Right string heights - goldentones?

nathanmcnathan · #1 07-09-2008, 05:29 PM

Hey everybody! Right now I have spirocore mittels on my bass, and I'm thinking of changing the D and G to La Bella Goldentones. Just wondering if I have the right string height:
G - 4.5-5mm
D - 6mm
A - 7.5-8mm
E - 8.5-9mm
Will this be high enough for these strings?
Thanks!

**Francois Blais** · #2 07-09-2008, 06:57 PM

I think you'd need to raise the D&G to use guts, but I'm no expert!

martinc · #3 07-09-2008, 07:18 PM

G'day Nathan

My gut G is double the height of your Spiro G. You need the height or else any note after the B or C on the G string will buzz. There is a LOT more string movement with a gut than a steel.
Also....unless you have an adjustable bridge with lots of room left to go higher, you will need another bridge.
A high gut string does not necessarily mean they will be hard to play. There is so much "give" with the gut that it should not be a problem for your left hand.

**Adrian Cho** · #4 07-09-2008, 11:29 PM

It depends on so many things but I have my gut G and D set at 7 and 8 mm respectively (and then my steel A and E at 9 and 10 mm). Works fine for me.

AMJBASS · #5 07-10-2008, 07:38 AM

I put my Goldentone D and G back on a couple of days ago. They do need a decent amount of room to speak well. I am not sold on these strings. They are a bit too slack for my taste(especially the D although that can be a problem with gut strings anyway). They are ok if you are only playing pizz. Good luck!

nathanmcnathan · #6 07-10-2008, 10:17 AM

wow, thanks everybody! Looks like I'm going to have to save up some more for an adjustable bridge. I've always wanted guts, but I love the sound of Spiro E and A, so I think it'll be a good mix. Do you think I'll need to change to weichs if I raise my action that much though?

**Francois Blais** · #7 07-10-2008, 10:59 AM

You could possibly get an even better match with solos.

nathanmcnathan · #8 07-10-2008, 11:31 AM

hmmm.... that sounds about right...
So, I called my local music store, and to buy adjusters and have them installed will be about $100... I think I'll start with that, and then get the new strings.
Oh, francois, are there different guages for solos? Is there mittel solo and weich solo, or anything that I need to know?
Thanks!

**Francois Blais** · #9 07-10-2008, 07:11 PM

No, only one kind of solos with Spiros.
Solo-tuning is a whole step above orchestra pitch, thus F# B E A.
These strings are therefore thinner.
While weichs are light gauge, you can view the solos as extra-light.

Corelli has solo-tuning strings in two gauges, for their two series. (nickel and tungsten)
360M and 360TX for the tungstens.
390M and 390TX for the nickels.

nathanmcnathan · #10 07-11-2008, 04:10 AM

So, the solos would work well with guts because they're both really soft and easy-playing strings then, right?

**Francois Blais** · #11 07-11-2008, 05:52 AM

Indeed!

That way you can raise the action equally, meaning you don't need a new bridge, just height wheels, if you don't have some yet.

Uncletoad · #12 07-11-2008, 06:46 AM

If you can tolerate adjusters it's not a bad idea to get them installed. When experimenting with strings you can use the adjustability.

Gut needs to be significantly higher than that to speak well. My constant issue with Gut/Spiro mix was the huge disparity in tension between the strings forced me to either play the steels to high or the guts to low in attempts to balance things out. I learned to be ok with high tension steel up high rather than buzzy guts down low.

My experiments with lighter steels just sounded like crap to me so I stayed with the heavier steels and lived with the huge tension disparity.

You will notice a change in the feel of the E/A strings when you go to the low tension D/G. The neck will flatten out a bit, have a bit less camber from the lower tension. As such your current measured string height may end up a tad lower with just the change in strings. The steels may need more camber to play cleanly unless the strings go WAY up. Regardless I wouldn't start planing the board until I decided to stick with the new strings.

Have fun.

You are standing on the slippery slope of hell there....are you sure you want to go down that road?

nathanmcnathan · #13 07-11-2008, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncletoad

You are standing on the slippery slope of hell there....are you sure you want to go down that road?

Hahaha, yeah, I'm ready for it! I'm going to do it gradually, as being only 17 (meaning I'm a student) really limits how much money I have. First, I really need to invest in a padded bag, then I'm going for the adjusters, then finally the strings. My goal is to have everything by the end of September.