Neal Schon's Steinberger Transtrem GM Double Neck on eBay!

Here's an eBay listing for a rare Steinberger Double Neck Transtrem GM.  And one that was apparently previously owned by Neal Schon, no less!

Many of us know Ned Steinberger as the cat who introduced the revolutionary all-plastic composite Steinberger L2 bass and GL series guitars in the early '80s.  Both bore a resemblance not dissimilar to a boat paddle. 

To increase mass market appeal, the GM guitar model was introduced in 1987 with a double cutaway all-maple body and a bolt on neck made of a composite material.  Y'know, something you could cradle comfortably in your lap and wrap your arm around.   We guitars players are such a romantic lot.

This particular double neck Steinberger was purchased by its present owner in 2004 from Schon's guitar broker.  Custom built at Steinberger Sounds Newburgh, NY factory in the '80s, this instrument features Steinberger's Transtrem vibrato system on the 6-string neck and a fixed bridge on the 12-string.

A cool Steinberger doubleneck gig bag and assorted paperwork accompany this axe.

As always, do the research and ask the necessary questions before committing!

eBay Item #:  120763392660

10 Warren Buffett Quotes and What They Could Mean for Guitar Players

I've been a Warren Buffett fan for a couple of years now.  Heads of State seek him out for advice, and financial institutions hang on to his every word while wondering, "What Would Warren Do.. Next?"

But despite his stature as one of the three richest men in the world, the Oracle of Omaha, who will be 81 this August 30th, maintains a sense of quiet humility.

I submit for your perusal, 10 quotes of Warren Buffet's that every guitar player and musician could take and run with.  See what they can do for you.  Individual outcomes will, no doubt, vary wildly:

“There’s a whole bunch of things I don’t know a thing about. I just stay away from those. I stay within what I call my circle of competence."


"You don’t drive a truck that weighs 9,900 pounds across a bridge that says 'Limit 10,000 pounds', because you can’t be that sure. If you see something like that, go a little further down the road and find one that says, 'Limit 20,000 pounds'. That’s one you drive across.”


"As you go along, you learn what things you’re not going to understand. Knowing what to leave out is just as important as knowing what to focus on. Somebody said how to beat Bobby Fischer; you play him any game except chess. And so I don’t play Bobby Fischer at chess.”


"Beware of geeks bearing formulas."

"I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over."



"It's better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction."


"Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks."


"There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult."


"Why not invest your assets in the companies you really like? As Mae West said, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.""

"I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me."

Random Guitar of the Day | 1964 Gibson ES125

Gibson revamped their ES100 model after World War II and renamed it the ES125. 

Upgraded with a more modern P90 pickup and a 16 1/4" hollowbody, the ES125 proved quite popular as an entry-level archtop in the Gibson line.

This particular Gibson ES125 from 1964 shows off the sheer simplicity of the design -- button tuners, unbound rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays, non-laminated tortoise shell-style pickguard, a volume and tone control, single 'dog ear' P90 pickup, trapeze tailpiece and Gibson's standard 24 3/4" scale length.
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The ES125 remained in production until 1970.

I've a played few ES125's in the past and every one had that vintage mojo -- not surprising for guitars that were all 50 years old.

How To Attach Pedals To Pedaltrain Pedalboards Without Sticky Velcro

I've always used sticky Industrial Strength Velcro to affix my pedals to my pedalboard. 

And it's always bugged me that I might be seriously depreciating the future value of my pedals with Velcro gummed to the bottom, covering serial numbers, country of manufacture and useful 'avoid exposing unit to excessive moisture'-type information.

Scouring the net for anything I could find on 'attaching pedals without Velcro' yielded one dude who used individual bicycle chain links, attaching one eyelet to the pedal baseplate and screwing the other eyelet down to the woodbase of the pedalboard.  An elegant solution by itself, and certainly rock-solid.

But I was looking for something a little more simple that would allow me to swap out pedals in a couple of minutes instead of a couple of hours.  Not to mention that the aforementioned method would be well nigh near impossible on the aluminum base of my Pedaltrain pedalboard.

Well, maybe not impossible.  But well beyond my limited metalwork machining skills.

But necessity, as the say, is the Mother of Invention. 

And since idle hands are also the devil's workshop, here's what I came up with, using plastic cable ties and Velcro One-Wrap -- Velcro straps of the non-adhesive variety.

I first wrapped two cable ties around the pedal, in this case a BB Preamp by Xotic, one before the footswitch and one in between the control knobs.  Doing this ensures that the cable ties will never slip out from the pedal.

I then got out the Velcro One-Wrap straps, cut them to an appropriate length, and simply threaded them through the cable ties at the back of the pedal. 

After deciding on where the pedal would be placed on the 'board, I wrapped the Velcro straps tightly around the appropriate aluminum strip.

The pedal mounted reasonably securely but with some side-to-side movement.  After torquing the cable ties a bit more with pliers and tightening the Velcro wrap further, I found the pedal was as solidly mounted as I needed it to be.   

I love it when a plan comes together! 

The last pic shows the final pedalboard assembly with both the BB Preamp and RC Booster given the same cable tie and Velcro wraparound treatment.

My Voodoolab RotoVibe, RMC wah and Boss volume pedal already have sticky Velcro I attached years ago to their baseplates so they are mounted to the Pedaltrain in the usual way. 

Go ahead and try this at home, folks!

And here's my earlier review of the Pedaltrain Jr. pedalboard.