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Ned Steinberger: Art and Becoming The Man
By Marc | September 17, 2008
The other day when I posted those two videos, the headless electric bass in the (probably fake) performance by “Sonseed” got me thinking about that instrument design. I then wanted to find out when it was invented and more about the designer.
Even though I have no musical talent and was never really able to play guitar, in high school I could identify brand names, models, and parts of almost any electric guitar or bass in a photo. The “headless” design was one I just dismissed entirely because it wasn’t “metal” looking enough, so at the time I didn’t want to know more. Since that time, the Internet has made virtually any bit of information available, and I find my snooty (snotty) attitude was just plain ignorance (or maybe arrogance).
So, back to the main point. The inventor is industrial designer Ned Steinberger, a man with a dream of creating something different; his “headless” design, the L2, came out in 1979. On his site’s history page,
Ned wanted to develop and instrument that was not constrained by conventional design precepts, using new materials for the tonal properties they imparted. More importantly, he realized that the head was not essential, the tuners providing better balance when placed on the body of the instrument.
The guitar, traditionally made from wood, was made out of graphite and provided “a very ’smooth’ sound and feel, immediate note attack, and very even tonal response” – (Wikipedia). Also, because of the synthetic construction, it was far more time consuming to produce than all-wood instuments.
His design and invention was a huge success, and he was thrown from being a designer to a businessman. In order to keep up with demand of his product, he had to start a business, Steinberger Sound, and organize a factory.
Copycats were sure to follow, stealing the concept and design. Unfortunately, these were made out of wood, built quicker, and sold for far less than the Steinberger model. One Japanese brand, called the “Brianberger”, even copies the logo style. But they can’t compete with the sound of the original.
In 1987, Steinberger Sound was sold to Gibson Guitar Corp. due to being unable to maintain supply in contrast to constant demand.
Today, Ned Steinberger still creates electric stringed instruments in his own company, but mainly classical (such as the violin, cello, and double bass), but is no longer the businessman, but a creator again. He also stays on as a design consultant with Gibson in their Steinberger line.
This is a tale of a creator being forced to be The Man. A man with a great new idea shoved into the real world of labor, bookkeeping, marketing, stock control, and what-have-you without a clue how to do it.
I admire Mr. Steinberger, for going though the fire, getting burnt, and being reborn focusing on what he loves to do: design and create. Even though his name isn’t automatically known by everyone, he has eternally left his stamp on the world with one of the most distinctive guitar designs, in the league of Les Paul (listen to him play here with Chet Atkins) and Leo Fender.
Sometimes the dream can eat you alive when exposed to the real world, but we’ve all got to do the best we can to not make us bitter and dead on the inside.
If you’re interested, there was a PBS show called “On Key” that featured Steinberger Sound in one of it’s episodes in 1984, dealing with the struggles of getting the company off the ground. You can check it out on YouTube, and get links to each part, as well as other video clips here at SteinbergerWorld.com and at their YouTube account.
Topics: Awesome People, Encouragement | No Comments »
