Gamut Wound A/E - In for a penny . . .

[Dilbertisme]

So I am over the moon in love with my new Gamut Lyon G/Pistoy D. After a year playing on La Bella plains, I can't believe how much better the Gamuts sound, feel and play. Thanks, guys!

So now comes the obvious move: should I dump the Garbos and go for the matching Gamut wound A/E?

• Are they as wonderful as the plain guts?
• Any advice/comments about copper vs. silver winding?
• What about diameter? I have regular Garbos on now, and went with a light D (2.80) and med G (2.10), which feel exactly right. What will make a good match and not force me to make any modifications?

Warning: This forum is hazardous to one's financial health.

[Mark Perna]

I think you'll find this meme all over the gut threads. If you live in an area where the environment is fairly constant, wrapped gut E/A are AMAZING. I had wrapped E/A on for about a year and when the weather cooperated, it was heaven on Earth. When the weather didn't cooperate (like much of the winter), it was miserable. If you live in a place where you have 4 seasons, something other than wrapped gut is probably the best solution. I very reluctantly gave up on the wrapped gut and went with Garbos initially and I'm currently using Animas. The Garbos were a better match with gut but I'm currently in the mood for something a little different and I'm really digging the Animas.

mark

[Dilbertisme]

Originally Posted by calivox

If you live in an area where the environment is fairly constant, wrapped gut E/A are AMAZING.
mark

Uh oh. I live in Ventura County, CA, which has arguably the best weather in the lower 48. I think I'm doomed. What about copper vs. silver wrap? What gauge did you go with?

[Mark Perna]

I used silver mediums. They were fantastic. They were usable all of the way up the board. The A was as great in thumb position as in half. I've never tried the coppers but from what others are saying, they are great too.

[timobee4]

Hey Mark, listen my mate I need some advice! My Gamut D & G just keep getting better! I so love the way they bow under light touch that I can't put it down. Although I told you some time ago how much I love the Innovation Supersilver E & A instead of Garbos for pizz. but Innov. Sup. Silvers don't bow nice, I mean I must use light touch on the guts and heavier touch on the E&A. I think the only alternative I have is to order Wound Gamuts! How do they bow???? Man, I was happy with my Spiros, you got me onto these Gamuts and now I am addicted but torn to find something that matches the sound, bows, and no issues with diameters, remember I hated my Gamut D being fatter than my Garbo A. Give me some idea please. Timo

Originally Posted by calivox

I used silver mediums. They were fantastic. They were usable all of the way up the board. The A was as great in thumb position as in half. I've never tried the coppers but from what others are saying, they are great too.

[Mark Perna]

I'm not really the guy to ask about bowing as I do hardly any. I did mess around with bowing the wrapped gut a couple of times and the bow grabs the strings pretty well if that helps. You could also look into Velvet Animas. They are low tension, match well with gut (it's what I'm using now) and they are supposed to be great strings for bowing.

mark

[JeffKissell]

I don't have direct experience with the Gamut strings but I would say the best match for high end gut D & G is high end, wound gut E & A. The bowing pressure and speed can't be matched with synthetic or steel in my opinion.
BTW- I currently have Efrano wound gut E & A strings on my bass while I'm having Dan Larson rewind my Dlugolecki E. I bought the Efranos as spares and I thought I'd put the A on to break it in while I wait for the E string to be completed. I've had to raise the string height to accommodate the softer, more flexible Efrano wound strings and they're not as loud or sustaining. I'll be excited to put the Dlugoleckis back on.
-Jeff

[juuzek]

Originally Posted by JeffKissell

I don't have direct experience with the Gamut strings but I would say the best match for high end gut D & G is high end, wound gut E & A. The bowing pressure and speed can't be matched with synthetic or steel in my opinion.
BTW- I currently have Efrano wound gut E & A strings on my bass while I'm having Dan Larson rewind my Dlugolecki E. I bought the Efranos as spares and I thought I'd put the A on to break it in while I wait for the E string to be completed. I've had to raise the string height to accommodate the softer, more flexible Efrano wound strings and they're not as loud or sustaining. I'll be excited to put the Dlugoleckis back on.
-Jeff

Good to know that Dan Larson will rewind Dlugolecki strings. I don't believe Damian offers a rewinding service.

[JeffKissell]

Originally Posted by juuzek

Good to know that Dan Larson will rewind Dlugolecki strings. I don't believe Damian offers a rewinding service.

I asked Damian first and said he was too busy.
Dan says he will rewind pretty much any reasonable string though Kent (TB-superman) has not been as satisfied with his rewinds of older, larger diameter strings because they come back with thinner wire and smaller diameters.
I gave Dan the original gauge and I'm hoping this rewind ends up the same size. I'll report back when I get it.
-J

[Ken Ge]

Originally Posted by Dilbertisme

So now comes the obvious move: should I dump the Garbos and go for the matching Gamut wound A/E?

• Are they as wonderful as the plain guts?
• Any advice/comments about copper vs. silver winding?
• What about diameter? I have regular Garbos on now, and went with a light D (2.80) and med G (2.10), which feel exactly right. What will make a good match and not force me to make any modifications?

Before I make any comments about the strings themselves I have to extend my thanks to everyone's input to the massive TB Gamut/Dan Larson/gut string superthreads. They really helped me make an educated decision about buying gut strings that I haven't regretted one bit!

Having said that, I play:

Lyon G (heavy+, varnished)
Pistoy D (medium, varnished)
Silver wrapped A (heavy+)
Silver wrapped E (heavy+)

Before that I had:

Dlugolecki G and D (borrowed, not sure what gauge they were, but unvarnished, and similar to the heavy+ Lyon G and medium Pistoy D)
Evah Pirazzi A and E (Weichs)

The silver-wound A and E's are fantastic:

-They both bow very easily and when bowed near the bridge aren't overpowering.
-Compared to the plain guts I found that the E tends to disappear a little in the way that steel E's do not.
-Holding back a little when plucking tends to bring out a very rewarding steel-like growl. This is also true for the A string which sometimes makes me feel like I have two big E strings. Awesome.
-When I played half gut, half steel, the Evah E tended to rattle when I was playing with some force. That rattle is practically non-existent when I play hard on the silver-wound A and E. Instead you get a very clear open A and E sound.

As far as gauge goes, I had to have my nut and bridge slots widened a bit. When I was borrowing the Dlugoleckis I just let them kind of sit on top of the nut slots and that seemed to work just fine as well. However I think that nut/bridge adjustment seems to be the way to go if you are looking for a long-term commitment to guts.

Hope this helps.