Steinberger Spirit GT PRO Deluxe, Black with Bag

The one I received (9/4/14) is marked made in Korea. The action was set very high, I was initally concerned id gotten a lemon but the Steinberger hardware is easy to adjust and ultimately was able to get it setup (about 20 minutes). Dont let setting up the action scare you, its very simple to do, not much more difficult than learning to tune the guitar. Happy with the tone and % 85 of the build quality. The body/neck look good, the price point is surprising. The tune nuts at the back of the bridge was about 90% black finish the rest being bare metal, doesnt detract from the look but in hand it gives the hardware a worn look. Pickups, marked steinberger, sound adequate, not impressive but sound good enough for a learners or first guitar. Pros: Beautiful guitar, good hardware, more than you'd expect for the price Cons: Pickups give away the price, minor finish issue on unseen metal hardware.

This will sound mostly negative, but the instrument is actually really great. Hence the 4 stars. I just think there are some aspects about the instrument that aren't in the product description, or that are only talked about by separate reviewers. Overall, it’s a great instrument, perfect for traveling. The lap bar is great, though I would recommend using a right-angle cable since it’s so close to the input jack. The bridge is really well engineered, though I haven’t tested the tremolo function very much. My main gripe is the body shape doesn’t provide the best access to the 24th fret (which should have an inlay). Playing standing isnt that great because it wants to rotate forward. One thing that should be made clear in the product description is that the nut (behind the zero fret) is designed to only take double ball-end strings, which are expensive and not made by very many companies. There are 3rd party adapters to allow you to use single ball-end strings, but it would be nice if something like that was included, or if the design simply allowed single ball-ends. Also, be sure to read the manual before trying to adjust the string height or intonation - those parts of the bridge are actually locked and you need to use a small Allen wrench to unlock them. Main advantages: 24 frets (the only other 24 fret travel guitar I know of doesn’t even have a volume knob). The bridge can either be a tremolo or fixed bridge. Lots of beautiful finish options. Comfortable to play sitting down in classical position, and perfectly fine on the right hip if you’re using a right angle cable. Highly compact for travel, including on airplanes. Truss rod is easily accessible (uncovered at the end of the neck). For shortcomings based on my personal taste: the neck is a little thick, I’d like it if the profile was a little thinner. The volume knob is very much in the way of my picking hand, similar to a strat if not worse. I personally plan to get rid of the tone knob and move the volume knob to its spot. I also lowered the middle pickup as it was in the way of my picking hand.

It's a real guitar! Not simply a travel instrument. Just update pick ups, set it up and voila:) it's quite heavy for the size and it resonates very well (it's not as loud as standard size guitars unplugged, but still...u can feel the wood resonance) it also has a very good sustain. BTW, I have seymour Jazz neck and JB bridge.... On clean it has very punchy, distinct sound, when played through fender reverb! With high gain and good saturation (like driving with tube screamer) ...it gets very tight, no mud, no mushiness and sustain is just surprisingly great... At first, the neck seemed too thick, but after a while it gets pretty comfortable...in fact I prefer it over my strat.

Made in China, no quality control, the guitar was covered in dirt and several scratches,a big Crack on the left side of the neck where it meets the body of the guitar,tuners sticking and binding.This actually comes from Gibson,they purchased Steinberger years ago,I called Gibson and the customer service representative was flippant and could care less. Like many other companies, Gibson has bought up many smaller companies and is focused on money only,not making quality products. Another customer lost.

I don’t know how something like this happens but they managed to make all the frets different heights and thickness. The hardware and electronics seem better than Strandberg and Ibanez but I have yet to find a quality built headless guitar.

Decent guitar. Well made for the price. You will need to adjust it and let it acclimate for a few days to get it set up and playing well.

I bought this as a travel guitar and I always wondered how these would play since they came out it the '80s. I know this isn't the kind Eddie Van Halen blew our minds with but still I kinda wanted to try one. I read a lot of mixed reviews and came to the conclusion that when getting a guitar from the other side of the world at a cheap price, you might get a lemon occasionally. At very least you are gonna have to do a complete setup on it. Mine arrived packaged very well. Beautiful guitar. Frets are finished very nicely. Works great. The Volume and Tone knobs were not all the way down but they are push on, so easily fixed. I did a complete setup on it. Relief, Action, Intonation, Tremolo. And I really like this little thing. Pickups are very decent. I'll probably upgrade eventually, but I'm able to pretty much get the tones I want with adjustments on the eq of my pedalboard. I'm definitely gonna do an upgrade on the tuners. These are a challenge to operate. I found an upgrade that I'm gonna do for about $40 that has great reviews. Looks like an easy adaptation and makes a lot of sense. I did change the strap knob from behind the neck at the body to a better location so it hangs better. I gave the tremolo a rough workout and it stays in tune very nicely in dive only. I rarely use full float anyway. I haven't tried it in fully floating yet. So far I'm very satisfied. The volume knob gets in my way so I'm adjusting my picking to accommodate. I will probably get rid of the Volume and Tone pots and install a double pot double knob at the Tone knob position for both. But for the price, I'm stoked! Great bang for the buck.

I have been playing for 40 years and currently play with two cover bands. My gear is all high end, Fenders, PRS, Gibsons etc.I bought this to practice with in my office and to travel with. It is ok for that. Here is what you need to know. Out of the box, it needs a set up. The action is too high and the neck on mine needed and adjustment (truss rod) My tech took care of that. This is a made in China guitar. The neck while ok, is not that comfortable to play. This guitar is also difficult to tune. The tuning knobs are difficult to turn and do not rotate smoothly. My tech told me there is nothing that can be done about that. Also, the tuning knobs are so close together that it is hard to turn one knob without disturbing the one next to it. As far as tone goes, the stock pick ups are weak and flat in tone. They are good enough for headphones and practice, but not good enough for a gig. Because I love good tone, I had the pick ups replaced with three dimarzios and a coil splitting volume control Now it wails. I have gigged with it and it does get lots of attention due to it's unusual looks and lack of headstock. This guitar is also quite heavy. With all I have put into it, it is still not my favorite guitar to play. The neck is not so comfortable, and it is hard to tune. If you are buying this, understand that it needs a set up out of the box, and the the pick ups are very anemic. For just practice with headphones it would be ok. My last complaint is about the gig bag. It is thin, cheap, and not padded enough. I replaced my with an after market product.