Hee hee... that's a Steinberger Spirit 5... good instrument for some things.
The Spirit 5 is Ned Steinberger's follow up to his all-composite six and four stringers... instead, the Spirit 5 is a hardwood neck-through-body. it's heavier, which some don't like, but in comparison to my other instruments, and my physical build, the weight is insignificant. People ask me why I have a five-string, my answer is "because I'll still have four when I break one..." (*anyone who says it's impossible to break bass strings, doesn't know what a real bass player is...)..
In any other groups I've played in, the Spirit 5 wouldn't be an instrument I'd choose for a variety of reasons, but for this group, it's almost ideal. I normally prefer long-scale instruments (37+ inches from nut to bridge) because the longer string span allows me to vary the tone substantially using my hands. The Spirit 5 is a bit limited in that respect, but for this group, it's not a serious deal, as the group is large, I keep my tonality fairly constant and range restricted to keep the mix from getting overwhelmed.
The thing that really makes it great, is that it's compact. With anywhere from 10-15 on stage, it can get a bit crowded, and with three others singing and dancing with me, the 'burger' is much less likely to get whacked against a mic stand, or jab Nicole (to my right) in the ribs, or hit John (keyboard) or Tom (guitar/mandolin) when I swing around. If I were playing one of my other instruments, we'd need an ambulance...
https://www.identitycrisisqca.com/
Btw... yes, the Steinberger has no knobs.... and it looks like it doesn't have a rear pickup... it actually does... it just doesn't have a front pickup... I removed the front, and moved the rear pickup to the front, deleted the volume and tone controls... wiring goes from pickup, straight to the jack. I use the rear pickup void to control the instrument (I hook my fingers in it at times), and having no knobs, no potentiometers, no switches, etc, in the instrument means it never suffers from 'scratchy' or intermittant controls. Plug it in, it's full-blast... I do the rest with the preamp controls, and send it through a DI to the mixing board. For our indoor gigs, I basically never use an amplifier- Ethan has LOTS of me in our mains, and my drummer has a pair of powered monitors flanking his kit, so nobody has difficulty hearing me. When we're playing an outdoor show, I usually use a Peavey KB-100 keyboard amp, tilted back 45 degrees, to provide clarity. Outdoor shows require substantially more PA power, because what the crowds don't absorb, travels far away, rather than getting reflected back... and as a result, it takes local amplification.
