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

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#501
Bryon,
I've got Animas on one bass and a mix of Anima, Garbo and Gamut G on another. I've had the Garbos and Animas on the same bass for comparison.

The Garbos are a little louder and darker. The tone is simpler. FWIW, I bought them used so they just might be really dead.?.?

I put a new set of Animas on my new (120 yr old) bass two days ago and the tone is a little bright and 'banjo'. Hoping they settle in.

Also, a further FWIW, my AC died and my house is hot and humid. Gluey Gamut Gut. :(
 
#502
clink said:
I put a new set of Animas on my new (120 yr old) bass two days ago and the tone is a little bright and 'banjo'. Hoping they settle in.
Click to expand...

Yea I can hear why you might say that. The set I'm using is used but still seem pretty new so the dark/bright spectrum seems ballenced.

They kind of remind me of a lower tension spiro (not in feel) but more than anything because they seem almost equally steady and versitle.

They definatley ballence big walking and tricky articulations better than my previous mish mash.
 
#503
There hasn't been any gut action on the boards lately.

So I went away for a couple of days and didn't have a bass with me. Got back, picked up the bass and it felt as natural to hold as set of bagpipes. Why is that? I've been playing bass for 35 years. For hours per day for many of those years. I go away for 3 days and I forget how to play.

The last gig I did before going away was an unamplified wedding reception; just the cocktail hour. I was at the wedding itself. Since the bass was going to be in the car, probably in the sun and the outside temp was about 85-90, during the wedding, I decided to bring the steel string. My thought process was the guts were going to be squirrelly for at least an hour after sitting out in the sun for 90 minutes and then brought directly into heavy air conditioning. The steels would probably adjust a little too but not nearly as much as the wrapped E and A.

It was one of the most painful gigs in recent memory for a couple of reasons. First, my callouses have changed. They've widened out for the guts so that coupled with the increased tension of steel strings made my left hand REALLY glad the gig was only an hour. Second, the Mittel G which I used to find pretty darn acceptable was harsh beyond words to my gut adjusted ears. The other strings weren't a picnic either. I've gotten used to where guts sit in the mix and to suddenly have all of this mid rangey zing poking out throughout the band was more than a bit disconcerting. Even unamplified. Mind you, I could get used to all of that stuff again if I had to but it was jarring to have it thrust upon me all at once.

I was supposed to have a gig last night but the place was flooded out about 10 days ago when we had a series of seriously ugly storms come through and they won't be back in business for a couple of more days. I have a concert tomorrow that I'm looking forward to. Back to the guts.

mark
 
#504
calivox said:
There hasn't been any gut action on the boards lately.
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Today, I bought some almond oil and put on a new wound gut E. Let's get this thread going again ;)

The almond oil smelled close to nothing and was the best I've tried so far for oiling plain guts. The fingerboard became nice and clean afterwards too :)

I recently got a Roth brand E-string in a trade with Bobby King and I put it on today. I had a Chorda E on before that measured around .150 and the Roth is around .125 (inch). This is a damn comfortable string, nice gauge, low tension and that round-wire feeling I like underneath my fingers :D It's got more definition than the Chorda and a bit less sustain than a Garbo E, so I would place it somewhere in the middle between those two soundwise; it has a thickness in tone like Chorda, but sustains more and is more defined which reminds me of the Garbo. The whole set of strings feels very balanced now with my new E-string. The Garbo felt just a little it too light and the Chorda was way too big. I think I'm happy right now :rolleyes:
 
#505
It's been a while since I've posted on this thread. i'm back on my own bass strung with unknown guts and Garbo E and A. I left the bass in a climate controlled room for a month and a half, with strings slightly detuned. Came back a couple hours before returning to the regular gig at Cleopatra's Needle. Tuned the bass back up and was immediately in heaven.

I had been playing on Evah Pirazzis over most of the summer. They just felt too tight and my wrist would be sore after extensive practicing. Coming back to the low tension and wider gauge of the guts was the most comfortable thing I've felt in a while. Took the bass a while to open up again. Also, the whole time during the gig I was out of tune, but I was happy nonetheless.

I took the opportunity of having a bass with Evah Pirazzis to really get used to playing some stuff with the bow (whole notes). I was worried that coming back to the gut after bowing on such a good arco string would be difficult. However I found that the only problem I'm running into is switching from the gut to the garbo. The garbo requires a different touch so the transition between D and A is quite awkward.

I followed Andreas' lead and bought a bottle of Almond Oil and put a couple drops on a paper towel and worked it into the strings. The strings were already a little dry when I got them 4 months ago. The almond oil helped immensely.

will get around to posting a picture of the unknown guts soon. I swear!

come to Cleo's and check out the bass if you're interested
 
#509
AndreasH said:
I recently got a Roth brand E-string in a trade with Bobby King and I put it on today. I had a Chorda E on before that measured around .150 and the Roth is around .125 (inch). This is a damn comfortable string, nice gauge, low tension and that round-wire feeling I like underneath my fingers :D It's got more definition than the Chorda and a bit less sustain than a Garbo E, so I would place it somewhere in the middle between those two soundwise; it has a thickness in tone like Chorda, but sustains more and is more defined which reminds me of the Garbo. The whole set of strings feels very balanced now with my new E-string. The Garbo felt just a little it too light and the Chorda was way too big. I think I'm happy right now :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I'm glad you like that string Andreas. I always thought that was a good one. I haven't used wound gut for a while, but I also remember liking a light-gauge Gamut. The lighter wound guts seemed to produce a better tone, but they can be a little floppy. You can't have everything!

BTW, that string will develop some tarnish over time. You can use a little silver polish to get rid of it. I cleaned it up before I sent to you :D
 
#510
Bobby King said:
I'm glad you like that string Andreas. I always thought that was a good one. I haven't used wound gut for a while, but I also remember liking a light-gauge Gamut. The lighter wound guts seemed to produce a better tone, but they can be a little floppy. You can't have everything!

BTW, that string will develop some tarnish over time. You can use a little silver polish to get rid of it. I cleaned it up before I sent to you :D
Click to expand...

Yes, Bobby, it was really nice and clean when I got it! :D Do you have any idea how old it is?

I have no problem with it being a bit floppy, actually it was a big relief coming from the thick Chorda without any loss in volume. It behaves close to a Garbo E but has a fatter sound to it. It feels good to play all gut for a while now and see how it feels in the long run.
 
#511
AndreasH said:
:D Do you have any idea how old it is?
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Here's the history of that string: Several years ago I was in my old home town of Philadelphia, PA. There is a violin and rare instrument dealer there named Fred Oster. I visited his shop and he had some drawers with old strings, I bought that and a few others from him. It was in a sleeve that said "Roth", and it was quite tarnished, but it cleaned up well.
What I found out was that Dennis Crouch had been through town with the "Oh, Brother Where Art Thou?" tour and had picked though most of the best stuff already (but he missed that one!). I can't say how long it had been sitting in that drawer or how old it is. I dont think Roth has been in business for a long time.

Old new stock gut strings aren't always great. I bought a few of those Fisoma strings online, and they sounded great when I put them on, but the windings started to unravel very quickly. What happens, I think, is that the gut core dries and shrinks over time and the windings come loose. I've heard that humidifying them can sometimes make the windings tighten up. The Roth's windings have never come loose though.
 
#512
Bobby King said:
Here's the history of that string: Several years ago I was in my old home town of Philadelphia, PA. There is a violin and rare instrument dealer there named Fred Oster. I visited his shop and he had some drawers with old strings, I bought that and a few others from him. It was in a sleeve that said "Roth", and it was quite tarnished, but it cleaned up well.
What I found out was that Dennis Crouch had been through town with the "Oh, Brother Where Art Thou?" tour and had picked though most of the best stuff already (but he missed that one!). I can't say how long it had been sitting in that drawer or how old it is. I dont think Roth has been in business for a long time.

Old new stock gut strings aren't always great. I bought a few of those Fisoma strings online, and they sounded great when I put them on, but the windings started to unravel very quickly. What happens, I think, is that the gut core dries and shrinks over time and the windings come loose. I've heard that humidifying them can sometimes make the windings tighten up. The Roth's windings have never come loose
though.
Click to expand...

That's some story about one single string :cool:

My Artone E unraveled very quickly, I've now removed all windings and made a D-string out of it. It took me about 2 days...

Is there something you can do to lubricate the core of wound guts? Can you oil them just as plain strings?
 
#515
I have only been playing double bass for two years and I was considering trying guts. Should I wait until I improve more or should I try them. I am a student and I can't afford Gamut, Dlugolecki etc. What would you experienced gut players suggest?

P.S.
Sorry for stealing this thread...
 
#516
It's very common to look for solutions to playing deficiencies by purchasing stuff. I encourage people to resist the urge to find playing solutions through equipment changes whenever possible. Regular practice and performance are the best ways to solve playing or tone deficiencies.

Having said that there are times when adjusting your equipment will help you perform or practice better and in those times spending $ is a good thing.

No one here can evaluate whether changing strings is an assist to your playing or an attempt to shortcut practice by buying stuff. Talk with your teacher and try to figure that out with them.
 
#517
What Uncle T said.

In addition, guts are finicky little beasts. While the rewards are high, the inconvenience is also. If I were trying to learn to play, I'd probably want an instrument that is going to be relatively stable from day to day. With guts, the bass is literally different every time you pick it up. With experience, you deal with it and get the job done. You have enough information to process while learning to play, I doubt you need to add more on top of it. I'd go with Spiro Mittels or something similar until you've been at it a little longer.

That was the responsible me talking. On the other hand, I started practicing WAY more once I put guts on. Once I got the hang of them, it was like an epiphany for me. The seas parted, the sun came up, I could see clearly for the first time in my life. I've been playing on guts for 4 months now and I've never been so stoked to play. I literally can't wait to get to the bass.

mark
 
#519
AndreasH said:
That's some story about one single string :cool:

My Artone E unraveled very quickly, I've now removed all windings and made a D-string out of it. It took me about 2 days...

Is there something you can do to lubricate the core of wound guts? Can you oil them just as plain strings?
Click to expand...

I've often wondered if you could soak a wound string in some almond oil to re-plump the dried-out gut inside. Just not sure if any oil could make it inside the windings.

Also, why the hell does Pirastro have a monopoly on flatwound gut strings? I love the Olive E&A (for Country / Roots / Slap) but Jeez they is pricey.
 
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