The April installment of 'Ask Ned' is up. This one is a collection of several questions about the TransTrem.
They've got some final assembly points on the new graphties, then we'll be seeing them. We're days (or less) away and will post the details when we get the official word.
Posted by andyyak 4/30/2002 10:29:12 PM
Here's the latest skinny from MusicYo. . .
NEW GRAPHITE NECK / WOOD BODIED MODELS
They're putting the finishing touches on them as we speak and doing some other last minute stuff like copywriting, etc. They are also sending two to Ned for his input. MY stated "we want to make sure that Ned approves." No firm timetable, but I'm guessing maybe next week.
These first ones will not be sold nor advertised as NOS (New Old Stock). Other than the neck bolt pattern & heel plate, these will be pretty much identical to the new line being produced (including the same blend neck and new Spirit-style headpiece). So they will just sell these as new graphites. When these NOS ones are all gone the new ones should be ready to take their place. Other than die-hards like us, I'm sure few will notice or care about the difference.
Work has not begun on the new bass models. Guitars need to get out the door first. There seem to be a few bass bodies in this initial NOS offering but the majority are guitars (some GRs, mostly GM's with both S- and TransTrems).
PARTS
They've levelled off a bit but are still doing well. With the help of some of the membership here they've already tagged additional items for Phase 2 of the parts offering. This won't happen until the new graphites have been out the door for a while.
One piece of bad news -- seems the shipment of bass jaws they were expecting from Zen-On was lost in transit. UPS is trying to track it down but the outlook is not good. MY is unsure how long a re-order will take. If Zen-On has some made maybe only a few weeks. If not, past history has shown it'll be several months.
MOSES SPIRIT-STYLE NECKS
MY talked to Moses Graphite about their aftermarket Spirit version of the neck, but never specifically asked that they stop selling it. Seems this was a pro-active move on Moses' part probably meant as a goodwill business gesture. Moses remarked to them that they'd rather focus their time on the OEM stuff anyways. MY did not inquire about the older original style replacement necks, so those should still be readily available. MusicYo even entertained selling the Moses/Spirit necks themselves, but for now would rather get the new instruments out the door and some other parts up for sale first.
STRINGS
New instruments will be shipped with LaBella strings. They've not heard of any problems with them, and want to stay the course right now on this aspect of production. If there are any calibration concerns for the TT, MY seems to think that they'll show themselves during assembly and setup. They're confident normal OEM vendor procedures should allow for any communication & recalibration should they be off.
One side note - D'Addario has the new specs for calibrated guitar TransTrem strings but they won't be making them until the current inventory runs out. That's at least another month out. I'll keep everyone posted when the new ones are shipping, including coordinating with Just Strings (Big City Strings doesn't sell D'Addario). Calibrated bass TT strings are still being tested, but wouldn't be ready until mid-summer at the earliest anyways (that's when that stock runs low).
L SERIES
There was a meeting with Ned at MusikMesse in Frankfort where some ideas for resurrecting the L's were discussed. Nothing concrete and nothing this year for sure. 2003 maybe, though more likely in 2004. Remember, these new graphites were supposed to be out last year - so I wouldn't be surprised to see a hopeful 2003 timetable slip as well. No surprises here really but at least they're talking about it. I'd reckon sales volume of the new graphites will be a key factor in these plans as well.
SPIRIT XP BASSES
Previous reports were that 4 and 5 string XP Spirit basses were already shipped. This was incorrect. Seems these instruments were not part of an earlier production schedule as my contact previously thought. To date I don't think any have been manufactured. If that's the case they wouldn't hit the site until mid to late summer at the earliest.
HARDTAIL / PIEZO GUITAR BRIDGE
Ned's new hardtail design is complete, and a prototype bridge (no piezos) has been manufactured and shipped to MY. This will be assembled to a guitar shortly. Testing will continue, but this option is not planned until the end of the year (which is consistent with earlier reports). Again they will introduce a hardtail option first, then offer the piezo option some time after that.
ASSEMBLY STAFF
It seems some of the staff MusicYo has hired to assemble guitars were part of the crew that was at Steinberger when they closed up shop. They are officially on the MusicYo payroll (not "borrowed" from Gibson) and are housed in the MY facility. Just an FYI.
When there's more news, as usual you can get it here first!
Posted by andyyak 4/25/2002 10:48:17 PM
Moses Graphite has confirmed they will stop offering Spirit replacement necks shortly. Replacments for the original graphite neck 'bergers (with the top loading headpieces) will still be available. We suspect this is directly related to the new graphite neck Steinbergers MusicYo will be offering shortly. We're still following up this one and will post details when they arrive
We've also updated the Serial Number Database - we're up to 992 instruments! Keep those numbers coming.
Posted by andyyak 4/19/2002 11:53:35 PM
This month's installment of 'Ask Ned' is up. This topic is more of a behind-the-scenes insight, one that has come up from time to time in various discussions.
Also added Japanese / Zen-On versions of several catalogs and price lists to the 'Marketing Info' page. I'm not up on my yen conversions and can't read a character of Japanese, but it should be a welcome resource to our friends from the Far East. A big percentage of overall Steinberger sales were international (some former staffers peg it as high as 40%), most of those to Japan through Zen-On. The all graphite L's were especially popular as they resist the high humidity present all around the islands.
Have also indulged myself and documented a recent addition to my personal collection: an original XL2-GR - an XL with a factory integrated Roland synth. I asked Ned and he figures maybe 30 of the guitar and 10 of bass version were ever made. In addition to the bass itself I've detailed information on the related hardware and instructions I've found in my research.
Posted by andyyak 4/1/2002 09:06:27 PM
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