Rabs Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 https://guitar.com/news/gear-news/exclusive-gibson-ned-steinberger-collaborating-new-guitar-design-headless/ Guitars designed by luthier Ned Steinberger are some of the most eye-catching and polarising electric guitar and bass designs ever. The headless, minimalist designs saw the stage with everyone from Van Halen and Allan Holdsworth to Mark Knopfler and David Bowie in the brand’s 80s heyday. Now however, for the first time in decades, Guitar.com can exclusively reveal that the Steinberger brand will debut a brand new model designed by Ned Steinberger, in collaboration with the company’s current owners, Gibson Brands. While details are still under wraps for now, the new guitar will retain the headless design of the originals and boast a plethora of new, as yet unrevealed, innovations that build upon the iconic classic instruments Ned Steinberger designed over 40 years ago. “The new guitar is an evolution of the Steinberger bass and guitar, and the result of an ongoing process of development that drives my work as a musical instrument designer,” Steinberger tells us. “I designed the first headless instrument back in the mid 70s when I was young and inexperienced. I have devoted my entire career since then to designing musical instruments, so as you can imagine, I’ve learned a few things along the way. The new Steinberger guitar and bass will incorporate features that I have come to better understand over the years.” The original Steinberger models debuted back in 1978 – in fact the first one was a bass guitar and was sold to Tony Levin who still plays it to this day. Steinberger made the guitars himself until 1987 when he sold the company to Gibson – he stayed on for several years with Gibson but would ultimately embark on his own, starting a new company called NS Design in 1990. He’s continued building instruments under this banner – mostly bowed instruments like violins and cellos – for the past three decades. Gibson continued to make Steinberger guitars until 1998, when production was halted, but the brand later returned, albeit with new designs that deviated from Ned’s originals in an attempt to make them easier to produce. The original Steinberger designs remain some of the most cutting edge and innovative electric guitars of the last four decades, and were the first mass-produced headless instruments. They also utilised many unique innovations, including the TransTrem bridge, double ball-end strings, and construction from a unique mix of glass fiber and carbon fiber that’s referred to as ‘The Steinberger Blend’ The prospect of Steinberger teaming up with the reinvigorated Gibson company to produce new instruments that make use of these innovations, plus everything that Ned has learned in the ensuing decades since he left the brand, is an intriguing one for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 Mmm. I think Marin did that for a short time. It might go over well. Who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 Electro String built a headless violin in the 30s. So its quite an old concept. I'm not even sure that was the 1st. It a design that makes sense. We are just used to headstocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 oh be still my heart... ahh never mind I'll pass. AGAIN... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted June 16, 2022 Author Share Posted June 16, 2022 Well I think actually Gibson doing some stuff like this and not going completely Robot Tuner crazy with their core line up is probably a good thing. And hopefully we can avoid this from happening again 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxson50 Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 4 hours ago, Rabs said: Well I think actually Gibson doing some stuff like this and not going completely Robot Tuner crazy with their core line up is probably a good thing. And hopefully we can avoid this from happening again 😄 I've seen some heavy picks but this is ridiculous. :-0 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 Dig it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grog Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 In 1987, Ned designed the 20/20 bass for Gibson. They didn’t go over well. Very few were made & sold. They are quite comfortable to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 26 minutes ago, ghost_of_fl said: I hate that video of the guitars being destroyed. That was a mistake allowing that to reach the public. It put a little ding in their brand IMO. They were playable right? Should have given them away to public schools or something. Their story was that something in the guitar, maybe the battery, was faulty and they had to be destroyed as they would be a hazard. No just a tax write off. $500,000. I think it was supposed to read $5,000. I saw one in a GC. They looked worse up close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 1 minute ago, ghost_of_fl said: Ah ok that makes a little more sense. Shame they couldn't just remove the explodey part. Its easier to run over them with an excavator. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearbasher Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 Since the thread is already, slightly, derailed. On a whim, I bought a Les Paul Studio Lite (not a great guitar) from a local Mom and Pop store. It had a Steinberger tremolo that was broken. I tried getting the part I needed to repair it from Gibson. They asked me to send them the tremolo, so they can look at it. Well, they lost it. But, they sent me a brand new one. Free of charge. Which was very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 16 hours ago, slimt said: Mmm. I think Marin did that for a short time. It might go over well. Who knows. Who is Marin? It is a city right by Sausalito that is across the bay on the other side of SF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted June 17, 2022 Author Share Posted June 17, 2022 (edited) This one is even worse Edited June 17, 2022 by Rabs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 41 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Who is Marin? It is a city right by Sausalito that is across the bay on the other side of SF. Ya Missed a letter. Martin. 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefang Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 Yeah, headless guitars not really a new idea. And if those above photos are supposedly the "new design" it doesn't look any "newer" to me. I usually considered them a sort of novelty really. But then, I never tried playing one. And I used to joke a bit about, "where's the player gonna place his cigarette now that the space between the strings and headboard surface is gone? " Whitefang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 11 hours ago, jaxson50 said: I've seen some heavy picks but this is ridiculous. :-0 Read up on what decisions led to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 hmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 Good for small venues. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 If I played for a band called the Wyld Stallyns I’d get one ASAP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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