Thanks for the feedback. It's been a while since I've done any substantial soldering, so I appreciate the tips. I'm getting a good sound and decent output from the Fishman pickup with the piezo disks under the bridge. The setup is finicky though - the bridge is susceptible to moving, and the sound can get wonky if it isn't perpendicular to the body. I was thinking of trying to cut a channel in the base of the bridge for the existing cable piezos (say 1/2 the diameter of the cable). Do you have any thoughts on that?
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Double Bass Stagg EUB megathread
- Thread starter derrenleepoole
- Start date
I thought of it myself earlier but didn‘t donut because you won‘t get the piezo cable in the groove reliably.
Not a big deal to put the bridge perpendicular to the top (except when using gut strings where you might need to dovthisxrather often).
Not a big deal to put the bridge perpendicular to the top (except when using gut strings where you might need to dovthisxrather often).
Besides the stagg i also have an acoustic upright which I've been using mostly to learn how to bow. I now can bow but not like a pro. It's harder to bow the Stagg though. Additionally, when bowing the Stagg I have to turn up the bass boost to get a decent sound. However, the E string is much louder than the other strings when bowing. Is there a solution for this issue?
You can try to turn down the potentiometer for the E-side pickup. You need to unmount the electronics compartment to access it.
Maybe you can find a compromise that works for pizz and arco.
Maybe you can find a compromise that works for pizz and arco.
I had same issue a few messages ago in the thread - I replaced the bridge with a cut-down acoustic upright bridge and it sounds and plays better, especially for arco (https://www.talkbass.com/threads/stagg-eub-megathread.344951/page-63#post-29274406)
Just popping back in here with an answer for anyone (like me) who has a newer Stagg EDB and couldn't find the truss rod near the headstock. Seems it's been relocated and can be accessed from the bridge end of the fingerboard. With the EDB upside down (headstock at the floor) look from the bridge towards the end of the fingerboard and the hole is in the edge.
Hi mc3r1c, thanks for you post. did you have to do any changes to the nut? And I see that the new bridge does not make use of the “wells” where the original stagg bridges sat. Did you abandon the stock Piezo set up? The Piezo on my Stagg actually perform pretty well…..it’s just that the stock string arc is so flat that it makes Arco more difficult for me. And does the new bridge retain the original upright arc and spacing? thanks for the conversation.
Another question……the original Stagg bridge has nuts to change it’s height…..the new doesn’t. Do you think that will be a problem for you going down the road?
The plastic nut of the old style neck broke when I used a string that was just a little bit thicker. But any impact does too.
The old (smaller) headstock can break more easily than the thicker new headstock, but putting a plate behind the headstock and fixing it well (removing laquer to the wood on the back and glueing a wood plate against it) would make that a lot more robust (for both necks).
The plastic nut would be the first thing I would replace.
For bowing use the neck with the fingerboard that has the higher curvature. The old neck is like bowing a five-string DB without the fifth string. But bowing without a movable top below the bridge makes it harder to start the string. Don’t expect too much from a Stagg EUB.
The thicker fingerboard of the newer neck helps to avoid bending of the fingerboard in thumb position.
Neither old nor new style trussrod have been helpful for me.
I prefer the rosewood fingerboard as it is easier to shape the relief after the laquer has been removed. Trying that on the black fingerboard (which is the neck itself) might remove the black coating on the sides too by breaking off by accident.
The old (smaller) headstock can break more easily than the thicker new headstock, but putting a plate behind the headstock and fixing it well (removing laquer to the wood on the back and glueing a wood plate against it) would make that a lot more robust (for both necks).
The plastic nut would be the first thing I would replace.
For bowing use the neck with the fingerboard that has the higher curvature. The old neck is like bowing a five-string DB without the fifth string. But bowing without a movable top below the bridge makes it harder to start the string. Don’t expect too much from a Stagg EUB.
The thicker fingerboard of the newer neck helps to avoid bending of the fingerboard in thumb position.
Neither old nor new style trussrod have been helpful for me.
I prefer the rosewood fingerboard as it is easier to shape the relief after the laquer has been removed. Trying that on the black fingerboard (which is the neck itself) might remove the black coating on the sides too by breaking off by accident.
Hi SaltyDog, thanks for the questions. I'll try to answer them:
1) I didn't have to make any changes to the nut - this all worked out better than I thought
2) You're lucky your stock piezos sound good - mine worked for pizz but not at all for arco. I did have to give up the stock piezos and electronics (and the holes are a little ugly), but I was fortunate to have a spare pickup laying around and a preamp that are meant for upright bass. DoubleMidi has some suggestions above that you could solder some piezo disks to cables and still use the onboard electronics.
3) The new bridge does maintain original acoustic upright arc and spacing. The bridge had previously been used on an upright (I assume the luthier was upgrading the bass to an adjustable bridge and discarding this one). Feels much more like an upright when you play, especially arco.
4) Bridge adjustability (or lack thereof). I don't anticipate that being a big issue. For situations where I would care, I would probably just use my acoustic upright. I came close to playing the Stagg for a set at a bar that was half upright tunes and half electric tunes, but when it came down to it, it just didn't have the same "thump" for the upright tunes.
Hope this helps your process. Let me know if you think of anything better!
And one last piece of advice if you go this route, which I apologize if this is obvious. Start with higher string height and sand down slowly until you get the height you want. And remember the base of the bridge needs to be really, really flat for the piezos to work well, so if you have a bump you'll need to sand more and lose height.
I did not recommend using piezo disks instead of the piezo wire as you will get lower output and need to mechanically shield around the solder points.
DoubleMidi, sorry for mischaracterizing your comments - I was just trying to say that you were more knowledgeable about the electronics than I was
OK, this discussion makes we want to go further and try and leverage the on-board electronics. I just ordered one of these: Bass bridge blank | Tonewood shop
I'm going to try and cut out a custom shape that goes into the wells and uses the cable piezos (and clears the body) but maintains the standard upright bridge shape, height and spacing for the strings. I'm not the handiest with wood-working, but I'd like to try. PRobably do some foam modeling first to get dimensions
Has anyone tried this? Pointers welcome.
This is exactly the direction that I am thinking of going. I even priced the blank bridges yesterday…..not too bad. Most of the online bass providers have them. I’m even thinking of using a pair of pickups like I have on my upright (Fishman b-100) to help improve the arco sound. Keep in touch about this, OK?
Due to my experience with DB soundpost position and single and dual sensor pickups and my solid body Clevinger EUB I strongly recommend dual sensor pickups for solid body EUBs.
Can you send me the link? I've seen the bridges that are pre-shaped but don't have the string slots cut, but I didn't see anyone selling slabs. The problem with the pre=shaped blanks is that the 3/4 size legs are too far apart for the Stagg wells. The Stagg bridge legs are 3 1/2" center to center, while the 3/4 bridge is 4 1/2". You might be able to get a 1/4 size bridge, which Gollihur says is 3 3/4", and the arc size is only an 1/8" narrower than the 3/4. I'm getting a slab from this company and going to try to cut out custom legs.
Hi mc3r1c……I’m still researching, but my understanding of the ‘slab’ bridges is that they don't have the feet or any of the scrolling, but do have the arc without string indents. BUT….not totally positive yet. Upton Bass, Gollihur Bass, and several others advertise them.
But I still need some more research before making any kind of decision on which path to go down………and would like to pick your brain for a moment.
Which do you think is causing the most damage to the sound production on the Stagg…….the Piezo pick up they use, or the shape and string position on the bridge? Or a combination of the two? And then of course, what kind of strings there are on the bass will make a difference also.
Here is one of my ideas so far: I am thinking of retrofitting a different bridge, ( with two or three options ), disconnecting the Piezo and putting Fishman b-100 on whatever arrangement for a bridge I end up with.
Whichever way is chosen, there’s a ton of planning to do.
But I still need some more research before making any kind of decision on which path to go down………and would like to pick your brain for a moment.
Which do you think is causing the most damage to the sound production on the Stagg…….the Piezo pick up they use, or the shape and string position on the bridge? Or a combination of the two? And then of course, what kind of strings there are on the bass will make a difference also.
Here is one of my ideas so far: I am thinking of retrofitting a different bridge, ( with two or three options ), disconnecting the Piezo and putting Fishman b-100 on whatever arrangement for a bridge I end up with.
Whichever way is chosen, there’s a ton of planning to do.
