halves of the flame top in between the pickups
where they match together must of had glue run out of the seam at the
factory and when they did the finished it created a weird blured
effect....I put steinberger( 9's) strings on the guitar which fixed
the 2 inch high action problem and stopped the neck from being almost
bent in half...I'm No Sherlock Holmes but i believe this was a used
guitar and not new....However i was still missing my 9th fret side
dot marker(i hate when i loose those lol :P )and the damage to the
finger board....i have owned 5 spirit guitars all of which were made
better than this thing that cost me 900.00 bucks...i am sending this
thing back..i will not be getting another.. i might buy a gr4 from
music yo i hope maybe they are made better...this is the second time
a purchased a guitar from musicians friend and the second time it is
going back due to damage ....if i was rich i would have shipped the
guitar to ned steinbergers house just so he can see the garbage they
are putting his name on in korea....sorry all im just alittle bit
hurt and pissed off...i was looking foward to this being a great
guitar for the money not the other way around .......

THIS GUITAR IS THE WORST GUITAR I HAVE EVER PUT MY HANDS ON...I WOULD NOT TRUST IT WITH OUT ANOTHER GUITAR AS BACK-UP

I CALLED GIBSON AND SPOKE WITH THERE CUSTOMER RELATIONS DEPARTMENT THEY OWN STEINBERGER......TOLD THEM HOW BAD THIS GUITAR IS AND I WAS SENDING IT BACK...

BEEN PALYING 15 YEARS..OWNED AROUND 50+ GUITARS....SAVE YOURSELF SOME MONEY BUY A STEINBERGER SPIRIT AND PUT BETTER PICK UPS IN IT....AND IF YOU DONT LIKE THE SPIRIT LOGO YOU SAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO HAVE IT CUSTOM PAINTED ....GOOD LUCK