New Book on Ned Steinberger Now Available
Ned Steinberger has been pushing the boundaries of musical instrument creation for decades. His first instrument design was the Spector NS-1 in 1977, which has been the company’s best-selling design. Soon after, he created the headless Steinberger Bass, which helped the bass world reimagine the instrument. He’s continuing to refine his designs with NS Design. Now, we can all get a deeper look into his history and concepts with a new book called Steinberger: A Story of Creativity and Design by Jim Reilly.
“Throughout his career, Ned has also worked with other builders and manufacturers and created or contributed to countless projects ranging from electronic tuners and pickups to acoustic guitars and drum head tuners. Truly, anytime you see ‘NS’ in a music store it stands for Ned Steinberger,” the book’s description states. “With all those accomplishments, many say that Ned is an unlikely musical hero. Therein lies the story. He is not a musician. He comes from the world of art and design rather than the world of music, but his influence can be seen to this day and he holds a place of honor alongside other visionaries like Leo Fender, Les Paul, and Ted McCarty.”
The 272-page book features interviews with artists and notable figures in the music industry including Stuart Spector, Vinny Fodera, Emmett Chapman, Bakithi Kumalo, Steve Miller, Andy West, Jeff Babicz, and more. Tony Levin, who is also featured, also wrote the introduction.
“The first Steinberger bass was a marriage of design innovation and classic sound,” Levin writes in the foreword. “The Steinberger and NS Design instruments that followed often surprised us with their innovations but, more than that, they gratified our need to have a distinctive and satisfying sound – they are instruments to help us on our musical journeys. When considering the modern masters of form and function, Ned Steinberger’s name belongs at the head of the list.”
Steinberger: A Story of Creativity and Design is available now in paperback and Kindle formats.
