stevehaydenguitars

GL-3 Hardtail #4301
DOB 1986

Reborn 1990

Double-Neck GM-2
DOB 1991

Double-Neck
GL-4T #9259
DOB 1997

GL-2
#2566
DOB 1985

GL-2T
#3007
DOB 1985?

GL-2T
#5174
DOB 1988?

GL-4
#4584
DOB 1986

L-2
#334
DOB 1981?

Red GL-4T
#949
DOB 1997

White GL-3T
#3764
DOB 1985?

White GL-4T
#4567
DOB 1986/87?

White XL-2 Fretless
was #7513 now T#9295 DOB 1989?

Reborn 1996

XL-2
#1933 DOB 1983?

XL-2
#5716
DOB 1987?

XL-2TA
#6002 DOB 1988?

XL-25
#2598 DOB 1985

	There can't be many of these around. This guy started life with a TransTrem, but it began to fail after only three or so years. I wasn't using the trem much so I asked Steinberger to make it a hardtail. They removed the trem, filled in the spaces, made a new top plate, dug up a hard tail bridge(by then extinct) and presto. I've NEVER seen another hardtail GL-3. I think by the time the GL-3 came out, the TransTrem was king and the hardtail had gone the way of the dodo. Too bad!! The hardtail Steinberger sounds GREAT and boy is it stable. Having said all that, this one has a very slight backroll on the bass side at about the 4th fret. I had the board dressed and the neck refretted and it plays beautifully. And that's at 1/32"!!
	Now things get strange. In addition to regular guitar playing, I do some tapping. The Steinberger is IDEAL for that sort of thing. But all that playing on one guitar neck leaves no real possibility for truly independent parts. And you can't use distortion for a melody or solo without destroying the harmony/other part(s). So how about splitting the necks the way you split the parts? One hand on each neck. Two outputs, and two separate amp systems. I wanted a double GL, but Steinberger said NO!!! So I asked them to modify their production double-neck to make two identical six-string guitars with two outs and no trems. The switching is simple. The one between the bridges controls the upper neck. The one near the knobs runs the lower. The third switch is a neck select; one or the other solo, or both on. The necks have zero relief and a 1/32" playing action.
	Now things get stranger. This is the double-neck that I wanted originally. At last Steinberger/ Gibson agreed to build it. Basically it's two GLs joined together with graphite dowels and brass rods. Don't ask how or why. It's magic. You'd never guess that it is not a single molded instrument. They even made a one-piece top. The thing has two SPCs and 1/32" action, trems and a gorgeous sound and feel. The fuzzy thing on the upper neck is my primitive mute. And that's the primitive me playing "IT". At least you can see how it's supposed to work. And it DOES work.
	This one has the early fold out legrest. It is also pre-TransTrem. The pickups are EMG 81s. The neck and frets have been dressed to create a zero relief. This permits a playing action of 1/32". The hardtails have a deepness and acoustic loudness that eclipses the later TransTrem models. I guess the non-trem brass bridge accounts for some of that.
	This one has the converted old-style trem(see GL-3#3764). However, this guitar has that deep "clang" that I associate with the hardtails. Maybe it's the original trem?? All of my guitars have that outrageous 1/32" action. The Steinberger is the ONLY guitar I know that, if properly made, will hold that kind of action indefinitely.
	Nothing fancy, just a straight, late-eighties GL-2T in black. The GL-2s from this period usually have EMG 85s. This one has a very warm "buttery" sound. Even with all the "consistency" of industrial design and materials, these things ALL sound different. Maybe not greatly different, but it is noticable. Strange but true.
	This little devil has the newer style trem, EMG SAs and an 89, and an EMG Strat Presence Control(SPC). The guitars with a combination of single-coils and humbucking pickups have a "resistor" across the output of the humbucker. This was supposed to keep it from overwhelming the singles. I want that full-bore humbucking sound, so I had that part removed on all of my combination guitars. If you're wondering where the gas is when you hit the humbucker, get rid of that gizmo. I think it's located on the little circuit board for the pickup switching. DON'T MESS WITH THIS UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH A SOLDERING IRON. I've been told that you can ruin the board, and they are hard to replace right now. The frets have been dressed to create a zero relief. This permits a playing action of 1/32". This is my main gigging guitar, and I find this configuration to be amazingly versatile. From Wes Montgomery, to any pop tune, to slide to, solo tap playing, this thing can do it all.
	This thing is OLD! Number 334 was made at the Brooklyn factory. It is a lined fretless. The following features differentiate the "L" bass from the later "XL" . I'm sure this list is incomplete and allowance must be made for variants. : The top plate screws in from the front. Detatchable legrest with small springloaded cam. The string ends are visable at and protrude from the headpiece. Old-style pivot plate. Screw-on battery cover that is perpendicular to the neck axis. More rounded body shape at the shoulder/neck. Bolts visable at the top of the tuning housing. In general, the "L" seems more primative than the more refined "XL".
	This was one of the last things out of Nashville before they closed the factory this last time. The guitar had A LOT of problems. The electronics did not work, and the neck had to be planed and refretted. This one also has an EMG 89 and an SPC. The frets have been dressed to create a zero relief. This permits a playing action of 1/32". AND IT'S RED!!!!
	This one has the old-style machined brass TransTrem. I believe this is the original version of Steinberger's tremolo. These are NICE. Very heavy-duty. Solid feeling and sounding. They don't have that "plinky" sound that the later cast ones seem to have. The transposing pin is a different shape And the headpiece has no rubberband. On the early trems the balls at the bridge end of the strings are threaded like a screw. They originally screwed into little threaded wells in the bridge. This system is harder to use then the later jaw-based one and may be less effective as well. This example has been converted to use the jaws. It also has an SPC and 1/32" action.
	This one has an SPC and that low action. But I have left the 85 in the rear position.
	The neck on this thing rolled back one warm day. But Steinberger/Gibson honored the warranty and built a new instrument. In my experience the Steinberger is very stable, but there ARE exceptions, and one must be prepared to examine an instrument closely for a bad neck. This one has the newer style pivot plate and legrest. It sounds great. I don't really see a difference between the pre and post Gibson instruments. If the maker is careful, they turn out fine. However, in my experience, the QC towards the end in Nashville was Bad!!!
	The US Navy used to own this thing. Our boys used it pretty hard, but it cleaned up real well. It's missing the legrest, and the battery cover needs work. Otherwise it is a fine early XL-2.
	This is a real standard example of the XL. Compare to the L-2#334 to see the differences between L and XL.
	This one has the Bass TransTrem and active EQ. That is from front to back; volume, mix and EQ. The mix and EQ knobs each have center detents. This is the older HAZ Labs circuit. The newer one has a concentric EQ knob. Interestingly, HAZ actually fabricated the bass trem (Bass Transposer) at their factory in NJ. I have been told that there are only a few hundred of these beasts out there. They work really well!!
	An early XL-25. And another Navy job. It kind of has elements of the L series; the bolts on top of the tuning housing. And the early fold-out legrest of the XL.