Steinberger Synapse SS-2F Guitar with Gigbag, Antique White Review

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(More customer reviews)I've always liked the efficiency of the minimalist Steinberger.I mean, why have more guitar than you need?The day I got my Steinberger Synapse it already had problems.An annoying buzz from deep in the guitar.I contacted Gibson who referred me to one of their local warranty luthiers.He removed the buzz after a week in the shop.Since there's so little to the guitar, I wondered how they could miss something so fundamental.I wanted to go a guage lighter on the strings.Double-ball end are hard to come by, so I loaded regular single-ball end into the guitar.The hex screws that were supposed to hold the strings didn't.The head-end has a design flaw so that any string under a certain gauge will wiggle right out of the clamp that is supposed to hold the string.The last straw came when I went to adjust the action and intonation.There is a hex bolt that keeps the bridge pieces from flopping around.I needed to loosen that to do anything that moves the bridge, like adjusting action and intonation.The problem is, the hex screw was half-way underwater, that is the head of it was so low perpendicular to the body of the guitar, that in order to insert a hex wrench you would need to drill a divot into the guitar body to insert the wrench.I can only assume this is problem of execution, because the instruction manual pictures show the screw head above the guitar body.Now I have to pack up a a brand new guitar for RMA at Gibson.Who knows what I'll get back.Support from Gibson has been slow.I don't think they care too much about their Steinberger brand.Now that I know how poor their execution is on making a guitar, there is no way I would buy a Les Paul.

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Product Description:
Designed by Ned Steinberger, the Synapse guitar is a HYBRID instrument combining the strength, rigidity and clarity of graphite with the warmth and beauty of wood.The result is a guitar of unequalled performance.At only 31.75" in length, this full-size instrument makes the ultimate travel guitar. Low-impedance EMG USA humbuckers offer a broader bandwidth for unique and robust tone and are mounted on stabilizers that keep them from tilting. Improved intonation from a zero fret. Unique Steinberger Combo headpiece improves balance, ease of tuning, and tuning stability while the patented Direct-Drive double-ball bridge lets you change strings in seconds then tune up once and not have to tune again until you change strings.

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Line 6 Variax 700 Guitar, Black Tremolo Review

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(More customer reviews)The Line6 has been a complete replacement to my guitar collection, I wound up selling a lot of the electric guitars I had.It's excellent in the studio as well as live.The ability to turn a knob and have a completely different guitar at your needs is amazing.And they sound exactly like their descriptions (with a few exceptions [see below]).It's an even better guitar if you have a Line6 Pod XT Live or X3 Live as you can control your sounds as you switch the guitar with whatever amp model you are using.I also recommend purchasing the $99 Variax Workbench.In that software you'll be able to change the pickups, and even customize different tunings (like a capo, drop D, DADGAD) without having to tune your guitar.There are 10 Custom presets you can store on your Variax to be able to do this.

The biggest standout to me, besides the incredible Les Paul, Stratocaster and Telecaster models (which I have used the most) was the amazing tone of the ACOUSTIC models on this guitar (except for the 12-String...see below).My friend has a Taylor and the Variax Martin model ran circles around the tone of his $3000 Taylor with Fishman pickups.

There are quite a few cons to this guitar...but they have not hindered my happiness with owning the 700.

* If you're recording, and are sustaining a guitar chord, you may notice the tones dieing out near the end of a sustained chord.It's almost as if the guitar has some sort of slight noise gate.It's not too bad...but I hope someday they will fix that (there's always firmware updates coming out).

* They have been fixing the latency issue with the 12-string, although it's not quite there yet.The 12-string sounds a little too synthetic to me, compared to a real 12-string plugged into a PA system.

* If you plan to use Variax Workbench, and want to fool around with alternate tunings, there is a slight latency if you detune certain strings a lot lower than they originally are (it gets noticeable if you fool around with full-octave de-tunings).I have not noticed this problem with tuning up, however.

* I don't have this issue, as I have strong shoulders...but you'll notice, compared to a Strat or Tele is the weight of the guitar on your shoulders.It will take some getting used to, as it is heavy.I recommend a good, padded strap.Eventually it won't be so bad.

* There are no straplocks installed on the guitar.Most guitars don't come with them, but it would be a nice bonus for a $1300 guitar.The only straplocks I found to work on the Variax 700 are the Schaller straplocks.I could not get the Dunlop "buttonlocks" to install, as the nails were too small.

I would like to see a Maple neck instead of a Rosewood neck.That's just a personal preference, though.There may be some third party company making them in the future.

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Product Description:
Variax 700 in black combines Line 6's patent-pending guitar modeling technology in a custom designed solid-body guitar to accurately reproduce the sounds of a variety of well-known vintage electric and acoustic guitars. In addition Variax also offers well-known sounds of guitar-related instruments, such as a resonator, banjo, and electric sitar. Modeled variations include solid-body, semi hollowbody, and hollowbody electrics with single-coil and humbucking pickups, as well as, several six- and twelve string acoustics. Variax 700 features a carved top, mahogany body, optional tremolo, one-piece hard maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, and Gotoh tuners.

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