Lefty RED Steinberger XP-2 Reverb

[jersey bluesdude]

https://reverb.com/item/358151-steinber ... -lefty-red Does that fingerboard look like wood? I'm pretty sure XP-2's were maple bodies and bolt on carbon graphite fingerboard/neck. This one also looks like a neck through? Something is fishy with this one.

[pjmuck]

Steinberger never made lefty XP-2s. It's a modified righty. I know the guy who's selling it, since I bought my Spirit XZ-2 from him.

[fivebass52]

Steinberger never made lefty XP-2s. It's a modified righty. I know the guy who's selling it, since I bought my Spirit XZ-2 from him.

Seems that he should mention it's a modified righty... at that price, a potential buyer should know they're not buying an originally made lefty - don't you think?

[jersey bluesdude]

Steinberger never made lefty XP-2s. It's a modified righty. I know the guy who's selling it, since I bought my Spirit XZ-2 from him.

PJ, do you know what mods were done, besides converting it to a lefty? I remember seeing a modded righty XP-2 in Jersey City a while back, but this listing says the seller is in Japan.

[pjmuck]

The guy I bought my lefty XZ-2 from was also in Jersey City and he was a lefty Steinberger fanatic, with about 6 or 7 different Steinberger basses, including a converted XP-2 red one. I'm guessing this was his bass and he sold it to someone in Japan, unless another lefty did the same exact thing to a righty too. That whole face plate is non-original and was made to accommodate a lefty setup. original pickguards always had the Steinberger logo in some form or other (engraved, etched, etc.) and were 3 ply. If you look at the headless nut, you'll see that it also appears that the G string has been filed wider for the E string now. As for the neck, it definitely doesn't look like graphite to me, and AFAIK the XPs had graphite necks. (Though bodies were wood to keep cost/price down).

There may have been red XP-2 Spirit models, however, once offered by MusicYo way back when, and those most definitely were all wood construction. Check out this old archived MusicYo model list, where they clearly show red GP models:

http://www.guitarsend.com/musicyo.htm

So my thoughts? This is a $349 (price back in 2004) Spirit XP-2 that somebody converted lefty.

[glefty5]

Not trying to be a wise-arse, but I found this on Yahoo auctions in Japan about 4 yrs ago n I think it was a genuine lefty, not a
flip vert so maybe a very limited, Japan only run was made? It sold for around ¥120,000 n I really wish I had the the ¥ back then.

[eobard]

Hey guys....

I'm the one who modified that red XP-2. The one on that ad is, indeed, a Spirit XP-2, and NOT a Newburgh model (I explicitly mentioned this on my eBay ad back in April). Hell, I still have the original pick guard thats has the word "Spirit". And it looks like the original pups are either replaced, or someone rubbed off the "Select EMG" signage on the pups. Pisses me off 'cos I sold that red bass bass for under $600, and I see he's trying to sell it in Japan for $1707 and pass it off as an original Steinberger. Wow --- just wow.

At any rate, its an all-wood piece. I manually carved out the body myself to accommodate the electronics so that it is now (also) a lefty. Got a new pick guard customized. Did a sloppy job with the headpiece (Dremel). I have a couple of other lefty-modified XP-2's, professionally modified by former Steinberger tech, Jeff Babicz in NY.

Pjmuck, I'm sure you got a glimpse of the red Spirit XP-2 when you picked up the XZ-2 that day!

As for that black lefty XP-2 above this post, is that legit?? I mean, the pick guard SHAPE has the orientation as if the pick guard was never "flipped;" in effect, it still has the orientation that of a righty. And it looks like its not the typical volume/tone/tone knobs. Also the headpiece holes where the screws are in looks like its been partially "cut"; the holes now look like circles with a straight side. I know, 'cos the headpiece of the XP-2 I had modified looks just like it. So, this black bass of Japan was either manually modified as a one-off, or the Steinberger factory didn't attempt to make this a mirror image of a righty Steinberger.

Whats this all mean? Absolutely nothing; its just observations.

- Merrill, disgruntled XP-2 seller