Steinberger L2

The Steinberger L2 was a graphite and carbon-fibre-bodied bass, used by Sting and Andy Summers.

Introduction
The Steinberger L2 was one of the basses Sting was best known to have played. He played the Steinberger for the majority of the Ghost In The Machine tour concerts, from January to September 1982.

He used the Steinberger L2 (strung with Superwound SDB-505s) on Synchronicity, using it to overdub bass parts, such as on "King Of Pain". By the Synchronicity tour, Sting migrated to the Spector NS-2 white, while roadie Danny Quatrochi played the Steinberger on “Invisible Sun”. He also played the Steinberger on a few occasions on the tour, for example the Wembley Stadium concert on 31 December 1983.

Background
Sting first tried out and played a Steinberger bass on 18 January 1982 (which Andy Summers had on loan) during soundcheck and the concert that day. In April 1982, the Steinberger logo on the bass Sting played appears to have rubbed off and remained so for the rest of the Ghost tour.

As per a Steinberger World fan website Serial number page, Sting allegedly owned a black L2 of serial #430 and manufactured in September 1982. This information would have drawn the conclusions that Sting got a new Steinberger bass to replace one he already had or that the one he had used on tour until that point was one that belonged to Andy. Photos after the Ghost tour (i.e. Synchronicity era) show a Steinberger with a new logo.

However, the reliability of the information on the Steinberger World page is doubtful: Andy Yakubrik (owner of the website) stated that the logs were entirely user-sourced, and that artist purchases were often made through music stores so the provenance of the basses could not be documented (unless the artist contacted the factory post-purchase). And it's not known how the serial No. of Sting's bass was obtained/determined.

Sting's guitar/bass roadie Danny Quatrochi clearly remembers asking the people at Steinberger to replace the faceplate on Sting's bass, which they eventually did - this might explain the addition of a new logo on Sting's Steinberger seen in photos after the Ghost In The Machine tour.

However, a photo taken of Andy with his guitars at home by Erica Echenberg from 1982 shows Andy with his Steinberger (showing a complete logo). Although undated, it featured in an article on Andy Summers published in International Musician & Recording World magazine September 1982 issue.

Sting on the Steinberger
"'Yes. [The Steinberger] looks wonderful for a start and at the same time it's beautifully balanced. One of the things that worries me as a singer is if you get a really heavy bass guitar it weighs you down and you can't sing properly. A bass that's well balanced and light makes you stand up straight and sing better, it's as simple as that. I use it on stage all the time now, but I like the double bass the best.' (International Musician & Recording World, July 1983)"

"'Because I am the main singer in the band, the fact that the Steinberger is light is important. I can strap it on and not have to worry about keeping it in one place or being out of balance. - good. It takes some of the weight off my spine and that makes it easier for me to sing than with a [bigger-bodied] bass. Also, since it is light and steady, it lets me move around more easily on stage, which I like to do' (Guitar World, July 1982)"

Andy Summers' Steinberger L2
Andy has a Steinberger L2 bass among his guitar collection, photos of which feature on his website. He had his Steinberger bass since 1982.

The Steinberger Sting first played on 18 January 1982 was one Andy Summers had on loan, as per Trouser Press magazine. Both he and Sting would eventually buy their own Steinberger basses.

The first photo appearance of the Steinberger is in an undated photo taken of Andy with his guitars at home by Erica Echenberg from 1982. He probably used it for demoing purposes.