I used to have a few steinburgers, but the steins broke during a move and I ate the burgers...
 
As for a Steinberger, I used to have one of his guitars with upgraded pickups - great for traveling!
 

Moshkito
 
In general, I would suggest checking out OTHER basses out there. I have become enamored with the Status Graphite (headless) and want to try one bad, including a Steinberger (sp?), but have not had the chance, since no stores carry them!
 ....
I had a Fender Jazz bass for over 25 years. Alas, it did not get enough play, although I was fine with it, because I simply could not get the nice tone that I originally had with the Gibson EB-0 (with the pegs back instead of side!), and in the end, the desire to have that strong tone, was lost on the Fender Jazz ability for me. I have not studied or played the bass much since then, when the Fender was gone. I've never been able to get some help in trying to figure out how to get that strong tone, and depth, out of the Jazz bass, and never have tried a Precision.
 
But I want to try the Streamline one, but can't.

Important warning if you're going from a short-scale to a headless:  I bought a headless Steinberger online once, and was shocked at the scale.  Those first few frets were REALLY far apart, and that was going from a 34" scale P-Bass.  I've got really long fingers, and still had trouble reaching from the 1st to 4th frets.  I can't imagine what the difference would feel like going from a Gibson.
Make sure you try before you buy!

Beepster
... 
Personally I think you have to spend a FORTUNE to get a good Gibson bass. I mean once you get a good one it's a FREAKING good one and worth the money but for the budget minded consumer there are other brands offering MUCH better basses for what you'd pay for a low end Gibby/Epi. The opposite is true for their guits though. You can get some BRILLIANT low cost Epi and "Gibson" guitars. I just wouldn't go for their basses.
 ...

I'm not sure that the Gibson EB-0 was exactly a low end product at the time. Compared to other instruments 40 years later, it might be considered so, but it was still way above average in my book, and the band I stayed with for half a year, loved to use it on many occasions because of its different sound.
 
I can not explain that, as it is not something I have studied at all.

I have a MIM Fender repro of the '63 J bass (like the used one I bought in high school in '67, but black instead of sunburst), bought for obvious nostalgia reasons, and a MIA Gibson SG short scale. Like them both. Quite different tone.
 
I'd suggest first looking for used locally, playing as many different models as possible. Somewhere in there, you'll find one that suits you.
 
My other suggestion would be to make sure that the truss rod can be adjusted from the head stock. I need to do a truss rod adjustment on my Fender, and have to remove the neck to get at it. A real PITA. Avoid if possible!
 
EDIT:
 
Holy smokes! I just ran another Google search on truss rod adjustments for vintage Fender basses and found one I've never seen before...from Fender! Go to 3:51 and watch from there. He demonstrates a way to do the adjustment without removing the neck or damaging the pickguard. Very cool!
 

Slugbaby
 
Important warning if you're going from a short-scale to a headless:  I bought a headless Steinberger online once, and was shocked at the scale.  Those first few frets were REALLY far apart, and that was going from a 34" scale P-Bass.  I've got really long fingers, and still had trouble reaching from the 1st to 4th frets.  I can't imagine what the difference would feel like going from a Gibson.
Make sure you try before you buy!

I'm guessing this would have been a 5-string with a 35" scale. I think all the 4-strings were the standard 34" scale.
 
Regardless, I don't think the OP wants a Steinberger for an oldies gig. 
 
But for anyone else - be aware that it is not uncommon for certain 5 and 6 string basses to have 35" (or even 36") scale lengths.

I can recommend a used Yamaha BB 604 ,which are offered in the "bay" for arround 300 bucks .
Imo it´s a very good  alround bass , using this bass since more than 12 years 
and have got a lot of different sounds with that one.
Yamaha bb 604, Gap pre 73 or Di box and sometimes a
 amp simu like Ik´s  ampeg svx or mark bass  I like a lot
 
It has an active electronic which needs a battery. But no 
problem (like mentioned above) cause it takes very long til the  battery is empty.
 

I was intending to bring up the whole truss rod thing but went off after other shiny things.
 
Definitely... if an otherwise awesome bass plays like a pig check the truss rod. It's of course important for guits but for bass (due to the longer neck) it can make a HUUUUUGE difference in playability. Also saddle height adjustments.
 
A lot of these economy basses you pickup at the music shops (and the guits too) have not been set up at ALL. Therefore a bass/guit that is otherwise really really nice might seem like a piece of garbage without a proper setup. That P-Bass I was talking about earlier actually suffered from that same problem. I had bought it used and I don't think the previous owner had the wherewithal to get it set up or do it themselves... and neither did I. It still worked great for what I was doing but it was a PIG to play. At one point after owning it for years a seriously hardcore bass nerd buddy of mine got his hands on it (we were about to go on tour and it was going to serve as the backup bass). He did a truss rod and saddle adjustment on it (and even fiddle with the nut a bit) and DAMN did that bass go from absolute PIG to playing like a dream.
 
Since then I've learned about truss rod adjustments and setting action/intonation and it's made my life much easier especially for studio work (where intonation becomes SUPER important due to all warts being exposed on "tape").
 
Point is... even if something is playing like a POS you may be holding a jewel in the rough simply due to the fact a lot of stringed instruments leave the factory floor without a second thought given to such matters (and why some stores will toss in "free" setups). Knowing the signs of an improperly set up instrument can end up getting you a better deal by way of the owner getting fed up with it without knowing how to set it up.
 
PS: If you intend to make truss rod adjustments though be VERY careful because that is one thing that can destroy an instrument. You push the rod too hard because you don't know what you are doing (or you are dealing with a neck that is actually WARPED instead of just an improperly set truss rod) you can actually snap the truss rod. Replacing a truss rod is a huge deal and likely only worth it for REALLY nice/expensive instruments.
 
 
Sorry... extra blathering. Hopefully useful in your search though.
 
PPS: Steinbergs are indeed cool but really.... they're expensive for good ones. I think you are correct in keeping it simple with the P/J Bass stuff. Then if you want to get all fancy later you can take your expereince with those models and figure out what you like better on the showroom floor.
 
 
Cheers.

Moshkito
 
I can not explain that, as it is not something I have studied at all.

And since when has that stopped you from postulating/pontificating endlessly?

bapu

Moshkito
 
I can not explain that, as it is not something I have studied at all.

And since when has that stopped you from postulating/pontificating endlessly?

Now, now, now.........THAT ^^^ was funny!!

Just for the record I actually wasn't referring to Moshie's (seemingly vintage) EB-0 in my posts. Quite possible it's awesome and AFAIK up until the early 90's Epi's and Gibby's were pretty consistently solid. If it's an older one I'd be quite interested to play it.
 
Also not saying short scale basses are crap or inappropriate. They're actually kind of cool to whack away at but if possible for the player I'd still recommend full scale.
 
CSB: Actually that very same P-Bass I've been blathering on about spent most of my ownership of it in the hands of my friend. She (yes SHE) was tiny and hadn't ever played bass before (and only done a little bit of hacking away on a guitar). I got her to play for one of my more ridiculous punk bands and taught her how to muscle through the tunes on that old P-Bass (back when it was still a total pig). She took to it like a freaking champ and has been playing some seriously hardcore tunes in all sorts of bands ever since.
 
Thing is she's essentially five foot nothin' and that old P-Bass made her look like a big plus sign (+) when she had it strapped to her (which I thought was awesome and hilarious). Eventually she got a cheapo short scale bass (after about a decade of using that old P) and she could FLY on it. I slapped it around a bit myself and it was pretty sweet.
 
It did however look proportional to her body size which kind of ruined some of the entertainment value for me being the arsehole I am. Still awesome how she rips it up and just totally ran with it all.
 
/csb