News

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of NS Design’s founding, this special limited edition of the NXT four-string upright bass is now available to consumers.  Featuring a cream finish, each of these instruments will be signed on the back by Ned Steinberger.  Only 20 were produced for the U.S. market.  You can click on the pictures below […]

On January 16th, at the 2010 Winter NAMM convention, NS Design presented the Museum of Making Music with the first of a Limited Edition NXT upright electric bass, created in celebration of 20th Anniversary of the founding of NS Design by Ned Steinberger. Museum curator Tatiana Sizonenko, along with and Carolyn Grant, museum executive director, […]

We were honored to receive this video from Danusha Waskiewicz, a violinist and violist from Germany, who performed Benjamin Yusupov’s “Viola Tango Rock Concerto” with the Tonkünstler Orchestra in St. Polten, Austria, this past October.  The piece specifically calls for the soloist to improvise on the electric viola.  Danusha switches between the acoustic and electric […]

NS Design congratulates cellist David Darling on receiving a Grammy nomination for “Best New Age Album” for his album “Prayer for Compassion”.  The nomination takes its place atop a list of many honors David has already received in his career.  “Prayer for Compassion” was named CD of the Month by Echoes Radio and features David’s […]

Corey Redonnett, NS Design’s Artist Relations manager, recent interviewed violinist David Ragsdale about his work with the bands Kansas and Native Window, his musicial upbringing, and his thoughts on his NS violin.   Click here to listen to the interview and watch the slideshow.

Hi all. Today, I am the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. It is one of the largest annual gatherings of music educators and music companies. If you are a music educator and have never been to this event, it is really worth the effort to get here at some point. The string education sessions began this […]

In partnership with D’Addario, NS Design has developed a full range of NS Electric strings.  These steel-cored strings are available in standard lengths for violin, viola, and cello. Smooth-polished Omni Bass strings will also fit any standard 34″-35″ bass guitar, giving a rich bass tone and clear singing upper register. Upright bass strings are available […]

Hi all!  This is the introduction from my presentation at the NCMEA Fall In-service Conference in mid-November.  I will be giving this session again at the ASTA National Conference in Santa Clara, CA in Feb.  I hope to see you there! Scott

We received a very nice letter from JC Magsalin, a bass player from Manila, who has been playing the CR4M bass and loving its versatility.  We’re always psyched to hear how people appreciate our instruments in all corners of the globe! Hello there, My name is Juan Carlo “JC” Magsalin. I’m a session bass player […]

NS Design announces a new designation for the model formerly called Bass Cello. We proudly reintroduce an instrument which, in bridging the electric bass guitar and upright electric bass, is now, and more appropriately, named Omni Bass. What’s Omni Bass all about? The NS Omni Bass breaks through conventional barriers by integrating both acoustic and […]

Scott Laird, NS Design’s ambassador to the world of string education, has produced a series of videos for D’Addario strings introducing aspects of the electric violin.  Using his CR-4 as an example, Scott talks about amps, effects, tone controls, and what to look for in your first electric violin.  Check them out! Transitioning from an […]

We are delighted to announce that the new NXT series Double Bass will be available November 1st, 2009.  The NXT  opens up a new horizon for the serious bassist looking to play a great instrument on a limited budget.  These new instruments, crafted in the Czech Republic by the makers of the renowned CR Series, […]

Matt Schoening just sent us this video he made for Strings magazine, in which he demonstrates the Boss RC-50 looping system that he uses with his NS Cello.  Matt does a great job explaining how he uses the technology and gives us a great taste of his skills with the instrument.  The accompanying article, written […]

The band Kansas, featuring David Ragsdale playing his CR violin, is planning to release a live DVD of their February 7th performance at Washburn University.  Read the press release below and check out this great clip from the video! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: KANSAS TO CELEBRATE 35TH ANNIVERSARY WITH LIVE SYMPHONIC DVD, ‘THERE’S KNOW PLACE LIKE HOME,’ […]

Getting comfortable with your violin is an important for successful practice and performance. The instrument is cradled intimately against the body, yet we are all shaped differently.  In response to this ongoing issue, I’ve developed a new shoulder rest that should bring a higher level of comfort and support to many players. The new “Custom” […]

Bass player Amos Heller has played just about every kind of music you can think of—from classical music to Zappa-esque rock, with some worship music and combo jazz in between. Since moving to Nashville in 2005, he’s been backing up a number of big acts, but his biggest gig yet was playing the 2009 Grammy […]

Dave Rowe, leader of the Maine-based Dave Rowe trio and a good friend of NS Design, recently began using the Boomerang Shoulder Strap on his Steinberger Synapse guitar. Not only has it made the instrument more comfortable to play, Dave says the improved ergonomics have made his playing better: “It has been about six months […]

NS Design is pleased to announce the name of its new line of electric bowed instruments: the NXT series. The NXT name was selected from among over 1,100 entries in an online contest, held from June 1st to June 15th. Bass-player Catherine Konrath made the winning entry—time-stamped at 3:27 PM EST on June 1st. However, […]

Back in the NS Design shop this month, after 12 years’ absence, was a very rare instrument. Known simply as “the black violin”, it’s a prototype that Ned built by hand shortly after leaving Steinberger Sound Company. He says that in many ways, it’s the culmination of the design ideas he began working on with […]

The contest to gather name suggestions for our newest line of electric bowed instruments finished at the end of the day yesterday, June 15th.  We received over a thousand suggestions from 414 people.  We’ll announce the winner here soon, and hope to begin producing the instruments later this summer.  Thanks again to all who participated.

David Ragsdale has sent us this video of the band Kansas rehearsing for their 35th anniversary concert. David’s performance on the CR violin is nothing short of awesome! Hey guys- While far from what the final product will look or sound like, here’s a bootleg video of the dress rehersal that someone posted on you […]

NS Design is coming out with a great new line of electric bowed instruments, and we want to give the line a great name to match. It’s not a CR. It’s not a WAV. It’s a _____? Suggest the winning name to us and win one of the instruments for your own! NS Design will […]

Corey Redonnet, NS Design’s artist relations manager, recently sat down with Ed Howe, a violinist who plays the CR-5 and who has worked closely with Ned over the years. Here is the transcript of their conversation: NS CR: Allright Ed, thanks for coming out today. I’d like to get a little bit of background, where […]

Violinist Gregory Walker writes with an invitation to anyone in the Denver area to catch the debut of his WAV violin in a Jazz performance on Thursday, April 30th. Dear Friends, It’s not every day I get to explore jazz improvisation with the violin, but next Thursday, May 30th, at 7:30 pm at Denver’s Kenneth […]