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Double Bass Stagg EUB megathread
- Thread starter derrenleepoole
- Start date
Thanks to all for contributing to this thread. I'm interested in a Stagg as an easy to carry, cost effective bass now that I live in Europe and travel often. I have a question I haven't seen addressed. Can the stagg bridge take a loop end string like the Velvet Blues?
Thanks for the help, please feel free to chime in if you have insights!
Thanks for the help, please feel free to chime in if you have insights!
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Hi,
I wasn't completely happy with the sound of my Stagg. The plucked sound was too boomy, and when bowed, the middle 2 strings were much lower in volume than the outer strings. So I decided to build my own piezo saddle, using 4 piezo transducers from dealextreme ( [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] ).
Each string has it's own piezo now, and the piezos are just below the strings instead of down under the feet of the bridge. The bridge is a simple piece of spruce, and between the piezo and the string is a small piece of rosewood.
The arco sound is much better now, and I think the plucked sound is more realistic, too, althoug the A string is somewhat softer than the other strings.
Here's an audio clip (please consider the fact that I'm an absolute beginner on double bass): Link Removed
And here's a picture:
Regards,
Jaap
I wasn't completely happy with the sound of my Stagg. The plucked sound was too boomy, and when bowed, the middle 2 strings were much lower in volume than the outer strings. So I decided to build my own piezo saddle, using 4 piezo transducers from dealextreme ( [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] ).
Each string has it's own piezo now, and the piezos are just below the strings instead of down under the feet of the bridge. The bridge is a simple piece of spruce, and between the piezo and the string is a small piece of rosewood.
The arco sound is much better now, and I think the plucked sound is more realistic, too, althoug the A string is somewhat softer than the other strings.
Here's an audio clip (please consider the fact that I'm an absolute beginner on double bass): Link Removed
And here's a picture:
Regards,
Jaap
Hi, I have the Stagg EDB Deluxe and I'm looking into changing the stock strings to a set of Helicore Hybrids (Medium).
I'll be finger plucking for a jazzier sound but also playing with a bow on occasion, and I understand the Heli Hybrids are a good balance. Would anyone recommend a better alternative?
I'm sure I read somewhere that, due to the longer length on the Stagg from bridge to pin, longer than standard strings are needed - is this the case or will a 3/4 set of Heli Hybrids (or other) be ok?
Cheers
I'll be finger plucking for a jazzier sound but also playing with a bow on occasion, and I understand the Heli Hybrids are a good balance. Would anyone recommend a better alternative?
I'm sure I read somewhere that, due to the longer length on the Stagg from bridge to pin, longer than standard strings are needed - is this the case or will a 3/4 set of Heli Hybrids (or other) be ok?
Cheers
I have no experience with the Helicores.
On my Stagg(s) I have tried the stock strings (kind of ok for pizz, not so good for arco), Spirocore medium (found those having way too much tension on the Stagg and did not like them at all) and Presto Balance (a nice string overall but sounded a bit too metallic on the A if I remember correctly).
So in the end I came back to my favourites and now I use Evah Pirazzi Weich on my Stagg (and on my "real" bass too). Those are long enough. I play my Stagg mostly arco and although the general feel of the Evahs on the Stagg differs from the feel of the same strings on my normal bass (but same string length), the Stagg is a pleasure to use with these strings. And the Evah's are good for pizz too.
On my Stagg(s) I have tried the stock strings (kind of ok for pizz, not so good for arco), Spirocore medium (found those having way too much tension on the Stagg and did not like them at all) and Presto Balance (a nice string overall but sounded a bit too metallic on the A if I remember correctly).
So in the end I came back to my favourites and now I use Evah Pirazzi Weich on my Stagg (and on my "real" bass too). Those are long enough. I play my Stagg mostly arco and although the general feel of the Evahs on the Stagg differs from the feel of the same strings on my normal bass (but same string length), the Stagg is a pleasure to use with these strings. And the Evah's are good for pizz too.
A while back I posted about the strings not sounding balanced when playing arco. See http://www.talkbass.com/threads/stagg-eub-megathread.344951/page-38#post-16293236. Today I finally got around at tinkering with it. I tried al possible settings with the potmeters on the piezos. I tried the bass with only one piezo and with the leads swapped. All to o avail. Whatever I do, the A sounds pretty dead under the bow. The E is a bit lower in volume too but with the sub bass button slightly open (I keep it fully closed when playing pizz) this evens out quite nicely. But the A stays much lower. All strings come from the same set (Evah Pirazzi Weich, about 6 months old). Pizzicato they sound very well balanced and when bowing unamplified the A sounds absolutely fine too.
I see no reason why just one string would sound different. It is not a really big deal as I use my Stagg mainly for practicing while the family sleeps and usually play without it being plunged in at all. But it would be nice to know the cause.
Of course I could try and fit another pickup but maybe there is another solution? One thing I could also try I swapping the A string for another one but to be honest I think the string is not to blame here...
Any other ideas?
I see no reason why just one string would sound different. It is not a really big deal as I use my Stagg mainly for practicing while the family sleeps and usually play without it being plunged in at all. But it would be nice to know the cause.
Of course I could try and fit another pickup but maybe there is another solution? One thing I could also try I swapping the A string for another one but to be honest I think the string is not to blame here...
Any other ideas?
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Hi Erik,
You mighty want to plug out one of the pickup cables or reverse them inside the electronics compartment. You also might to remove the bridge and compare both sides with the piezo cable in it. Maybe putting some cardboard under or on top of the bass side piezo cable might help.
Some Stagg EUBs are not made very well, maybe this is the case with your bass side piezo. If you can return it for another one I would do that, otherwise you need to identify what the reason for the weak bass side. I think either a non-optimal pressure on the piezo cable, damaged piezo cable, wrong pot settings or a damaged electronic.
I ave two Stagg EDBs and both play equally well across the strings. One using factory strings and the other using Presto Balance Hybrid Medium (but played equally balanced with factory strings before).
You mighty want to plug out one of the pickup cables or reverse them inside the electronics compartment. You also might to remove the bridge and compare both sides with the piezo cable in it. Maybe putting some cardboard under or on top of the bass side piezo cable might help.
Some Stagg EUBs are not made very well, maybe this is the case with your bass side piezo. If you can return it for another one I would do that, otherwise you need to identify what the reason for the weak bass side. I think either a non-optimal pressure on the piezo cable, damaged piezo cable, wrong pot settings or a damaged electronic.
I ave two Stagg EDBs and both play equally well across the strings. One using factory strings and the other using Presto Balance Hybrid Medium (but played equally balanced with factory strings before).
Hi all,
Right now, I have 2 pairs of piezos. The E and A string piezos are going to one connector and the D and G piezos to the other. Besides that I have the 2 connectors of the factory piezos. Currently, only the home made piezos under the D and G strings and the factory piezo under the E&A-side of the bridge are plugged in. But I'm not fully satisfied... Arco is well balanced, but when plucked, the A string is weak. The whole thought begind my home made pickups is that I think that different attack / bowing directions will result in different interaction between the 2 factory piezos. So, when bowing the middle 2 strings, I had the impression that the piezos where producing out-of-phase signals. The outer string require a more "vertical" bow movement, so on those strings the movement wil be less of a "rocking" side-to-side movement of the bridge.
I think I will experiment more, maybe by simply combining the factory piezos on on connector and all 4 homemade piezos on the other...
Jaap
Right now, I have 2 pairs of piezos. The E and A string piezos are going to one connector and the D and G piezos to the other. Besides that I have the 2 connectors of the factory piezos. Currently, only the home made piezos under the D and G strings and the factory piezo under the E&A-side of the bridge are plugged in. But I'm not fully satisfied... Arco is well balanced, but when plucked, the A string is weak. The whole thought begind my home made pickups is that I think that different attack / bowing directions will result in different interaction between the 2 factory piezos. So, when bowing the middle 2 strings, I had the impression that the piezos where producing out-of-phase signals. The outer string require a more "vertical" bow movement, so on those strings the movement wil be less of a "rocking" side-to-side movement of the bridge.
I think I will experiment more, maybe by simply combining the factory piezos on on connector and all 4 homemade piezos on the other...
Jaap
@DoubleMIDI: I have tried all I could with swapping plugs, unplugging one and potmeter settings. Whatever I do, the results seem to be the same, a weak A. On top of page 39 of this thread is a picture of my piezo cables, they look ok but they could be bad internally. The feet of the bridge I made have been routed exactly straight and the bridge is at exactly 90 degrees to the body of the bass. So in theory the pressure should be ok. But I guess I'll have double check to make sure. Maybe swapping the whole piezos to the other side might work.
As far as I remember my other Stagg did not have this imbalance but as I have sold that bass I cannot check. That one did have short straight piezo cables under the bridge feet (that made it tilt quite easily) instead of the looped ones on my newer model. Maybe that influences volume too.
As far as I remember my other Stagg did not have this imbalance but as I have sold that bass I cannot check. That one did have short straight piezo cables under the bridge feet (that made it tilt quite easily) instead of the looped ones on my newer model. Maybe that influences volume too.
I also put a krivo pickup on it as the I'm no fan of the stock piezo pickup either.
Erik, if you swapped anything you could and it still is the same thing (with A and E, turning the bass boost is artificial) then either the piezo cable doesn't work right (or at all, try touching the bare piezo cable if it makes a sound at all, otherwise you get the sound of A and E from the treble side pickup).
If this works as well as touching the treble side piezo cable, then the cable is OK, but the mechanical coupling is not. In my older models without the loop there was a groove in the body and I think also in the bridge. In my incomplete new model (bridge, tuners, electronics missing, piezo a in a loop) there is no groove in the body, I think, but I don't have the bridge you need to look for yourself if there is a groove or not. In the old model the groove could be too deep or not deep enough and the sound and volume may suffer.
Since my newer model misses the electronics (I'm waiting for the tuners and swapping necks to get the rosewood fingerboard on my old one then), I cannot check the sound of my newer model. But tapping the piezo cables and listening to the amplified sound should get you one step further identifying the source of the problem.
Sorry that I hadn't looked in your earlier posts again, now you reminded me I can remember.
If this works as well as touching the treble side piezo cable, then the cable is OK, but the mechanical coupling is not. In my older models without the loop there was a groove in the body and I think also in the bridge. In my incomplete new model (bridge, tuners, electronics missing, piezo a in a loop) there is no groove in the body, I think, but I don't have the bridge you need to look for yourself if there is a groove or not. In the old model the groove could be too deep or not deep enough and the sound and volume may suffer.
Since my newer model misses the electronics (I'm waiting for the tuners and swapping necks to get the rosewood fingerboard on my old one then), I cannot check the sound of my newer model. But tapping the piezo cables and listening to the amplified sound should get you one step further identifying the source of the problem.
Sorry that I hadn't looked in your earlier posts again, now you reminded me I can remember.
Thanks for thinking with me DoubleMIDI. I tried it with just one piezo plugged in either hole. Tried all combinations and I always got sound whatever piezo or hole I used. So the piezo does at least work a bit. But I will take off the bridge and investigate further as soon a I have the opportunity.
FYI: The stock bridge on this Stagg had no groove in it. Would not make much sense I guess with the piezos being looped.
FYI: The stock bridge on this Stagg had no groove in it. Would not make much sense I guess with the piezos being looped.
Erik, have you tried your original Stagg bridge? If you use the self made wooden one from your modification, the large hole inside might damp lower frequencies and the inner strings.
Mmm, that's definitely something I have not thought about! I sold the original bridge so I cannot simply swap but I might be able to fill the hole temporarily with a tight fitting piece of wood to see if it makes a difference. And if so I could cut a new bridge. But I do wonder why the D string gives no trouble at all...
Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the tip!
Does any of you have the Stagg hardshell case? And if so, could anyone make a picture of the case with the Stagg in it? I cannot seem to find one online. I am curious to see if my modified Stagg would fit.
My Stagg bag ripped AGAIN last week. It looks nice but the quality is absolutely terrible... Or has anyone found a better alternative?
My Stagg bag ripped AGAIN last week. It looks nice but the quality is absolutely terrible... Or has anyone found a better alternative?
