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(More customer reviews)I 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 fits into a tuner jaw at the base of the bridge. Since the length of the string is exactly calibrated, you simply turn the tuning knob near the bridge clockwise to tighten the string. With a metal ball at each end, no cutting of the string is necessary, and the string cannot lose tension or slip at the tuning machine head. This double-ball system makes string changing much simpler and faster, and results in a more accurate and stable guitar tuning overall. If you break a string, for example, the tension of the other strings is not affected, and they retain their pitch. However, it does mean that the guitar works best with the slightly more expensive calibrated double-ball strings that are available in standard, light, and extra-light gauge from many string manufacturers (for example, D'Addario ESXL120 Double Ball End Electric Guitar Strings, Extra Light). The Steinberger brand calibrated string package for the trans-trem comes with an extra high E string (Steinberger TransTrem Calibrated 6-String Guitar - Standard) or (Steinberger TransTrem Calibrated 6-String Guitar - Light).
The ZT-3 also has a phenolic fingerboard made of ultra-stable composite materials that make it much harder than wood, while also endowing it with the smooth feel of a maple neck, for faster guitar playing. The fretboard also has 24 frets so that you have a full four-octave range (not counting harmonic notes). Most traditional electric guitars have 22 frets.
The open-coil humbucker pickups can be accessed in both series wiring (producing a louder, fatter tone) and parallel wiring (producing a softer, yet brighter sound) depending upon the position of the push-pull knobs. This gives one an array of eight initial sound settings for the two pickups that can then be modulated by the tone control, so that one can get a very wide range of sounds and timbres.
The guitar also has a built-in fold-down leg rest, a recessed output jack in the back, adjustment tools that reside in the built-in tool holder, a limited lifetime warranty, and comes with a nicely padded gig bag (but I recommend that you order the matching hard shell case [Steinberger Hard Case ZT3 TransTrem Electric Guitar] that is molded to fit the guitar exactly). I also recommend getting a strong and comfortable leather guitar strap (such as a Levy's Levy's Leathers MSS1-BLK Veg Tan Leather Guitar Strap,Black) that you never remove from the guitar so that the attachment holes never wear down. I think the ZT-3 is also one of the most aesthetically attractive of the Steinberger guitars, but is clearly not as minimalist as some of his previous models. Its flamed maple top comes in red, blue, and grey.
To hear and see the guitar in action, visit YouTube, where you can see Bryan Aspey's many award-winning guitar performances with his ZT-3, as well as a number of other demonstrations at the site (one guitarist simulates slide guitar using the tremolo to great effect). Allan Holdsworth plays his blue ZT-3 at "Allan Holdsworth w. Gary Husband - Apeldoorn, 2009."
The electric guitar industry is, in many ways, surprisingly conservative, promoting about a dozen excellent electric guitar models that have been around since the 1950s, and only recently offering innovative guitars that utilize the latest digital and robotic technologies. Ned Steinberger is to be congratulated for his innovative guitar that successfully breaks new ground and grants guitarists new playing possibilities. Future digital or robotic guitars may replace the trans-trem system with digital transposing software, or rapid and accurate robotic tuning machines. But I think the strength of this guitar lies in its compact yet balanced size, strong natural resonance, superb tuning accuracy and stability, the range of its many sounds, its flexible yet accurate vibrato system, its basic working mechanics, and the fact that is costs much less than many more popular guitars that lack many of the ZT-3's innovations.
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