STEINBERGER  SYNTH  BASS  XL2-GR 1987  Serial # 4556 sold on ebay December 2004

This bass was ordered from Steinberger in late 1986. They made it in February 1987, cost  US$2,600 and there was a 4 months wait for delivery. These are the specs:
    •      All graphite boat-oar style bass body with strap  pivot plate at the back.
    •     24 frets neck, 4-strings bridge.
    •     EMG-SS pickups at neck and bridge, runs on 9V  battery.
    •     1 volume pot, 1 pan pot, 1 tone pot.
    •     1 factory installed Roland synth pickup with touch pads, BAL,  CUT, EDIT, VIB control knobs, 3-positions mode toggle  switch, 4 gain adjusters at the back, and 24-pins  cable connector.
    •     Folding leg rest.
    •     VERY NICE CONDITION  - only very minor scuffing from normal playing, no  major scratching anywhere. Frets are in great condition.
    •     The original gig bag is in mediocre shape. I'm  throwing in a brand new "Rockbag by  Warwick" Steinberger style gig bag as a backup.

For more details on the bass guitar and the pertinent bass  synth module, Roland GR-77B, please go to http://www.steinbergerworld.com/special/xl2-gr.htm  Many thanks to webmaster Andy of Steinbergerworld.com for  having permitted me to link to this very informative web  page.

It plays great with the magnetic pickups into a bass amp. With the GR-77B added, it sounds HUGE! I do have the GR-77B floorboard, PG-800 programmer, and even a Roland G-77 synth bass guitar which the winner of this auction can have options to purchase.






    •     Option 1 - US$180 - GR-77B Roland Bass Guitar Synthesizer floorboard with manual, power cord, duffle bag, M-16C memory catridge with manual, and bonus CD "Raw Fa" bass synth solo improvisations recorded by Paul Guilford on a G-77 and a GR-77B.  Simply connecting the 24-pins cable between the XL2-GR and the GR-77B and then running a 1/4" cable from the GR-77B output to an amp will give you BOTH bass magnetic pickups and synth pickup sounds. You can control the balance with the BAL knob on the bass. If you want to run just the bass sound to another amp, you can also use the 1/4" jack on the bass, as well as the "guitar out" jack on the GR-77B. The GR-77B has 64 patches, the M16-C has 32, making 96 patches total. With the MIDI out, you can trigger sounds from another synth unit, or connect to a sequencer or computer for inputting MIDI notes.  CONDITION - good. Just one caveat - the GR-77B is very heavy, feels like 30 lbs to me, and the plastic handles seem a bit too fragile for it, like they are breaking off. I have added a few rounds of clear tape to hold the handles more securely to the body.

    •     Option 2 - US$180 - PG-800 Roland Synth Programmer with manual, 6-pins cable, and original carrying case. Simply connect the PG-800 to the GR-77B and you can tweak any parameter with the knobs and sliders directly. The PG-800 also works for other Roland synths like the MKS-70, JX8P, JX10...etc. CONDITION - excellent.

    •     Option 3 - US$120 - G-77 Roland Bass Guitar Synth Controller, strap, soft carrying case, and Roland 24-pins 15-feet cable with plastic connector. You'll see from the picture that I've attached the strap to the bar instead of to the strap button because I find the centre of gravity to be at that position. Except for the looks, all electronics work in the same manner as the XL2-GR. CONDITION - okay, frets are still good, all switches work great, usual pick scuffs. There is also a light brown patch at the back of the guitar, cosmetic flaw only.
    •      Option 4 - US$430 - Options 1, 2 and 3 combined. And I'll throw in a 5-pins MIDI cable, as well as a PC connector cable which you can use to connect the MIDI ports of the GR-77B to a PC gameport for inputting into a sequencer software like Cakewalk.