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

[Mark Perna]

Progress report:

I've swapped out the Garbo A for a Gamut wrapped A. There wasn't anything really wrong with the Garbo but I wanted to try the Gamut. At first the character of the bass changed. The D and G were a little less precise and I almost put the Garbo back on but as the Gamut stretched out and settled, the D and G came back. The Gamut A is a fatter than the Garbo and is a little more natural sounding and still has plenty of definition. I've kept the Garbo E on and I've not experienced any wild tuning fluctuations. I'm hoping it stays that way. I've got a gig tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

The Pistoy D is rocking my world. Great match on both of my basses: Lyon medium G and Pistoy light D.

mark

 

[Marcus Johnson]

It's amazing how the whole bass changes sometimes, just by changing one string. All the other strings just seem like they're saying "what the ****!" I guess that's why it's a good idea to give new string combinations a little time.

The Lyons you gave me are still ridiculously great, and I don't want to change a thing at the moment.... but I'm going to try that Lyon/Pistoy thing next time around. At that point I'll have to decide on the whole Gamut set, or something else. The Evahs are really hanging in there on the bottom... but curiosity will probably get the best of me.

 

[AndreasH]

It's amazing how the whole bass changes sometimes, just by changing one string. All the other strings just seem like they're saying "what the ****!" I guess that's why it's a good idea to give new string combinations a little time.

It happened to me just yesterday. I put my old Garbo E on, and the whole bass changed. It sounds crazy-good. I have a brand new Garbo A that's probably going to end up on the bass in a few days...

 

[Mark Perna]

Just finished the first gig with the Pistoy D and wrapped Gamut A. Whoo hoo! It is a killin' combination. I've found my Kool Aid and have drunk deep. The A needs to settle a little more but it stayed in tune pretty well. Not bad since it went on yesterday. The sound is pretty amazing. I'm a happy guy today.

mark

 

[Kevin Hsieh]

Just finished the first gig with the Pistoy D and wrapped Gamut A. Whoo hoo! It is a killin' combination. I've found my Kool Aid and have drunk deep. The A needs to settle a little more but it stayed in tune pretty well. Not bad since it went on yesterday. The sound is pretty amazing. I'm a happy guy today.

mark

ARRGH don't you DARE don't you even DARE. before you know it we'll be going full gut...

 

[Mark Perna]

ARRGH don't you DARE don't you even DARE. before you know it we'll be going full gut...

But I left the Garbo E on....doesn't that count for something?

mark

 

[MT Spaces]

dear mark, changed my wife too. think elmer fudd said that.

really lovin' the Pistoy G and D. they bow very nicely.

bill

Wait Just A Dang-Minute Here Bill . Your wife might have changed but How-The-Hell did you go from being BonaVenture Bill from No-Cal to William Hoffman from Switzerland (harumphh - harumphh) . Have you been double-duty for-awhile ?? Fess-Up. I'm Slow. Being-as-how I'm-Me and have nothing to hide ... I suggest anybody-else that is running under multiple-personalities around-here .. Maybe even being A Troll .... Just Stop It. Forget about the skeletons in yer closet . We will love you just the same.

Dang Bill (err ....William) .... Are you now yet-another Gut-Nut from a country starting with SW .... Like Andreas from Sweden and that misfit Velvet-Guy also from Switzerland (what's his name again ... remind me .. and tell him to send me more Anima A & E strings .... FOR FREE ) ??

Anyhow ... All-my-best .... Whoever / Wherever you live. I also Love Pistoy G & D and have for the last year'n'1/2. Hope to bow them soon but ..... Somehow the bluegrass I play don't seem to need any arco .

P.S. Sorry I called you "Boner Bill" in a past thread (now that I know you have Euro-Class).

 

[MT Spaces]

Just finished the first gig with the Pistoy D and wrapped Gamut A. Whoo hoo! It is a killin' combination .....

Good Deal Mark ! I am sold on my pistoy g'n'd ... I might have to bite-the-bullet and try a wrapped Gamut A when my Anima A goes boobies-up. My climate may not be friendly to wrap-guts .... But I sure would like to give it a go.

Probably-not the E-string .... The Anima-E is Mighty-Fine on my Epiphone ... The Anima-A could be better. Sickness sets-in .... Time for yet-another expensive experiment ??

 

[Marcus Johnson]

I played the first of the road basses provided on my little mini-Christmas tour. Old Kay in pretty decent shape except for a warped bridge, something that was kicking around, unplayed for years, in somebody's house. Very common here. String height about an inch, also common. Mic into PA.

The Supernyl G & D were kind of nasty. You think Obligatos roll, try these sometime, they'll make you seasick. And I found the texture unpleasant, very abrasive. The sound was not bad, but really not a good string overall.

Fortunately there were guts on the bottom; a LaBella wound E and a mystery unwound big fatty A. They were pretty diffused at first, but I managed to play the bass for about a half hour before we hit, and they opened up very nicely. As the bass and I made friends over the evening, it all started to balance out. The LaBella was fine, but the star of the set was Big Fatty Plain A... really warm and rich, just a touch of growl. I would have liked to try that one on my bass. I spent a lot of quality time on that A string.

 

[Mark Perna]

Good Deal Mark ! I am sold on my pistoy g'n'd ... I might have to bite-the-bullet and try a wrapped Gamut A when my Anima A goes boobies-up. My climate may not be friendly to wrap-guts .... But I sure would like to give it a go.

Probably-not the E-string .... The Anima-E is Mighty-Fine on my Epiphone ... The Anima-A could be better. Sickness sets-in .... Time for yet-another expensive experiment ??

I'm probably going to stick with the Garbo E as well. The Garbo A was good but a bit clanky compared to the Gamut wrapped A. The Gamut is just as defined but has a much warmer sound and isn't clanky at all. It is also much better in thumb position. It's only drawback is the tuning drifts with temperature so I have to check it fairly frequently. The Garbo E sounds really good next to it and isn't clanky like the A. It also doesn't have any tuning drift issues so having it on the bass stabilizes everything nicely. Plus it costs $73 vs. $134 for a wrapped Gamut E.

And the sound! Oh man. The Pistoy D and Gamut wrapped A were just the tweaks needed to get this bass from really good to perfect. The timing was perfect. After a fairly long dry spell where the gigs dropped from an average of 10-12 per month to an average of 5-6 per month, I have 7 gigs in 9 days starting next week. I'm going to be a happy guy.

mark

 

[Marcus Johnson]

I've forgotten... what happens when you draw a bow across a Garbo E?

 

[Mark Perna]

I've forgotten... what happens when you draw a bow across a Garbo E?

I don't know. I haven't touched a bow since before putting the Garbos on. Velvet says they're pizz only though so I imagine it isn't pretty. The surface of the string is VERY smooth so the bow may just not grab it very well. It's a nice E string for pizz though. Low tension, warm but with definition. Blends well with gut.


mark

 

[MT Spaces]

I played the first of the road basses provided on my little mini-Christmas tour ....

Fortunately there were guts on the bottom; a LaBella wound E and a mystery unwound big fatty A ....

As the bass and I made friends over the evening, it all started to balance out.

The LaBella was fine, but the star of the set was Big Fatty Plain A... really warm and rich, just a touch of growl. I would have liked to try that one on my bass. I spent a lot of quality time on that A string.

"Ooooohhh Holy A .... Your Fatness Sweetly Spanks Me ..... " .

Sing it like you did in Church on christmas eve when you were six-years-old . It might make sense.

I currently have a big-nasty gamut Plain gut A I got from Jason S. sitting on my end-table. I took it off the Kay for awhile .... Anybody want to try it out ??

Send me your Hawaii address .... I will send the fatty-A over to you with Extreme Prejudice .... It is gonna-be maybe 15 °F BELOW ZERO tonight where I live.

 

[Jeff Kissell]

I played the first of the road basses provided on my little mini-Christmas tour. Old Kay in pretty decent shape except for a warped bridge, something that was kicking around, unplayed for years, in somebody's house. Very common here. String height about an inch, also common. Mic into PA.

The Supernyl G & D were kind of nasty. You think Obligatos roll, try these sometime, they'll make you seasick. And I found the texture unpleasant, very abrasive. The sound was not bad, but really not a good string overall.

Fortunately there were guts on the bottom; a LaBella wound E and a mystery unwound big fatty A. They were pretty diffused at first, but I managed to play the bass for about a half hour before we hit, and they opened up very nicely. As the bass and I made friends over the evening, it all started to balance out. The LaBella was fine, but the star of the set was Big Fatty Plain A... really warm and rich, just a touch of growl. I would have liked to try that one on my bass. I spent a lot of quality time on that A string.

"Ooooohhh Holy A .... Your Fatness Sweetly Spanks Me ..... " .

Sing it like you did in Church on christmas eve when you were six-years-old . It might make sense.

I currently have a big-nasty gamut Plain gut A I got from Jason S. sitting on my end-table. I took it off the Kay for awhile .... Anybody want to try it out ??

Send me your Hawaii address .... I will send the fatty-A over to you with Extreme Prejudice .... It is gonna-be maybe 15 °F BELOW ZERO tonight where I live.

I've been lurking on this thread for ever. Marcus I'm VERY curious about your plain A experiences. I tried a Efrano plain A but it was too wimpy next to the Dlugolecki D & G. I almost went for the DD plain A originally but I think it's like $250! Ouch!!
I hope you try out Bob's string...
no... wait...
I'll try it out...
You know... let it acclimate to the maritime climate before the crossing. It's pretty cold in Montana right now and the shock of waking up in Hawai'i might damage it.

-J

 

[Jeff Kissell]

... I'll try it out...
You know... let it acclimate to the maritime climate before the crossing. It's pretty cold in Montana right now and the shock of waking up in Hawai'i might damage it.

-J

You know I'm kidding, right?
-

 

[Marcus Johnson]

Hooo-boy. Thanks for the offer, Bob. The idea intrigues me, and scares me at the same time. Not sure if I'm ready for the GIANT leap. The thought of that gonzo bratwurst string alongside whatever E string (Evah Weich?! ) is too much for my old brain. I think, at the most, I qualify as a "wound guts" guy on my own daily driver bass.

I would, however, like to hear what Jeff's impressions of your Big Fatty Gamut are.

 

[dblbss]

Ordered a Gamut Lyon D & Pistoy G and can't wait. Find myself stalking the mailman hoping they will arrive....not today, but there is always tomorrow.

These will be my first experience with guts. Any tips on installation or other things to look out for.

 

[Uncletoad]

These will be my first experience with guts. Any tips on installation or other things to look out for.

Keep them far away from the dog.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

Any tips on installation or other things to look out for.

If you're like I was, you'll be pawing your bass often, like a hormonal teenager. I'm still doing that, actually... I look forward to going to work a little more, post-Gamut. If you play arco, it seems that a light touch and maybe a little more bow speed work out well.

They went on my bass as easily as any string. I guess the usual stuff; graphite in the slots, which may need to be widened a bit, depending on what strings were on the bass before. I did that myself, it's pretty easy. Don't pinch them against the sides of the pegbox.

Mainly.... enjoy.

 

[dblbss]

Thanks.. I forgot to mention my bass is set up with Garbos now, Dan suggested to go with the medium plus, so unless these strings are the size of hydro cables I think the bridge slots are wide enough.