I thought I would write a review on the Stagg BC300-N 4 string bass as it took me a bit of research online to find out anything about these as Stagg products are not well known in the US. I did find some favorable reviews from the UK and also found the website for Stagg Instruments which had some useful info. I ordered this item from Amazon and it was shipped by Music Factory Direct. It did ship faster than the 3-5 days stated by the shipper, in fact it was on its way to me a little more than a day after ordering. I was a bit nervous as it was sent via USPS, but no worries. It arrived in just a few days and about 5 days earlier than stated. The outer shipping carton was in PERFECT shape (I thanked the mail carrier personally-great job USPS!) The inner carton was padded adequately to keep it from sliding around and protected. The inner box (Stagg factory carton) was padded with foam inserts to protect the instrument. The bass was wrapped in a plastic bag with a lightly oiled parchment wrap over the strings (to protect from rust). After removing from all packaging bass looked to be in good shape however WAS NOT PLAYABLE out of the box. The bridge saddles were bottomed out and upon raising each saddle (with included allen key) it became quite obvious that an entire set up was needed. Apparently Music Factory Direct does not even open the factory box before shipping, which was quite obvious. I have been playing stringed instruments for close to forty years and fortunately have the skill and knowledge to make all the neccessary adjustments. The bass was in need of a substantial neck adjustment, action (bridge saddle adjustments, and intonation ( which surprisingly dialed in quite nicely. I left the action a little high as I was planning to change the factory roundwound strings out rather quickly. After about an hour and a half of tweaking it turned out to be a pretty solid low end instrument. The natural satin finish on the body is nice. The body is made of several peices of alder and has a slight (although cool) butcher block appearance. I wasn't expecting a two peice or even three peice body at this price. The satin finished maple neck (once adjusted properly) is smooth and easy to play. Fret work is surprisingly good. Tuning keys are low quality but do work. They have some back lash and the nylon bushings squeak a bit. Apply some silicone oil to fix squeaks. The pickups are most likely inexpensive ceramic but sound good. The bridge is adequate and all adjustment screws work. Tone and volume controls are quiet and function as expected. After a few days I put on a set of D'Addario medium tapewounds. Not only do these black strings look great with black hardware against natural finish but produce the warm mellow tones I was looking for. All in all I am pleased with this bass. It is nicer than the Ibanez basses I tried at Guitar Center at the same price point. I play mostly jazz, blues, and instrumental rock. I am mainly a guitarist and bought this bass primarily for home recording and to get back into playing bass again as I played bass semi-professionaly a couple of decades ago. The Stagg BC300-N is not in need of any immediate upgrades (barring a complete setup of course) but would be of interest to modders. The tuning keys, bridge, pickups and electronics could all be upgraded to make an extremely solid custom instrument for much less than an off the wall model with these kind of upgrades.
UPDATE: August 2013: Do Not Waste your money. I got rid of this bass several months ago. Electronics became very noisy, useless for recording. There are much better choices out there for similar or slightly higher price point.

Brand	Stagg
Rating	3.6 (14 ratings)
Price	$207.85
Category	Bass Guitars

Stagg BC300 4-String Fusion Electric Bass Guitar - Sunburst

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