Stagg BM350

Most of the features have already been covered in the other reviews here. Jaguar-style body, double humbucking pickups, gold hardware. The basses are made in China. Mine's in the Daphne Blue finish. The Jaguar look and the surfy color are the main reasons I bought it - it fits me perfectly, at least in spirit.

I'm a guitarist, not a bassist. I bought this one to learn on and to record with.

I don't own a bass amp, so I've only played it for a little bit through a friend's amp. Therefore, I can't really judge it too well, especially since as a guitarist I'm not too accustomed to playing around with sound settings for basses. The pickups are very quiet - I noticed no hum. They're pretty powerful, I suppose - dark and growly, though I haven't played many other basses to compare with.

Through a guitar amp it has a really punchy sound and sounds good when run through an overdrive pedal, too. More treble-y, but that's to be expected...

My absolute biggest complaint about this bass is that it's neck-heavy like WHOA. Using a very wide strap helps somewhat, but if I let go of the neck, the thing just dives for the floor. I put pressure on the body with the palm of my right hand when I'm playing to brace it in position so it's easier to play. I took the thing apart hoping to find a "swimming pool" rout where I could affix some weights or something to balance it out, but no luck. I might try replacing the neck with another, hopefully lighter one. I don't really dig the painted headstock anyway...

I adjusted the string height a bit on my own, but otherwise it seemed set up all right. The wood of the fretboard was horribly dry - I rubbed some oil on there and it just soaked it up like a sponge. Should be better now.

The neck-heaviness is a really big complaint for me. Maybe I'm just spoiled by guitars, but so be it. I'm ranking this category low primarily because of that.

I would say this bass is definitely gig-worthy. It's a little on the cheaper side, but it feels durable enough, and like it could withstand some abuse. I probably wouldn't want to play it live through an entire set, constantly fighting to keep it from diving headstock first towards the ground, but if I could fix that one problem, I'd definitely gig with it. As it is, I could stand to play it on one or two songs.

The strap button on the upper bout seems a little dodgy - I think you could play with a regular strap on there, but it'd be safer to use strap locks or duct tape to ensure it doesn't pop off.

I haven't dealt with them.

As I said, I'm primarily a guitarist, so this will hardly be my main instrument. I love the look it has, and it sounds pretty decent as well. Though I hate to harp on it, the neck-heaviness is really a discomfort for me - I don't know if real bass players have to deal with this all the time or not (I'm told that most basses aren't overly neck-heavy). It really brings the value of the bass down for me a lot, sadly. I haven't yet given up, however, and I'll keep looking for ways to remedy the problem. Despite this crippling problem, I'm willing to give the bass itself a seven.

This was my first bass, bought in 2004. A lovely shade of red, not incredibly bright but looks great up on stage (matching headstock). Imitation mother of pearl pickguard, two HUGE humbuckers with circulare pole-pieces for that retro glimmer, 2x Volume and one tone controlls, Standard fender style bridge, gold hardware, Gold fender style tuners, black knobs, Rosewood finger board , 21 frets, varnish blonde neck. I think the body is basswood but I'm not entirelly sure - the review above says alder :S

Overall it is obviously based on the design of the lovely fender jaguar bass. The pickguard is the same shape as the jag, but with more pickguard where all the switches would be. Looks very nice, very retro and a bit unusual on stage. Built a little larger than the fender basses (I think).

Great looks for money, and different from nearly all the other basses at this price range.

Two big humbuckers, gives a very distinctive sound compared to P or J basses but I like it. I mostly play hard rock and some metal. Can get a nice smooth tone or a bright one (can get a pretty decent Steve Harris type tone from it), or a gritty one to punch through metal. So it does everything I require it to do whist retaining that twin 'bucker sound. I dont notice any hum from it at all. I have noticed that this bass is considerably louder than my B.C Rich warlock (passive P - pickup).

I use an Ashdown Electric Blue 15-180 combo at home and small gigs.

Good solid tone for the money. I wouldn't try using it for funk however!

This bass came straight out the box (played the one on display but didn't like the baby - blue colour) and being a bass novice at the time didn't realise how poorly it was set up! I think the shop should have seen to this first. I got it set up at ( a different) shop that I trust and it plays a lot better. However they said a fret stone would be necessary for it to play properly - however it would cost half as much as the bass new and it doesn't really need it for what I do.



Overall I'm dissapointed with the lack of care that could have made this bass so much better out of the box. I think however it was a one off and other stagg basses I have played have had a very good set up out of the box so don't let this put you off buying this bass - just make sure it is set up properly before buying it!

This bass gets bashed around quite a lot by me purely accidentally and it's withstood it all very well. Considering the finish has withstood very well and the back of the neck especially doesn't have a mark on it.

Strap buttons are solid - however strap locks are recommended as they are only standard size!

The jack plug's washer needs a bit of tightining with a spanner but it's no major deal and most low end basses seem to suffer this problem.

I would happly use this bass to gig/reherse without a back up. I usually have two basses at a gig to drop tune. It is a very solid bass with a solid tone.

I have been playing since June 2004 and this was my first bass, it is very solid and certainly better than a lot of starter basses out there. I wish I had asked about the set up before I bought it but I didn't have a clue about that at the time.

If it was stolen or lost I wouldn't buy another one - but probably something better than both my basses anyway. I would however recommend that anyone starting out or wanting a solid backup take a look at this bass.

When I was buying it I was comparing it to an Ibanez GSR-200 (great bass) but I felt this one suited me better (as I am 6ft 3 and this bass is larger generally). I love the colour and look of this bass and it is gorgeous on stage.

This is a two-humbucker bass with a jaguar/jazzmaster body. Solid alder (albeit about 4 different pieces) body, maple neck, flat and straight rosewood fingerboard. Gloss finish on the neck, metallic black on the body and front of the headstock. Standard fender style bridge. Two volumes, one tone. BIG humbuckers, large ceramic style pole pieces. Immitation mother-of-pearl scratchplate. I give it an '8' because it looks pretty cool and distinctive.

I am a guitarist primarily, I wanted a cheap and cheerful bass to mess with. I run it through a leny combo on the odd occasion that I play it.

For the money folks, I am very impressed. It better than any squier I've played, and I actually think it's about as good (although not as well balanced) as a mexican Fender jazz I've played a lot. The pickups are large humbucking mofos, and they give (to my guitarist ears) a LOUD, dark, powerful tone. Perfect for heavier stuff. They are not exactly beautful, but nor are they brittle, tinny or harsh. They are good for ripping out the odd Iron Maiden bassline. There are two volume controls, one per pickup, and I like to blend both together. It gives the sound a similar quality to the inbetween positions on a strat - clean, clear and slightly mid scooped.

There is also no noise from them whatsoever. And the pots are all smooth and quiet too.

The only thing I am unhappy about is that this bass is decidedly neck-heavy. For this reason I would be more comfortable using it to record, but if I was jamming/gigging I could like with it. I think that the full scale neck and jaguar body (it's literally the same body as Stagg use for their jag copies) are mismatched in terms of weight. I played another BM350 and it was just the same. So beware, it goes with this territory.

The body finish is excellent and cool looking. Metallic black, but not too showy - you have to look a little closer to really see the metal particles there. The neck is a little poorer - the wood feels a little 'lumpy' and uneven on the hand, although the fretwork and neck are very consistent and good to play on. Easily as well done as the mexican jazz. The neck does have a glossy finish that I happen to like.

It's solid. Feels like if it dropped it wouldn't sustain much damage. That said it's only ever sat in my room but it feels like it's 'tuff' for the money.

This bass could be gigged, no sweat.

N/A

I've been playing 11 years, and I am by my own admission not a bass player as such, although I like to have one around - which is why I got this. I'd recommend it to someone who want as powerful, growly bass that has a grungy look, and who wants good quality for their money. About the only thing I'd change is its neck-heaviness.