GambaCorners

On 3/7/2018 at 09:06, Marc S said:

Yes, the SLB does look and sound good (at least from sound clips I've heard of them)
I wouldn't want to put anyone off buying a Stagg - they are great value for money (esp send hand) and a good intro into upright playing -  at least, they give you a bit of a flavour for it
But I definitely agree about the "body" attachments - I bought one as a bass guitar player, and didn't get on with those attachments at all. I found them very awkward, and later found them to be very unlike the shape and feel of an acoustic DB body which they are supposed to replicate / represent. Again, that may be just me, some folks might find them useful....

For me the Stagg is kind of an evolution of the bass guitar, in the direction of the acoustic bass. The SLB is an evolution of the acoustic bass. If acoustic bass is your reference point then the Stagg has many potential frustrations, but if the bass guitar is your reference, or you have little/no experience of upright, then the Stagg is a good gateway and certainly better value for money than what you'd get if you spent the same on what would be a 'cheap' acoustic DB.

Here's the reply. Hats off to Yamaha customer services; it took a while but they finally chased down an answer:

We have been informed that the strings (D'Addario Helicore Pizzicatos) are the MEDIUM guage ones fitted as standard on the SLB200 bass.

Thanks for your help; much appreciated. Apparently there's a little extra twist of a contrasting colour at the end of the peg box end of the string which tells you the gauge. Mine's clipped off. I'll post up the reply from Japan when it comes. After all this effort I imagine the answer will just be: medium, but who knows?

I have an SLB 200 which is amazing in my view but has a price tag to match. I had a Stagg for a while but never liked it. I only play double bass, not bass guitar, and I just never found the Stagg body attachments adequate for the job. If I was coming from more of a guitar starting point of view I might not mind as much.

After 20 years of lugging the acoustic bass in and out of the car and around different venues, and dealing with endless repetitions of the ‘that’s a big violin’ joke, the joy of carrying an eub to rehearsals and gigs is like swapping walking for flying. 

Good luck with your search.

Hello to all,

My first post, although I’ve been a lurker for a while. 

Just bought the Yamaha SLB 200  silent bass. It comes fitted with DAddario Helicore Pizz strings as standard. Does anyone happen to know what gauge they are? Another SLB owner perhaps? The silk windings at the pegbox end have been clipped very short so there’s not much to go on there.

Why not ask Yamaha? I did ... sent a message to the Wardour St shop and they responded very quickly but have passed it around amongst themselves to no effect; I’ve had four replies from different people there saying they don’t know, so they’ve forwarded the question to Head Office in Japan. 

Does anyone here know? I’d like to buy another set the same gauge; never used these strings before but I like them.

Thanks in advance.