What do you know about Stagg?

[Kodiak3D]

I'd never come across this brand until today when I was in our local used instrument store. They had a few Stagg's (two nice-loking LP copies and a pretty cool satin black SG copy) and they were pretty cheap too (less than $150).

Other than having a nice finish, are these guitars any good? I plugged the SG into a small amp they had out and it sounded pretty decent to me and the seemed to be pretty sturdy. Harmony Central has good reviews of them, but does anyone here have any first hand experience with them? Are they well-built?

[wingsdad]

My independent Local GAS Station switched from Washburn's Oscar Schmidt lines to Stagg electrics and acoustics as his budget price-point, entry-level guitars about 2 years ago. I'd say they're on a par with Oscar Schmidt or Takamine's Jasmine line for acoustics, and Rondo Music's SX electric line. I've tried a few nice ones, and more than a few not-so-nice ones. Most of them looked nicer than they played. But they do their job: guitars mostly for under $200 -$250.

Stagg's a good line for the indy music store, because he can get good wholesale cost price-points by filling his order beyond guitars with cheap drums & sticks, horns, cables, mics, tuners, headphones, cases...a little of almost everything.

His prime target Stagg buyer is 12-18 yrs old.

Stagg Music

[Kodiak3D]

Thanks for the info, Wingsdad.

After doing some more searching on the 'net, I found some more info on them. The company is Belgian and the guitars are made in China. The company formed in 1995 but only started US distribution within the past 4 or 5 years from what I can tell. Reviews range anywhere from total crap to the best budget guitar available, although more recent reviews seem more positive than older ones. Perhaps they solved some quality issues.

They sound a like a good base for modding. Almost every reviewer who changed pickups was happy. Gives me ideas...

(Hmmm, nifty gothic black SG copy + GFS power rails = fun heavy metal axe?)

Here's a pic of the SG copy:

[Kodiak3D]

Well, I had to do something about my GAS. I ended up getting the Stagg G300 for $125 (with a gig bag thrown in). I can tell that someone enjoyed playing her as the fretboard needed cleaned and polished badly (looks great now).

While I haven't played much on it yet, I can tell I'm going to like it after a little work. First, it feels great! I dunno why, but this guitar just feels good in my hands. Solid, too. The tuners feel cheap, but they work so far. The bridge seems good, and the pickups aren't bad for a cheap guitar like this, but I plan to change them out for GFS Power Rails. The jack needs to be resoldered, but I think I'm just going to replace all the electronics for some quality stuff.

All in all, it's exactly what I thought: a good platform to mod from. In the end, I love the look and feel of it. Once I'm finished tinkering with her, I think I'll have a great guitar for the money I've put into her.

[Spudman***]

I hope it turns out to be a good buy. Can we see a photo of yours?