Gut strings out of control

karl84 · #1 09-16-2009, 08:22 PM

I've been using götz gut strings D and G for the last few months and have looked after them pretty well-sanding down any frays and oiling whenever they've needed it. A few days ago reginald veal used my bass for a gig he did with peter martin in Sydney and now I'm having trouble smoothing out the string. The sandpaper is getting rid of some of the frays but new ones appear as i get rid of the old ones. I'm using 800 grain sandpaper. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I could do. Or what grain sandpaper might be more suitable. I've never had this much trouble with other brand gut strings before

bonaventura · #2 09-17-2009, 02:28 AM

Karl, methinks you are doing everything right (except lending your bass out maybe --

). 800 grade is what i use to smooth out hairs, but i don't think that will fix anything like what you describe. i've not had any such problems with guts, but some say that when they start to come really unravelled there's little that can be done.

karl84 · #3 09-17-2009, 02:34 AM

Thanks bonaventura. I'll keep working on them and see what happens. Out of interest, which brand of gut do you use?

Marcus Johnson · #4 09-17-2009, 02:40 AM

I'm guessing Reginald played the crap out of them.

karl84 · #5 09-17-2009, 02:45 AM

He sure did. He kept saying that he wasn't used to gut but it didn't slow him down

MR PC · #6 09-17-2009, 03:15 AM

OOO...if the nails on his hands are thick and sharp, and he plays way up with his fingertips, your strings have been gouged and scraped.

AndreasH · #7 09-17-2009, 06:46 AM

Maybe you could use a toenail-clipper, just clip the hairs off, then maybe sand a little bit to even it out.

bonaventura · #8 09-17-2009, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karl84

Thanks bonaventura. I'll keep working on them and see what happens. Out of interest, which brand of gut do you use?

Gamut. I got the "varnished" ones, really a smooth finish that also protects them a bit. Great strings, as I'm sure Marcus and Andreas would confirm. Cheers, Bill

thejumpcat · #9 09-17-2009, 08:30 AM

I've never owned guts but played on them, so my suggestion might indicate massive amounts of ignorance on my part:

If varnished strings hold together better, could you apply a little bit on the affected areas?

bonaventura · #10 09-17-2009, 08:45 AM

hey there's an idea...

but somehow, the varnish on Gamuts is applied while the string is newly made and smooth, and helps keep them that way. i'm not the expert (dan larson are you there?), but i doubt that the damaged gut strings can be repaired that way. it's like, you can't put them back together if they are coming undone, imvho.

Mark Perna · #11 09-17-2009, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thejumpcat

I've never owned guts but played on them, so my suggestion might indicate massive amounts of ignorance on my part:

If varnished strings hold together better, could you apply a little bit on the affected areas?

No. The Gamut folks apply the varnish when they make them and meticulously sand them down so there aren't any uneven spots. If you add varnish (and I don't even know what kind of varnish they use), you'll almost certainly unbalance the string and make it unplayable.

mark

Marcus Johnson · #12 09-17-2009, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonaventura

Gamut. I got the "varnished" ones, really a smooth finish that also protects them a bit. Great strings, as I'm sure Marcus and Andreas would confirm.

Oh, baby, are they ever.

AndreasH · #13 09-17-2009, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonaventura

Gamut. I got the "varnished" ones, really a smooth finish that also protects them a bit. Great strings, as I'm sure Marcus and Andreas would confirm. Cheers, Bill

+1

Best string I've tried so far. I have my Artones now and they're some struggle to play sometimes, but mostly they're insanely good. I miss the smoothness of the varnished Gamut some days.