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Steinberger Identification


guitarman7

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Hi, I have 2 Steinbergers that I am trying to identify by model name, time period, and value. The serial numbers are on the side of the necks: Black one is N4449 and mahogany(?) one is N9970. I believe these to be from the Newburgh Series. I think they both have the trans trem. Please let me know any information that you have. Thanks!

post-57717-027819400 1371878660_thumb.jpg

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Hi, I have 2 Steinbergers that I am trying to identify by model name, time period, and value. The serial numbers are on the side of the necks: Black one is N4449 and mahogany(?) one is N9970. I believe these to be from the Newburgh Series. I think they both have the trans trem. Please let me know any information that you have. Thanks!

 

 

Hi guitarman7,

 

you've got two Steinberger GP-4T guitars, and yes, both serials point to the Newburgh era. The black one (N4449) seems to be in original condition, as far as I can see on the tiny pic. The other one (N9970) is not. GPs have been built from late 1984 until 1987, the serial N9970 most likely is 1990/1991. This serial is also listed in our serial list as a (modified) grey GM-4T, which *could* have started life as a GR. So your GP is the second or third incarnation of this guitar, which simply means: somebody took the neck from the listed guitar and put it onto a modified GP body. GPs never have been made out of mahogany (they had hard maple bodies), and were either black, white, or red. I can't tell from the pic if it's an original body with removed finish or a newly made one. Looks nice, though :)

 

The value also depends on the overall condition of the guitars, hard to tell from the pic. Usually GPs (being the "budget series" of that time) don't reach the prices of their GM counterparts. On ebay they might sell for about $1,200 - $1,500 (if you're lucky), especially if TT and neck are in good condition. I've seen beat-up GPs go for much less, though…

 

I hope that helps :)

 

Update: meanwhile I've seen the other pics in your introduction posting. These seem to confirm what I've said above: the mahogany GP is a "Partsberger", also having an EMG 89 in the bridge position, which is a great and useful pickup, but not original. There's nothing wrong with Partsbergers, I've built and own a couple of them myself. These guitars, however, are hard to appraise. Being tailored to your needs, they might be of great value for the player, sometimes even better than any original configuration. But the "market" doesn't honor that. Money is paid for original, unmodified Steinies, and big money is paid if these are in great condition. The TransTrem on this GP looks pretty new, so maybe it was newly bought during the Music Yo days, when these have been available for a limited time. If these were my guitars and I'd have to think about selling them, I'd sell the original one for a reasonable price and keep the other one, which is probably a great "player". Preserving GPs is also something honorable, because these are the guitars most often disassembled and sold/used for parts :)

 

Bernd

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Thanks so much! I was very confused when the serial number didn't match the description on the Partsberger. It's a shame that they aren't worth more due to their age. GREAT information and thanks again! I had trouble uploading my photos to this forum, even with reducing the file size. That's why more pics were on the other forum.

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Thanks so much! I was very confused when the serial number didn't match the description on the Partsberger. It's a shame that they aren't worth more due to their age. GREAT information and thanks again!

 

 

You're welcome. Don't worry about the value. Usually Partsbergers get more playing time than those all original collectibles. And that's what guitars are made for, aren't they? And if money is really important: this guitar's value won't fall below the price of the parts alone, so it will keep its current value. Money "parked" on a bank account will not. I'd play it and have fun with it. Invaluable :)

 

Bernd

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You're welcome. Don't worry about the value. Usually Partsbergers get more playing time than those all original collectibles. And that's what guitars are made for, aren't they? And if money is really important: this guitar's value won't fall below the price of the parts alone, so it will keep its current value. Money "parked" on a bank account will not. I'd play it and have fun with it. Invaluable :)

 

Bernd

 

On the black guitar there is a rubber strip in front of the bridge. I can get my finger nail under the edge of it, and it feels sticky. It is visible in the photos. There are 2 holes, like something could have been attached. Do you know if there could have been something added and removed? Or do you think it is covering a flaw? Thanks so much!

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On the black guitar there is a rubber strip in front of the bridge. I can get my finger nail under the edge of it, and it feels sticky. It is visible in the photos. There are 2 holes, like something could have been attached. Do you know if there could have been something added and removed? Or do you think it is covering a flaw? Thanks so much!

 

Well, this looks like a Roland GK pickup could has been mounted and removed again. The rubber has just been sitting below this pickup, so it doesn't cover anything. You can remove it, it _is_ the flaw. As Steinbergers always have been considered "high tech", they often were used in conjunction with this pickup and guitars synths.

 

Bernd

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