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Double Bass Stagg EUB megathread

#542
Hello, lately I have decided to get an EUB and decided on the Stagg (the bass is officially a 'Rocket by Stagg')
I bought one and thought that would be the end of it but when it arrived we realize the bridge was quite severely cracked in two places, it is being sent back but now I am stuck as to what to do.
I have seen nothing but praise for the Stagg EDB online, and after some research we found that Stagg started having some instruments made over in china instead, so my questions are; Is there a Stagg EDB and a Rocket by Stagg EDB or are they the same thing, has the manufacturing quality dropped in the last year or few and should I go for another one.
I am quite wary of buying another one so would really appreciate your input on this.
Sorry if this has been said somewhere else in the thread, I didn't see it in a quick scan of the pages.
-Edit: If the Rocket by Stagg and original (and most likely better quality) Stagg basses are different, where can I buy the original?
Thanks
-Dan
 
#543
Hello Aldinari - I've not heard of a "Rocket by Stagg, so don't know what to tell you on that. I found a Stagg bass with the Rocket name on this UK webpage... http://www.normans.co.uk/p-1282-rocket-34-size-electric-double-bass-outfit.aspx , but it looks like a Stagg to me....

Some of the Stagg EDB's made a couple of years ago suffered from broken headstocks ( which has since been solved in more recent builds and better wood), but this is the first I've heard of a cracked bridge. Someone might be using the Rocket name, and selling older Stagg's to get rid of old inventory... If you can, see if the seller can give you a build date based on the serial number. It it's more than a year old, you might be buying one of the older basses....

It might be better to find someone selling a Stagg 3/4 EDB by that name only, with a newer build date, if they can provide you with one... I will say this though, when the headstock broke off my Stagg ( story and pictures posted WAY back in this thread), the Stagg company Rep I dealt with was as good as they come, and sent me a new neck, including the shipping charges (to Hawaii no less!) for free! THAT's great customer service in my book...

Stagg is a great bass for the money - sometimes they need some tweaking (mine did), and sometimes they don't, but I like my bass, it sounds great, and always gets noticed at gigs by people in the audience... keep us informed on how your experience with your Stagg turns out. And, if you have problems with the seller, deal directly with the company; they've got my vote for being professional!
 
#544
The Stagg company does custom labeling of their instruments for distributors. I found at least two music resellers in Germany, which sell Stagg EDBs with their own name on top of the headstock.

They seem to come from the same source, since Stagg EDBs with all these names (including the standard Stagg name) were sold by a company in Germany that sells damaged instruments on Ebay.
 
#545
I think Stagg has upped their game in the past two years in terms of quality. The newer models are definitely better than the older ones in terms of stability and fit.

If you can afford to spend the few extra dollars, get an DL model Stagg. I have one and it's great. They have a real rosewood fingerboard (which makes a big difference in sound and feel while playing) and a wooden bridge. I'd swear, however, that the bridge on mine is plastic. I bought it new from a reputable dealer so I know it hasn't been modded in any way by a previous owner.

The Staggs are well worth the money if you want to get into playing an electric upright.
 
#546
I have to say mine is a 'Rocket By Stagg' and it plays perfectly... Dot markers are in the right places and everything... I've put new strings on it ( which I would recommend anyone to do with the innovation rockabilly strings mentioned earlier in this thread ) and the headstock is fine without filing it down. Also the bridge appears to be black graphite or something, but this is fine as I don't notice the difference...

The product is great and it's given me a lot of entertainment... Also I bought mine from Normans as per the previous link and they have been excellent! I just thought Rocket was an alternative name for the UK?
 
#547
It might be just the name they use in the UK. I've never seen Rocket here in the US. But no matter what it's called, if it rocks, that's great.

I checked my Stagg and the dot markers are dead on. In fact the intonation past the 12th fret is better on my Stagg than on my Ergo! The strings on my Stagg are not too bad either. I won't need to change them for a while.
 
#548
I have owned the Stagg EUB now for around a year, and really can't say much bad about it. Plastic, wood... doesn't really matter to me. What IS important is the feel of an acoustic double bass, and sound quality. I'll admit, the sound quality is now where like an acoustic, but I have come to like the sound. I switch between the acoustic and the Stagg, and I have fund the acoustic is nowhere near as loud, and I find I have to play the acoustic hard to get any kind of volume out of it. With the Stagg, easy playing, and as loud as I like by adjusting the volume control. I love my Stagg EUB!!
 
#549
Has anyone tried using the Stagg EUB with a strap? I replaced the strap button with an extra schaller straplock button to make sure it doesn't fall. I've seen people play an acoustic upright bass resting on it's side almost like it were a bass guitar. Is it possible to do with this instrument?
 
#550
Hi all, purchased a Stagg EUB a few weeks ago and after having done a few mods (bridge isolation and copper shielding the entire cavity), I'm very happy with both the pizz and arco tone, for my limited upright experience.

I thought I'd send this out to this specific community first, and then the general WTB forum: does anyone want to unload their body attachments (specifically, the part that goes towards the player)? My bass shipped without them, and I opted for a discount from the seller since it was their last one. PM me if you don't use the body attachments and would like to make a few bucks selling them to me!
 
#552
I'm not sure if you really can get a fat upright tone out of it since it's not acoustic or hollow. You have to play with the settings on your amp until you get a tone that you like. You also could use a pre-amp like a Fishman BII if you like. I've used the Fishman and a Schatten Mini-Pre but I find that I don't really need them. The Piezo "noise" doesn't seem to be a problem on mine with the flatwound strings.

I generally run mine through an Orange Crush 50BXT amp and have the High at 8 o'clock, the Mid at 11 o'clock, the Low at 9 o'clock and the Gain at 12 o'clock ( I like it loud!). I have the Sub Bass on the Stagg about half way up. This gives me a nice deep tone. I wouldn't say it sounds like a double bass, but it sounds more double bass-ish than electric upright bass-ish if you know what I mean.

I've also run it through my Fender Rumble 150 with a Fender 410 cabinet and it sounds OK, but too sterile for my liking.

Hope this helps you out a bit.
 
#554
hello there! i bought an EDB yesterday and i'm enjoying it very much! but i have a question

i'm using markbass head and amp with the Stagg but i noticed that the "treble" knob on the amp has little to no effect on the sound.. is this normal? since the bass has a piezo bridge i was expecting a more open sound, with more treble... maybe there's something wrong with the electronics inside the Stagg? i've listened to some video on youtube, and the sound seems different... maybe some more experienced TB resident can enlighten me?

thanks a lot! and groove on! :bassist:
 
#557
Hi - newbie here!

I'm a long time BG player, and now have just jumped into the DB world by buying a Stagg EUB. First impressions are excellent; sound is great, intonation spot on out of the box, and no problem of noisy headphones as some have reported on this thread.

The only problems are a) whilst the E, D & G strings have a lovely bright 'growl' to them, the A string sounds comparatively dead, and b) the hand rest won't screw in properly - where it bends round to meet the body, it seems to bend too far, so that the screw fittings can't go in at the correct angle and it cross-threads instead. Anyway, I've contacted my dealer, who has been on to their Stagg rep; as well as sending a couple of new hand rests, they're sending out a new set of strings for me - I can replace the A, and get to keep the rest as spares. Result!

I'm hoping this group may be able to help with a couple of newbie questions:

1) Can anyone give me any advice about basic playing positions? E.g. what height should I raise it to, what playing angle is best, how should the hip support be positioned, etc. I know the answer may be "Whatever feels best", but that isn't always the case.

2) I think the current action is pretty good, and there's no rattle. It's about 3mm at the 5th fret marker, and 5mm at the 12th. Would this generally be considered ok, or could/should I be looking to change it?

3) Can anyone point me in the direction of any basic tutorials, preferable on-line, about playing techniques?

Thanks
 
#558
My typical string height at the end of the fingerboard (!) for any bass with a bit softer strings (like the Stagg strings) is 6mm for the G and up to 9 or 10mm for the E. If you get buzzes with some notes, your fingerboard is not plan. This is some work for a luthier, costs as much as your Stagg and not a good idea to make on the standard painted fingerboard. You can raie the action to avoid the buzzes, but this is harder to play than needed.
So that's a good reason to pull out some more money anf get the RDL Stagg with the rosewood fingerboard. The RDL is generally better than the standard Stagg. I tried them one after the other.
 
#559
DoubleMIDI said:
My typical string height at the end of the fingerboard (!) for any bass with a bit softer strings (like the Stagg strings) is 6mm for the G and up to 9 or 10mm for the E. If you get buzzes with some notes, your fingerboard is not plan. This is some work for a luthier, costs as much as your Stagg and not a good idea to make on the standard painted fingerboard. You can raie the action to avoid the buzzes, but this is harder to play than needed.
So that's a good reason to pull out some more money anf get the RDL Stagg with the rosewood fingerboard. The RDL is generally better than the standard Stagg. I tried them one after the other.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. At the end of the fingerboard my string heights are 10 and 9 mm for the A and G strings, so I may try lowering them, particularly on the G side. At the moment there's no buzz though, and I find it very playable as it is, so I'm happy to stick with this height if does start buzzing when lowered.
 
#560
There are good and less good fingerboards on the Stagg EUBs. I got two (cheap via Ebay because they were slightly damaged), one of them with a good fingerboard, one of them less good. But it could also be a defective string (i.e. getting a bit thicker than it should).

If it is only a very little bit of buzzing and you are sure it is the fingerboard and not the string, you might be able to scrape off a little bit of the fingerboard finish just below the position where your left hand finger is when it buzzes. But be very very careful and don't remove too much (thickness and length) or you will ruin your fingerboard.
I once did it myself on my bass because the luthier did what he could and it took me about two months, working just a very little bit every few days on the fingerboard (under just this one string) until the buzzes got away. Usually this is a job for a luthier, but too expensive to pay.
I won't try to polish the Fingerboard after the final scraping, at least not too much.
 

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