Review of the Stagg G490 Electric Guitar

15 Apr 2010

Features of the Stagg G490

Tuners - The unbranded sealed mini-tuners are smooth and efficient. Good tuners are essential on a guitar with a Bigsby-style vibrato.

Headstock - The three-a-side headstock is black-faced and pinch-waisted with a nice gabled top. The Stagg logo is inlaid in pearloid and the truss-rod access is covered by a simple black plate.

Nut - The aged-white plastic nut abuts the fretboard and is cleanly and accurately finished.

Neck - This guitar obviously takes the Gibson SG as its inspiration and this is very much an SG neck. It's constructed from mahogany and is glued. This means that a tongue at the end of the neck fits into a socket in the body into which it is permanently glued. This arrangement is better for sustain than a bolt-on neck, but not quite as good as a through-neck (where the wood of the neck continues down to form the centre of the body). The transparent cherry finish allows the warm grain of the mahogany to shine through and the compact SG neck dimensions make for an easy-playing profile. Courtesey of the glued construction the heel is nicely rounded and unobtrusive.

Fretboard - The mid-brown rosewood of the fretboard is nicely grained and is finished with a classy white binding. The fret-markers are blocks of pearloid which is a visual reference to a classic Gibson look. Fret-markers are mirrored down the player's side by simple black dots on the binding.

Frets - The thin vintage-style frets are nicely finished. Access to the top frets is very free.

Action - The action is really low straight from the box.

Body - The grain of the mahogany really glows through the transparent cherry finish. The body shape is classic SG, with its devilishly offset sharp horns and subtle contouring around the entire edge of the body. One departure from the classic design is to be found at the bottom of the body where the G490 seems to have buttocks!  This is slightly reminiscent of a lady sitting on the edge of the pool in a red bikini...!

Bridge - The bridge is a standard Gibson-style Tune-o-matic. Each string has its own saddle which is individually adjustable for intonation (string length). The action (string height) is adjustable via two screws, one at each end of the bridge. Behind this on a "normal" SG you'd expect a simple stoptail, on the Stagg G490 you'll find a Bigsby-style vibrato (or trem). The strings pass under a static roller bar and then up and over a second bar. On the bottom of this second bar is a line of mini-capstans onto which the ball-ends of the strings are placed. The second bar is attached to the large spring-loaded vibrato arm which can be used to rotate the bar in its housings and thereby change the tension of the strings. Press the vibrato bar down and the strings slacken, pull the vibrato bar up and the strings tighten.
Bigsby-style is the oldest vibrato technology still commercially available, so you'll need to make some allowances - it will not perform in the same way as a modern Floyd-Rose which has the advantage of locking nuts and fine-tuning cogs. To get the best from a Bigsby you need to set it up properly, taking special care to ensure each string follows as straight as possible a path from the capstan to the bridge. Nudge the strings sideways with a thumbnail until the path looks straight (this is less of a consideration with the higher strings). Use of a proper guitar lubricant or graphite stick on all parts with which the strings come into contact, including the bridge saddles and nut, will help tuning stability. Also consider using heavier gauge strings - there were no "super-skinnies" around when the Bigsby was designed. Consider also that the Bigsby is operated by one chunky but short spring situated under the vibrato arm (in contrast with the three or five heavy-duty springs attached to the vibrato block on, for instance, a Stratocaster). This sometimes requires the player to "nudge" the vibrato arm a bit to return the guitar properly to tune. Acquiring this technique helps improve your ear no end.

Pickups - Two unbranded humbuckers sit under chrome covers in black plastic surrounds.

Controls - Each pickup has its own volume and tone control topped off with classic top-hat knobs. In front of these sits a three-way pickup selector. All controls are rear-mounted and are accessible via a removable plastic plate on the back of the body.

Pickguard - There is no pickguard, but the finish on the body is very hard and scratch-resistant.

Strap-buttons - Two medium strap buttons are attached, one on the bottom of the body, the other is on the back of the body at the heel. The strap-button at the heel puts the guitar into a slightly different playing position than a button on the upper horn, so keep an eye on the neck while playing until you're familiar with the feel.

Output Jack - This is rear-mounted on the front of the body behing the controls.

Finish - This really is a handsome guitar, the cherry finish is a lot deeper and more lustrous than is apparent from the photograph.

Sound of the Stagg G490

The stock pickups are surprisingly well-voiced for a guitar of this price-range. The bridge pickup is particularly impressive, delivering a solid, snarling heavy rock and metal sound. The neck pickup, which I assume is the exact same model, works less well at high overdrive but comes into its own when you haul back on the drive to extract a bluesier tone.

Overall Impressions of the Stagg G490

I really like the look and sound of this guitar, especially considering the price. The finish and feel of the instrument is remarkable and the Bigsby-style tailpiece adds dollops of class to the overall look. The Bigsby vibrato will require an adjustment to your technique, but let's not forget the Angus Young signature SG has a Gibson Lyre Vibrola system, which is essentially less technologically advanced than the Bigsby. If you want an SG on a budget, the Stagg G490 should find a place on your shopping list.

Reviewed by The Man in the Jar

How to set up a Bigsby-style Trem

26 Aug 2010

Usually a guitar with a Bigsby-style tailpiece is fitted with a standard Gibson-style Tune-o-matic. Each string has its own saddle which is individually adjustable for intonation (string length). The action (string height) is adjustable via two screws, one at each end of the bridge. The strings pass over this bridge and dive down to meet the Bigsby vibrato assembly. The strings first pass under a static roller bar and then up and over a second bar. On the bottom of this second bar is a line of mini-capstans onto which the ball-ends of the strings are placed. The second bar is attached to the large spring-loaded vibrato arm which can be used to rotate that bar in its housings and thereby change the tension of the strings. Press the vibrato bar down and the strings slacken, pull the vibrato bar up and the strings tighten.

Bigsby-style is the oldest vibrato technology still commercially available so you'll need to make some allowances. It will not perform in the same way as a modern Floyd-Rose which has the advantage of locking nuts and fine-tuning cogs. To get the best from a Bigsby you need to set it up properly, taking special care to ensure each string follows as straight as possible a path from the capstan on the roller bar to the bridge. Nudge the strings sideways with a thumbnail until the path looks straight (this is less of a consideration with the higher strings as their higher tension tends to pull them straight). Use of a proper guitar lubricant like Nut Sauce or a graphite stick on all parts with which the strings come into contact, including the bridge saddles and nut, will help tuning stability. Also consider using heavier gauge guitar strings - there were no "super-skinnies" around when the Bigsby was designed so a set of 11's or 12's should be on your shopping list.

Consider also that the Bigsby is operated by one chunky but short spring situated under the vibrato arm (in contrast with the three or five heavy-duty springs attached to the vibrato block on, for instance, a Stratocaster). This sometimes requires the player to "nudge" the vibrato arm a bit to return the guitar properly to tune. Acquiring this technique helps improve your ear no end.

Recommended listening:  Anything by Brian Setzer.

Written by The Man in the Jar