Gamut vs. Spiro Red question?
 

I keep going back and forth between using my Spirocore med. setup and wanting to go back to the Gamut pistoy G&D / Anima A&E setup. The issue is:

Gamut G Pistoy medium = my favorite string of all time!
Gamut D Pistoy light = maybe my least favorite of all time.

Is there any other choice for the D? I mean that will feel right tension wise and not feel too thin. I like the Gamut G and the Animas very much, but the D has no sustain and doesn't bloom like the G. I have read through all of the "Gut" threads and can't really find a solution.

Any help would be appreciated!

Have you tried different guages? Do you have a similar problem with other brands of D strings. Could be a soundpost adjustment.

No problem with the spiro med D string. Actually, I have tried the Gamuts on two different basses, same results. I was curious how the Anima D would feel next to the Gamut G.

I ran Anima E-D with a plain gut Chorda G for about 6 months. Its a really nice combo, and the tension skip didn't bother me. It doesn't have the womp of the gut D, but it spoke much more evenly on my bass than even a Pistoy. You could also consider the Garbo D, which is thicker and darker sounding.

You might want to try to call Gamut. I found Dan to be very helpful.

D string trouble
 

Hello

I've played the Gamut/Anima setup for some time and realy liked it. I used the Gamut Mediums. But yes, there is always this thing with the D string. Not so clear etc.
I went back to my Eudoxa D and plain gut G with Eudoxa on the bottum (and before this setup with Evahs on the bottum).

In your situation with Animas on the bottum I'm not sure a Eudoxa D will work out well. Eudoxa also has more tension.
I think a Garbo D or a Anima D is the best alternative for you.
Or maybe an Evah D.

Or just stick with the Gamuts. These are still nice strings.

I loved the combo of Animas on the bottom with Gamuts or Dlugoleckis on the top. It was a really excellent alternative to full guts. It is so dry in the winter here in AK that the gut would shrink faster than the metal wrapping and i would need to scurry back to Animas, wait for the humidity to return to normal levels, and get the low strings re-wrapped before heading back to gut.

When I started messing about with 5ths tuning I started off with Compas 180's on the bottom and Dlugoleckis on the top. This was a nice combo to get started on. The low strings bowed well but still had a nice pizz thump. A chance to buy a set of Gennsler strings arose and I jumped. When they arrived the high A string was messed up so I ran the 3 low strings with the Dlugolecki A while I waited for Gerold to make me another A. Wow! All the problems with the tubby unclear pure gut D string were gone and replaced with an extremely warm sounding string that retained the clarity of the lower strings with the added bonus of extremely better bowability. The Dlugolecki high A had a zing to it that I really liked so I kept it on until the Gennsler A arrived.

All that to say 3 Animas and a Gamut G sounds like a great idea to me! Good luck with all this madness. But perhaps it's just time for an old set of Spiros and to simply be done with it all. :)

Nathan, l sent you a pm. Thanks.

Save yourself a bunch of time, anxiety, and money. Leave the Spiro mitts on the bass and go play. :) Taking the experience of many here into consideration, the result often seems to be that, in the end, we come home to Spiros. You already like them. I suggest that you leave them right there.

I think that players often overlook the extent to which we can and do adapt our playing to a set of strings. I think that accounts for the fact that, after leaving on a type of string for an extended time, everything seems to "settle in." Yes, the physical properties are reaching equilibrium but the player is changing as well.

When I switched back to Spiros after using other strings, of course, things seemed a bit strange. Over weeks (months) things improved dramatically. Was it me or was it the strings? I believe it was both.

DRURB: Exactly.