andretoscano

Hi again. Yes, the Steinberger FB group will be your first stop for any questions you have. There's some really knowledgeable and friendly people there, and you'll learn a lot about the brand (and headless guitars in general) if you want to. I was in your shoes about seven months ago when I got my Transcale. Also had the option of choosing the regular scale Synapse, as it was available at the time. Ended up getting the Transcale because I wanted something different. The longer scale allows me to use 0.011 - 0.052 strings like they were .010 - 0.046, because as the gauge gets bigger and the scale gets longer, the string tension remains more or less constant. So you have the benefits of beefier strings without the extra "finger work". Also, I don't use the piezo much, but on occasion, a mere 20% piezo mixed in with the magnetic pickups is just what's needed to give your sound a different personality. So I guess it's nice that it's there readily available, even if I don't use it. And I've been finding out that, even using single ball strings (which is what I'm using now), the tuning stability doesn't suffer much (or at all). So if I had the same choice again, I'd go for the Transcale again. Especially having other regular scale guitars at home. And believe me, single ball strings will work just fine too, and you'll have more choice and better pricing. That's just my opinion. Cheers! André

Hi. Regarding the double ball strings for the Transcale, yes, they're almost impossible to find at this moment. I've contacted a factory in Germany called Pyramid Strings and ask them to produce them. After a few tries back and forth, they've finally managed to do the same size/length (apparently it's not such an easy thing to produce...), and their prices are even cheaper than most commercially double ball strings (D'Addario, GHS, etc.). My advise is to download Pyramid's catalogue from their website ( http://pyramid-saiten.de/de/direct/ ), choose your preferred gauge and reference, and then contact them directly and ask them to produce them for you. I was in touch with a guy called Max Junger. You can reach at the email Pyramid@Junger.de Mention that you got his contact from André Toscano, the "Portuguese guy with the Transcale guitar". He'll probably remember me. Also, maybe you'd like to download and send them a couple of PDF files: A file detailing the current Steinberger line-up A file with the length specifications for the Transcale strings --- As for the difficulty in finding Steinbergers in the market, welcome to the club! Gibson doesn't seem very interested in producing many Steinbergers for some unknown reason. It's one of those "sattelite brands" that they purchase every now and then because they can, and then either keep releasing products just every once in a while, or they just bury them completely. A rep from Gibson support told me they're only scheduled to be produced twice every year. When they show up in the market, they quickly vanish. The end of December batch, for example, was depleted in about a week. So if you think you can still get your hands on a new Synapse, go for it and don't be picky about the color! You can easily sell it at the very active Steinberger Facebook group (I'm a member. If you have Facebook, join us) The Synapses are good guitars. And they have that mixture of wood with the carbon/graphite U channel in their necks, which is one of the reasons that draws players. They are very stable guitars, very rigid and fast necks, and don't detune easily. (except for the low cost Spirit line, which has the Synapse look, but a regular wood neck). Ned Steinberger has sold the brand to Gibson for a number of years now. But word on the street is that a new guitar from his new company ( Ned Steinberger ) will show up this year, so fingers crossed. It's an amazing guitar brand, their products are great, the earlier guitars from the 80's and 90's (the GL, GR and GM series guitars) are sold today for prices that in most cases are double that of a new Les Paul. Just check eBay if you're curious. I have an older GR4 Steinberger and it's amazing. It has a completely graphite-fiber neck (no wood at all) and it's amazingly rigid and ergonomic (it doesn't even need a truss rod, as graphite is stiffer than metal). Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. See you on the FB group. Cheers! André

Hi! Lovely guitar the ZT3. Your son is a lucky guy! But I think you're confusing the TransTrem with the Transcale guitar. You can still get calibrated TransTrem strings around at retail. No need for special manufacture orders like this. If you're in Europe like me, you can find them here: http://www.thomann.de/pt/steinberger_guitars_sst107_trantrem_calibrated.htm Or else if you're in the US, they're stocking them at Sweetwater at the moment: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SST106 This post is about double ball strings *specifically* for the Transcale guitar, which has a longer scale than most guitars (which is why it's damn difficult to find strings at the moment). Cheers! André

Hi. Like so many users around here, I was a bit disappointed to not be able to find double ball strings for the Synapse Transcale model. Sure, this guitar can use regular strings, but that's not the point. Using double ball strings is the way to take advantage of the better tuning and stability that the Synapse Transcale offers. So I've contacted a few string manufacturers, and a couple of them (both European; one in the UK, the other in Germany) replied back and are now sending me some sample sets for testing. I should have the following gauges arriving in about a week (the names are simply for differentiating them, don't give the names much credit): - Transcale Standard Light: 6th (0.046), 5th (0.036), 4th (0.026), 3rd (0.017), 2nd (0.013), 1st (0.010) - Transcale Standard, with wound 3rd string: 6th (0.048), 5th (0.038), 4th (0.028), wound 3rd (0.017), 2nd (0.013), 1st (0.010) - Transcale Baritone, with wound 3rd string: 6th (0.068), 5th (0.052), 4th (0.038), wound 3rd (0.026), 2nd (0.016), 1st (0.012) As soon as I get them, I will make a small video review of them, just to see if they fit properly, how well they handle tunning, etc. For now, if you are a user of a Transcale model and if you are indeed interested in getting some of these sets of strings, please answer the poll I've created with this topic. Regarding pricing, well, it depends on how large your order is, but as these are small factories making small production runs specifically for this instrument, I guess we should expect to pay a bit more than what the usual market price was. But if a good number of us reply to this poll and show some interest, maybe it can help bring prices down a bit. And we'll all be happy! Cheers! André Toscano