• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

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

Status
Not open for further replies.
#741
I'm at about a week into the gut thing on this bass. It's really going very smoothly... maybe it just suits my style at this point. Pizz is spectacular... old school, new school, doesn't matter. I can get around on the Gamuts at least as easily and quickly as I ever could on Spiro Weichs. The definition I'm getting out of these big fatties on my LaScala is amazing, and kind of surprising. Great match with the EP bottoms...I'm happy.

Arco on guts, which scared me a little, is not a big deal at all. They respond beautifully under the bow, and they sound great. Very PC.

I think this is an experiment that is going very well for me. And like a lot of you gutters have, I'm getting very positive feedback from other musicians, and even audience members.
 
#742
That's great. How are the strings breaking in? Do you notice them changing as they break in?

The reason I ask is I've recently switched over to using my '28 Juzek. Spiros off, Gamut Lyons G and D and Garbos E and A on. All of my prior posts outlining my how my bass sounded were on the '74 Juzek. The two basses are like night and day. I put the guts on the '28 and they sounded broken in even though they were new strings and they really haven't changed much as they've stretched out. Even the Lyon D is super focused and defined all of the way up the neck. They almost sound like hybrid strings. It's kind of freaking me out a little. The '74 was TOTALLY different. Major changes occurred every couple of days. I know every bass is different and responds differently but this is off the charts.

mark
 
#743
Well, they really seemed stable right off the bat. I haven't noticed much change at all over the last week, beyond my own adapting to them, which was almost completely painless. I took to them right away, and as I mentioned, there was clarity and sustain there, even on that big D string up in thumb position, that I just hadn't suspected. I'm also shocked at how easily I can take off into the "scared jackrabbit" mode when soloing. Walking on them is sublime; the fat gut tone all the way up to the top... damn. They just respond so much more quickly than I had ever experienced on gut strings. I'm only about four gigs into 'em, so I may be able to update more later... but the traumatic adjustment that I expected just hasn't been a factor at all.

My bass has sounded at least "very good" with every string I've used, so there is that factor. It's impossible to make that bass sound bad. Then, as you know, combining different strings can alter the response of each individual string... i.e., Gamut tops/Spiro bottoms vs. Gamut tops/Garbo bottoms, and so on. In fact, to my ears, the Gamuts have actually tamed down the growly side of the Evahs, evah so slightly :smug:. So in the end, it's a crap shoot. I'm curious to try some Animas on the bottom two... I think that would be smokin'. I have some somewhere....

It was a funny time for me to switch, because I was very satisfied with the Evah Pirazzis on the bass. But it was that nagging question.... What would Gamut guts sound like on my La Scala, played by me? The answer has been very gratifying so far. Somebody said at some point that guts might be the ultimate hybrid string. I don't know if I'd go that far, but they're really doing a lot of nice things for me at the moment. I'll be using them on a recording starting later this month.

PS, speaking of The Gut Club.... anyone heard from Andreas lately?... it's been awhile.
 
#744
Note to self: start saving up so that when the Artone G/RedORay D kick the bucket I can get myself Gamuts to replace them. How do the Gamuts sound under the bow?

On a different note, boy am I digging the new fingerboard/thickened neck on my Kay (where the above mentioned strings are housed).
 
#748
larssonanton said:
I very recently put a set of Chorda C.H. on, and the first thing I have to say is that it´s SUCH a relief to remove the pickup from the bass. :smug:
Click to expand...

I'm glad to hear that! I'm looking forward to a trip to Skåne sometime soon :)

It's been a while since I last posted around here. But Marcus reminded me of this beautiful place :rolleyes: I still have the same setup as before and I didn't fall into the temptation going back to Velvets on the bottom. But I'm still tempted you know... If you think about it, they're not very far from eachother. But once you actually PLAY them, there is... I can't really make up my mind about this one, I like wound guts for some reasons and Garbos for others. I guess I have the same relation with Garbos as most of you guys have with Spiros :smug:
 
#749
Marcus Johnson said:
They sound kind of like that PC/Mingus arco sound to me. Not everyone's cuppa, maybe... I dig it. I think the brightness of them is tamer to the listener than it is to the player... like Spiros are.
Click to expand...

Right.. I guess I'm just wondering if they sound any smoother compared to other guts like the Chorda G. I used DD D and G strings years back and I remember their bowed sound being a lot smoother.
 
#750
Ok so I succumbed to the pressure of my gnawing doubt and dug out my medium Gamut Gut D and G. I put them on before Thursday's gig. I played around at home and they sounded great, felt great. Stayed in tune enough for me so off to the gig I went.

Several bars into the first set I was horridly annoyed. I suspect they are very dead. They didn't have that punch and ping I remembered and didn't drive the pickup or amp near as well as the spirocores. The lower tension made feedback way less of an issue to contend with and the E and A sounded even better with the lower tension tops...made a mental note there.

On break I put the spiro D/G back on and because they are old they settled right back in. Mitts were immediately louder on the D/G string both off the bass and through the amp.They were round and punchy and fat in a way that at this point because my guts were dead the guts didn't have.

So the gut's do have a lifespan in my book regardless of what other's opine about them. I was very happy to have tried them once again for a minute and remember that on the Ply Cleveland on my gigs right now they don't work as well as the Spiro Mitt set.

Perhaps if I got a new pair I'd feel differently. If I had a spare $200 for the experiment I might be compelled to try it again. However if I got 8 bars into the set after having spent another $200 and hated it I'd be really pissed at myself for my folly. Besides, $200 is more than I pay for spirocores which at this point last me for at least a year or more..I don't really know. And they sure don't suck. I don't think I even have a year's worth of gigs on these guts. Maybe, I don't recall anymore.

Regardless, If it ain't broke....
 
#751
You guys are making me happy!! Once you get use to the Gut sound, all hell breaks loose!! Plus, it will save your right fingers and give you 5-10 extra years of life with out compromising the sound!! Gamut are good, Dlugalecki are even better and of course, The chorda's are the best!!!! Pirastro!!!
 
#752
I think you can count me in. My main bass, carved, was at the luthier to change my machine heads and meanwhile, I was playing on my Kay which I had put D ang G gamuts. When my bass came back, strung with Eudoxa, it stills sounded good, but I was missing the Gut. So I decided to switch strings, I am really happy, I tried to resist, but here I am.

So now, my main bass is strung with Eudoxa E and A, and D and G gamut medium.
 
#753
Uncletoad said:
Ok so I succumbed to the pressure of my gnawing doubt and dug out my medium Gamut Gut D and G. I put them on before Thursday's gig. I played around at home and they sounded great, felt great. Stayed in tune enough for me so off to the gig I went.

Several bars into the first set I was horridly annoyed. I suspect they are very dead. They didn't have that punch and ping I remembered and didn't drive the pickup or amp near as well as the spirocores. The lower tension made feedback way less of an issue to contend with and the E and A sounded even better with the lower tension tops...made a mental note there.

On break I put the spiro D/G back on and because they are old they settled right back in. Mitts were immediately louder on the D/G string both off the bass and through the amp.They were round and punchy and fat in a way that at this point because my guts were dead the guts didn't have.

So the gut's do have a lifespan in my book regardless of what other's opine about them. I was very happy to have tried them once again for a minute and remember that on the Ply Cleveland on my gigs right now they don't work as well as the Spiro Mitt set.

Perhaps if I got a new pair I'd feel differently. If I had a spare $200 for the experiment I might be compelled to try it again. However if I got 8 bars into the set after having spent another $200 and hated it I'd be really pissed at myself for my folly. Besides, $200 is more than I pay for spirocores which at this point last me for at least a year or more..I don't really know. And they sure don't suck. I don't think I even have a year's worth of gigs on these guts. Maybe, I don't recall anymore.

Regardless, If it ain't broke....
Click to expand...


To be honest with you Phil, I hated Spiro bottoms with gut tops even when the guts were new. It was like playing two different basses; the upper bass (D/G) and the lower bass (E/A) and when you went from the D to the A string, there was a jarring change in timbre and feel. I've used Garbos and wound gut with gut tops and I like both. I loved the brand new Garbos when I first put them on but I'm starting to miss the wound gut. Right now, I'm liking broken in Garbos a little less than brand new Garbos although the tuning issues over the whole bass that I have when I have wound gut on are just gone with Garbos. Too bad Garbos are so expensive. I'm not about to start changing them every two to three weeks. I just inquired into the Chorda CH set at Pirastro so we'll see what comes of that. I might give them a try.

All of that said, if I were playing the kind of music that you usually play, I'd probably be using Spiros too. I've got a gig coming up in November that's a CD release party for a singer-songwriter project. I played all of the bass parts on the recording but it was pre-gut. I'm kind of concerned because I don't think the guts are going to blend with the band like the Spiros did. The gig isn't important enough to put Spiros back on but if I had a bass strung with Spiros, I'd probably use it for that. If I had more gigs like that I might consider keeping one of the basses strung with Spiros. Just about all of my gigs are jazz though.

But for jazz...gut is oo la la.

mark
 
#757
Sound and tension? Are they as projecting as the regular set? How much "looser" is the feel from the regular Chordas? Do they "speak" the same way the regulars do? Thanks for your attention here BAJO!
 
#758
calivox said:
All of that said, if I were playing the kind of music that you usually play, I'd probably be using Spiros too. I've got a gig coming up in November that's a CD release party for a singer-songwriter project. I played all of the bass parts on the recording but it was pre-gut. I'm kind of concerned because I don't think the guts are going to blend with the band like the Spiros did. The gig isn't important enough to put Spiros back on but if I had a bass strung with Spiros, I'd probably use it for that. If I had more gigs like that I might consider keeping one of the basses strung with Spiros. Just about all of my gigs are jazz though.

But for jazz...gut is oo la la.

mark
Click to expand...
Yea I think I tried to say that in my post. We were listening to a Johnny Hartman record from the 50's in my van on the way home from tonights gig and I was thinking there's no way I could do that justice with spirocores. The breath of guts leaves space that you can't get from steel. Steel notes are way to long and the envelope is wrong. The proper tone for that gig is a poof with a tuned note that is vapor almost as fast as it appears. The space in between leaves room for the beautiful music that steel would otherwise clog up. I wish people wanted me to do those gigs. I can't get em.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back