Steinberger questions..

[jgcable]

I've owned a few Musicyo Steinbergers and I though they were really nice. Now... onto the questions:

#1. Is there a difference between the USA made Musicyo (Nashville made) Steinbergers and the old school ones? If so.. whats the difference?
#2. Transtrem models are the ones I really want but it looks like they are out of my price range. With that said... whats the difference between the R trem and the S trem?
#3. Musicyo says the new Nashville made Steinbergers have a 1pc M/S Blend graphite neck. What does that mean and how does it differ from the Steinbergers of the late 80's early 90's?
Which models do you players prefer? Old school? New ones?

[hippietim]

I've owned old and newer ones. The old ones are most definitely better. The R-trem is generally considered the bastard child in the family but I've never owned one - I've had the S-trem and Transtrem. The S trem is great. I had a gold top one with the S-trem and Duncans - it was an amazing guitar. Wish I'd have kept that one. The most recent one I had was a Gibson era (pre-MusicYo) with EMGs and a Transtrem. It sucked donkey balls. It sounded pitiful. The Transtrem is good in theory but in practice it falls short because the trem is rendered useless when you lock it in a different tuning position. That little notch thing to "lock" the bar is a piece of crap.

A local guy here has 3 of the Newburg era Steinbergers and they are excellent playing and sounding. He knows his shit about the Steinbergers and told me about a lot of the issues with the post Gibson/MusicYo instruments - apparently they don't make the necks the same anymore and the bridges are being made out of different metals and such. Sam (LesPaulCustom) brought his older Steinberger over here a couple months back and it too was very good - I think he got it from Pete (Twisteramps).

[Shawn]

John, I recently had an 89 GM4TA Elite (top o' the line) with the Trans trem. Although it was kinda cool, it was nowhere near as playable as the other guitars I own. The coolest thing about it was how much money it made on the way out the door.....

Just sounded so damn sterile and played so stiff, just seemed like a niche guitar, but I didnt find the niche.

I sold it to a guy that owns like 10 older Steinbergers, and he was happy as a pig in shit. FYI, the older ones are pulling down 3k without even trying.

Honestly, I was thrilled to see it go.

YMMV.


Shawn

[hammer84]

I have owned a Newburg and a pre music yo Nashville. I sold the Newburg one becuse the transtrem was a royal pain. I would get it set up and working and when I chaned strings if I couldn't get the exact set to replace it was another pain in the ass to set up again. Plus as soon as hte bushings start to wear the thing would not return to oitch correctly.

I still have the Nashville one ( pre yo ) with the s-trem. It plays and sounds great. It has a little more sterile sound than an all wood guitar but it is good sound not cold and lifeless. It will also fit in the overhead of a plane so I can take it with me when I fly !!

[MikeE]

I've owned a few Musicyo Steinbergers and I though they were really nice. Now... onto the questions:

#1. Is there a difference between the USA made Musicyo (Nashville made) Steinbergers and the old school ones? If so.. whats the difference?

The biggest difference is probably the neck. Music Yo gets their necks from Moses Graphite. The pre-Yo guitars had in house necks. The Moses necks have a different composite mixture, which is said to sound a little more wood like. The Yo necks have a thinner profile (Pre Yo was based on a 59 Paul), a truss rod and satin finish. Pre Yo necks are much stiffer and do not have a truss rod. They also have a glossy gel coat on them.

Most pre Yo GM/GP models had all maple bodies. The boat oar GL's (which have doubled in value over the last year) are all 1PC composite neck/body. There are also pre Yo GM's that have alder bodies with figured maple tops.

Trems (R, S + T) for old and new are pretty much exactly the same and even made by the same company with the same tooling. There are 2 trans trem types, 1 + 2, and then hybrids that are type 1's converted to 2's.

#2. Transtrem models are the ones I really want but it looks like they are out of my price range. With that said... whats the difference between the R trem and the S trem?

The R-Trem is knife edge like a Floyd so it feels more like a floyd and can dive bomb down to spaghetti strings. S + T-Trems are roller bearing trems and are more limited with the tricks but were there for the proper operation of the transposing feature of the T-Trem. The S-Trem was released later as a lower cost T-Trem and is basically the same trem minus the transposing feature.

#3. Musicyo says the new Nashville made Steinbergers have a 1pc M/S Blend graphite neck. What does that mean and how does it differ from the Steinbergers of the late 80's early 90's?

See question 1. Both necks are 1pc. Again they are very different composites/construction.

Which models do you players prefer? Old school? New ones?

Sadly I have only owned the USA YoBergers. I returned both due to quality issues with the Moses neck. Seems like a hit or miss as I have read good and bad about Moses neck quality. Yo is very good with returns though.

I really bought the guitar for the T-Trem but I didn't own them long enough to get past the honeymoon so I can't say if they are worth the extra dough. That said I'm hoping to get another in the future.

I did have a lot of fun with it and the ability to float in Eb to F is great for playing along with tunes that aren't exactly A440. And of course you can lock in low B, C, D, E, F# and G (Summer Nights anyone?). The double ball system makes string changes super easy and if you break a string you can lock it to keep playing vs. a floating trem where you're f'd.

I would really like to get a pre Yo model but prices have gotten outta wack lately. Be careful though. a GMT just sold on the bay for under 1,000 but it was a GM1T (single hum) converted to a GM5T (1 hum + 1 single). That wasn't mentioned in the auction but I think that is why it went low as most Steiny fans can pick this out.

Now that I have carpel tunnel, check this site for tons of great info.

http://www.steinbergerworld.com/

[Black Mariah]

So how about the Spirit series? I want a Steinberger style guitar, but can't afford to spend the money for an older one, or even a new USA model. Not yet, anyway.

[jgcable]

So how about the Spirit series? I want a Steinberger style guitar, but can't afford to spend the money for an older one, or even a new USA model. Not yet, anyway.

I had 2 Steinberger Spirits. I thought they were both fine guitars for the money. Great trem and it has the ability to lock out with a flip of a lever.
I am looking for one too.

[SeventhSon]

Spirit's are great for the money. I picked one up from a bro here. He sanded the paint off the back of the neck which is an improvement.