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Double Bass Gut Strings: Are They Worth It To Try? (part I)

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#21
Hey Kevin,
I think you should definitely play as many basses as you can that are already strung with gut.
My string height is not that extreme, about 8mm - 11mm.
Also, I've been slowly learning to bow with gut strings and I love the sound. I don't think it is any more difficult just a different kind of difficult.
One thing I do know for sure, if you play with gut strings and really learn to pull a good sound from them, even if you go back to steel strings your playing and your ears will have evolved for the better.
Good luck, I hope you find your voice.
-J
 
#25
wineaux said:
Kevin,

Until a month ago, I had LaBella 7710s on my Kay. I switched to guts on the G and D, Velvet Garbos on the E and A, and I absolutely love the sound. I'm actually thinking of making the same change on my carved German factory bass.

Happy hunting.
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The combination is awesome. I love Garbos as a set but they're also great as substitutes for wound guts.

I just came home from a mindblowing concert with the Swedish/Norwegian band Link Removed. The bassplayer, Link Removed played a Garbo E, plain gut A, plain gut D and Garbo G. I didn't have time to talk with him about this setup, and I'm not sure about the plain D, but I'm pretty sure this is what he was using. It is intereesting because not that many jazz players seem to choose the plain A. It sounded good. He was using a Schertler pickup (The one you fit to the top) with a small GK.
 
#26
Kevin, an Oliv G & D is a great way to get your feet wet with gut IMO. They don't sound like plain gut but they are very close, you can keep them a little lower on the fingerboard than plain gut, and they are wonderful under the bow. They are expensive, but they can match up with a lot of cheaper strings on the A & E.
 
#28
larry said:
Kevin, an Oliv G & D is a great way to get your feet wet with gut IMO. They don't sound like plain gut but they are very close...
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No they aren't. They are way darker and have more sustain than plain guts. The don't have the ping of gut nor the breath of gut. You will have no more idea about the nature of gut strings playing Olivs than you will playing Evahs.
 
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#29
I do primarily orchestral playing with a hefy amount of jazz thrown in on the side. I always have wanted to make the plunge but always back out at the last minute. If it's not the price, then it's the fear that I won't be able to tear out Mahler 9 the next day in orchestra rehearsal.
 
#30
Uncletoad said:
No they aren't. They are way darker and have more sustain than plain guts. The don't have the ping of gut nor the breath of gut. You will have no more idea about the nature of gut strings playing Olivs than you will playing Evahs.
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You're saying the Olivs are closer to synthetic gut than they are to real gut? Olivs are real gut core, after all. I think my Oliv G is pretty similar to my Dlugolecki G, except for its arco qualities.
 
#31
larry said:
You're saying the Olivs are closer to synthetic gut than they are to real gut? Olivs are real gut core, after all. I think my Oliv G is pretty similar to my Dlugolecki G, except for its arco qualities.
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Not really, that was perhaps to strong. Synthetics are unpleasant to me.

I just find the Oliv compared to plain gut quite a bit and I don't feel that they are as near each other as they are often compared, even though the cores are gut. The Oliv G is an outstanding string and in most cases more useful than plain gut. Plain gut strings that have a character that is unique to plain gut, that is hard for me to put accurately into words that no other strings have even those like the Oliv or the Golden Spiral that were made with Gut cores.

I don't have experience with DD strings so I can't comment on their relationship to Oliv. They may be closer than Gamut or the vintage guts I've worked with.
 
#32
Uncletoad said:
Not really, that was perhaps to strong. Synthetics are unpleasant to me.

I just find the Oliv compared to plain gut quite a bit and I don't feel that they are as near each other as they are often compared, even though the cores are gut. The Oliv G is an outstanding string and in most cases more useful than plain gut. Plain gut strings that have a character that is unique to plain gut, that is hard for me to put accurately into words that no other strings have even those like the Oliv or the Golden Spiral that were made with Gut cores.

I don't have experience with DD strings so I can't comment on their relationship to Oliv. They may be closer than Gamut or the vintage guts I've worked with.
Click to expand...

I also did not mean to imply Olivs were just like plain gut. My comment on Olivs being a "good way to get your feet wet with gut" also had a lot to do with getting used to the heavier guages, the changes in stability, cost, etc.

Plain gut is still different for sure, but I also feel that wrapped guts (like Olivs) sound closer to it than any steel or synthetic gut I know of. :)
 
#34
First impressions: At a glance, string gauges are kind of off. The LaBella A, which are thick in nature, is still thinner than the Gut D. Sounds great and feels wonderful. I keep tuning every couple minutes, but oh well. LaBellas match up pretty well with the gut but have a sustain that is definitely noticably different when I switch to the lower strings.

have two rehearsal tonight

woohoo

this is fun
 
#35
Oof, just put 'em on and two rehearsals? Good luck man. Let us know how it goes though. I've never tried the Labella nylons, but I would say something like Evah Pirazzis would match up well w/ gut, both in gauge and sound.
 
#36
Also, what the Toadster is saying makes perfect sense, what with the physics/feel/sound/punch of playing a plain gut D/G and a steel wrapped gut-core D/G. But I do feel that the sound strings such as the Oliv/Eudoxa put out, while being affected by their steel wrapping, still has the fundamental sound of a gut string.
 
#38
i've used a full set of olivs before. didnt like em. they sounded nothing like plain guts. they sounded more like really really dead steel strings. and they had a high tension. but that was on my bass.
and the labella supernils are rubbish. i bought a full set from sam ash for like $60. theyre like playing plastic strings.
whenever i read or hear someone mention 'gut-like' i know they dont mean 'plain gut like'.
the closest thing i've quite happily played for a few years before they became impossibly to get (cos they stopped making them) were the kaplan golden spiral G & D strings. they are a gut core, wound in nylon. they didnt fray like plain guts can after time if not looked after, and they stayed in tune better with humidity changes, more than plain guts would. at the time, i remember i went from a full set of chordas which worked well on that bass, to the golden spiral G & D (i forget what i used on the bottom 2 strings) and i was quite happy. theyre not the same, but they are the closest thing that i've come across. i've just reaslised this is not going to help anyone looking to play guts, as they dont make the golden spiral anymore. just a little bit of experience to throw into the mix :p
 
#39
Where those nylon, "gut imitation" strings can be useful is in loud, amplified situations, where you're going for a country/bluegrass/rockabilly sound. I have a friend, Jay Weaver, who played for Dolly Parton and now works with Raul Malo. He has a bunch of nice basses, but live through a PA, he said he often gets the best results with a Kay bass strung with Supernils. I also briefly used the Innovation rockabilly strings on my old King, and they were good through an amp. (they stay in tune too) It's kind of like how some of these electric/acoustic bass guitars use nylon-core strings --somehow it works well with a piezo pickup. But, acoustically they sound like puff and they have totally wimpy, floppy tension.

As far as Olives, the G is a great string for pizz, usually used in conjunction with other strings. The D... maybe. The low strings are only good for arco. In fact, it's a great arco set. Billy Linnemann (old Opry house bassist) used to use Eudoxas on his E&A, those are a little better for pizz. But both Olive and Eudoxa are expensive and fragile. Many of us gut-questers at some point spent $400 and had a Eudoxa E&A with and Olive D&G, only to find it overly dark, stiff and subdued sounding. A set of Velvet Animas can achieve a somewhat similar direction with much more liveliness, stability and durability. A plain gut G&D w/wound E&A (or various substitutions) is a much brighter, livelier sound than Olives or Eudoxas.

All of this is IMFO :D
 
#40
2 rehearsals and a midnight trio session leave me with the following conclusions.

- LaBella and plain Gut combo are an interesting match. Gauges are close to each other due to LaBella's thickness. However, the character of the LaBellas is too strong.

Possible Solution: Woke up the next day and tried on Helicores.

- Gut is REALLY HARD TO PLAY! All the lines i used to play on Steel/Nylon strings keep getting messed up. This is partially due to the feel difference between the Gut and the Nylon. Gut tends to catch my finger particularly transitioning from the D to the A. Hopefully i'll get used to this problem with time.

- Gig at Cleopatra's Needle tomorrow, will use it then. Current setup is Helicore Hybrid E and A. Plain Gut G D.

Sounds great when listening to someone play the bass. Actually, they sound wonderful...

hmm
 
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