“White Lion was on tour with Aerosmith, and I wanted to switch from Strats and see what Steinberger was all about…”: Vito Bratta on why he made the leap to his iconic ’88 Steinberger GM2T

The year is 1989. Vitto Bratta, White Lion guitarist and one of the most-respected gunslingers in the rock scene is on the cover of Guitar World, and he’s brandishing his Steinberger GM2T. 

A headless S-style electric guitar with a heck of a twist, it, not to mention his chops, set Bratta apart from the crowd. But what’s the story behind it? Well, as Bratta explains, it all goes back to 1988, a tour with Aerosmith, and the desire to try something different…

When and where did you get this guitar?

“It would have been sometime in the spring of 1988. White Lion was on tour with Aerosmith, and I wanted to switch from Strats and see what Steinberger was all about. A friend in Staten Island [New York] had a store called Mandolin Brothers near my house; I checked one out there and then I asked Steinberger to send me one. That’s when they built my white guitar.”

Why did you want to switch to Steinberger from a Stratocaster?

“I had gotten into a high-tech mode. I switched from ’60s Marshalls to ADA pre- and power amps, and I was just in a mode where I wanted all the newest tech and gear. What I loved about the Steinberger was when I walked on an arena stage, and they hit those big powerful spotlights, and all the stuff engaged, it would stay in tune. 

“With an all-wood Strat, that wasn’t the case. Plus, it was all automatic Eddie Van Halen comparisons when I played a Strat-style guitar, so I wanted something different.”

What notable recordings did you use the Steinberger on?

“It debuted on that Aerosmith tour, and I also used it on tour with AC/DC. It was my main guitar until around ’91, so it would have been on all of Big Game, with Little Fighter being an example. I would have used it on some of Mane Attraction, too.”

Considering that Steinberger built this guitar at your request, did it have any custom specs?

“It’s definitely not a Strat. It has an 81 EMG Active pickup in the neck and an 85 EMG Active pickup in the bridge. There was a factory modification done that only my guitars had, which is I only had one volume knob and a two-way switch. Usually they came with two knobs, one for volume and one for tone, and a three-way switch.”

Why did you choose this guitar for your GW cover shoot?

“It was my main guitar, so it was the one I had to have with me. When they called me up to do the shoot, I took that, as it had been in the videos for Little Fighter and Cry for Freedom. That was the main one for me then, so I never gave it a second thought. That was it.”

Do you still own the white Steinberger?

“Oh, yeah. It’s lying on my bed next to me right now. Everything is the same; it’s all original. What I used to do back then was when I loved a guitar, I’d have a few of them. 

“I have a more varied collection now, but I’ll always keep the white Steinberger. I’ve got a bunch of different guitars, but that one’s always next to me. It was such a massive part of my life, so I always keep it around. It’s just a very special guitar.”