This review is from: Steinberger ZT3 TransTrem Custom Electric GuitarI am extremely happy with my ZT-3 purchase, and did not have the experience of another reviewer who found the mechanics of the guitar difficult and confusing. The guitar has a unique pitch transposing system and a very different string tuning mechanism that both require one to learn how they work, and how to adjust various string and knob settings. The guitar's accompanying manual describes how to set up the guitar in detail, and guitar designer Ned Steinberger has also posted a very helpful setup video at Steinberger.com (go to TECH, then TransTrem Instructional Video). Other useful material pertaining to the ZT-3 is also available at this site (but note that Steinberger is now a subdivision of Gibson Guitars). If you are really overwhelmed by the guitar's mechanics, which I found quite straightforward, then I am sure a good guitar store technician would be able to adjust the guitar for you for a nominal fee so long as she has the appropriate setup information. The dilemma for the potential ZT-3 buyer is that the guitar is so experimental that there are usually no try-out models available in guitar stores. I could not find a single one to play in the city of Chicago, for example. So you must order one without playing the guitar first, typically from stores with a "no-return if dissatisfied" policy. Such stores adopt such a policy since they think an unsold ZT-3 would be hard to sell to anyone else since it is not a mainstream guitar (a policy I think they should reconsider). After reading about the guitar and seeing it demonstrated in many on-line guitar videos, and after considering the reputation of the many fusion guitarists who play or have played Steinberger guitars (such as Brett Garsed, TJ Helmerich, Allan Holdsworth, Alex Machacek, and others), I decided to take a chance and ordered the ZT-3. I am now extremely glad I did since it proved to be a Ferrari of a guitar. I have owned and played many excellent classic electric guitars, but I think the Steinberger is among the very best I've ever played. The most unique feature of the ZR-3 is its "trans-trem" pitch transposing system that enables one to immediately change the key of the guitar without using a capo. Using the tremolo (vibrato, whammy) bar you can shift down a whole note to the lowest position so that the guitar shifts from EADGBE to DGCFAD, or you can shift a whole note to the highest position (F#BEAC#F#), and the guitar remains in tune so long as it has been initially properly tuned and adjusted. (Incidentally, a digital guitar tuner is a must when adjusting the pitch-shifting and string-tuning mechanisms.) One can also shift down a half-step to D#G#C#F#A#D# or up a half step to FA#D#G#CF. The tremolo bar acts as a kind of gear shift which you push up or down to the desired key, and you then lock it in place by rotating the tremolo arm into its locked position. The trans-trem will not transpose individual strings, so it will not, for example, be able to shift to an alternate tuning, or immediately drop the low E string down to D. (For this latter move, I recommend a Drop-D capo (Kyser Drop-D Capo, Black), or a Spider capo (Creative Tunings Spider Capo) that can transpose individual strings.) A drawback of the trans-trem shifting mechanism is that once you have locked the tremolo bar into a different key from its usual middle position (usually the standard tuning of EADGBE), the tremolo bar is no longer available to use as a vibrato. However, when the tremolo bar is in its normal unlocked or floating position, then it functions like a superb vibrato bar, capable of bending entire chords in pitch, or of bending notes up one whole note, or down up to three whole notes. (I've found that by adding a small rubber washer--which I frequently replace--between the tremolo arm and the tailpiece, the vibrato arm has an even more subtle response touch.) Surprisingly, the guitar will still stay in tune even after tremendous pitch-bending actions due to the fact that two other innovative features of the ZT-3 are its tuning mechanism and ultra-stable neck and fingerboard. Most guitars have a heavy headstock with six metal machine heads utilizing a gear ratio of 14:1 or 18:1 for tuning the guitar strings. Ned Steinberger wanted to eliminate this peripheral weight and incorporate it into the central mass of the guitar, giving Steinberger guitars greater natural resonance and balance. To achieve this he utilized tuning knobs with a 40:1 gear ratio that are located at the back of the bridge, and which are designed to work with calibrated guitar strings that have a metal ball at both ends (although the guitar can also use standard, single-ball strings). He then eliminated the headstock entirely (making the guitar `headless'), and replaced it with a groove that holds and anchors the string. One metal ball of the guitar string sits in the headpiece groove, and the other end f...
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