Steinberger part desperately needed.

UncleGoatLips

I own an 80's Hohner with a Steinberger (Hohner g3t). Years ago I lost a part when I snapped a string and was waiting for a new set.

I have been scouring the net and mailing people who have to do with Steinbergers and received only a few replies but nobody can get me the part. It's the thingy where ball of the string hooks into. Would it be possible to have someone here source the part or even manufacture it?

-Goats

AlanRatcliffe

The Hohners were Steinberger designs, but made by Hohner. No spares are available (even less than for dinkum Steinies), and to be honest, the metal they used was so bad, it's almost not worth the effort trying to find them. Your best bet is to either have one made by an engineer or to search for the equivalent ABM headless complete units (the only headless bridge and headpiece manufacturers available). ABM bridges and headpieces are also based on Steinberger, but are not exactly the same, so some mods will be neeed - in some ways they are nicer (you can use normal strings, not just double-ball end), so might be worth doing.

Exactly what part are you looking for (remember there are two pieces where the ball ends go on those systems)? Or are you just looking for the flat grooved bit that the tuning bolt screws into? The latter is an easy one for an engineer - in fact, get all six replaced with brass and get him to replace the bolts with steel ones.

UncleGoatLips

It's the part inside the bridge that the tuning screw screws into on the one end and the ball end on the other.

The ABM's look quite different from the Steinbergers, I think the mod could be more of a mission than manufacturing a part from scratch. I think you have a good idea on replacing all six with brass ones, even the tuning screws, maybe even make more for in case I ever lose another part.

Do you know of anyone who could manufacture these parts for me?

AlanRatcliffe

OK - I know the bits you're talking about now.

The screws are standard machine screws, you can just replace them with any good steel version of the right length(they screw right out of the tuning keys). The other bits (let's call them "tuning saddles") any decent engineer should be able to make quickly (I can't recommend anyone specifically in your end of the world).

The only other bits to be concerned about are the washers between the tuning keys and the tailpiece housing. On the Steinies they were Teflon, which made the tuners easy to turn. On the Hohners they were nylon, which often break or are lost, but were better than nothing. You should be able to get replacement nylon washers easily.

You might also want to go the whole hog and have a new headpiece made from brass and have the same system the ABM headpieces have included - simple string clamping with hex headed machine screws that clamp any regular strings in the headpiece. No more searching/paying exorbitant prices for double-ball end strings!

UncleGoatLips

Thanks Alan, I'm going to ask around on facebook and stuff if anyone knows an engineer who can make the part for me.

I actually like the double ball end string idea, it's so much more stable tuning wise so I won't be drastically altering the guitar like that. It was also my first guitar so I just want to get it back the way it was. I'll order a few sets of strings from juststrings.com, it works out the same as a normal set of strings or even cheaper if I get my buddies to order sets of strings with me.

Gearhead

So let me hget this straight - there are no parts available for Steinberger tuners, not locally and not anywhere else? And what about the quality of the parts used in the tuners? Or is it not the tuners but the headstocks?

UncleGoatLips

It doesn't look that way, I haven't been able to find the part i'm looking for and I've looked everywhere I could think of looking. You can order the entire bridge but that's not economical.

By the way, the tuners are in the bridge and they have no headstocks, this is the Hohner in question:

If anyone knows anyone who could find or engineer the piece i'm looking for i'd be really grateful.

AlanRatcliffe

Nope. Gibson now own the brand and they are not supplying parts for the original models - even though they were sold with lifetime guarantees. The parts for the modern models do not fit the old models.

Some guys are hoarding a few spare parts for the originals and charging exorbitant prices for them (the nameless one from Vegas).

Quality really wasn't a problem with the original Ned Steinberger made guitars, all the metal parts were machined from steel blocks and everything else was composite. But guys do lose bits occasionally and even on the best parts, friction eventually takes a toll.

The Hohner copies were licenced copies (and the hardware on "The Jack" bass was Steinberger designed, as on some of the other Hohner and Washburn guitars), they weren't exact copies of the Steinberger parts though, so are not interchangeable. The big difference between the hardware on these guitars and the originals was they were cast (and not with a good alloy either), so they were prone to wear and problems.

UncleGoatLips

I have found a company in Pennsylvania that manufactures the bits for the bass versions:

http://bgstainless.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1&zenid=e2c1cb3ecd07a965a4a87db7fe2266ac

At least now I know the bit is called a jaw, some places call it a claw.

AlanRatcliffe

Once again, remember the Steinberger parts don't fit the Hohner "Steinberger" bridges...

UncleGoatLips

Out of interest, here's an email I received today:

Re: Steinberger parts desperately needed!
X
Inbox
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Reply
Client Support to me
show details 7:50 PM (1 hour ago)

We don't stock R-Trem parts. Those bridges fall apart after a few years.

We generally upgrade any R-Trem instrument to use an S-Trem bridge because they will last for a very long time and are a significant improvement over the R-Trem bridges. Generally speaking an R-Series bridge has a life expectancy of three years before the metal distorts from stress fatigue and the bridge either fails or performance is radically compromised.

P

----- Reply message -----
From: "------------" <-----------@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, May 27, 2011 5:41 am
Subject: Steinberger parts desperately needed!
To: <info@----------------->

Hi

I own a Hohner G3T it has a Steinberger tromolo system and I just love it. I have lost one of the metal pieces where the ball of the string fits into and two of the tuning screws at the back. I have mailed other Steinberger repair people and even Steinberger themselves but I received no reply. If you could source or make these parts for me it would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know if you could be of any help.

Thanks!