Steinberger L2

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

Introduction
The Steinberger L2 is considerably one of Sting's most iconic basses. He played the Steinberger for the majority of the Ghost In The Machine tour concerts, between January and September 1982.

He used the Steinberger L2 (strung with Superwound SDB-505s) on the Synchronicity album, often for overdubbing 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”. Sting only played the Steinberger on a few rare occasions on tour, for example the Wembley Stadium concert on 31 December 1983.

Background
Sting first tried a Steinberger bass on 18 January 1982 (which Andy Summers had on loan) during a soundcheck, which he liked and played 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.

Serial number & new Steinberger logo
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 drew the conclusion Sting got a new Steinberger bass and thus the one he 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 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). It's not clear how the Serial number & date of Sting's bass listed on the website was 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. And this can explain the appearance of a new logo on Sting's Steinberger seen post-Ghost In The Machine tour, given this would have necessitated the new logo anyway.

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.

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 Andy's 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. The photo was taken for an Andy Summers feature in International Musician & Recording World September 1982 issue.