STAGG SEL-HB90 (Les Paul with Humbucker/P90 Combo)

[toomanycats]

For anyone keeping track, all of my recent guitar acquisitions have been inexpensive imports purchased used. That trend continues with the STAGG SEL-HB90, which is a bolt on neck Les Paul style guitar with the unique feature of having a P90 in the neck position. I picked this one up yesterday for $65.

Judged purely on aesthetics, this guitar is extremely appealing to me. While I love the highfalutin elegance of the Epiphone Les Paul Custom I recently acquired, I was also taken with the pared down visuals of this STAGG. I like the slab body, thin whitewash finish that allows the grain of the mahogany to show through, the dot markers, and simplified controls. The appeal is not just in it's unadorned beauty, as from a functional point of view this is a solid workingman’s tool, sturdy, unpretentious, and I would wager every bit capable of getting the job done on gigs.

What is somewhat unique for a bolt on neck LP like this is that the neck as well as the body are made of mahogany. I own quite a few other LP style guitars with bolt on necks, including a Maestro by Gibson (the one in my avatar pic), a Borg, a Baldwin Gibson Les Paul, and a Washburn Lyon, and they all have maple necks. A bolt on mahogany neck on a LP type guitar seems much less common.

Oh how filing the slots on a genuine bone nut produces that odor which evokes remembrance of root canals past. Yeah, the slots were too high . . . which is par for the course on these inexpensive imports. After the filing, a half turn of the truss rod, and a slight lowering of the bridge, this guitar plays beautifully. Something about this guitar gives it a super slinky feel compared to my others. Though I’ve tried mightily to quantify and duplicate this feeling on all of my guitars, I’ve been unsuccessful in that endeavor, arriving at the conclusion that some guitars just have “it,” whatever that elusive factor is.

The bridge humbucker measures exactly 11 K. The P90 in the neck position measures 6.77 K.

The bridge humbucker sounds very much like a Epiphone Probucker 1, that is to say, underwound, bright, and with superb note separation. Yes, I know I just described a humbucker I measured at 11 K ohm resistance as sounding "underwound," but that's what I'm hearing. From the characteristic openness and bite it exhibits I'd swear this humbucker has unbalanced coils.

The neck position has the sound of an extremely articulate and woody single coil.

The middle position sounds like a muscular Tele.

Overall, this guitar sounds much more like Tele than it does a Les Paul. I go so far as to say it's a Tele in Les Paul clothing.

The tuners are smooth, with no backlash. The rest of the hardware is solid, with an ABR type bridge, and flat tailpiece bolts (which I much prefer). Mini pots are in the control cavity, though there is a mechanical switch.

The neck had a 60s LP type carve with a fretboard radius that flattens out considerably in the higher registers. The frets are medium sized. I didn't find it necessary to dress or polish the frets whatsoever, the feeling in my hand being so nice as is.

I know I’m in the habit of saying “I love this guitar” about most every instrument I write about . . . and it’s true. I hardly ever purchase anything which I don’t first have in my hands and can sense that there’s something there. There most certainly is something there with this STAGG.

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[sabasgr68]

Certainly an unique, no-fancy and simple working guitar. $65? Really?

I think it's the first time that I see a LP bolt-on neck with some kind of contour on the joint area. Do you feel any significant difference compared to your other 'regular' LPs?

Regardless, enjoy it!

[toomanycats]

Certainly an unique, no-fancy and simple working guitar. $65? Really?

I think it's the first time that I see a LP bolt-on neck with some kind of contour on the joint area. Do you feel any significant difference compared to your other 'regular' LPs?

Regardless, enjoy it!

Yeah, for real, $65.

The cut makes access a bit easier on the treble side from the 17th fret up. I actually do have another bolt on LP type guitar with a contoured heel, and that is my Borg.

I was actually surprised that I couldn't find many written reviews of this STAGG model, though there does seem to be a lot of Russian videos on YouTube.

[sabasgr68]

https://staggmusic.com/en/products/view ... -flat-top/

[andrewsrea]

HNGD!

Do you ever sell to thin the herd for new acquisitions, or are you rivaling TJ?

[toomanycats]

HNGD!

Do you ever sell to thin the herd for new acquisitions, or are you rivaling TJ?

I've only ever sold once that I can remember, and that was an Epiphone SG bass that I afterwards regretted letting go.

I'm North of one-hundred and fifty, which was when I stopped counting . . . and that was several years ago.

No worries for @tobijohn, as I'm sure he still has me outpaced. Now if we're talking cats, I might give him a good run for the money.

There will have to be a culling of the herd at some point. The guitars . . . not the cats.

[golem]

150 before you lost count!?!

I've been acquiring stuff recently simply because I don't have the time and energy to sell.

[tonebender]

toomanycats and excuse me, but toomanyguitars as well. LOL

[Spike]

@toomanycats Nice guitar!

My Reverend Double Agent OG has a humbucker in the bridge and a P90 in neck. Perfect combination for me. It covers a lot of ground and has been my #1 since I got it.

[toomanycats]

@toomanycats Nice guitar!

My Reverend Double Agent OG has a humbucker in the bridge and a P90 in neck. Perfect combination for me. It covers a lot of ground and has been my #1 since I got it.

Cool! What also appealed to me about the bridge humbucker P90 neck combo was that Neal Schon played a black Gibson Les Paul configured like that around the Escape era. There's a distinctive tone on the solo for "Whose Crying Now" which Neal gets with that P90.

[Rollin Hand]

HNGD!

Do you ever sell to thin the herd for new acquisitions, or are you rivaling TJ?

I've only ever sold once that I can remember, and that was an Epiphone SG bass that I afterwards regretted letting go.

I'm North of one-hundred and fifty, which was when I stopped counting . . . and that was several years ago.

No worries for @tobijohn, as I'm sure he still has me outpaced. Now if we're talking cats, I might give him a good run for the money.

There will have to be a culling of the herd at some point. The guitars . . . not the cats.

I'll just use this if the wife says anything....

(Actually, she won't. She's really cool. I am more likely to guilt myself over buying a guitar than anyone else.)

[toomanycats]

HNGD!

Do you ever sell to thin the herd for new acquisitions, or are you rivaling TJ?

I've only ever sold once that I can remember, and that was an Epiphone SG bass that I afterwards regretted letting go.

I'm North of one-hundred and fifty, which was when I stopped counting . . . and that was several years ago.

No worries for @tobijohn, as I'm sure he still has me outpaced. Now if we're talking cats, I might give him a good run for the money.

There will have to be a culling of the herd at some point. The guitars . . . not the cats.

I'll just use this if the wife says anything....

(Actually, she won't. She's really cool. I am more likely to guilt myself over buying a guitar than anyone else.)

I really don't feel any guilt over the inexpensive guitars I've been acquiring most recently. In the pawn shops I'm seeing the inexpensive import brands sold on Amazon with increasing regularity. I've picked up guitars made by IYV, Ktazon, Glarry, and now this STAGG dirt cheap. I've bought some of these guitars for less than what I pay for a box of cat food, so the price isn't an issue.

The real issue becomes storage space. I've got a dedicated room from which the cats are permanently banished where I keep the really good stuff, but it is full to capacity. The rest are just sorta all over the house. Though Mrs TMC is very tolerant of my guitar obsession, not having any place to sit in the living room has lately become something of an issue.

[Rollin Hand]

I really don't feel any guilt over the inexpensive guitars I've been acquiring most recently. In the pawn shops I'm seeing the inexpensive import brands sold on Amazon with increasing regularity. I've picked up guitars made by IYV, Ktazon, Glarry, and now this STAGG dirt cheap. I've bought some of these guitars for less than what I pay for a box of cat food, so the price isn't an issue.

The real issue becomes storage space. I've got a dedicated room from which the cats are permanently banished where I keep the really good stuff, but it is full to capacity. The rest are just sorta all over the house. Though Mrs TMC is very tolerant of my guitar obsession, not having any place to sit in the living room has lately become something of an issue.

My guilt comes from a combo of a lack of time to play and from leaving all of those wonderful guitars just sitting, unfulfilled.

I have enough to do around the house that I start to feel bad if I take time for myself to futz with guitars. That's not super healthy, but it is what it is at this point.