Existing comment:
XL25 5-String
1980s
Steinberger Sound
In 1979, Ned Steinberger introduced the first commercial "headless" electric basses and guitars. He based his minimalist one-piece design on the idea that the larger wooden bodies of traditionally styled electric instruments absorb and deaden too much vibration from the strings, so the most compact body possible would provide the best electric performance. He removed the headstock from the top of the neck to improve balance and relocated the tuners to the bottom of the body. Steinberger's futuristic L Series was popular with rock musicians in the 1980s, including Sting, Eddie Van Halen, and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits. Tina Weymouth bought two of Steinberger's five-string bases in 1987 or 1988 and used them extensively with the Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club through the late 1990s. |