Why Headless Basses Suck

Is there any lefty basses in the contest?

Tried entering the giveaway, site told me I was "creating too many entries". First time I've ever been there. Guess it doesn't like VPNs.

I'm not a pro by any stretch of the imagination. But I've been enjoying my 5-string boat paddle for over 2 decades. I keep it in a beat-up guitar case that I foamed and felted to fit it. Everyone assumes it's a cheap guitar inside so leave it alone. It really is the ultimate travel bass.

worst looking bass on earth in my opinion. But LOTS of reggae players love it. And they make them sound good so I try not to hate hahaha

One of my 1st basses back in the day was the Hohner “jack” bass..(I think it was a licensed clone of a status?)…man I loved that bass..but aesthetically the lack of a “head” began to bug the hell out of me..(AND it would only take double ball end strings which were nearly impossible to find)….years later I got a steinberger synapse (which could use regular strings) which was a great travel bass and I used it a lot on show gigs when I was stuck in an orchestra pit with limited space…(AND interestingly it had a very very similar sound to a Wal mk2…great live bass) but again the aesthetic of not having a head started bugging me again…nowadays I have a headless Ibanez fretless which I love..but it’s only a matter of time before the lack of a head is gonna start annoying me again 😂..the point I’m trying to make is, there’s nothing wrong with headless instruments..they’re no better or worse than any other instrument, it’s really more down to the visual and the design of em..you either like it or hate it

I bought my first steinbergerXL2 in 1982. Still have it and still play it regularly. In 1990 got sponsored by steinberger and received another "elite" version. Elite version is not as durable as the original although it sounds a little more lively. 2 tuning claws broke on the new one and had to replace them. They're fantastic for playing long shows. They never go out of tune. Regularly people come up and ask " what's that?"

Mark King always seemed to play headless basses!

I've been trying to substantiate this online and having no success, but when I saw Tool in 2001, Maynard played a Steinberger bass while chancellor played bass as well on Schism. Maynard played a simple 2-3 note rhythm behind the line we all know.

Overload Guitars make some badass headless basses.

I played a Steinberger in a gig this past weekend. It sounded great! But it took a while to get used to though and I only had it for a week. They do not look stupid (at least that's my opinion). I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who got disoriented with the Steinberger, and I figure I need to get used to it more. I also have a multiscale headless 6 string Ibanez. The fanned frets took a while to get used to as well.

30” scale custom headless made by Chris Stambaugh for me about 5-6 years back. Hipshot bridge. EMG P/J set. Spalted top, maple neck thru, black limba wings. 5.5 lbs. Played hundreds of gigs with it and my back has thanked me. Sounds great on stage through my Fractal AX8 direct to the board, no amp.

I own (5) Steinbergers, all bolt ons, XP, XQ,XM with maple bodies and composite necks. They have the sustain of a neck thru and the punch of a P-bass. I love them!!!
There is a a string adapter that allows you to use any bass string with no modifications.
Agree about the disorientation. It reminds me of going from a P-Bass to a Thunderbird or a 21 fret to a 24 fret. It does take some getting used to.
Correct about tuning. They really do stay in tune. HeadlessUSA is still getting parts made as well. Headless forever!!!

another con is not being able to use the wall hanger hooks!

More “just talking about going on reverb” starts please

At least we can give everyone some stick if we all played Steinberger's 🤐

In the late 80's/early 90's the Steinberger was a WANTED guitar! Sounded sweet!

Ian's disorientation about where he is on the neck is EXACTLY what kept me from getting a Steinberger. I could probably have gotten past it with enough time, but I would have been playing in the wrong place for a long time.

I bought my first headless bass last year - a Kiesel Zeus 6 string multiscale. The only con I have is, I have to use a guitar stand with a base for the body. Standard Hercules style headstock stands and wall hangers are out. Other than that, I love it. The Kiesel is super easy to restring. Its well-balanced, and there was no learning curve for the headless or the multiscale. I really enjoy playing higher up rhe neck on the multiscale too. Feels great. I just jumped in to playing it. It's great for gigging and traveling. I'm not going headless exclusively, but I definitely like what I have and would buy another

Bought a Steinberger in 1983 when I saw Sting playing one. Super freaking expensive most money I ever spent on a bass. I played it in a cover band for a few years sounded killer most indestructible bass ever made. you said though about when you’re playing it it seems like we are in a different position than a regular base. It’s a little weird to get used to.

It's probably hard to undo your own perspective, but imagine if the electric bass was originally headless... headstocks would not only look "wrong", but they'd be deemed impractical by almost every metric.

My Hohner B2V saved my playing. Have suffered two prolonged bouts (years long) of frozen shoulder where the the only relief from pain was to have the bass as vertical as possible (almost like playing an upright), reducing shoulder rotation. The mass distribution means that the bass more or less stays where you want with almost no neck dive.

Also, double ball end strings suck. Thankfully modern headless basses have done away with them! If my EHB1506MS wasn't MS (hint hint Ibanez), it'd be perfect for my live playing. Though I do miss playing my StingRay sometimes...

Great video guys! I've always wondered about headless basses (especially the Steinberg!) Thanks so much for this review!!

no mentions to factor Kubicki???

Curt Smith from Tears for Fears played some great basses lines on headless basses. He used Steinbergers and Status basses

Loved the show and the info, the camaraderie, a lot of fun. For some reason the first band that comes to mind for this type of bass would be DEVO, it just fits their look. They have a very tight playing sound that was pretty profound. Thanks for a fun show!

Keep rocking that headless, Mr Allison!!!

The new Steinberger’s (NS Design Radius) are fantastic instruments!

The point about their unapologetic non vintage aesthetics is bang in point. Theyre a stark break from the norm.
I really like the look of the Kubicki factor and ex factor basses.
Lots of boutique brands build headless basses. Out of the higher profile boutique brands out there, i really like the headless basses made by Ritter.
The aesthetics of the Fodera headless basses have not won me over

how are you feeling? i see you're on the mend!!

I have a couple of those silver '96 xlw5 steinbergers lying around. Yeah...

Love me a good headless bass! Another example of a headless player, if only for a brief times was John Entwistle. Watch the video for "Don't Let Go The Coat" and you can see him playing a Steinberger. Also, he's not well known but Federico Malaman plays a "kinda" headless Laurus bass. I say "kinda" because like the Kubicki, there's a decent sized, albeit different shaped, chunk of wood past the neck where the strings are anchored. Very cool bass and if you've ever heard him play it, it's magnicifent.
Myself, I own a Hohner B2A, which is basically a Steinberger made from wood. The hardware is all Steinberger licensed but the electronics were different. I didn't care for the EMG HZ pickups nor the preamp it came with, so I tore it all out, dropped in a set of EMG HB-CS pickups that are actually made for Steinbergers, added an EMG 2-band active preamp, and upped the voltage to 18V. Now it sounds effin' awesome! Downsides: as Ian mentioned, the frets aren't where you think they are. If you're not looking, you'll always be 2 frets higher than you think you are. I think it has to do with how the body sits, especially with a strap. It doesn't have the doo-dad the Steinberger has, so when you play it with a strap, the strap ends are only about a foot apart and the neck shifts way left, causing you to really reach for the lower notes. I have a few ideas to fix that, so the body is shifted more to the right and is in a more ergodynamic position. Strings are the other drawback; I'm not a fan of limitations of any type. So to fix that, I bought a pre-made chunk of brass that sits past the "headstock" and has setscrews to hold the strings so you can use whatever you want. I use DR strings, they don't make double-ball ends. Use a pair of flush cutters and the there are no pointy string bits waiting to snag you. No other drawbacks for me. It's always played great, I love its compactness, and with the new EMGs I put in it, it absolutely crushes. Very clear, clean and punchy. And if a gig ever leaves you up a creek without a paddle, well now I have one! LOL

finally the headless podcast!

The white one is a Spirit, the cheap series that Gibson has been selling since they bought Steinberger

Imo el. guitars/basses are about innovation rather than tradition. Compact, light, sound good - headless are dope. As for fanned frets - ain't that cool to have something new to get used to?

2 other benefits: 1- lighter 2 - take up less space with playing in band on tight/small stage

I covet an Ibanez headless 6 string bass

My first bass was actually a headless. It was a hondo alien. Modeled after the Kramer duke bass. It was terrible to learn on other than being easy to convert to lefty. Neck thru design, not sure of the wood, very light, has that pingy sound Scott described. Medium scale of 32 inches. Passive controls with an odd humbucker style pickup. It looks like 2 j bass single coils sandwiched together. I’ve since converted it to fretless, changed the tuners and put d’addario black tape-wounds on it. The fretless + headless is quite disorienting. Very odd, quirky bass, more of a fun toy than a gig worthy bass.

I owned a Steinberger in the '90s and for some inexplicable reason I got rid of it - I want to go back in time and slap myself in the face. Now I just dream about being able to afford one of those Strandberg 5-strings.

Headless basses are great when you’re playing in a club with a small tight stage area. No worries about hitting the drummer’s cymbals or the guitar player in the back and knocking your bass out of tune.

Alusonic "THE DOOM"!!!! Metal as feck!

Alusonic "THE DOOM"!!! All that needs to be said!

My coworker is (indefinitely) borrowing me his headless bass; it's an old Riverhead, the one shaped like a spaceship, lol. You could snip the strings in a way that leaves them poking out, but I just snip them and pull them in far enough that they don't poke out. Simple.

Don Was (Was Not Was) played a Steinberger

An interesting experiment you could do to test the disorientation/looky a bit dorky side of it is to make a "fake" headstock out of cardboard or something and stick it to the end of the neck! Play it for a bit and see if it makes you feel any different...

We gonna have "Why the Chapman Stick Crushes Everything" coming up soon after this?

This video better end in you guys saying headless basses suck !! If not this would be click bait ….. let me watch now

- headless basses stay stable/in tune beautifully
- the Steinberger look emphasizes the player, not the bass
- The double ball-end issue is easy resolved 3rd party.
- in 3 hours players will adjust to the headless
- on stage and in the whirld the headless bass fits nicely into tight spaces
- Steinberger sound shines live
- Yamaha BX-1 sounds great

You two are heavy loyal to your prejudices!!!

I have played on an Ibanez headless bass and I understand what you both mean by being disoriented

thanks for video...have hohner custom bass since 1984 still stays in tune .great bass well made .great for gigs in small spaces..great for building up speed..❤ from ireland

I borrowed a headstockless bass and I didn’t realise how much I must use the head stock as a “feel” to know I’m in 1st position.
Kept sliding off the end of the bass haha

Guess Scott and Ian don't like the Status basses... :(