I coveted a Steinberger L2 for 40 years, i.e. since they first hit the market in the early 80's because IMO, they have always been the best sounding bass for rock/new-wave, especially when played with a pick. Back then I could never afford one, but two months ago, I saw an '83 L2 advertised for 6K AUD and I was cashed up, so I thought "it's now or never" and pulled the trigger. Well, it is even better than I could have imagined. The construction is impeccable, the tone is magnificent - very warm, present, punchy and extremely articulate. I hate to say it, but it sounds even better than my beloved Yamaha BB2000 which, until I bought the L2, was the best-sounding bass in my arsenal (which includes other Yamahas - 2x BBs & 2x TRBs - an Ibanez Roadster, a Fender Custom Shop Precision and a Musicman Stingray, plus many other Fenders over the years). Frankly, I cannot imagine a better electric bass tone (and I am a real tone hound). Worth every penny.
Ok well um some people are using the sansamp DI with geddy lees eq and i assumed that was the sound of the bass???? But maybe not. I was looking at an xm2 in fact am looking and i want that particular sound and im not too sure xm2 and l2 have the same sound. Ive tried l2s for years and found am xm2 one day but tone is not as good as the l2s wonder why??? Any idea??❤
If I came into a first-generation Steinberger bass, one thing I would try to do in short order is have the headpiece upgraded to one from the Synapse line. There may be nothing wrong with double-ball end strings, but I’m kind of picky.
The original hL2 headpiece accommodates single ball end strings too. DBE strings didn't exist at the start of production. Replacement headpieces with string clamps and string adapters are available for XL, XQ, XP and XM basses. The Synapse headpieces were a common failure point for those basses and would be the last thing I'd put on any Steinberger, even a Synapse! :) There's an aftermarket headpiece available which has the string clamps integrated instead of the bizarre system on the stock Synapses, which also looks better. :)
I think they just came off with no issues. Some people have put glue on the inside or jammed them down so hard it's a mess but if you go to an auto parts store, or Amazon you can buy plastic interior trim removal tools that will get the leverage you need without damaging the body
I would have thought the same but that has been the myth for decades. EMG pups themselves are never active. They are boosted by a preamp and system is active. But that goes for SD, DiMarzio etc. Bartolini pups also are active, they have a preamp as well. So people can swap the emg pups out with anything they want and the system will still be in use.
Yeah 5k is a bit much for me , I know they have their own sound . I have the Gibson co. Made new one , I like it but I'm looking at some NS Design and Spector Eurobolt options😊
@michaelblaney4461 personally I wouldn't spend 5k on this or really any bass simply because I can find amazing deals on better instruments in poor condition and restore them. This bass was cutting edge in its day and is part of my friend's collection that I bought after he passed away so that's why I keep it. Other than that, I would have sold it long ago.
I used scratch doctor for the body but used a buffing compound for the fret board and some other parts. Be careful because some of that can cut through very fast and damage the paint.
@@amonster8mymother nope, completely stock. You're not wrong to think that as they were both very new to the public back then. Probably why Ned chose them as they were different and cutting edge as he was. They are basically guitar pickups that fit this body.
@theittyreport yea but it's the L2 sound that I love. I've listened to a couple of people play l2s and I've played a few l2s (actually xl2as) and they dont seem to get that there a a sound that you want out of them. They just say "it's a bass it sounds like this" so I started getting suspicious that they might have swapped the pickups to the newer active emg from the spirit basses?? I'm concerned that I want to get a bass with the original pickups to get that authentic l2 tone. I've heard about people swapping pickups before and I dont eant to buy a bass for $2800 and find out later the pickups are cheap crap made by gibson??? Know what I mean???
@amonster8mymother this one was sold directly to my friend Mike Burke who was also an engineer like ned steinberger. It's one of the 1st of the production models ever made. I can't tell you the historical versions of pickup revisions done on the L2 basses but this one is as stock as it gets. Also remember this, emg pups are not active on their own, they are all passive just like dimarzio. It's the preamp that makes them active. It's a huge misconception that people think emg is active. Any pickup would be considered active if the system has a preamp circuit in the guitar. There's a cool video on emg production and they help explain that as well.
I just picked up an L2 S/N 900’s. I would love to do this to mine, but I’m a beginner. Can you provide more detail as to what you did during this restore? Make/model of polishing compound, I see you used different buffing wheels, and was that steel wool on the frets? Did you use the same polishing compound on the hardware as the body and fretboard? Also, how did you get the covers off the pickups? I thought they were sealed? Also, you did no work on the frets themselves?
Sorry I don’t see any restore playlist and the link is just on restore frets. I’m more interested on the buffing details and what you used on the body as well as the hardware
@@theittyreport Thanks, Chris. I watched some of your other restore videos and you do an excellent job. So, the 00 steel wool works good to polish the frets on the composite fingerboard? Just steel wool, without any polish?
I actually don't bother with the steel wool anymore, I discovered using a Dremel with a buffing compound makes the frets like mirrors. Steel wool does a great job however cleaning the frets board gunk and lemon oil to restore. But I finish with the Dremel and compound and it not only shines the frets, it removed the little gashes from the frets as well. Take caution so you don't remove too much, nickel frets are very soft metal
Okay, they do have some gunk accumulation, so I will give them a light-handed work over with steel wool and then finish with my dremel. Should I put some type of cleaning agent down under the steel wool? I saw someone saying wd-40 was what works good on those composite fretboards.
@@ruizstudioproduction5 no interest in selling it at the moment. But the market value of these in this condition is around $5000. Maybe one day I'll get around to playing it
@@zmix For sure but then you can see the round mark of the "anchor" screwed in the back. If those marks are too deep to disappear with a polishing, why not repainting the back?
@@philippeimac the instrument is constructed in a sculptural way, with a gel coat lining a mould then the carbon fiber and epoxy is laid in. Paint is too dissimilar to the actual surface material, you would have to paint the entire instrument and that would eventually flake off. Chis did exactly the right thing here. @chrisschmitt : Is it for sale?
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I coveted a Steinberger L2 for 40 years, i.e. since they first hit the market in the early 80's because IMO, they have always been the best sounding bass for rock/new-wave, especially when played with a pick. Back then I could never afford one, but two months ago, I saw an '83 L2 advertised for 6K AUD and I was cashed up, so I thought "it's now or never" and pulled the trigger.
Well, it is even better than I could have imagined. The construction is impeccable, the tone is magnificent - very warm, present, punchy and extremely articulate. I hate to say it, but it sounds even better than my beloved Yamaha BB2000 which, until I bought the L2, was the best-sounding bass in my arsenal (which includes other Yamahas - 2x BBs & 2x TRBs - an Ibanez Roadster, a Fender Custom Shop Precision and a Musicman Stingray, plus many other Fenders over the years).
Frankly, I cannot imagine a better electric bass tone (and I am a real tone hound). Worth every penny.
Wonderful job!!! Beautiful!
Thank you very much for sharing. Nice job.
Looks great! Needs the flip out leg rest and swivel strap piece for back. I have a 1984 XL2 that I have played since and never bought another bass.
I have those as well
I just got an L2. How can I bring the shine back to life and get out the light scratches without damaging it.
Nice job, looks great!
Ok well um some people are using the sansamp DI with geddy lees eq and i assumed that was the sound of the bass???? But maybe not. I was looking at an xm2 in fact am looking and i want that particular sound and im not too sure xm2 and l2 have the same sound. Ive tried l2s for years and found am xm2 one day but tone is not as good as the l2s wonder why??? Any idea??❤
@amonster8mymother L2 is the original version so it's got a very specific sound
@theittyreport yes I want that sound.
@@theittyreport yea. What about the preamps? Ashly sc40???
@amonster8mymother not sure what an Ashly sc40 is.
Beautiful
If I came into a first-generation Steinberger bass, one thing I would try to do in short order is have the headpiece upgraded to one from the Synapse line. There may be nothing wrong with double-ball end strings, but I’m kind of picky.
If I played this bass as a regular everyday instrument I'd probably do the same but the value would be cut in half if I modded it
Point made, @@theittyreport.
The original hL2 headpiece accommodates single ball end strings too. DBE strings didn't exist at the start of production.
Replacement headpieces with string clamps and string adapters are available for XL, XQ, XP and XM basses.
The Synapse headpieces were a common failure point for those basses and would be the last thing I'd put on any Steinberger, even a Synapse!
:)
There's an aftermarket headpiece available which has the string clamps integrated instead of the bizarre system on the stock Synapses, which also looks better.
:)
I like my Stein Berger
How did you get the knobs off? I took out the screw but they don’t seem to want budge.
I think they just came off with no issues. Some people have put glue on the inside or jammed them down so hard it's a mess but if you go to an auto parts store, or Amazon you can buy plastic interior trim removal tools that will get the leverage you need without damaging the body
@@theittyreport there were two screws holding them on!
Why dont the top ball ends sit in properly?
They do, but the flaw is that the string wind close to the fret makes it impossible to tune. Yes, believe it or not, it's a flawed design
aren’t the pickups supposed to be active ? Didn’t see a 9V battery in there…
I would have thought the same but that has been the myth for decades. EMG pups themselves are never active. They are boosted by a preamp and system is active. But that goes for SD, DiMarzio etc. Bartolini pups also are active, they have a preamp as well. So people can swap the emg pups out with anything they want and the system will still be in use.
I wish they still made those basses😢
You can still get them, for 5k
Yeah 5k is a bit much for me , I know they have their own sound .
I have the Gibson co. Made new one , I like it but I'm looking at some NS Design and Spector Eurobolt options😊
@michaelblaney4461 personally I wouldn't spend 5k on this or really any bass simply because I can find amazing deals on better instruments in poor condition and restore them. This bass was cutting edge in its day and is part of my friend's collection that I bought after he passed away so that's why I keep it. Other than that, I would have sold it long ago.
Yes , agree it's a cool design but not worth that money . Just like 3k for a Les Paul standard these days are insane.
Digging music bed
What did you use to clean, buff and polish the frets with
Here's a video I did in detail how and what I used
ruclips.net/video/bDuOD0hWXNs/видео.htmlsi=VJZpT6NScuIFKdRt
What did you use and how did you shine the body
I used scratch doctor for the body but used a buffing compound for the fret board and some other parts. Be careful because some of that can cut through very fast and damage the paint.
question, what was used on the bridge and tail piece? Powder coat? Paints?
Not sure what you're asking. I polished all the parts with buffing compound but that's it. Everything is stock
@@theittyreport To clarify, the black finish looks better than when you started, what was used on the bridge?
Just buffing compound
Im thinking the emg are replqcements.
@@amonster8mymother nope, completely stock. You're not wrong to think that as they were both very new to the public back then. Probably why Ned chose them as they were different and cutting edge as he was. They are basically guitar pickups that fit this body.
@theittyreport yea but it's the L2 sound that I love. I've listened to a couple of people play l2s and I've played a few l2s (actually xl2as) and they dont seem to get that there a a sound that you want out of them. They just say "it's a bass it sounds like this" so I started getting suspicious that they might have swapped the pickups to the newer active emg from the spirit basses?? I'm concerned that I want to get a bass with the original pickups to get that authentic l2 tone. I've heard about people swapping pickups before and I dont eant to buy a bass for $2800 and find out later the pickups are cheap crap made by gibson??? Know what I mean???
@amonster8mymother this one was sold directly to my friend Mike Burke who was also an engineer like ned steinberger. It's one of the 1st of the production models ever made. I can't tell you the historical versions of pickup revisions done on the L2 basses but this one is as stock as it gets. Also remember this, emg pups are not active on their own, they are all passive just like dimarzio. It's the preamp that makes them active. It's a huge misconception that people think emg is active. Any pickup would be considered active if the system has a preamp circuit in the guitar. There's a cool video on emg production and they help explain that as well.
I just picked up an L2 S/N 900’s. I would love to do this to mine, but I’m a beginner. Can you provide more detail as to what you did during this restore? Make/model of polishing compound, I see you used different buffing wheels, and was that steel wool on the frets? Did you use the same polishing compound on the hardware as the body and fretboard? Also, how did you get the covers off the pickups? I thought they were sealed? Also, you did no work on the frets themselves?
I did an entire series of how to and everything I used. I'll post a link
ruclips.net/video/bDuOD0hWXNs/видео.html
Check out my restore playlist. Tons of great lessons on there
Sorry I don’t see any restore playlist and the link is just on restore frets. I’m more interested on the buffing details and what you used on the body as well as the hardware
Sweet work. I have an early 90's XQ that I need to spruce up. What cleaning agent did you use on the composite neck?
I buffed it with a drill wheel and scratch doctor from mothers
@@theittyreport Thanks, Chris. I watched some of your other restore videos and you do an excellent job. So, the 00 steel wool works good to polish the frets on the composite fingerboard? Just steel wool, without any polish?
I actually don't bother with the steel wool anymore, I discovered using a Dremel with a buffing compound makes the frets like mirrors. Steel wool does a great job however cleaning the frets board gunk and lemon oil to restore. But I finish with the Dremel and compound and it not only shines the frets, it removed the little gashes from the frets as well. Take caution so you don't remove too much, nickel frets are very soft metal
Okay, they do have some gunk accumulation, so I will give them a light-handed work over with steel wool and then finish with my dremel. Should I put some type of cleaning agent down under the steel wool? I saw someone saying wd-40 was what works good on those composite fretboards.
I simply used scratch doctor on all parts of the body and neck
Also, what did you buff the neck with?
ruclips.net/video/bDuOD0hWXNs/видео.htmlsi=985ZdP4cNBI0CJaS
Check out my restore Playlist, it's got step by step instructions
@@theittyreport the restore playlist is in this video or another one?
Dee Murray RIP who worked on and off with Elton John used one of these for many years.
What’s the name of the song used?
It's a track I wrote for a movie I'm planning on writing lol. One day, one day indeed
@chris schmitt Oh nice! I loved that “Berger” pun in the beginning lol
always check your bbq just in case there's a steinberger in it!
Gotta clean the grill first
Nice. Do you still have it?
I do, why do you ask?
@@theittyreport would love to hear you play it. And also how much would you sell it for?
@@ruizstudioproduction5 no interest in selling it at the moment. But the market value of these in this condition is around $5000. Maybe one day I'll get around to playing it
Nice polishing but why not repainting the back?
Not sure what you mean, the paint is perfect on all sides and was polished up the same as the front. Thanks for checking it out!
Steinbergers are not actually painted, they are "gel coated" with an epoxy resin, the color is applied in the mold itself..
Either way, I never painted the bass, just polished it
@@zmix For sure but then you can see the round mark of the "anchor" screwed in the back.
If those marks are too deep to disappear with a polishing, why not repainting the back?
@@philippeimac the instrument is constructed in a sculptural way, with a gel coat lining a mould then the carbon fiber and epoxy is laid in. Paint is too dissimilar to the actual surface material, you would have to paint the entire instrument and that would eventually flake off. Chis did exactly the right thing here. @chrisschmitt : Is it for sale?
I have a nice 1982 L2 for sale 🤔
still available?
Yuo should have played it , and the camera fuzzy out of focus at times
It's a restore video, not a demo video. And as far as the fuzzy video I think it's your eyes that have gone bad