Double Bass Gut exploded!!

Well, it finally happened. I have had my guts for about 7-8 months now. I oiled them once a month with olive oil (Light coating). These are all guts, no wound. I absolutely loved the sound and feel. Where I live we have a unique weather condition known as Santa Ana winds. High pressure over this area draws in extremley dry weather from the desert, and while we normally have a nice seabreeze with some moisture, things turn bone dry oct thru december. I should have known better. Twice, I have left bongos and tablas in the garage, and forgot they were there. When I went to check on them, the heads were busted. On the high pressure days, you can actually hear the pitch of the hand drums go higher, as though being tightened. Anyway, I had my gut strung bass in a storage facility for about 2 weeks. It rarely gets hot in there, but it can get cold at times. I did not detune them.

I went to rehearsal last night, took my bass out of it's thick canvas bag, and the g string had busted right around the C note. It looked like it lieterally exploded! I actually had noticed an inconsistency in the color in that exact position earlier, but never gave it much thought. I thought guts were tougher then that, though?

Rather then pay for a new gut string (Or set) I am going to try the euronsonics I have as a back up for a while. But I really, really loved those guts. I am worried now, as I don't know the exact reason for the break. Problem with the string itself? Age? (8 months old) Tightening past the breaking point on it's own due to possible severe dry conditions?

I want to stick with the sound and feel of guts, but now I am scared. I was led to believe that guts were very tough, and that's why slappers like them, but what I was always afraid of just happened.

Any expert advice??

I would appreciate any help here!

It's really very sad.

I loved my guts. There is nothing else that comes close. Last Saturday I played a pop gig at a country club for some rich guy's birthday and used my Eurosonics. It worked. I was able to play the whole first two sets plugged in, and then after we got really, really stinking drunk, went out and worked the crowd outside smoking. I did not bother plugging it in. The bass is a King DB slapking, so it does not have a huge acoustic sound, but it actually worked. The Eurosonics are excellent strings, and I hope it's not true that they are no longer being made.

But they are not guts. Nothing really compares, you know?

Eventually, I will get a new set. Unfortunately, after taking the remaining three off, I noticed the end of the A (The tailpiece end) had a flattened and frayed section, so now I only have the E and the D as serviceable strings.

I also just ordered the weed whackers from Barefoot larry, so Iwill keep them as a back up too. But I want my damn guts back.

It makes me very mad that they can't come up with a synthetic version that looks, feels and sounds the same. But one that won't break whenever the weather changes!

Well, that raises a question: What were the guts that this bass came with? It is a chinese slapking.

Whatever they are, they have not lasted too long (8 months) however, I did do a lot of gigs this summer down by the beach, and then my storage is much farther inland. Actually, I only left in in the storage for that two week period. The rest of the time (Between gigs) it was at our steel player's garage, also down by the beach.

It's funny, but we recently had lost our guitarist who really wanted to take the band in a rockabilly direction, and he wanted me to slap on darn near every song. Frankly, now that he is gone I can say it: I hate playing slap. I am, and always will be a pizz player. And wierdly, those guts sounded great for fingerstyle. So many bassists on other forums said you needed wrapped E and A, or at least the E to ensure a strong pitch for pizz playing, but I found myself frequently using jazz type runs and figures...and on a pure gut set!

Guts rule, no doubt about it, but the reliability factor scares me. I will eventually go back to them, and maybe just take them off for the oct-dec period when the dryness is the worst. That is our down time for my band anyway, as we are mostly seasonal during the summer.

Adrian, when I finally do go back to guts, are there a brand known for longevity? Should I avoid the Lenzners, and go with something in the 300-400 range to ensure they will last longer then 8 months? I want the strings to last 2-5 years....dead sounding strings is actually what I like. On my Slab bass, (A fender precision) I have had the same flat wounds for 8 years now, and they sound great. Dead, and no sustain. Just how I like it!

Ok Adrian, Bruce, thanks for the info!

I am going to seriously look at those innovations for my next set, probably the rockabilly type. The sound I like is basically what I call "Mariachi" bass! I would really like something made out of a gut-like substance, and to that end, I will be trying some weedwhackers. Something about the word Kevlar makes me feel very secure! However, I love my Eurosonics, but for this bass I don't was the metal feel, or sound. But actually, those innovations seem to be the next best thing. In the end, if it sounds gut-like, I guess that is all that is important to me!