Steinberger Guitars Spirit XT-2 Standard Bass HY

I had a Honer B2A in the 80’s and have regretted selling for years. In recent years I have bought another Steinberger Spirt and a Status Barracuda so was excited when I saw these for sale.

I ordered one and was keen to play it when it arrived. Initially I was pleased with the setup and playability and loved the retro style.

Comparing this bass with my Status has shown it’s weakness. The sound is nowhere near as good as the Status with lower output, even when played in passive mode, and the tone not as strong.

What I notice now is the action is not as low as I would like and I’m struggling to improve this through tweaking the setup. Also the fret edges are sharp and need stoning to make them smooth on the fretboard edge.

I still play it a lot and still like it but I probably won’t use it live, which I was planning to do.

Ultimately I think £320 would buy a better bass if you’re not fussed about style or portability. There’s lots of choice in this price range. If you want a retro ‘cricket bat’ bass this is probably your only option.

I might add an active circuit to improve the sound.

First : short delivery time, perfect package and instrument state. This one's for you Thomann : 10/10
The Bass : Fab though ... funny instrument. Ugly or ... beautiful ? I played Precisions, Ricken 4001, etc, and yah, it's different and .. tadaaa, very comfortable to play. Well, it's a unique instrument, that for the price has its place amongst your gear, anyway. Light, neck is easy to play (I play with plectrum), great neck size (not as long as read somewhere), no needed work on the neck too, and it stays tuned. Sound is great (question of taste). Just starting now with her but really a big and very nice surprise (and Hot Rod Yellow is cool LOL).