- May 6, 2003
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- Proprietor Fifth Avenue Fret Shop. Technical Editor Bass Gear Magazine
Have some talc or baby powder or something in the gig bag just in case you get stuck and slow up.
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Double Bass Gut Strings: Are They Worth It To Try? (part I)
- Thread starter Kevin Hsieh
- Start date
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Thanks, man, I'll do that. It's actually cool here now, but it always seems to be hot at this club. Old school sweatfest.
- May 6, 2003
- 5,272
- 160
- 64
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- Proprietor Fifth Avenue Fret Shop. Technical Editor Bass Gear Magazine
No really, if you have it you won't need it but if you don't you're going to hate life trying to play with some speed in the humidity.
I oughta try the baby powder thing. I've never really needed it though. When the humidity is that bad, it isn't just the strings, the bass itself gets thumpy (this was true with Spiros too so it really isn't a string thing). It requires so much more effort to get the bass to speak under those conditions that a little string stickiness isn't really that big of a deal.
I'm going back and forth now between two basses both strung with gut. The '28 has Garbos on the E and A, Gamut med Lyon G and light Lyon D. Oddly the tension is so high it is almost steel-like. I think even Chris F. would like it. The sound is also super focused. It sounds a little like a set of old Spiros are on there but with way more life in the feel. I'm digging the Garbos. I want to try Gamut wrapped guts on the E and A but the Garbos sound so good that I don't want to mess with anything. I'm also afraid to take the Garbos off because they may not go back on so easily. The bass is LOUD like a cannon but is a bit harder to play than the '74.
The '74 has med Pistoy G and light Pistoy D with Gamut wrapped E and A. I'm getting to like the Pistoy G a lot more as it breaks in. I'm still leaning toward putting the Lyon G back on but I figured I'd give the Pistoy chance to break in a little and see how it turns out.
It's been an eye opener. The differences between the basses are striking. All of the observations I made as to how the strings behaved on the '74 don't necessarily hold on the '28. I'm just starting to dig in on this so I'll have more later.
mark
I'm going back and forth now between two basses both strung with gut. The '28 has Garbos on the E and A, Gamut med Lyon G and light Lyon D. Oddly the tension is so high it is almost steel-like. I think even Chris F. would like it. The sound is also super focused. It sounds a little like a set of old Spiros are on there but with way more life in the feel. I'm digging the Garbos. I want to try Gamut wrapped guts on the E and A but the Garbos sound so good that I don't want to mess with anything. I'm also afraid to take the Garbos off because they may not go back on so easily. The bass is LOUD like a cannon but is a bit harder to play than the '74.
The '74 has med Pistoy G and light Pistoy D with Gamut wrapped E and A. I'm getting to like the Pistoy G a lot more as it breaks in. I'm still leaning toward putting the Lyon G back on but I figured I'd give the Pistoy chance to break in a little and see how it turns out.
It's been an eye opener. The differences between the basses are striking. All of the observations I made as to how the strings behaved on the '74 don't necessarily hold on the '28. I'm just starting to dig in on this so I'll have more later.
mark
Nice try. I'm not gonna get sucked into this vortex that easily.
Seriously, I'd love to play it if we ever cross paths. Until then, my 3-4 year old dominants are just coming into their own. Heck, I even tuned them last week.
John Goldsby
Supporting Member
- Mar 4, 2003
- 1,172
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- Bassist @ WDR Big Band Cologne, Discover Double Bass, Conservatorium Maastricht, NL
Last time I played your bass, Chris, it was strung with a set of Weichs.
Still is, as a matter of fact.
I've been meaning to write and tell you that I find them kind of cool in their own way. They're a bit twangy, but when jacked up a bit (summer did that on its own) they're not half bad. I don't feel very manly afterward, but still...
- May 6, 2003
- 5,272
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- Proprietor Fifth Avenue Fret Shop. Technical Editor Bass Gear Magazine
WHAT THE ****!?!Still is, as a matter of fact.
I'm speechless.
He's talking about my office bass - the lammy. The hybrid still has the 3 year old dominants on it. You may resume talking now.
[/thread derail]
John Goldsby
Supporting Member
- Mar 4, 2003
- 1,172
- 2,160
- Disclosures
- Bassist @ WDR Big Band Cologne, Discover Double Bass, Conservatorium Maastricht, NL
- May 6, 2003
- 5,272
- 160
- 64
- Disclosures
- Proprietor Fifth Avenue Fret Shop. Technical Editor Bass Gear Magazine
Stark to Weich....damn....
Well who knows you may end up playing good old Reds like me some day.
Well who knows you may end up playing good old Reds like me some day.
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
It's not the strings, it's the plucker . . .
Rub it in, John... rub it in. First the hair, now the technique. I'll get you, my pretty. And your little dog, too.
I just sold/mailed a set of Reds. No more steel strings in the house... 'ceptin' what's on the slab.
-J
-J
John Goldsby
Supporting Member
- Mar 4, 2003
- 1,172
- 2,160
- Disclosures
- Bassist @ WDR Big Band Cologne, Discover Double Bass, Conservatorium Maastricht, NL
Rub it in, John... rub it in. First the hair, now the technique. I'll get you, my pretty. And your little dog, too.
I have no doubt that you would sound like your great self on any set of strings that you played . . . that is what I meant
I have no doubt that you would sound like your great self on any set of strings that you played . . . that is what I meant
I know what you meant - just yanking your chain.
I'm gonna leave the Weichs on the office bass for a while, too just to save time and as an experiment.I'll bow out and let the gut guys resume their discussion about guts now.
[seriously, /derail]
Okay, I'm in. I did the swap yesterday... sorta. Here are my initial impressions;
I started with the varnished Gamut Lyons G & D that Mark sent me. They have a clarity that I've not experienced with any guts in the past. The feel and tactile feedback is terrific. They have "that sound", and I was able to adapt to them very quickly. They don't require me to change my approach much at all... I can play anything on them that I could play on Spiros or EPs. I'm actually quite shocked at the clarity of that big fat D string on my bass... I can play across the strings even up in thumb position with no blur or deadness whatsoever. In extremely high thumb position, they are at least as defined as the Evahs, maybe more so, with a touch more sustain. That really shocked me! The arco response is good, but it will take a couple of gigs to get used to the lighter bow pressure and the overall sound of plain gut arco. Pretty cool, actually. These Gamuts are very full sounding and balanced... any trace of "zzzzing" on the G is gone. Tremendous strings, these Gamuts... I can see what all the enthusiasm is about.
So I continued with the switch, and installed the E & A- "mystery wrapped guts" from Kevin. The A string worked quite well, with good clarity, volume, and punch. It's a nice loud string. As is often the case, I ran into problems when I mounted the E. The overall feel was quite soft, with an astounding amount of string excursion. That bugger was really shaking. The volume was quite balanced across the bass. I think if I was only playing in a bop context with a bop drummer, or if I was playing only arco, I could hang with the whole set. But on my bass, the loss of clarity in the E string might not sit too well in the interactive duos and trios that I often find myself in. I think my situation just calls for more sustain and growl most of the time. So, I'm not sure if gut bottoms are for me.
So, I ended up putting the Evahs back on the E and A- and everything just snapped into focus. The slight bit of growl from the Evahs on the bottom creates a nice, seamless balance with the big, organic, gutty goodness of the Gamuts on the top. My initial impression is that it's as seamless a transition as is the full Evah set. I'll be working on the bandstand this week with them quite a bit, so I can continue with my impressions.
Many thanks to Mark and Kevin for their generosity in this pursuit.
I started with the varnished Gamut Lyons G & D that Mark sent me. They have a clarity that I've not experienced with any guts in the past. The feel and tactile feedback is terrific. They have "that sound", and I was able to adapt to them very quickly. They don't require me to change my approach much at all... I can play anything on them that I could play on Spiros or EPs. I'm actually quite shocked at the clarity of that big fat D string on my bass... I can play across the strings even up in thumb position with no blur or deadness whatsoever. In extremely high thumb position, they are at least as defined as the Evahs, maybe more so, with a touch more sustain. That really shocked me! The arco response is good, but it will take a couple of gigs to get used to the lighter bow pressure and the overall sound of plain gut arco. Pretty cool, actually. These Gamuts are very full sounding and balanced... any trace of "zzzzing" on the G is gone. Tremendous strings, these Gamuts... I can see what all the enthusiasm is about.
So I continued with the switch, and installed the E & A- "mystery wrapped guts" from Kevin. The A string worked quite well, with good clarity, volume, and punch. It's a nice loud string. As is often the case, I ran into problems when I mounted the E. The overall feel was quite soft, with an astounding amount of string excursion. That bugger was really shaking. The volume was quite balanced across the bass. I think if I was only playing in a bop context with a bop drummer, or if I was playing only arco, I could hang with the whole set. But on my bass, the loss of clarity in the E string might not sit too well in the interactive duos and trios that I often find myself in. I think my situation just calls for more sustain and growl most of the time. So, I'm not sure if gut bottoms are for me.
So, I ended up putting the Evahs back on the E and A- and everything just snapped into focus. The slight bit of growl from the Evahs on the bottom creates a nice, seamless balance with the big, organic, gutty goodness of the Gamuts on the top. My initial impression is that it's as seamless a transition as is the full Evah set. I'll be working on the bandstand this week with them quite a bit, so I can continue with my impressions.
Many thanks to Mark and Kevin for their generosity in this pursuit.
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