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Double Bass Stagg EUB megathread

#81
People I bought this bass, and have played it live and in the studio.

First thing that really is terrible on it are the strings, so prepare for buying a new and better set (I bought D'Addario Light Helicore Hybrid set at 100 Euros) which does improve sound and comfort in playing.

The sound is really not very good, you have to think really hard about the kind of amp settings you use, and it's certainly best without the built in sub-bass, using it clean with a bow it almost sounds like a DB.

Another thing is it's response on the higher ends of the neck, practically none of the high notes sounds like you'd expect, it sounds more like it is whinging than making a note. And they all sound pretty uniformly muddy. Saxnbass is dead on right there. Hell of a lot hard finger work just to get a little mud-covered high note out of it.
Generally I find the neck too awkward to play anywhere in the high range, a very slow action on this neck for some reason. The first time I used it live it really tired my hands out just doing the simplest playing, something that never happens with a traditional hollow body DB.

With a bow and all the above settings the sound is a little more decent. But the main problem is the almost total lack of any resonance on the body itself, which translates into a sound that may be deeper than a BG but has none of that satisfying decay you'd get from a better EDB, it just kind of dies out on the tail of the notes.

I agree with thesuzi the bridge is deeply odd, I've been looking into finding an alternative bridge. NO luck yet, and I don't know if the rest of it is really good enough to bother. The extra cost would probably cover buying a WAV 4.

Also there is no mystery about the material in the neck, it is wood with a thick plastic-like varnish. I know because I just sent mine back to get a replacement, since after a month or so of playing it (not too regularly) the base of the head started splitting, revealing the white wood of the under structure.

All in all if I had the money I'd go for a more established EDB, this one impressed people when I played it live, but that's mostly because it looks good on stage, sound wise, especially compared to a real hollow body, it bears no resemblance to a double bass.

I personally found the most successful way to get a half decent sound out of it was to play it on flat settings, both on the EDB and on the amp (in my case my trusty Laney 60 watt bass combo with all the knobs turned to their flattest setting).

I hope this is helpful.
 
#82
Hi all!

I need some real photos of EDB 3/4 to choose my favourite color and then buy it on internet :)

I need photo of this versions:

violinburst
dark brown
trasparente red

Can someone help me?

Many many thanks!
Fabio (Italy)

p.s. if you have problems to post pic, you can send it directly to my email address here: wavebass(at)gmail(dot)com
 
#84
i just get one and even i am NOT a pro i can spot every single problem ya get...you're soooo right....
up neck is almost impossible to play and when something comes is basically def....
the bass itself looks good maybe that's why catch my eyes on thomann and the price as well...now i am looking for new strings couse those ones ,expecially E sring,really sucks...
if this is my way to the e.d.bass world with this i 've plenty to do....=)
 
#85
Hi.
I recently bought a Stagg EDB 3/4 - electric upright bass and have the same hum problems Nigel describes in post # 62.

When searching the Internet for a solution, or other having the same problem, I found a post where a owner had changed the output jack, and this seemed to solve the problem. I've not tried this on my yet, but I will.

If there is anyone having a good solution out there, I mostly appriciate it.
 
#86
Oliphant said:
Hi.
I recently bought a Stagg EDB 3/4 - electric upright bass and have the same hum problems Nigel describes in post # 62.

When searching the Internet for a solution, or other having the same problem, I found a post where a owner had changed the output jack, and this seemed to solve the problem. I've not tried this on my yet, but I will.

If there is anyone having a good solution out there, I mostly appriciate it.
Click to expand...

I've now tried to change the output jack. This made no difference.:hmm:
 
#87
A hum problem can usually indicate poor insulation in or around the pickup and electronics. The Stagg EUB is after all just a fancy fretless bass played upright, and uses the same principals of amplifying the signal of any other electric bass. Try insulating these cavities with self adhesive copper foil, costs about £3 for a roll and makes a huge difference to potential interference problems.
 
#88
Oliphant said:
Hi.
I recently bought a Stagg EDB 3/4 - electric upright bass and have the same hum problems Nigel describes in post # 62.

When searching the Internet for a solution, or other having the same problem, I found a post where a owner had changed the output jack, and this seemed to solve the problem. I've not tried this on my yet, but I will.

If there is anyone having a good solution out there, I mostly appriciate it.
Click to expand...

I recently came across a Stagg with the hum problems, on closer inspection with a multi-meter, I discovered that the metal plate the electronics are fastened to has no connection with the earth side of the signal. Coupled with the lack of screening in the cavity beneath the control plate means the electronics are not screened at all.

Fortunately, it's a very easy fix, only requiring some self-adhesive aluminium (aluminum) foil which can be bought on a roll like gaffa tape from a hardware store, a cross-head screwdriver, a scraping implement, pencil and a 10mm spanner. It took me about 20 mins to fix the hum problem. The self-adhesive backing of the foil tape I used seems to be conductive so taping foil on top of other foil doesn't seem to be a problem.

Disclaimer: the following instructions will no doubt invalidate your warranty, if in any doubt of your own competence, seek professional help.

First, remove the battery to prevent the electrics from letting the smoke out. Remove the electronics control plate and the long plastic back cover from the rear of the instrument. You will probably find a feable attempt at foil sheilding insdie the cavity underneath the long cover. I removed it all to do the job properly.

There are two channels in the cavity for the wires to run down. Clear the wires away from the cavity the best you can to gain access to the channels. The two peizo leads can be unplugged (they are terminated in mini jack plugs) from the control plate to make this easier, just remember which way round they go back. Take the foil tape and line the whole cavity to include the rebate where the plastic and electronic plates sit. Ensure you follow the profile of the wire channels to make sure the wires will be recessed enough to clear the end pin when retracted into the body. If you don't want to leave anything to chance,. also line the cavity underneath the jack plate, being careful to allow clearance for the jack socket terminals.

Now that the cavity is fully foiled, lay the peizo wires and the grey signal wire leading to the jack socket into the channels and tape them down with foil tape. The battery wire (red-black lead) can then be taped down afterwards. I did it like this so the audio wires were fully sheilded from the battery wire. Check that the wires are clear from snagging by the endpin by sliding it in and out a few times.

Once you have the whole of the caviity foiled you can then proceed to the electronics plate itself. This is covered by the same black plastic coating that everything else seems to be but unfortunately, it also insulates the electronics earth side from the metal plate.

Carefully pull off the sub-bass control knob from the control shaft to expose the nut and washer holding it in place. Take the pencil and draw a line around the washer. With a 10mm spanner, remove the nut and washer. You should be able to see the circular pencil line. With an implement to scrape away the plastic coating, scrape inside the circle till you get back to bare metal. When satisfied that you have removed enough of the black plastic coating, replace the washer and tighten the nut. Don't over tighten or you might strip the threads.

On the underside of the metal plate, there are three screw holes along one edge for fastening this plate to the body. The middle screw hole is the one I used for the next step. With the scraping implement, remove the black plastic covering around this hole on the underside (inside surface) to expose the bare metal and extend for about a centimetre or half inch either side of it. The idea here is that when you mount the plate on your body again, the bare metal will make contact with the foil you extended into the plate recess.

You should now have a bond between the earth of the electronics and the metal plate. This can be checked with a multimeter set as a continuity checker or on the lowest ohm range. Check for continuity or zero ohms between one of the minijack socket securing nuts and the bare metal near the screw hole you just made.

If it checks ok, plug the peizos back in, refasten the control plate and the plastic cavity covers and refit the battery. Incidentally, the black plastic cavity cover should already have a foil backing on the underside. If it doesn't, foil the underside yourself. Now plug your noiseless Stagg into an amp and enjoy.


Oh BTW, there is a level trim control for each peizo on the electronics, if you lack level on your G-string side (I did), turn the pot nearest the corresponding peizo plug on the board to balance it up.

Hope some of this is useful to other Stagg players.
 
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#89
mateybass said:
I recently came across a Stagg with the hum problems, on closer inspection with a multi-meter, I discovered that the metal plate the electronics are fastened to has no connection with the earth side of the signal. Coupled with the lack of screening in the cavity beneath the control plate means the electronics are not screened at all.

Fortunately, it's a very easy fix, only requiring some self-adhesive aluminium (aluminum) foil which can be bought on a roll like gaffa tape from a hardware store, a cross-head screwdriver, a scraping implement, pencil and a 10mm spanner. It took me about 20 mins to fix the hum problem. The self-adhesive backing of the foil tape I used seems to be conductive so taping foil on top of other foil doesn't seem to be a problem.....
Click to expand...



Thank you very much for your good advise. I've followed your recipe, and the bass came out really nice. NO MORE HUM. Thanks again. :hyper:
– Øyvind
 
#90
mateybass said:
I recently came across a Stagg with the hum problems, on closer inspection with a multi-meter, I discovered that the metal plate the electronics are fastened to has no connection with the earth side of the signal. Coupled with the lack of screening in the cavity beneath the control plate means the electronics are not screened at all.

Fortunately, it's a very easy fix, only requiring some self-adhesive aluminium (aluminum) foil which can be bought on a roll like gaffa tape from a hardware store, a cross-head screwdriver, a scraping implement, pencil and a 10mm spanner. It took me about 20 mins to fix the hum problem. The self-adhesive backing of the foil tape I used seems to be conductive so taping foil on top of other foil doesn't seem to be a problem.
Click to expand...

Me too - I followed your instructions last night and there's no more hum. Perfect! :D The whole job took me about an hour. Thanks mateybass for your clear instructions!

Andy
 
#91
I have just gotten a the Stagg edb 3/4 from a friend, and want to change the strings? So my question is, does it have to be flatwound like the factory strings?

And do you guys have any recomendations? It will be played mostly by plucking, I hardly ever use a bow.
 
#93
i bought one of these and i have to say I think its great, the only problem i've had with it is a slight problem with the jack connection at times but I think it might be down to me flailing about a bit and using a heavy jack lead! It plays great although i have nothing really to compare it against as i've only played bass guitar before. I lowered the action a bit (very easy to do) and I plan to have a look at the jack input at some point but I think I've been lucky in that I have not had the problems listed in this forum i.e. the intonaion is good, the dot markers are spot on and it doesn,t hum when plugged into my amp etc. I've been playing this a lot to the point where my arms dropping off and love it, it sounds like a double bass to my untrained ears, its good fun to play quite easy like a giant bass guitar and when i pick up my bass guitar now it feels like a twig!... best £260 pounds I've spent in a while, i'll put up a recording once i get round to plugging it in the studio. get one!
 
#94
I bought this bass in Japan where it is marketed under the name "Hallstatt". It is almost exactly the same as the Stagg but only comes in black and has no simulated left bass shoulder.

My opinion:

For the roughly $400 US that I paid, it's certainly worth it. No, it doesn't sound like an acoustic upright, and I never expected it to. It does have a cool piezo/electric sound that I believe is usable for certain kinds of music (Latin, rock, anything loud where the subtlety of the acoustic upright get lost). The workmanship is not the best, but it is good enough.

My main problems with is so far are:

1) the fingerboard, which has a nasty buzz around C on the G string. I need to get a luthier to set it up but I don't have access to one right now :< Also, The truss rod really doesn't do anything in my experience; the neck it just too thick.

2) the endpin, which was too short. (I'm 6'2"). I replaced it with a long steel rod from a hardware store (10mm diameter) and now it is OK.

3) The machine heads. This is turning out to be a big problem because one of them broke so I decided to upgrade the whole set with a set of Grover Titan II's. So I got the Grovers but unfortunately they wont mount on the bass because they are longer than the stocks and the shafts collide with each other if mounted side-by-side. Also, the thickness of the headstock is too thin (less than a Fender) so some wood or a washer or something needs to be added to get it up to standard thickness. I'm thinking to laminate some wood on the outsides of the headstock, drill new offset holes so the machine heads won't collide, and mount the Grovers that way. Any thoughts?
 
#95
Yes I have a Stagg which I bought a few months ago, and I really like playing it, of course the first things that went were the strings (steel rods!?) to be replaced by light tension D'Addario Hybrids, helped a lot with the warmth of the tone, also good because it makes fingering much easier. Also good because it kind of mean you can keep the sub bass turned off and get a more woody sound out of the instrument.

Problem 1:
Then the very thinness of the head stock that you mention came into play. After a couple of months playing it the head stock simply stated splitting down the middle. I wrote back to the on0line store I bought it from in Germany and they immediately arranged to have mine shipped back and replaced with a new one. Which was great and cost me nothing of course.

Problem 2:
The new bass presented the clacking C on the G that you mention, lowering the action, though it helped with the top notes a little, doesn't seem to do much for the buzz/clack on there. but also the strangely designed bridge is a little unruly in general as it seems to be too complex for it's own good. Also in this specimen the grooves, especially on the 4th, are so shallow that my string kept slipping off there, sometimes even when I wasn't playing it! Fortunately that was just a question of deepening the channel with the correct gauge of round file, and that part was cured.

The question that really remains is the problem of the head stock. I worry every time I take it out to work on our material, "Will it crack again? Won't it?" makes it a nervous thing playing the instrument.

Also on the whole I would say that although the design is beautiful, the neck especially could be much improved, and the bridge also may need some rethinking in terms of design.

On the positive side it really is a different sound to the bass guitar, and helps when you want to get a more prominently deep tone out on stage and in the studio. Also the fact that it has given me the chance to learn bowing has been very interesting and has helped take our band's sound to a new level.
 
#96
Hi, I read all the posts on this thread and despite the fact that some are having not so good experiences with this edb, I am still interested in buying one. Maybe it is because I enjoyed its sound. Yes, I know it is not like a real DB but from my experience (I have a real DB), its sound is so different than others EUB out there that it really caught my ears (based on rogeralcantara video, specially when he does some vibratos). Ok, now I wonder if anybody can give me the lenght of it (wiht the end pin retracted). I appreciate any help.
 
#97
Hi, i would like to buy and learn to play a EUB. the only EUB's i can afford are:

Invalid Link Removed
(is it exactly the same as the palatino?)

Invalid Link Removed

So my question is - which of these EUB is better and also i would like to play with a bow so are they bowable ?

What do You recommend?

Also i would like to know what kind of amp i will need to amplify the stagg or HB EUB.
What kind of amp do You recommend for a low price?

Forgive my language im from Poland :P
 
#98
I bought a stagg at an alarmingly low price a year ago. It cost just under what I make in one gig in the summer and it's lasted till now with only a few minor injuries. You have to be careful to wrap the keys in foam wen you put it on the plane though. They just get thrown about by the baggage guys! I dont know the other one you mention. Thje stagg doesn't bow too well but at that price nothing does and you have to put short light strings on which don't bow anway! The fingerboard is made of some kind of plastic plywood gunge which wares down too quickly but If you raise the action it's not too bad.
I think it's great value but I can't compare it with the Harley Benton 'cos I don't know it.
 
#99
Just played one of these at a store in Austin. For the price I feel it's a good entry for someone who needs to delve into EUB. But soundwise and workmanship wise I was definitely underwhelmed. Wasn't impressed with the fingerboard. Bowing was difficult. Sound was pretty tinny and nasal. Like the Palatino, you could probably trick it out with some improvements but it will run you some money. But as en entry level thing, like a Squier bass guitar, it's probably a decent place to start.
 
#100
Has anyone took their Stagg's bridge off and replace it with this beauty Link Removed
Darn thing's too expensive to buy only to find out it won't fit the Stagg. Do these things have the same footprint/size to begin with?
Oh by the way, not ten minutes when I got home from the store, I split the nut where the the G string is while replacing the stock string with a lighter gauge G. I mean jeez, I wasn't even playing it, I was still in the act of replacing it. Good thing the store agreed to replace it the next day with a demo unit until the new shipment arrives.
 

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