Mateybass

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='415128' date='Feb 20 2009, 11:37 AM']I have mentioned here before that I have tried the double bass before but, due to injuries caused to my hand(s), I couldn't keep playing. I was wondering, therefore, how these Stagg's compare to the real thing not in terms of the sound etc but in terms of the sheer physicality of playing them. Does the fact that they are smaller make them easier to 'get around'? It may be an option for me as an alternative.[/quote] I've had a Stagg EDB 3/4 for about a month and after visiting my local luthier, the action is fantastic. Let me qualify that statement by saying that I'm a bass guitarist first and foremost and always found my standard double bass to have too high an action to play as quickly as I play fretless. This Stagg was a cheap experiment (£284 including shipping) and I have to say I'm absolutely delighted. The luthier recut the nut so the strings lie almost on top of the fretboard at the head end, and sanded the underneath of the bridge saddle so I could lower the action to something more comfortable. It is amazing how low it will go and testament to the trueness of the fingerboard. I've actually had to raise it a little from it's lowest setting so that I can play the G-string with a bit more force. Even my luthier, who has done a few double basses in his time, was shocked at how low it went. At the 12th fret position with the current action, I can just slide a pound coin underneath the E string but not quite under the G string. It means for me that I can use my left hand in a manner to which I am accustomed from fretless playing and much less effort is required to press the strings down. The next thing for this eub is a 5 string conversion, my luthier doesn't foresee any problems in doing it and once the smaller footprint machine heads have arrived, he'll be undertaking that job. A 5 string EUB for less than £500?