Lemur Gut strings?

[Marc Piane]

They are sure the right price but are they any good?

[Kevinlee]

If your refering to plain gut I've used Lemurs European Gut, Lenzers and Clef and they are all very similar in sound and feel and all good for the price. That's if you like plain gut, which I do.

Kevinlee

[Marc Piane]

The latest catalog says they offer a set with wrapped E and A and plain gut D and G. They are 'on sale' for $189. I've always been curious about gut but never wanted to drop the money just to try them out.

[ctxbass]

Bob G. sells individual Lenzner gut strings. You could try just a G or a G&D to see if you like them.

[mje]

Has anyone tried the Lemur varnished gut? I was thinking about trying a D and G with my Helicores and other strings.

[kwd]

Originally Posted by mje

Has anyone tried the Lemur varnished gut? I was thinking about trying a D and G with my Helicores and other strings.

I have. It's a good starting point for gut. Although, posts and PMs from much more knowledgeable TBers and input from my teacher support the 'you get what you pay for' theory. I think I would have stretched for the Olivs (G & D) knowing what I know now. For me, the shortcomings of inexpensive plain gut became an issue using the bow above 6th position.

[nicklloyd]

Originally Posted by fingers

They are sure the right price but are they any good?

The "European Guts" are usually Efranos. They are easy to play, stay in tune, and need minimal care. I haven't tried the varnished, but I really like the plain G and D.

[Bobby King]

I've also found the Efrano guts to be a pretty decent gut string. I've never liked LaBellas, the low strings are too thick in diameter. I haven't seen Gotz anywhere recently, but they were pretty good, similar to Efrano. I haven't tried the Lenzners.

[jmpiwonka]

while we're talking about guts, can we talk about the proper setup changes (if any) to give guts a fair chance?

obviously string height is one concern, but what about scoop?
how much more scoop is necessary, and does more scoop affect pizz or arco tone more?

Is plain gut G and D ever gonna come close to blending well with steel A and E strings for arco or is that something players just deal with?

i just put a gamut G (varnished) on my bass and the pizz is real nice but the arco is no good, i expected lots of fundamental and it sounds real nasally and does not really come anywhere close to blending with the flexocor (92) or a permanent d string or A string when played arco....that is with multiple bows, black hair, silver hair, kolstein soft rosin, different bow speeds and pressures where tried as well as contact point and how much hair i put on the string....the steel strings are way way darker sounding.

i suspect the lack of scoop on my fingerboard as the culprit, the might be about a business cards thickness (maybe two) of scoop for hte g string at the greatest point (probably the reason i've never liked any g string on my bass...too snarly).

i have the string height at about 6mm now, i guess i could raise it up and see what happens...can you add some scoop to keep the string height down a bit?

once again, the main think i'm wondering is if plain gut G and D will match well with any steel A and E strings for arco playing...the pizz is pretty close now.

[nicklloyd]

Gut strings are thicker, and less tension, than steel strings. Your fingerboard will need a little more scoop to accommodate this.

[glivanos]

The joy of playing gut strings is worth adding fingerboard scoop.

[jmpiwonka]

Originally Posted by glivanos

The joy of playing gut strings is worth adding fingerboard scoop.

yeah, i've already come to that realization.
just need to make the trip to my luthier, i raised the "action" way up and it ain't even that bad.

[gomez hacienda]

Too bad you can't add or take away "scoop" or relief like an EBG with the truss rod. There are times with steel strings that I wanted a little less for more growl. My bass has what I believe to be moderate relief and works well with guts, but I have no idea what the norm is. I guess you'd have to measure it with a straight edge placed on the FB.

gomez

[countrybass]

I would think that $189 for plain gut G+D and wrapped A+E is a pretty good deal.I bought that combo once,and an all gut set once and it was closer to $300.Not cheap but!!!???

I've never found gut that great for bowing.I use my set mainly for rockabilly slap style.I find I switch strings a lot depending on the gig.At first I liked the wrapped A+E because the notes were clearer and they stayed in tune better.But I've found an all gut set to be very useful.The tone is great,and it feels better to me to have all the strings plain gut.I just figured out a different way of amplifing the all gut set up.Seems to work for me when it has to be loud.

[Bofee]

You should note that the Lemur wrapped guts are round wound. If you want a flat wound gut A and E you'll have to pay more. I've used the clef plain guts from Upton ($160 US) and liked 'em.