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Double Bass gut question

B

bassplayer48

May 1, 2006
288
1
Melbourne Australia
#1
Hi guys,
i have a question on gut strings i currently have my bass a czech hybrid strung with spiro weichs which sound great, but since i play mainly bluegrass, blues, rockabilly and swing i have been thinking maybe guts would get that nice fat warm sound that you hear on those genres.

I tried a set of innovation silver slaps and didn't like them much bit plastic and dead sounding to my ear.

My question is if i dont like the silvers and they are supposed to be "gutlike" i wonder if real guts would be much different? I do like the gut sound when i hear it but wonder if it will sound any good on my bass?
 
#3
I haven't tried Silvers but have used other fancy gut substitutes and to my ear there's nothing like the deal thing.

Keep an eye on the classifieds until you find gut D and G listed by someone willing to ship them to Australia. Gut with Spiros on the bottom is a wonderful thing.
 
#7
bassplayer48 said:
Hi guys,
i have a question on gut strings i currently have my bass a czech hybrid strung with spiro weichs which sound great, but since i play mainly bluegrass, blues, rockabilly and swing i have been thinking maybe guts would get that nice fat warm sound that you hear on those genres.

I tried a set of innovation silver slaps and didn't like them much bit plastic and dead sounding to my ear.

My question is if i dont like the silvers and they are supposed to be "gutlike" i wonder if real guts would be much different? I do like the gut sound when i hear it but wonder if it will sound any good on my bass?
Click to expand...

Marc is right. Nothing sounds like gut but gut. "gut-like" in my experience is usually used in the phrase "more gut-like" and generally means, in essence, it doesn't sound like a Spirocore not so much that it actually sounds like gut. I've not yet found any string that sounds like gut but an actual gut string. What I and a lot of other guys have had a lot of success with is using a good gut D/G combined with a low tension E/A like a Velvet Garbo or Anima. Depending on your climate, all gut can be a bear to keep in tune. I live in Pittsburgh and tried all gut for a while. I gave up after my A string went 2 full steps sharp during a gig when then temperature dropped to -15 outside. My C on the A string was in a different place EVERY time I went for it. The Gut E/A came off and the Garbos went on and I never looked back (at least to gut E/A-I ended up with Animas for E/A). I use a Gamut Pistoy medium G and a Pistoy light D. The D is almost 2 years old and shows no sign of dying. The G gets replaced about once per year. The Animas were just replaced after about a year and I probably waited too long as the sound of the entire bass dramatically improved after I swapped them out.
 
#8
thanks for the feedback guys, very interesting i think if i was going to try it i would go with a gut D & G to start with. I can buy a d&g from a reputable luthier here for $110.00 AUD which is not too bad or maybe as suggested see if anyone will mail me a second hand pair on here to Australia, food for thought.
 

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