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Anyone know Guadalupe Custom Strings in L.A.?
- Thread starter Bassamatic
- Start date
I have been out of town all week - JUST got back.
I will contact them again by email and phone and have an answer Monday. We are still planning to go on Wednesday.
I will contact them again by email and phone and have an answer Monday. We are still planning to go on Wednesday.
OK - we are ON - 11 am on the 20th.
For lunch - they wrote -
But you guys have to eat at Ciro's and not Tepeyac. Ciro's is ten time more delicious. We never ever ever go to Tepeyac.
Location for Gudalupe-
2610 East Cesar Chavez Ave
Suite C
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Looks easy to get to from the 5 or the 10
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2610+...+Los+Angeles,+California+90033&gl=us&t=m&z=14
Afterwards, Ciro's Restaurant is nearby:
http://www.yelp.com/map/ciros-restaurant-los-angeles
See you there - GIO
For lunch - they wrote -
But you guys have to eat at Ciro's and not Tepeyac. Ciro's is ten time more delicious. We never ever ever go to Tepeyac.
Location for Gudalupe-
2610 East Cesar Chavez Ave
Suite C
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Looks easy to get to from the 5 or the 10
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2610+...+Los+Angeles,+California+90033&gl=us&t=m&z=14
Afterwards, Ciro's Restaurant is nearby:
http://www.yelp.com/map/ciros-restaurant-los-angeles
See you there - GIO
Thanks for coordinating.
Should be a good time checking out the shop and then enjoying lunch. Will be nice to learn a couple things!
Should be a good time checking out the shop and then enjoying lunch. Will be nice to learn a couple things!
Unfortunately I won't be able to join the party tomorrow as I have some mixing to do. However if someone could report back on their Nickel Rounds I would greatly appreciate it. I'm looking for ultra smooth feel and a sound somewhere between Foderas and Sunbeams.
Oh, and don't forget to post about the food! We must keep our priorities straight.
Cheers
Oh, and don't forget to post about the food! We must keep our priorities straight.
Cheers
Wish I could make it... Hopefully next time...
That's really a shame. I was hoping that your expertise would have been present for some added insight. You know, like the difference between bringing a botanist and a hippie along for a camping trip.
I'll be in attendance. Bassamatic, PM on the way.
I think that if we meet at at Guadalupe at 11, you can easily be in Commerce by 1. The "tour" should not take long. An hour tops, I would think.
'Twas a really cool trip.
The staff at Guad's was a great bunch of cats. It's a small operation that specializes in custom jobs for unique instruments and player's unique needs. I was looking for a set of ukulele strings, one of which they didn't have in stock, and the winder wound it up for me in a minute or two as we were leaving. Most of the OTC stuff is sold to mariachis.
Much of what they said went not so much over my head as in one ear, out the other like a standup comedy show, which is why it would have been great if someone who is more familiar with the process of string making could have been along for the ride.
It was great to meet Bassamatic and his guitar player and son. He took some pics of the machinery and supplies. Hopefully we'll remember enough to be able to answer if there are any questions without misrepresentation or straight up BS.
Lunch was excellent, also.
The staff at Guad's was a great bunch of cats. It's a small operation that specializes in custom jobs for unique instruments and player's unique needs. I was looking for a set of ukulele strings, one of which they didn't have in stock, and the winder wound it up for me in a minute or two as we were leaving. Most of the OTC stuff is sold to mariachis.
Much of what they said went not so much over my head as in one ear, out the other like a standup comedy show, which is why it would have been great if someone who is more familiar with the process of string making could have been along for the ride.
It was great to meet Bassamatic and his guitar player and son. He took some pics of the machinery and supplies. Hopefully we'll remember enough to be able to answer if there are any questions without misrepresentation or straight up BS.
Lunch was excellent, also.
Hi - I will be posting a full report as soon as I can edit the photos.
According to them -
Basically hex is inferior to round. Hex works better for machine winding, but it causes a crimp in the winding layer, and the hex material is usually not even symmetrical, so the finished string is not round. It also allows a lot more internal vibrations inside the string, resulting in strange harmonics, etc. Round gives perfect contact of the winding to the core material.
It seems that they will make the strings of any kind of material you want - sorry I did not ask this specifically. They MAY have some sets of strings in stock, but it takes them only a few minutes to make a string, so filling your order is quick.
According to them -
Basically hex is inferior to round. Hex works better for machine winding, but it causes a crimp in the winding layer, and the hex material is usually not even symmetrical, so the finished string is not round. It also allows a lot more internal vibrations inside the string, resulting in strange harmonics, etc. Round gives perfect contact of the winding to the core material.
It seems that they will make the strings of any kind of material you want - sorry I did not ask this specifically. They MAY have some sets of strings in stock, but it takes them only a few minutes to make a string, so filling your order is quick.
They said that the only benefit to hex was for the ease of manufacturing. Because the hex core is actually ellipse shaped, not perfectly equilateral, the tension of the wind is irregular across the winds. With round core, the winding doesn't grab anywhere, so it's completely uniform.
The current owners inherited it from family only a couple years ago, and they're trying to grow the business a bit. They only recently started making bass strings. I didn't ask if they had any ready to go because they don't make flats. According to them, flats take are labor intensive to build; they take a lot of experience to get right; and it's a long learning curve. In their opinion, the best flats are coming out of Germany. This is not something I necessarily agree with, as I feel they're coming out of Upstate NY.
As far as gauges, you'd have to call them to see what would work best for you. The owner mentioned not caring much to go by gauges because it tells very little about the performance of the string. I can understand that. As we've all experienced, two sets of strings with the same gauge, same material, and same type of outer wind can be nothing alike.
And IIRC, they don't use stainless because the nickel is plated steel. I guess he feels it's redundant among the other winding materials that they use. Again, they make strings for much more than electric bass and guitar, so maybe they feel the difference isn't worth it for them.
The only pic I took was of two turtles humping at a pet store that I walked by to kill some time while waiting for the others to arrive.
*All of the above is subject to correction.
The current owners inherited it from family only a couple years ago, and they're trying to grow the business a bit. They only recently started making bass strings. I didn't ask if they had any ready to go because they don't make flats. According to them, flats take are labor intensive to build; they take a lot of experience to get right; and it's a long learning curve. In their opinion, the best flats are coming out of Germany. This is not something I necessarily agree with, as I feel they're coming out of Upstate NY.
As far as gauges, you'd have to call them to see what would work best for you. The owner mentioned not caring much to go by gauges because it tells very little about the performance of the string. I can understand that. As we've all experienced, two sets of strings with the same gauge, same material, and same type of outer wind can be nothing alike.
And IIRC, they don't use stainless because the nickel is plated steel. I guess he feels it's redundant among the other winding materials that they use. Again, they make strings for much more than electric bass and guitar, so maybe they feel the difference isn't worth it for them.
The only pic I took was of two turtles humping at a pet store that I walked by to kill some time while waiting for the others to arrive.
*All of the above is subject to correction.
I started a new thread to show the visit, and what we discussed. You can find it here:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f16/visit-guadalupe-custom-strings-892795/#post12802860
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f16/visit-guadalupe-custom-strings-892795/#post12802860
