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Double Bass Stagg EUB megathread

#101
Less than a week ago I got a Stagg EDB and I am very happy with the sound.

My teacher has advised me though to take it to a shop and have the fingerboard sanded down to eliminate the rattle of the E string (especially) against the fingerboard. He is an expert player of the acoustic double bass, and he could not eliminate the ratttle. We lowered the action which helped but did not solve the problem.

Any thoughts about whether I should do this?

Thanks in advance,
 
#103
thank you, Francois! I am a little scared, it sounds like a major process and I'm sure it voids my warranty?, but even my teacher can't get rid of the rattle so it's not my lack of technique.

By the way I use a vintage Fender bassman amp 4x10 with this instrument and the sound is really pleasing to my ears.
 
#104
Painterly said:
Less than a week ago I got a Stagg EDB and I am very happy with the sound.

My teacher has advised me though to take it to a shop and have the fingerboard sanded down to eliminate the rattle of the E string (especially) against the fingerboard. He is an expert player of the acoustic double bass, and he could not eliminate the ratttle. We lowered the action which helped but did not solve the problem.

Any thoughts about whether I should do this?

Thanks in advance,
Click to expand...

I too am a Stagg owner and can concur that they are excellent value for money. With a little time and effort they can be made into very nice instruments.

Regarding the string rattle, I'm a little puzzled that lowering the action lessened the rattle. Usually that makes things worse with an uneven fingerboard. Have you checked the truss rod to see that it isn't just slack? If it has no tension at all (i.e. the trussrod nut is loose), it may just be rattling in the trussrod cavity inside the neck at certain frequencies..

It may also be worth trying another string too. Sometimes cheap strings, like the stock strings fitted to these basses, can have winding issues. Ask your bass tutor if he has an old string just to eliminate this possibility.

Hope that helps.
 
#105
Thank you. I don't know what the truss rod is, but that's OK,

I'm going to take it to the famous luthier near where I live (Kolstein's) and whatever they tell me, I will let them do.

I'm glad you like your instrument! My teacher, who had never before touched an electric double bass, although he had heard of them, liked it immediately. He especially liked the brackets that come out from the instrument because with his guidance I was able to hold it and even balance it as if it were an acoustic instrument. My plan is to work on this one for awhile to see if I like playing the bass, and if so, to then invest in an acoustic instrument. But I may never get rid of this one!

This string issue is interesting. Other posts say the strings that ship with these EDB instruments are no good and should be replaced, but gee, the instrument sure sounds nice to me when bowed (even by me, especially so by my teacher of course). There's no rattle problem when bowing.

Thanks again,
 
#106
So I took my new Stagg bass to the Jeff Bollbach, in Freeport, NY, for those of you in the New York City area. (Check out his website.)

He worried that the fingerboard is graphite or some kind of plastic. It is not, it is white wood. He determined that it was extremely poorly contoured, could hardly have been worse--convex where it should have been concave in places, for example.

In other words, the instrument was not playable pizzacato as shipped. I don't know if that's usual for acoustic basses or not, but if you buy one of these babies, plan on dressing expense.

Because it is white wood, after planing Jeff stained it with a black stain and followed with wax. Estimated cost, $200. I get the instrument back today.

Regarding strings: Well I am a brand-new bass player. (I can play "Ode to Joy" and an F-major scale, slowly. That's it.) But I find nothing wrong with the strings, they are not hard to press down, they do not bite back, they are not unwinding, they remind me of ordinary guitar strings. And the instrument sounds really nice through what I admit is a very, very good amp. So I am not replacing the strings.

Regarding bowing, I can bow it and make each string sound on its own without difficulty. And I am a total beginner using a German bow. If I can do this, all you experts certainly can as well.

My biggest complaint is that I can't get the instrument balanced against my body without using my hands, which is something acoustic players learn to do. The brackets are pretty good at imitating the contours of an acoustic instrument but they don't quite do it, in my opinion.

The other thing is that the tiny white dots on the edge of the fingerboard do not correspond with notes played in tune, but frankly, I don't see how they ever could if placed by machine instead of by a human, as each instrument is surely too different.

So far no problems with the tuning pegs or anything else.

So far I am very happy with this purchase and will tell you more as time goes on!
 
#108
Yes, Jeff was interested in the idea, but the fingerboard does not appear to be a separate piece of wood from the neck itself.

The only issue now is that the black stain comes off onto my fingers as I play. The wood grain is barely visible, it is some kind of hardwood with a grain similar to maple.

Very easy to play now, even for a beginner! A big noticeable difference in the finger pressure required. I'm very satisfied with this instrument.
 
#110
Finally got my Stagg 3/4EDB back from my friendly luthier, sporting its fancy new low B string addition :)

3793886876_751abe9a7e.jpg


3793887294_402604ce02.jpg


Hipshot HB6Y 1/2" chrome tuners, a Spirocore low B string, a bit of woodworking skill and matt black paint was all that was required.

Works brilliantly :)
 
#111
Hi,

The stagg basses are £350 new here with a 2 year warranty. Are they worth buying?

I already own a 3/4 double bass and my main bass guitar is a Spector NS5 so I want something that's gonna sound good still in comparison. Been doing a load of reading up on these (and listening to um on Youtube) and it seems almost too good a deal, apart from the action need sorting at start, the stand issue and I've seen a fair few people comment on G strings snapping straight away it seems real good.

The thing I want to know (and can't get answered and no-one near me stocks them :-( ) is how does the sound compete live? It's always going to sound great on it's own but is the sound the pickup produces good enough to cut through? I will be using it for a few different styles (including some Rock/Metal where I'm worried it's going to struggle if I buy it).
 
#112
Some people say it sounds similar to a fretless bass guitar, which is true enough if you turn the sub-bass control full. What I prefer to do to get the woody sound is to turn the sub bass control off and then, on the amp EQ, add a little bottom, quite a bit of middle, cut the top end and it sounds pretty much like a double bass. Whether this EQ method is suitable for your needs or style of music is another question and I guess the only way you're going to find out is to try one.

Regarding cutting through, I played a festival at the weekend (sort of Americana/Folk/Soul/Rock) and it sounded awesome in the mix (the engineers commented on how good it sounded too) and distinctly different from my fretless bass. I never seem to have any worries about it not being heard against drums and guitars. All I can advise you is that when EQing, don't apply the same principles as you do with your bass guitar... think wood.
 
#116
Usually, thats just standard with any double bass because the lower E and A have a lower tension and resonate better than the top D and G. I'd suggest through the pickup what/how much compression are you using? that would balance the dynamics a little but it's mostly how you are bowing it, its easier to bow the lower strings than upper ones.
 
#117
That's not what he says.
He's talking of outer strings (E & G) versus inners (A & D).

The vibrational pattern of a string is quite different when it's plucked than when excited with a bow.
The bridge doesn't move the same way.

That EUB's pickup design simply doesn't work well for bowing.

Maybe you could replace the proprietary bridge with a wood one, and try standard piezo pickups?
 
#118
Francois Blais said:
Maybe you could replace the proprietary bridge with a wood one, and try standard piezo pickups?
Click to expand...

Hey Francois, thanks for quoting. I didn't know how to do this.

My guess is that the original bridge (plastic material?) makes the sound poorer at the very top. Maybe the plastic carries less energy in that area. However it is ok when plucking. Go figure. Anyway, Isn't a wood bridge way taller than the Stagg one. I mean, would it fit properly without compromising the distance between the strings and the fretboard? Thanks again.

If you see two posts regarding the same subject, It is because I thought the first one didn't go thru.
 
#119
The original Stagg bridge is made of wood with a painted finish, though I suspect it is not a particularly dense wood and there is likely the problem. However, I haven't noticed this problem on my instrument.

The piezos are positioned in the same place as underfeet piezos on a traditional DB so I don't see the piezos being the problem. As far as I am aware, piezo elements respond to vibration (create an output voltage) when being squeezed. As the pressure of the bridge on top of the element is a constant it must surely be attenuation of the vibration of the middle strings due to losses in the wood, therefore a lower level of vibration reaching the piezo.

I do think the shape of the Stagg bridge is a little thin in places compared with a normal DB bridge so perhaps that is where some of the vibration is lost. It is not outside the realm of possibility for a replacement from a denser wood to be made using the original as a template.

Just out of curiosity, do the Aria SWB Lites suffer from this problem as they have an identical bridge/piezo layout? Or do they use a denser wood in their bridges?

Aria SWB bridge
tabimg_swblitebis_1.jpg
 
#120
Hi,

I am new here, and also new at Double Bass, having just purchased the Stagg EDB 3/4 (all I could afford) after years of playing electric bass.

My question is on tone. Does anyone else use the Line6 stuff, especially PodFarm and if so, what have you done to try and get that Double bass sound? I am aware that the Stagg is often noted for sounding more like an electric fretless than an accoustic double bass.

Same question really on an amp - any suggestions?

Cheers

Tex
 

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