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Double Bass Bowing Gut Strings

William Hoffman

William Hoffman

Jul 25, 2009
560
14
Beinwil am See, Switzerland
#1
the little insight there is on this topic seems to be scattered in bits and pieces all over TB. i have been bowing on steel strings for several years but also love the sound of guts. i generally stick to pizz with guts, but if i want to play guts on a gig, i have to be able to bow them as well. for me, getting guts to sound good under the bow is a real challenge. i hope there are a few of you out there who might have some tips on how to bow gut strings with a warm gut sound but minimizing the nasal scratch i invariably seem to get.

any advice is welcome, but the following topics occurred to me as starters:

  • brand and type of rosin (soft, hard, etc)
  • amount of rosin
  • type of bow hair (black, white, salt & pepper)
  • bow hair tension
  • bowing pressure
  • bowing speed
  • location of bow on strings relative to FB and bridge
  • angle of bow hair relative to strings
  • type or brand of strings
i am currently playing Gamut Pistoy varnished strings with white hair and Oak medium and soft rosin.

thanks!
 
#2
William Hoffman said:
the little insight there is on this topic seems to be scattered in bits and pieces all over TB. i have been bowing on steel strings for several years but also love the sound of guts. i generally stick to pizz with guts, but if i want to play guts on a gig, i have to be able to bow them as well. for me, getting guts to sound good under the bow is a real challenge. i hope there are a few of you out there who might have some tips on how to bow gut strings with a warm gut sound but minimizing the nasal scratch i invariably seem to get.

any advice is welcome, but the following topics occurred to me as starters:

  • brand and type of rosin (soft, hard, etc)
  • amount of rosin
  • type of bow hair (black, white, salt & pepper)
  • bow hair tension
  • bowing pressure
  • bowing speed
  • location of bow on strings relative to FB and bridge
  • angle of bow hair relative to strings
  • type or brand of strings
i am currently playing Gamut Pistoy varnished strings with white hair and Oak medium and soft rosin.

thanks!
Click to expand...
I am playing Chorda strings with Oak soft rosin and brown hair. Flexibility is the key. No set bow speed or pressure. Just do what is required for the best sound at the time. It is a challenge!
 
#5
I use Pops. Not too much.
I think the bow hair tension is more related to the bow itself and how you use it. For example I have a bow, that needs a lot of hair tension, if I play it with a gamba grip and backwards bowing, but much less tension, if I play it with standard german grip and normal bowing direction. Gut or steel doesn't matter.

A very good exercice for finding the right amount of bow weight, speed, etc. for your particular string: Start a slow whole bow with not to much bow pressure and increase the weight, until the string goes into some kind of saturation, or a very vocal overtone quality. Then at the end of the bow, slowly reduce the weight. Then the same on the upbow. Then make two "hump" in one bow, then three, then four...
This helps, to feel the string better with the bow and it helps a lot with smoother bow changes and different articulations.
 

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