GUT and garbos. What to do?

keep them Spiros close at hand!

I love Velvet strings... but they did break on me once. Just sayin'.

PS... Velvet is very good with their replacement policy and customer service.

 

Y'know... they have a way of hanging in there even though the wrap is looking wonky. So you might be able to soldier on thru anyway, as long as the texture isn't bugging your fingers too much.

 

You're using the same combo I am (Pistoy D/G, Garbo E/A). The Garbos have been great for me. I haven't really had any problems with them. The E has been on one bass or another for over a year. The A was off for a while but it's back on as well. They sound great matched with the Pistoys.

As for your problem, you can either order another Garbo A and keep it in reserve in the event of a string break or just keep your Spiro in the bag and slap it on if the A breaks. You can get another Garbo A from Quinn or Gollihur or one of those places pretty much overnight if it comes to that.

mark

 

In my ongoing search for truth, justice, and the ideal match for a plain gut D and G, I installed a Garbo E and A just last week. Love at first pluck! But talk like this, along with similar tales of breakage in the "Velvet Megathread," makes me wonder if I just fell head over heels into a doomed love affair.

 

Can anyone comment on the use of Garbo Lights on A and E strings? I'm thinking of stringing up my Pollmann with Gamut Pistoys on G and D. Pairing these with Garbos seems to be a good match, but I would like to get some feedback on the light versions. Also, I checked the gauges listed at the Gamut site, and it seems like the variations are quite subtle. Because these strings are big$$$, it doesn't bode well for experimentation with gauges. Any feedback from users would be greatly appreciated. By the way, I've been using Velvet Animas or Blues for three years now, and have had no problems with them.

George

 

Never tried the lights but the regulars are so low tension that I can't see a reason to.

mark

 

My Garbos have lasted more than a year and they're still going strong. Didn't you say yours were used? Maybe some new ones that go on and stay on the bass will last a bit longer. One of the worst things for a string is to be taken off and put back on a bass. Even Spiros wear out faster that way and you have no idea how many times they were put on and taken off before you got them.

mark

 

Try Super Sensitive Sensicore. Not expensive and works great with gut, IMO.

 

The Garbo light on the E and A was a perfect match for my Dlugolecki gut D and G in both tension and tone. I imagine you'll have a similar experience with the Gamut guts on your bass. I am now playing a full set of Garbo Lights to sidestep the tuning issues and low humidity that fall and winter bring. When spring comes back around, I'll likely put the guts back on.

I think the Velvet breakage comments have been over blown. Any string winding will suffer if it's under the stress of being removed and put back on a bass numerous times. In my experience, the metal windings in gut strings are the most volatile. Especially with winter on the way. You lovers of wound gut have been warned...

 

I'll agree to a certain extent, especially about changing strings as often as most folks change underwear. That can only lead to problems with the windings.

However, I have an old American Standard bass that has had the same wound, gut core, Red-O-Ray E string on it since the late fall of 2007. No buzzing problems at the nut or bridge and I live in the often humidity-laden state of North Carolina.

Maybe I just don't subject it to extreme temp changes as some other folks do. I've had no problems. THAT, in itself, plays a big part in keeping these strings (and their windings) happy.

YMMV

 

My experience with wound guts may have been extreme: lots of travel, in and out of venues (30-70 degree changes), all winter long. I very much agree with the YMMV acronym here!

 

My Garbo E & A were unwinding at the nut! All it was that the grove I've made was not matching the strings! Sometimes I change bridge so when I was detuning and retuning the strings there were too much friction!! So I applied a tiny touch of elbow grease and by hand wounded the loose part back starting in the pegbox!! Once they were tight again slightly lifted the strings by hooking a right index finger under the string while I was tuning to pitch and all the unwounded bits stayed in the pegbox and the string were sweet again. I wish I could demonstrate it. Cant explain it better. Good luck! Tone

 

I'm using Garbo E & A that are about 8 years old, and Lenzner gut D & G. A great combination, IMO, and had no problems with the Garbos.

 

This happened to me once. Small space, intimate wedding, double bass/clarinet/classical guitar playing some Mozart. Nobody was amused. (It was a Dominant, though, not a Velvet.) Interestingly, I've never had a gut string break on me, just steel (Helicore) and synthetic.

 

I also had problems with Garbos unwinding at the nut. I was happy with them otherwise, got over 5 years out of my first set. But when I had a third string break on me that was it.