Steinberger Guitars GT-Pro Deluxe BK

I ordered a Steinberger Spirit guitar with a Mooer S1 pedal and various accessories. I thought there was something wrong with the guitar electronics because of low volume from treble E-string, and because of mains humm from high-gain overdrive with volume knob in middle position.

Thomann politely helped me, sent me some new strings that solved the E-string issue, and compensated me some cables and a guitar stand, that were not quite up to the job. The humm eventually turned out to be an issue with the S1, not the guitar.

If you buy something as complicated at this rig, I recommend that you consider buying it from Thomann, because Thomann has the organisation, the processes, and the service-mind to support musicians.

As for the guitar itself, I am happy with it, but I can point out one weakness. The tuning screws are made of mild steel, which easily bends. If one day one does, I am confident Thomann will do what they can to get me a replacement tuning screw.

Wow, what a great instrument, almost like a "concept" guitar! Two hum-bucking pickups sound fantastic. There is one single coil pickup which is only alright and the five-way switch (middle position is the single-coil only, which is a bit unexpected) and two controls (one is master volume and one is master tone, perhaps two for each would have been nicer, but given the small size of the guitar, I can understand why they didn't provide the two other ones). This bridge and the tremolo system are very unusual, yet very very good and useful (you can fix the brind and release it in order to use the tremolo, as you wish, with very little effect on the guitar's tuning, if any you can also retune your strings all at once using the bridge lift screw). It's probably one of the best and most stable tremolo systems out there on the market once you get used to it, in fact. Tuning the strings individually can sometimes be a bit more difficult, due to the orientation of the tuners and their size, they are a bit hard to turn. They guitar is well-built, very nicely balanced in terms of weight and doesn't feel too small. It's fantastic for traveling, playing around and even for beginners and well worth the price!

I bought this 10 years ago to use on stage only. I was in an electronic duo with a retro-futuristic image so it seemed ideal.

It actually sounded better than expected and I used it in recordings as well as live.

To this day I use it a lot even though I have lots of other guitars, mostly because it’s so handy.

The size and shape mean it will stand anywhere leaning without needing a guitar stand so I can keep it by my work desk and grab it any time inspiration strikes.

Double ball end strings aren’t cheap but very quick and easy to change. The trem can be locked if you don’t need it, and it stays in tune for weeks when locked. When not locked it’s still pretty good at staying in tune tho.

There are two strap buttons on the back making it easy for left handed players to use as well as giving it balance when leaning on a wall.

Easy to set up and get a very low action.

My only complaint is the trem system can cause the strings to lift off the saddles when dive-bombing. Pickups aren’t the best but ok for high gain sounds.

Being so small, but still full scale, makes it great for practicing or travelling, and I have used mine for recording in a hotel room.

Won’t get a Les Paul or strat tone out of it but a great guitar for anyone creative

I bought this because I needed a small, lightweight backup guitar for gigs. Unfortunately, it's not really suitable for gigging, but as a travel guitar or something to keep next to the sofa to noodle around on, it's a great buy.

The guitar arrived in good condition and was set up well (the action was a tad high for my liking but it was easy to adjust). The intonation was good and there were no sharp fret edges. The neck width is very small at the nut so, if you have large hands, chords may feel a little cramped down there. Personally, I don't have an issue with this and find the neck quite comfortable to play.

Despite not having the carbon fibre neck of the original Steinbergers, the guitar holds its tune very well, however, when you do need to make tuning adjustments, the compromises that needed to be made to get the guitar into the 250-300 price bracket become clear. The tuners are really bad! They are difficult to turn (especially with the tension on the low E string) and the gearing seems a little imprecise, making it easy to over/under shoot the pitch you're going for. To make headless guitars work, you really need good quality materials for the bridge/tuners, which this guitar does not have. Having said that, the tuners are functional and are adequate for situations where there aren't fluctuations in temperature and you don't need to tune-up in a hurry!

Materials aside, the design of the trem system is fantastic: it's easy to adjust and the ability to lock the trem, turning it into a hard-tail, is a great feature. It does not have the ability to drop-tune like the original, but it is a great system and you can divebomb to your heart's content without affecting the tuning too much.

The pickups are ok and the switches and knobs feel good, with no hums, pops or crackles. There is a very noticeable volume change when switching between pickups, which can be mitigated by changing the pickup height, but it would have been good to have a better balanced set installed.

The position of the volume knob is very close to the strings and for my playing style, it really gets in the way and is a bit annoying to keep hitting off it. For other players, this won't be an issue but it might be something to consider.

All in all, it's a solid little inexpensive guitar, it's just let down by the fact it can't easily be tuned. I played it at a couple of gigs, and it was quite stress-inducing when the tuning started to wander. I have decided to keep it around as a convenient practice instrument and will gladly chuck it in a suitcase next time I go on holiday.