wrapped gut lifespan

flint · #1 05-06-2007, 11:40 AM

when it comes to wrapped gut, like olivs-does their lifespan help to offset their cost?

I mean, I can get about 9 months out of my obligatos. Would I get 2-3 times that out of wrapped guts?

thanks

**Adrian Cho** · #2 05-06-2007, 02:01 PM

Different people have had different experiences but generally from my own experience of playing on Olivs and Eudoxas for many years and from seeing what others in my town have gone through and hearing what others elsewhere have gone through, I would have to say the lifespan is short. The gut core itself will last for a long time (I am currently playing on a set of unwound Gamut guts that are two years old and they sound fantastic). It's the damned windings that can't keep up.

neal davis · #3 05-06-2007, 03:17 PM

+1 with adrian, I went through 2 d and g strings within 5 months and stopped using them, great sound but crap strings. I used velvet strings until I tried the olivs and went back to a different brand of velvets, I had a string failure yesterday but it was on the chord at the top, at least velvet has a year warranty on their strings.

Marcus Johnson · #4 05-06-2007, 03:41 PM

I guess I'm about to find out....I have Olivs that look and feel fantastic at the moment. I got them from Uncletoad, who told me that they'd been on two other basses before he got 'em. Then again, I don't like much brightness in a string, so what constitutes "dead" to you may be something different than it is to me. Right now, they're perfect. Of course, if they fall apart, then that's all moot.

If I didn't play arco, I'd probably be doing something similar to what Adrian's doing; unwrapped varnished guts on top, steel of some type on the bottom. I play plain LaBella guts on occasion on some of my friend's basses out here, and although they are vastly inferior to the Gamuts and the DD's, I always enjoy the plain gut experience, and find myself wondering how the Gamuts would sound on my own bass. I now intend to stick with the Olivs for as long as they'll hang in.... then decide at that point. At the moment, they're the best strings I've ever tried for my purposes, so I'll have to decide then whether to stay with them. I work a lot, so I feel that I can justify an expensive string if it gets me the results that I need.

PS.... Ken Smith is still very enthusiastic about the New Eurosonic orch strings, which are all steel and yet have a lot of warmth and good arco response, according to him. I'm also waiting to hear more about the new Pirastro Evah Pirazzi strings.

This is why this stuff never ends.

Aaron Cohn · #5 05-06-2007, 03:47 PM

In my experience with Eudoxas, they last just about indefinitely as long as the windings stay intact. Unfortunately, as others have noted above, that's a big caveat.

neal davis · #6 05-06-2007, 04:34 PM

it's a shame that pirastro has let the quality control go down, 10 years ago when I was using olivs they lasted so much longer, hopefully they have got their act together.

Steve Swan · #7 05-06-2007, 04:46 PM

I've had a few E strings go south when the humidity got extremely low in a playing situation and the gut core really shrank away from the windings. Once the windings had slipped up and down along the length of the core, it was all over.

larry · #8 05-06-2007, 07:48 PM

My Oliv G is at least three years old and the windings are fine. My Oliv D is about a year old and is also fine. If humidity is good for them then I'm lucky to be in Florida.

superman · #9 05-06-2007, 08:35 PM

Eudoxas will last for a while, Olivs seem to go dead much faster.I have plated both on the A&E and like the Eudoxas some better, but then most of my basses are very dark sounding,,the Olivs seem to be too dark for me,The eudoxas I have are prob 6or 7, yrs old and still playable but the winding is begining to separate at the bridge and just below the nut.
I have some old silver wrapped guts that are 40yrs+ old and they still sound good and last, I do rotate my older strings every 2-3 months,but I have a pretty good stock pile of them.
As far as a new silver wrapped gut I would go with chordas, their a bit heavyer but seem to last,if you want lighter silver wrapped go with Gamut, or if you can find them, Gotez brand
With any of them be sure to lube the bridge and nut with lead
that wil make any of them last a bit longer,,

flint · #10 05-06-2007, 09:13 PM

I too am anxious to try the Eva Pirrazi's when they come out. Hopefully my current set of obligatos will last long enough for me to get a set, and that the price won't be near what Lemur has them listed for.

I'm a little disapointed to hear that the wrappings on the guts don't last long enough to justify their expense, because I really do like the tone of guts-better than the obligatos. I do a lot of bowing, so going with plain guts really isn't an option.

Michael Case · #11 05-06-2007, 09:29 PM

My Oliv D has been out of control tuning wise. It was so bad I had to put a Dominant D in its place.

Marcus Johnson · #12 05-06-2007, 09:43 PM

Nevertheless, it's good to hear from a couple of folks that have had good luck with the Pirastro guts. If my D & G sound like they presently do for awhile, I won't be switching anytime soon.

My bass is fairly bright; maybe that's why the olivs work well for me.

Michael Case · #13 05-07-2007, 07:47 AM

They are great, I'm not sure if the tuning issue was due to weather we were having in NYC or if the string was nearing it's end. My Oliv G (which is newer) stayed pretty stable, so I assumed the D wasn't aging gracefully. I'm really loving those strings and can't see myself using anything different at the moment. I hope they hold up.

RShew · #14 05-07-2007, 03:33 PM

I have used Oliv's on G and D for the past 5+ years. Recently I have tried Anima's on G and D and have liked tham as well. The windings do come apart at times. I found that often it woule be around Eb on the G string. Never had a problem with the D...ever. The fact that the windings started to "pull apart" never bothered me. I felt it in my fingers, but the note stayed there and the set was entirely playable for a long time after the incident. I changed to a new set every year or so as I really beat on 'em. I love these strings and will continue to use them in the future. IMO, they are worth the $$...especially when compared to obligatos...

flint · #15 05-08-2007, 10:08 PM

the animas are the same about coming apart? how's their lifespan? How's their bowing?

Andy Allen · #16 05-08-2007, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flint

the animas are the same about coming apart? how's their lifespan? How's their bowing?

Reports here say they last from 6mths to 2 years (not much better than Olivs). As for bowing I'd label them as 'poor.' I find well-worn-in Spiros to be better. I tried an Anima G for about two months, and it had it's moments, but I never did get to really love it.

I'm with Marcus on the Olivs - best D&G I have ever tried...perfect blend of body (nice thick sound), volume (good and loud for my acoustic-only gigs), tension (medium), sustain (not too much, not too little), great arco. The only drawback is their cost and potentially short life. I'm thinking, though that if they last more than 6 months then they are worth the money - they are that good on my bass. So far I'm a little over three months in, so fingers crossed.

I'll be cruising the 'for sale' ads to pick up any stray D&Gs as spares in the mean time.

Andy

Michael Case · #17 05-09-2007, 08:24 AM

How is the tuning situation with your strings? Like I said earlier my D started to get to the point where I couldn't play four bars without the D going out. It was a little more stable for a while so I assumed age was the problem.

Marcus Johnson · #18 05-09-2007, 11:35 AM

Once mine are tuned to pitch at the beginning of a session, they stay very stable, as much as any other string.

Andy Allen · #19 05-09-2007, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Once mine are tuned to pitch at the beginning of a session, they stay very stable, as much as any other string.

Same here. They tend to become sharp in cold conditions (usually because of air conditioning here), and flat when warm. Once they have been in the new climate for about 15 minutes they are very stable - I usually check between sets, and sometimes have to tweek tuning after the first set. After that they hold their tuning very well, unless there's a major change in temperature.

Andy

Marcus Johnson · #20 05-09-2007, 12:46 PM

I'm starting to get used to the Oblis with the Olivs, maybe they're settling in or maybe I'm just making the adjustments necessary. It doesn't seem quite as schizophrenic as it did at first. The Oblis aren't anywhere near the string that the Oliv is, but, I'm not compelled to tear off the E&A and flush 'em.