Steinberger L2

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

Sting's Steinberger L2
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, from January to September 1982.

His introduction to the Steinberger bass was during a soundcheck on 18 January 1982, when he tried one that Andy Summers had on loan from someone else. He ended up liking it for the flexibility it offered him onstage, so he'd go on to purchase one of his own. In April 1982, the Steinberger logo on the bass appears to have rubbed off and remained so for the rest of the Ghost tour - a new logo was placed afterwards.

He used the 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.

Gear details
It was previously thought that Sting allegedly owned a black L2 of serial #430 and manufactured in September 1982, as per the Steinberger World fan website Serial number page. As for the source of the information, Andy Yakubrik (owner of the website) recalls something along the lines of someone claiming to have a Steinberger bass of a serial number close to Sting's. However, it has since been established that the serial number in question doesn't belong to Sting's bass - in fact it's been registered with a player from Louisiana.

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 a lot for recording demos etc. The photo was taken for an Andy Summers feature in International Musician & Recording World September 1982 issue.