ZT3 unfortunately a disappointment.

[zt3man]

I bought my ZT3 like someone else posting on this site did, open box on an online auction site. I paid $799 USD, free shipping. The manual states that these guitars are set-up at the factory, but mine like many others posting in this forum was way out of wack. I eventually got it to transpose properly in all 5 positions. Action was way high; lowered it, and it played beautifully. One night after practice w/my band I couldn't remove the bar. The two collars that act as "jam nuts" to adjust the trem "lock/free" position seized together. I had to vice grip them, then unscrew the arm. Now the trem won't stay locked in any position (like something stripped?)

 

I haven't had time to look into it yet. I hope it's not going to have to be replaced. I'm mechanically inclined, and have no problems with making any adjustment or setting-up any of my other guitars, so if it can be fixed, I'll fix it. But here's the response I just got from MusiciansFriend regarding a new bridge(if I should need it): I received a response from Steinberger regarding your request. Unfortunately, this bridge is not available individually from the manufacturer. I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience. The manufacturer suggests using this site for parts and repairs:

 

http://www.peekamoose.com/steinberger

 

And that looks to be a dead end. I might email 'em, but I won't get my hopes up.

 

 

...On the good, this guitar WILL NOT go out of tune. I personally like the pickups, the tone of the guitar, and it's unique appearance. But, a guitar this innovative, (and pricey retail-wise) should have came with a short instructional DVD. The manual was okay, but didn't cover actually USING the tremolo itself. It took me a bit awkward clunking and trying different combinations of moves to finally understand how the different locked positions were achieved.

 

I'd recommend buying from MusiciansFriend if you really want one of these. You'll pay twice what I did, but you'll have some recourse should you get a lemon. It seems something went wrong in the Quality Control process with this guitar. The ideas are great, the guitar deserves(or deserved) better support, especially when you consider the Steinberger name and heritage behind it. What the hell happened? It's kind of sad; I like the ZT3, but I really wanted to love it.