Thanks for the review and intelligent language. Having lived through the eighties I should point out that plenty of bassists thought they looked crap and still do. The way it hangs is also an issue to say nothing of the lack of right hand support. NS no longer makes a bass with no body and that speaks for itself.
I picked one of these up the other day. Honestly, yea, you landed smack bang on every point I noticed about it. Awesome sound. Tuners are stiff. Thank god I don't have to tune them often. I think an Alan key hole in the top of the knob would help for ease of tuning between different keys. For correcting tuning though, they're totally fine. The bass balanced too far back, so the low notes are a stretch to hit. I noticed my arm was way out and getting a bit tired. I've been looking at the idea of shifting one strap knobs to centralise the point of balance a bit more.
I like that review ~ really cool, honest and funny. I do own a mint L2 but never play it in case I scratch it. But I also own a Hohner equivalent headless which actually plays superbly. But yes, once a year I take the L2 out of its original case. Anyhoo, love that review you did.
I have the XT25 5 string version and just ordered an XT-2 today. I made a custom straphook extender that doesn't need to be screwed into the body. It just hooks onto the front strap attachment and extends the strap out to the 12th fret. You can see the prototype in this video but I made a second one after that. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-icYSLevhk8E.html I also ordered La Bella strings for it because they just sound awesome on this bass. They were the original strings developed by Ned Steinberger and the CEO of Mari, the company that owns La Bella and they are still made in New York state. They are pricey but worth it.
Great video (Subed). I'm a drummer but always wanted to play guitar. I love the bass part in Uriah Heep's "Sweet Loraine", Humble Pie's "30 Days in the Hole" and every song on the original Boston release. So I bought a Steinberger XT-2 4-string and started having fun. I Love mine and highly recommend them to anyone who asks. ^v^
Great video! I just got one of these and noticed the same issue with playing at the top of the neck. I'm wondering if it's my bad shoulder, or I also have a theory that it's the strap placement. So far I love it but need something that isn't going to cause pain in my left shoulder.
You're right about the weight of the original L series. My local music shop had one in used about sixteen months ago, along with the original case. I went along to actually sees and play it and was amazed how heavy it was! It did feel bombproof though.
All you really have to do is wear it lower my friend, that really makes a difference in neck reach! Even in the 80s with the L2 series a lot of players wore them very low, basses like this arent meant to be higher than belt level
I have two six strings and love them. I’m really interested in the bass.honestly I would love a short scale version of the bass I know it sounds a little ironic.
Loved your review oon the Spirit. I actually get mine today,. can't wait. I'm probably going to try to do a review but my getting this bass has an entire different reason. You should make more video's your very good at it.
Dang, great review!! Thanks for providing the background on its origin, I have one on my radar right now and it also features an adaptor for regular strings. I freaked out a bit because of its relatively cheap price having doubts about quality, level, etc. You've proven me wrong. Guess I've to make my move before someone gets it ahead of me. Thanks!
The spirit and synapse are both wood-bodied, correct? What made the original so unique was the carbon fiber body. there's def a reason these are maybe $700 when the old ones are thousands of dollars. but the form factor is cool
You can also take things up a notch and look into the Steinberger Synapse series which I totally love! I picked up the 5 string bass Synapse version and it's awesome. True the XT & Synapse don't give you the same tone as the originals because of the materials used. But they are great basses none the less. I am going to pick up a L2 for my collection but honestly I am happy with both my XT & Synapse basses. Plus I have seen some very interesting mod's done on the XT by upgrading the pup's and pre to EMG's.
