For sale Stambaugh 5 String SC Bass

A lot of T.B.ers will be familiar with the work of luthier Chris Stambaugh, working out of a small shop in New Hampshire. Do a search here and you'll see that his customers are very enthusiastic about his creations.

I'm not sure of the exact date of this build, but I'll guess it's something like 15 years old.



FEATURES:

- Five piece neck, thru body (= not bolt-on).

- 35" Scale

- Woods: Unfortunately I don't know anything for certain! But as a guess, I'll say the neck is maple with purple-heart stringers – they really are kind of purple.

The main body wood (back) may well be mahogany – typical for Stambaugh.



The top must be flamey maple.

Feel free to chime in here, if you're wood smart.

Whatever it all is, you can see: the overall effect is stunning.
(If I was a rich ƒµ©kr, I'd hire Chris to make all my furniture. :^)



– Bartolini Soap Bars

I guess they're the 'Classics', but I wouldn't mess with the setup just to check the underside labeling. They sound pretty much exactly like what you'd expect from Barts – rich and open with their typical defined mids. Plenty burpy if you dial toward the bridge.




– 4-Band Audere Classic Active Preamp

Love this EQ! Mid-range is too vast to only have one band; once you have two you'll never want to go back.

And I love the frequencies they chose for them: Low Mid at 200hz, High Mid at 800hz (ie, center freqs 2 octaves apart).

800hz is the beginning of nasalness, and is exactly where many folks will cut for a tasty slap tone, or boost for more grind.

Low Mids @ 200, otoh, is an extremely useful freq, around the top of what I call the 'oomph' region.
If you want a fuller sound, try this one first before you reach for the Bass knob (<– which reaches down into the subs, and which you may not want gobbling your headroom or competing with the kick drum).

200hz is also the beginnings of pitch intelligibility, so it starts to contribute to the definition of your note choices.

When I first got the bass I wasn't instantly finding some of my preferred tones. It took me a minute to, uh, intuitive-ise what each EQ band brings; but once I grasped it I was tone-carving and sculpting like a pro.

One quirk of the control system I've noticed is: When both pickups are used equally (i.e, in the middle of the P.U. Balance knob's travel), the sound is a bit warmer/less bright than either pickup is, soloed. But it's just an idiosyncrasy; and with the fantastic EQ on tap, you can easily dial in whatever cut you want/need.

I've found I like to pan a bit away from center, anyway – to somewhat favor the neck for rock/pop, and a bit toward the bridge for funkier/R&B stuff.



– Quick Access Battery Compartment
Which is a godsend, btw. I've never run out of juice on a gig, but if I did, it would take about 12 seconds to get a fresh 9V in there.



– Fully Adjustable, Excellent Bridge
I don't see a brand name on it, but I notice its Allen/Hex nuts fit Metric, so likely European. Though I don't know this design, it kind of smells German to me… (Someone correct me.) Anyway, it's a quality piece.

Best thing is: you don't have to thread the string's ball-end thru a hole. You can get the string mostly wound at the tuner, and then just pop the ball-end into the bridge saddle when it's ready for final tune-up – awesome convenience.

The string spacing at the bridge is adjustable (useful feature!).
I have it set fairly narrow, almost down to 16mm (5/8"). It could go a hair narrower and considerably wider (probably wider than the neck could accommodate).
The neck is wide enough to take 18mm (almost ¾") – around Jazz bass spacing.

The unmarked tuners look similar to Grover Titans. Whatever they are, they hold tune great, and have top notch build & finish.



I think* this bass weighs not much past 9 1/2 lbs. Not bad for this kind of exotic woodwork, and for a single cut 5 string. I've routinely played it on 5 hour jobs; with a quality strap I've found it perfectly comfortable.
[* I say 'think', only because my old analog scale won't be quite up to digital accuracy standards.]

Oh, it's currently fitted with
– Dunlop Straplok strap nipples
(which I've had on all my basses – I find the strap parts rattle less than the Schaller equivalent, just my mileage…) I'll toss in a fresh pack of these, just to get you started with your strap.



CONDITION:

Plays & functions perfectly, no known issues.

It really is a pleasure to play – solid, hifi, and nuanced like the fine instrument it is.

I just changed the strings and played it a bit, and lemme tell you, the sheer joy of it gives me pause about selling it.


I haven't had it set up, cuz I've never really felt the need. However, if the new owner chooses to do so, it's only going to feel even better than it already does.

The frets show some string marks, but I haven't noticed buzzing or low spots, so they shouldn't require attention any time soon.



You can see from the photos that this bass is quite a looker!

Note though, that as beautiful as the woodwork is, this is not a collector's wall piece: This was gigged steadily for a few years. Not unexpectedly, some small surface marks can be found, if searched for.

Luckily the front and back faces are quite clean. Like: no one watching you play could know this is not a new bass.



You'll have to inspect the edges of the body to find some little marks, the most being on the end of the lower horn – see pic (remember, this is a macro/close-up – it's less noticeable in real life).



Oh, I just spotted a little ding in the photo of the back of the headstock, just above the A string tuner.



For what it's worth, I personally had never even noticed any of these marks until I started checking it over, prior to writing this ad!



Standard black hard-shell case. Honestly, it's not in great shape, and one latch is wonky, but it will certainly protect the bass in transit.


I'm now retired from my wedding band/party work, and I find myself playing less and less.

This bass needs someone who'll play it, and love it like I have.



***SOLD*** ...

Price: $1300 This is way under half what Chris Stambough would ask for a modestly spec'ed 5 build – let alone one with woodwork like this.

Paypal please.
(I hate to pay their fees, but at least they take care of customs & paperwork – and give the buyer some protection).

Ships from Montreal.

Unfortunately, shipping from/within Canada is expensive. :^/

$100 Shipping (and I'll still have to cover a chunk of the actual cost myself.)