Stagi - Quality Of Finish

[John D]

So I've accquired a 'new' Stagi 30b anglo. It's stated history was that it was purchased from ButtonBox in August and the owner had determined that her arthritis would not allow her to play and so it was put up for sale advertised in 'as new' condition.

 

I received it over the weekend, along with the Levy book, and spent a few hours learning to play Constant Billy (badly, but recognizable). It appears to be very much in tune, and plays very nicely compared to the Hohner I'd played with previously.

 

The thing that bothers me a little bit is the quality of finish. There are a couple of 'dings', and an area where it appears that the finish was never properly buffed. Also, whatever the clear stuff that is the outermost layer of finish appears to be distorted and turned sort of opaque white where the screws and washers contact them. There was also an oversized button glued onto the air button, which I was able to remove.

 

Is this the level of quality to be expected with the Stagi, or should I call the seller on her description of the condition and/or return it? I attached a pic showing the area around the screw holes ..

 

john d

[squeezbxhvn]

So I've accquired a 'new' Stagi 30b anglo. It's stated history was that it was purchased from ButtonBox in August and the owner had determined that her arthritis would not allow her to play and so it was put up for sale advertised in 'as new' condition.

 

I received it over the weekend, along with the Levy book, and spent a few hours learning to play Constant Billy (badly, but recognizable). It appears to be very much in tune, and plays very nicely compared to the Hohner I'd played with previously.

 

The thing that bothers me a little bit is the quality of finish. There are a couple of 'dings', and an area where it appears that the finish was never properly buffed. Also, whatever the clear stuff that is the outermost layer of finish appears to be distorted and turned sort of opaque white where the screws and washers contact them. There was also an oversized button glued onto the air button, which I was able to remove.

 

Is this the level of quality to be expected with the Stagi, or should I call the seller on her description of the condition and/or return it? I attached a pic showing the area around the screw holes ..

 

john d

[ScottC]

John,

 

It looks like some blushing has occurred around the screw holes. That happens when moisture or humidity gets into or beneath the clear lacquer (or polyurethane, I'm not sure which Stagi uses). Unless she took it apart and kept it in the bathroom, I doubt anything the previous owner did caused this, it's more likely a manufacturing defect. I started out with a Stagi, and while it didn't have this particular defect, it had plenty of others indicative of relatively poor manufacture. It served well enough to get me to my next instrument though.

 

If it's a lacquer finish, blushing is relatively easy for any luthier to fix, just spray on another coat with a little retarder in it and it will go away an reseal the edges around the screw holes. Poly is harder to fix. I doubt if it's worth the trouble to mess with it.

 

Scott

[Richard Morse]

Is this the level of quality to be expected with the Stagi, or should I call the seller on her description of the condition and/or return it? I attached a pic showing the area around the screw holes ..

That's typical of Stagis. It's possible that you could get a slightly better finish if you bought one new - but there's probably a better chance that you'd get one with a poorer finish. The Button Box does fix easily-dealt with finish issues, but there's only so much we can put into (mostly into tuning, action, and leak work) Stagis before we consider them to be salable. Sometimes the finish is so bad we have to have Stagi send us entire new replacement ends.

 

That hazing is pretty minor - we've seen ones in which the *entire end* was hazed so whitely you could hardly tell that it was wood (plywood veneer). The endfinish can also develop crazing as well. I could go on for quite awhile with how Stagis come from the factory and the things they age (quickly) into....

 

Really, these boxes are to be considered nothing but a stepping stone to better concertinas. I know they're a lot of money compared to other instruments, but consider that they have something like 1000 parts and someone has to put them all together, plus factory overhead, plus shipping, plus OUR work to bring them up to snuff, plus our overhead....

 

Certainly a Stagi can last many years if played gingerly, infrequently, and stored in ideal conditions. They can also become unrepairably worn out in less than a year with strenuous use (like for Morris). And that's providing that it doesn't encounter a really hot day, a drop onto one of its corners, etc.

 

I suggest that you put no effort into dealing with the Stagi cosmetics and save up for when you can afford to buy a hybrid or vintage box.

[John D]

I suggest that you put no effort into dealing with the Stagi cosmetics and save up for when you can afford to buy a hybrid or vintage box.

 

Right .. that's what I expected. Saving has already commenced

 

john d

[ragtimer]

So I've accquired a 'new' Stagi 30b anglo. It's stated history was that it was purchased from ButtonBox in August and the owner had determined that her arthritis would not allow her to play and so it was put up for sale advertised in 'as new' condition.

 

I received it over the weekend, along with the Levy book, and spent a few hours learning to play Constant Billy (badly, but recognizable). It appears to be very much in tune, and plays very nicely compared to the Hohner I'd played with previously.

It plays so well, and in tune, because The Button Box got to it before you did.

The thing that bothers me a little bit is the quality of finish. There are a couple of 'dings', and an area where it appears that the finish was never properly buffed. Also, whatever the clear stuff that is the outermost layer of finish appears to be distorted and turned sort of opaque white where the screws and washers contact them. There was also an oversized button glued onto the air button, which I was able to remove.

 

Is this the level of quality to be expected with the Stagi, or should I call the seller on her description of the condition and/or return it? I attached a pic showing the area around the screw holes ..

john d

I have a Stagi Hayden Duet, bought gently used from The Button Box two years ago.

I'm preetty sure the finish is polyurethane varnish. From my work on restoring antique radios, I learned good and bad things about poly varnish:

 

Good -- it is very hard, and waterproof, and can withstand years of playing with sweaty hands.

 

Bad -- because it's so hard, it cracks and chips easily if struck hard, leaving a whitish area.

And it's very hard to strip and refinish, to repair the damage.

Also it turns white and flakes off if mositure gets under it somehow, from the edges.

And if the wood swells or shrinks, the varnish will craze and crack.

 

I'd say some of your end screws were turned down too tight, and cracked the varnish. And/or moisture has crept in from the screw hole edge.

 

Probably moisture has crept in around some of the button hole edges too.

I've found that finger oils tend to leave whitish circles around the buttons, but that is just a deposit easily wiped off with a towel after playing.

 

Maybe I'm just lucky, but my Stagi shows no signs of varnish failure. There is one corner where the varnish was slopped on too thick, but nobody can notice that except me.

 

In fact, I doubt anyone else will notice your discolored spots.

 

My Stagi Hayden is holding up well, depsite being played too hard in sessions, so far. That's lucky, since at age 62 I'm unlikely to live long enough to find a replacement Duet

--Mike K.

Edited December 19, 2006 by ragtimer

[sidesqueeze]

My Stagi Hayden is holding up well, depsite being played too hard in sessions, so far. That's lucky, since at age 62 I'm unlikely to live long enough to find a replacement Duet

--Mike K.

 

 

Pretty funny!

 

In fact, at age 62, parts of you are probably already dead!

[ragtimer]

My Stagi Hayden is holding up well, depsite being played too hard in sessions, so far. That's lucky, since at age 62 I'm unlikely to live long enough to find a replacement Duet

--Mike K.

Pretty funny!

In fact, at age 62, parts of you are probably already dead!

Actually, this was less a comment on my own health, than on the scarcity, price, and waiting time for a high quality Hayden Duet.

 

Luckily, Richard Morse is younger than I, and quite healthy last I saw, so if all goes well, maybe in a few years, we Hayden players can "get upgraded." Just a hint, Rich

--Mike K.