Double Bass arco/pizz/slap guts?

[haggai]

hey y'all

I've been playing the DB for some 2 years now, mostly pizz at gigs and arco training at home (as I've got my first year in music academy coming up - I look forward to a lot more arco outside of my bedroom as well), so far - allways steel strings..
and I've decided to move on to gut! I feel my pizz sound is not as clear as i want it to be, and my slap training is just frustrating.. but i have been warned that guts are not the best move for arco playing.. I know I have a lot of options for me to go through before i find my string, but for starters:
are there such gut strings that would be playable for pizz and slap and arco?

Thanks,

haggai

 

[KSB - Ken Smith]

hey y'all

I've been playing the DB for some 2 years now, mostly pizz at gigs and arco training at home (as I've got my first year in music academy coming up - I look forward to a lot more arco outside of my bedroom as well), so far - allways steel strings..
and I've decided to move on to gut! I feel my pizz sound is not as clear as i want it to be, and my slap training is just frustrating.. but i have been warned that guts are not the best move for arco playing.. I know I have a lot of options for me to go through before i find my string, but for starters:
are there such gut strings that would be playable for pizz and slap and arco?

Thanks,

haggai

A few years back I got hired to play this show locally for a few weeks called 'Crazy for You' which was a Gershwin Musical. In a B'way type show (I worked in about 18 of them in NYC) you have plenty of Pizz for time keeping and some Bowing for those 'string section' moments. One of the Tunes in that show was called 'Slap that Bass'. An actor on stage had some lessons to fake the part to some degree while actually playing and me in the Pit, playing it for real for the audience to hear. At that time I had these Obligato strings on my Bass which I must say do just about everything. They are in my opinion one of the 'Jack of all Trades' Bass strings (and 'master of none'!). They Bow fairly well, Pizz nice and soft enough to slap on as well. Also, it was the first and only time I had ever slapped the Bass.

I think this string will work for you but bear in mind they are not the most durable.

 

[Jason Sypher]

Guts are great. Believe me, I've spent plenty of time on them pizz/arco/slap. What you will get is a slightly unfocused pizz., a frustrating arco and a great slap. Now, breaking down your needs into percentages, what will you do the most and what will you do the least?
I think, especially since you are new to the bass (relatively speaking) you want to reduce your frustrations to a minimum. You're already used to steels so I would encourage you to stay in that general vibe. After using guts for a few years now and telling everyone how great they are, I've switched back to steels. Why? Because overall it is a more versatile string, holds it's tuning, cuts through almost any mix of instruments, has great volume and is the easiest to bow. That's a lot of pros. I love the gut sound, it's warm and full. I love the feel for slap, it's organic and springy. However, I am really learning to appreciate the steels, the evenness, the power, the sustain (and what music you can create with it) and the feedback from the other musicians. I went with the Bel Cantos on the G and D and my old Spirocore Weich's on the E and A. They don't slap as well, or I should say, I haven't found the slap sound I love yet. But they rock in every other category. Band members I have played with for four years all agreed that they loved the new sound. I also think the Innovation Picatos are nice all around and lean towards a better slap feel as well.