Should I get gut strings

[andkratz]

I am a jazz/folk bassist that is currently playing on a set of Spirocores. I am interested in learning how to do some slap playing a la Taraf de Haidouks and am wondering whether I should put gut strings on one of my basses and raise my action in order to yield that sound or if I can stick to the Spirocores for slap playing.

Thanks

[Steve Swan]

To me, slapping with metal strings sounds like a cannery. You could try some nylon, Eurosonic, or gut strings pretty inexpensively by looking in the classified section for used sets. Unless you're a psychobilly player, you'll probably like the slap sound of one of these other string types better than Spirocore. Your right hand and your fingerboard will probably like them better as well.

[Bobby King]

If you've got more than one bass I'd say give the guts a try. Since gut requires a different set-up and has different maintainance issues, it can be a gamble if you've only got one bass, But if you've got two or more, why not? There's a lot of pleasure to be had with guts but they're not for everyone.

[stockbass]

If you want to play like Vlad you want to have an instrument that is very easy on your hands and arms: low tension guts or similar, pretty low string height and a small instrument (3/4 or smaller).