How do the contemporary Steinbergers compare to the originals?
First there are no one piece molded instruments in production. There are composite neck bolt on models which are assembled in Nashville. There are also a few new hybrid construction models. These new hybrids were designed by Ned and are equally as clever as the original designs. Ned Steinberger is a wonderfully creative gift to us all. The current bolt on necks are manufactured by Moses Inc. The new neck shapes are generally slimmer than the late 50’s Les Paul-esq profile found on the originals. An adjustable truss-rod is now standard. And it is now a four bold neck instead of five bolts. The (hybrids) Synapse and Trans-Scale models are made in Korea. They are shaped similar to the GL & XL models but made of wood with a synthetic reinforcing bar in the neck. It has an adjustable truss rod, and the synthetic bar has a similar sonic effect in terms of evening out frequency response and resonance. They don’t sound like the older ones. But they do sound more balanced than the all wood Spir
