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Stagg L320

 

Stagg L320 reviewed by The Man in the Jar

A very handsome beast with quite familiar looks.

Features of the Stagg L320

Tuners - Stagg are going for a vintage Les Paul atmosphere and the tuners are vintage-Kluson-style covered (not sealed) tuners. These are enhanced by the tuning knobs which are the green plastic kind beloved of early Gibsons. The heads feel tight and well-geared and brought the guitar into tune smoothly.

Headstock - The three-a-side headstock looks a lot like the Epiphone design with its gabled top and pinched waist. This design sits well with the overall feel of the instrument.

Nut - The antiqued white plastic nut is nicely finished. 

Neck - The maple neck has all the body that you'd expect from a Les Paul style instrument. The chunky grip and parallel profile gives the Stagg a real feeling of business. The cherry part of the cherryburst continues up the neck and the grain shows through nicely. Unusually for a guitar of this price bracket the neck is fixed and the semi-rounded heel provides a smooth playing experience in the upper register.

Fretboard - The rosewood fretboard on the example I tried was of exceptional quality with a good tight grain and a nice even, dark colouring. The pearloid fret-markers are inlaid parallelograms, a bit of a cheeky variation on the standard Gibson-style trapezoid markers. The board is bound antiqued white binding.   

Frets - The big, fat frets are extremely well-polished and make for a very positive playing experience, string-bending becomes an absolute joy. 

Action - Perfectly playable from the box with the scope to tweak a tad lower.

Body - The body is solid alder and has a lovely carved top, which again is unusual for the price bracket. The shape is unmistakably Les Paul, especially since the pointy lower horn profile in the above picture has been abandoned in recent production runs in preference for a more conservative shape. The authentic thickness of the body gives the L320 a satisfying presence on the strap but lacks the "millstone" quality of its mahogany cousins. The cherryburst finish is gorgeous in its simplicity and the front of the body is bound to match the neck. 

Bridge - Standard tune-o-matic and stoptail with each string nestling on its own saddle. Each saddle is fully adjustable for intonation (string length) and the action is adjustable via two screws, one each end of the bridge.

Pickups - Two Stagg humbucking pickups sit under chrome covers which in turn rest in cream surrounds.

Controls - There's a volume and tone control for each pickup and a three-way pickup selector sits on the upper bout.

Pickguard - The single-ply cream pickguard is classic Gibson style and floats on a single bracket.

Strap-buttons - Medium-sized strap buttons live in the usual places.

Output Jack - On the lower edge of the guitar housed in a square chrome jackplate.

Finish - The L320 is Chinese-made and the finish is faultless.

 

Sound of the Stagg L320

I ran the Stagg through various Line 6 amp models and was impressed with the results. Medium output humbuckers work really well with digital model amps, and although the pickups lacked the depth of character of more expensive humbuckers set in heavier tonewood, I was able to find sounds I could use in both overdriven and clean modes.  

 

Overall Impressions of the Stagg L320

I am bowled over by the amount the Stagg L320 delivers for such a small outlay of cash. Physically the guitar is a Les Paul experience which competes toe-to-toe with most Epiphones. Tonally the pickups deliver everything you need straight out of the box with the option of swapping in upgrades at a later date. I ended up liking this guitar a lot more than I expected - it's cheap but it ain't tacky!

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