Double Bass Stagg EUB megathread

[mateybass]

I too have a Stagg, two of them actually, and currently in the process of string experimentation with one of them to see what they are capable of sound-wise (when they finally arrive in the mail).

I'm not sure you'll ever get a truly double bass sound from it or any other EUB for that matter (just like you can't get an acoustic guitar sound from an electric guitar), but then a piezo-equipped acoustic double bass will sound different to an unplugged one or one that is mic'ed up.

It should be theoretically possible to get close to a piezo'd AUB with subtle EQing and the right strings hence my current investigation. As soon as I have an answer, I'll let you know.

 

[darksail]

Hello,I've never played an electric upright bass, I'm thinking to buy one of this to study at night. Can you confirm me that the precise diapason lenght is 42 inches? Then, I noticed a "phone jack", did you try it? It runs? If you use the bow, the instrument remains completely silent or in some way it produce a little sound..? Many thanks in advance, Emiliano.

 

[Davyo]

Hi all,,, life long electric bass player and just ordered the Stagg,,, my first upright bass.

Please forgive my dumb new'bie question.

I have always tuned my bass's to B,E,A,D.

I have the Stagg being delivered today and know almost nothing about what strings I can and should use on it, and mainly I need a low B string.

And since I know nothing about strings for the Stagg I will ask perhaps a really dumb question,, do super long scale electric bass strings fit the Stagg ?,,, would that be one option for attaining a low B string ?

Again please forgive my lack of knowlege on upright strings, just looking for the best option and price for a low B string or 5 string sets.

Since I play in rock bands I would perfure strings that are fitting for that style, (sound and tone wise).

Thanks much for any help.
Cheers
Davyo

 

[mateybass]

Hello,I've never played an electric upright bass, I'm thinking to buy one of this to study at night. Can you confirm me that the precise diapason lenght is 42 inches? Then, I noticed a "phone jack", did you try it? It runs? If you use the bow, the instrument remains completely silent or in some way it produce a little sound..? Many thanks in advance, Emiliano.

The scale length is approximately 41.25 inches or 105cm. The headphone jack works just great and has the ability to plug in a playback device (mp3, ipod etc.) into the mp3 input and play along on the headphones.

It produces a slight sound acoustically in the same way an electric bass guitar does when not plugged in, certainly not loud enough to annoy anyone in the next room if that's what you mean. There are no acoustic chambers on this instrument, it has a solid body.

Hi all,,, life long electric bass player and just ordered the Stagg,,, my first upright bass.

Please forgive my dumb new'bie question.

I have always tuned my bass's to B,E,A,D.

I have the Stagg being delivered today and know almost nothing about what strings I can and should use on it, and mainly I need a low B string.

And since I know nothing about strings for the Stagg I will ask perhaps a really dumb question,, do super long scale electric bass strings fit the Stagg ?,,, would that be one option for attaining a low B string ?

Again please forgive my lack of knowlege on upright strings, just looking for the best option and price for a low B string or 5 string sets.

Since I play in rock bands I would perfure strings that are fitting for that style, (sound and tone wise).

Thanks much for any help.
Cheers
Davyo

The strings which come with the Stagg should be perfectly fine to start with. They are proper double bass strings, extra long bass guitar strings will probably be too short.

I have recently converted a Stagg to 5 string and can tell you that having purchased a Spirocore low-b for a 3/4 scale double bass that the silk winding at the headstock end barely clears the nut. I reckon a 4/4 size DB string would be a better fit but I can't confirm this as I haven't bought another one to find out yet. Just for your info, the distance between the string anchor and the nut is 52" or 132cm.

I can't comment on whether this bass would be suitable for your sound or tone requirements.

If you want to view my 5 string conversion, it's here

Hope that helps

 

[Davyo]

The scale length is approximately 41.25 inches or 105cm. The headphone jack works just great and has the ability to plug in a playback device (mp3, ipod etc.) into the mp3 input and play along on the headphones.

It produces a slight sound acoustically in the same way an electric bass guitar does when not plugged in, certainly not loud enough to annoy anyone in the next room if that's what you mean. There are no acoustic chambers on this instrument, it has a solid body.




The strings which come with the Stagg should be perfectly fine to start with. They are proper double bass strings, extra long bass guitar strings will probably be too short.

I have recently converted a Stagg to 5 string and can tell you that having purchased a Spirocore low-b for a 3/4 scale double bass that the silk winding at the headstock end barely clears the nut. I reckon a 4/4 size DB string would be a better fit but I can't confirm this as I haven't bought another one to find out yet. Just for your info, the distance between the string anchor and the nut is 52" or 132cm.

I can't comment on whether this bass would be suitable for your sound or tone requirements.

If you want to view my 5 string conversion, it's here

Hope that helps

Thanks for the info, and it was of help,,,,,,,, and,, Cool pictures,, nice 5 string conversion.

I like the stand as well,, is it made for the Stagg or is it a drum stand ?

Where/how do I get a stand like that ???

Many thanks in advance.

Davyo

 

[mateybass]

Thanks for the info, and it was of help,,,,,,,, and,, Cool pictures,, nice 5 string conversion.

I like the stand as well,, is it made for the Stagg or is it a drum stand ?

Where/how do I get a stand like that ???

Many thanks in advance.

Davyo

It's just the lower part of an old snare drum stand, the tube is sealed at the bottom so the bass stands on the end pin inside the tube. Just ask any drummers you know if they have an old snare drum stand that they don't want, that's what I did

 

[Davyo]

It's just the lower part of an old snare drum stand, the tube is sealed at the bottom so the bass stands on the end pin inside the tube. Just ask any drummers you know if they have an old snare drum stand that they don't want, that's what I did

Very cool,,, and thanks for the info, I shall get a snare stand for my Stagg.

Just got the Stagg delivered today and will be playing it for the first time tonight at rehearsal,, should be fun !!!!

One more question if I may, do you think the Spirocore low-b would be OK to put on my Stagg with the existing strings.

As I mentioned before, I string all my bass's B,E,A,D and throw the G string in the garbage.
Since I have no idea what strings are are on my Stagg do you think it would be Ok getting the Spirocore low-b and using the Stagg's E, A, and D strings with the Spirocore low-b string ?

As in, would there be a differance in the string tone ???

Thanks for all you help by the way.

Cheers
Davyo

 

[mateybass]

Very cool,,, and thanks for the info, I shall get a snare stand for my Stagg.

Just got the Stagg delivered today and will be playing it for the first time tonight at rehearsal,, should be fun !!!!

One more question if I may, do you think the Spirocore low-b would be OK to put on my Stagg with the existing strings.

As I mentioned before, I string all my bass's B,E,A,D and throw the G string in the garbage.
Since I have no idea what strings are are on my Stagg do you think it would be Ok getting the Spirocore low-b and using the Stagg's E, A, and D strings with the Spirocore low-b string ?

As in, would there be a differance in the string tone ???

Thanks for all you help by the way.

Cheers
Davyo

There shouldn't be any problems using a low b on a 4 string set-up but you might need the nut re-cut to accept the fatter string. It's not a big job but unless you're confident, I'd recommend taking it to someone who knows how to re-cut the nut.

I use a Spiro low-b with the original 4 strings that came with the Stagg and if anything, the Spiro is slightly less bright than the stock strings but that may be down to the extra thickness of the low b. There isn't much in it though.

I would suggest you don't throw the g strings in the garbage, double bass strings aren't cheap and someone may want to purchase it off you.

Have fun

 

[Davyo]

There shouldn't be any problems using a low b on a 4 string set-up but you might need the nut re-cut to accept the fatter string. It's not a big job but unless you're confident, I'd recommend taking it to someone who knows how to re-cut the nut.

I use a Spiro low-b with the original 4 strings that came with the Stagg and if anything, the Spiro is slightly less bright than the stock strings but that may be down to the extra thickness of the low b. There isn't much in it though.

I would suggest you don't throw the g strings in the garbage, double bass strings aren't cheap and someone may want to purchase it off you.

Have fun

Thanks very much for your help and advice,, very cool of you.

Yep, Im pretty good at doing the 5 string modification thing with cutting the nut and the bridge or whatever needs to be done to get a typical 4 string bass to be able to accept the B,E,A,D, string tuning I use.

And yes, I will sell the G string instead of throwing it away.

Thanks again
Davyo

 

[mccartneyman]

Picked up a used Stagg EUB off EBay, and my first impressions after playing it around the house are favorable. I'll be playing it with a group next week and will have some more info. I previously has an NS WAV4 and, although I was happy with it, I think the Stagg will fit the bill better for the sound I have in mind.Update;

UPDATE:

Played the Stagg tonight with my band through my Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 with 2 2x12 cabs. Running it through the second channel of my BassBone, I was able to switch between the Stagg and my Lakland 55-94 with no problems as far as matching volume, and the BassBone tone controls allowed me to tailor the Stagg sound. It sounds very nice -- everyone loved it, and I do think it sounds better than my NS WAV did as far as sounding like an upright. Nice acoustic sounded mwah -- not nearly as Fretless sounding as the WAV. The Stagg has no stand, but I was able to use the bottom of a trombone stand to put the endpin in when I was playing the Lakland -- no problem with tipping, but it couldn't be used to hold the bass upright for playing -- to high & too vertical. As a rest, though, it's fine. Some say the Stagg still doesn't sound like an upright, but it fits the bill for me. very comfortable, too.

 

[gimmeagig]

I think I'm sold on the Stagg.I'm going to be in Seattle next week and I was hoping to find a store where I could actually try one.No luck so far.
Bass Northwest has a Palatino a Gold tone and a NS. So I'll check those out to get a little more a feel of what I'm getting into.

 

[gimmeagig]

I'll be in Seattle next week and I was hoping to be able to try a Stagg.I googled music stores but have not found one that carries them.Bass Northwest has a couple of other brands.Palatino, Goldtone and NS.I'll check them out but I think the Stagg is the one for me.
Is anybody here familiar with Seattle and which stores might have a Stagg?New/used I don't care.

 

[gimmeagig]

I'm pretty close to pulling the trigger on a Stagg,
I'm trying to get into an EUB for not much money and from the sound samples I have found so far,the Stagg seems to be it.Nice tone, some growl and enough punch for Salsa.
I'm an Electric bass player and I love working on and modifying my basses.What I can't do myself I have a friend who is a luthier help me with.
So I'm curious about what could be done to the Stagg that would improve it.Tuners Pickups Strings etc,
Specifically the finger board.
I read that it is made of white wood(what kind I don't know)and that it is coated with some type of black resin that feels "Plasticy"..
I wonder how durable and how thick that resin is.Would it be possible to strip it and stain it and seal it with tung oil for example to make it feel better?
If the neck ever needed to be worked on I would like to know that I'm not dead in the water because of that finish.

 

[mateybass]

I'm pretty close to pulling the trigger on a Stagg,
I'm trying to get into an EUB for not much money and from the sound samples I have found so far,the Stagg seems to be it.Nice tone, some growl and enough punch for Salsa.
I'm an Electric bass player and I love working on and modifying my basses.What I can't do myself I have a friend who is a luthier help me with.
So I'm curious about what could be done to the Stagg that would improve it.Tuners Pickups Strings etc,
Specifically the finger board.
I read that it is made of white wood(what kind I don't know)and that it is coated with some type of black resin that feels "Plasticy"..
I wonder how durable and how thick that resin is.Would it be possible to strip it and stain it and seal it with tung oil for example to make it feel better?
If the neck ever needed to be worked on I would like to know that I'm not dead in the water because of that finish.

You can modify it quite a bit... how about a 5 string Stagg? Did it to mine, and it's still ok for arco. See here

The fingerboard has a coat of black paint ( I think it's jokingly called "ebonised" in the trade ), it doesn't seem to be plastic, but the black is wearing off a little under one of my strings. It's supposedly a maple fingerboard underneath so I'd guess you can stain it or just let it age gracefully

There are other modifications which you might want to carry out to improve it, some of which are here

 

[gimmeagig]

Hey thank you Matey,That was so helpful.Once I get the bass I will start looking into the mods that you suggested.Are there different maybe more high quality pickups or preamps available?
I don't mind spending a little( or much) more money to make it really nice.
For example,I bought a 750.- KSD 5 string electric bass a few years back and I replaced and changed everything on it and it cost me about another 1000.-.Seems stupid, but you should hear it and play it.It is an absolutely amazing bass and better than anything I have ever gotten my hands on.So in the end it was totally worth it.
So I'm looking at the Stagg as another project to tinker with.

 

[mateybass]

Hey thank you Matey,That was so helpful.Once I get the bass I will start looking into the mods that you suggested.Are there different maybe more high quality pickups or preamps available?
I don't mind spending a little( or much) more money to make it really nice.
For example,I bought a 750.- KSD 5 string electric bass a few years back and I replaced and changed everything on it and it cost me about another 1000.-.Seems stupid, but you should hear it and play it.It is an absolutely amazing bass and better than anything I have ever gotten my hands on.So in the end it was totally worth it.
So I'm looking at the Stagg as another project to tinker with.

Regarding pickups and preamps, I think Stagg got it pretty close to spot on even though their cavity screening is non-existent, but fixable. I'd even go as far as to say that they didn't need the sub-bass control (it "sings" without using it) and just a volume would have sufficed. From what I can see, some Aria EUBs use similar electronics, though the Aria does have an extra tone control. I'm not entirely sure if they use a different manufacturer for their peizos but I suspect not.

I share your experiences concerning tinkering with instruments. The beauty of the Stagg is that because it costs so little in comparison, one doesn't feel guilty about tinkering. I've always done it (to cheap instruments) and whilst some might suggest spending more on a "better" instrument (you get what you pay for being the old adage), I have found that to tinker and customise a cheapo to personal requirements is very rewarding and I've always ended up with something tailored specifically to my needs and very special to me. I'd be very reluctant to do the same to an expensive instrument and if I were to commission a luthier to make one from scratch, I suspect I would be spending far more and would probably find something I'd want changing afterwards in any case. I've had two "well-respected maker" electric basses and I have to say my customised Epiphone cost half as much including its modifications and sounds twice as good, and infinitely more playable. I'm afraid I don't play the make and marque snobbery game any more, been there done that, hence the signature line at the bottom of my posts

 

[SimpleIsBest]

Hey mateybass,

Cool stuff man! I love your mods.

 

[mccartneyman]

There are other modifications which you might want to carry out to improve it, some of which are here

Great ideas on the piezo padding and the endpin. My endpin rattles now & then, so I'll be tweaking it over the Thanksgiving holiday. I might also tackle the shielding, although mine is pretty quiet. I did find that I had to run the cord to the amp through the tailpiece so I don't accidentally step on it and pull it out of the jack -- did that at rehearsal.

I'm also going to put a white line on the subbass control so I have an idea of where it's set -- too easy to move accidentally, and even a small turn makes quite a difference. I used mine Sunday and received many compliments, both for looks and sound. Also showed it to another, classically trained bass player who has used an NS WAV and he found the Stagg preferable.

 

[gimmeagig]

I have a chance to buy a completely dialed in Palatino( new strings, leveled fingerboard, customized bridge) or I could get a new Stagg bass for about 100,- less.I did get a soundsample from the seller who is a really good player and it sounds very good, but so does the Stagg on some of the youtube clips I have found.
From reading all the threads about the Palatino I get the impression that Palatino owners are not really players and that they just like to tinker with the instrument and eventually end up selling it.Which is probably why there are no good soundsamples to be found of somebody actually playing the Palatino.But I also heard that a well dialed in Palatino can be a great instrument.
On the other hand it seems that the Stagg may be less fragile and easier to transport but the Palatino looks more traditional and I don't know if it feels more like an upright because of it's shapely body.
I'm having a tough time with this decision. I know it's one or the other.What do you guys think?

 

[srkendal]

Matteybass, Thank you so much for your posts. I just purchased a Stagg edb34 which will require some rehabilitation as the pegbox is shattered. Your posts will help greatly!
Excuse me if I missed it in one of your posts, but what strings did you buy for the 5-string set? After looking at your posts, I am pretty sure I am going to rebuild the pegbox as a 5-string.
I currently play a bass guitar with a body of my own design. As to the folks who have experienced the dots on the fingerboard being out of tune, string tension and action height will greatly affect the accuracy of these marks. At least with a fretless instrument it can be set up for a personal preference and playing style and played in tune. With a fretted instrument the setup is somewhat limited in range while remaining in tune at the frets.

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