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

#102
JeffKissell said:
Hey Andreas,
I briefly tried an Enfrano wound E along with a unwound A with Dlugoleckis on top. The unwound A string couldn't really compete with the D & G but I thought the wound E wasn't bad. The windings were a bit noisier than Damian's wound strings. I ended up with all Dlugolecki's in the end (wound E & A).

If (should I say when) I can't afford the boutiques I'll be happy with the Enfranos. I think with a full set of whatever everything should balance pretty well. I've heard from others that the Gamuts, Chordas, Dlugoleckis, etc. have a more "modern" and "focused" sound even though they are marketed as baroque strings.
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I'm kinda tempted trying a full set of Efranos with plain A for some reasons. It felt pretty good when I tried it and I think I could get used to it, and If I can't stand it I'll just keep the D and G. For free improvisation music, I think I would really like the timbre of the A-string, but playing more Jazz oriented music would probably be a bit harder with that string setup. I don't know.... Maybe I'll just go for it? :ninja:
 
#103
Jake deVilliers said:
Evil Knebel

Damn, that's good Jeff! :D
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Crap Jake .... That gits so-old where I Live ..... With my name :D . I can't live-up to Evel. The real "Evil Knebel" grew-up in Butte Montana. His Name is "Evel Knievel" and he was a Cop and a bad-ass from Butte. Butte still celebrates him every Summer with a festival. Watch the documentary about the real "Evel" sometime and hear about how many body-parts he busted over the years .... Not from playing Up-Right Bass :p . Watch the crazy sum-bitch Knieviel family try to jump the Grand Canyon with a rocket motorcycle. And y'all think I'm a nut-case Montana Guy (which I am).

I lived with 5 Butte Guys in a nasty big old house when I went to College in Bozeman (1969-1973) . "Evel" .... The real spelling ... Evel had a Kid .... Robbie ..... He liked to emulate Pop and jump over stuff on a motorcycle. Search the jumps Robbie did in Las Vegas ... Holy Crap !! Real-Time Death. Just like me (in my dreams). Those Guys were friggin' insane on motorcycles ..... Search out the crap both of them have done .... Real Balls .... Evel's Dead .... Robbie Ain't.

I hear it all the time. Pronounced Correctly ... My Name is Ebel Knebel ... I quit jumping my Honda 90 motorcycle over "stuff" in the dirt of the South Hills of Billings Montana in about 1969 when I was a Junior in High School. Mom made me quit.

But .... And I ain't lying ... I fit that Honda Super 90 with a max-big-tooth front sprocket (for speed) when I was a high-school kid in 1968 .... Put some Ethyl in the tank one night .... And I laid my belly on the gas tank and hit 87 miles per hour down Airport Road in Billings ... Shook my little Honda and World and I lived ... Damn-Glad Mom never knew.:D .

I should have gone to Bonneville Salt Flats and died there. Plus .... There there were my other bikes ... The 500 cc Yamaha desert-racer I liked to take up in the mountains for fishing and the Triumph 750 Tiger I rode from Montana north to Canada then over to In'Tell Falls MN back to Chicago. Now that was A Trip in 1975. My nose is still red from sunburn and cold ;) !!

I have no-idea how I survived my high-school daze .... I also leaped out of a crop-duster Cessna 185 airplane in RoundUp Montana on my first (simultaneous) sky-dive / airplane-ride in 1972 :hyper: .

Where was I :p ?? Kissel .... I mailed-out the monster Gamut Pistoy Light-Plain-A to you 3-days ago. Hope you get it ... Pass It On. I am fine with whenever I get the snake back ... Hope Marcus gets to try it out.
 
#109
calivox said:
Bob ... Your posts are pure poetry. I could read them all day long ...
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Mark ... Merry Christmas and Thanks So-Much :D ... Buuutttt Really Pal ... Reading all day long ?? I think you need to find a sweety-gal and whisper cute-nothings into her ear.... Might work or ... Maybe Not :eyebrow: !!

If you want really want Pure Poetry ... I Say .... Launch a Hot-Tazer into Uncle Toad's Arse and see what he has to say about LOVE :bassist: .... Happy New Year EveryOne.
 
#111
Bob Knebel said:
Mark ... Merry Christmas and Thanks So-Much :D ... Buuutttt Really Pal ... Reading all day long ?? I think you need to find a sweety-gal and whisper cute-nothings into her ear.... Might work or ... Maybe Not :eyebrow: !!.
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Old married guy here, Bob. Finding a sweety-gal (other than the wife whom I'm hopelessly devoted to) to whisper anything to would be REALLY bad.

Happy New Year to you too!

mark
 
#112
String's here... man what a fatty! She's a beauty.

My guy Matt Bohn is gonna do a coupla little tweaks to the bridge and nut tomorrow and then we'll put that sucker on. I hope my bass likes it and it gets along with the west coast strings! I'll record a coupla little clips with the Dlugolecki A today and then record them again in a few days with the Gamut and we'll see if there is a difference that anyone can hear. I guess for SAG I could put the Efrano back on at some point too.

So... Marcus are you up for the challenge when I'm done or does it go to another?

Thanks BOB!!!
-J
 
#113
Hoo boy. I'm really curious, but I just don't know if it would fit my style of playing. The Evah bottom, Gamut top thing is just so spot on for me now. Maybe someone who does a more "rootsy" kind of playing would benefit more. I will definitely be watching all you guys put that big bratwurst through its paces.

I am really looking forward to doing a full set of Gamuts at some point. But I don't know when that would be, because everything is just sounding so great now. I don't want to mess with it.
 
#114
JeffKissell said:
String's here... man what a fatty! She's a beauty.

My guy Matt Bohn is gonna do a coupla little tweaks to the bridge and nut tomorrow and then we'll put that sucker on. I hope my bass likes it and it gets along with the west coast strings! I'll record a coupla little clips with the Dlugolecki A today and then record them again in a few days with the Gamut and we'll see if there is a difference that anyone can hear. I guess for SAG I could put the Efrano back on at some point too.

So... Marcus are you up for the challenge when I'm done or does it go to another?

Thanks BOB!!!
-J
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Is the Dlugolecki A wound? This is really exciting. Looking forward to hear it all :smug:
 
#118
OK, so the string is on the bass...
Very diffused attack compared to the other strings... much thunkyness. I will let it settle for a day or three to see if it focuses itself. The volume matches pretty well but it's a bit boomy right now. Arco sounds really cool in a VERY PC bowing sort of way. It has a grainy quality to the sound that I find compelling but I'm not sure how versatile it is. I'll record it tomorrow or Thursday to compare. I really want it to work but have my doubts. I have an impromptu recording date on Sunday so the DD wound A is gonna be at the ready just in case!

Once again a hearty thanks to BK for the chance to try this beast out!
-J
 
#119
JeffKissell said:
OK, so the string is on the bass...
Very diffused attack compared to the other strings... much thunkyness. I will let it settle for a day or three to see if it focuses itself. The volume matches pretty well but it's a bit boomy right now. Arco sounds really cool in a VERY PC bowing sort of way. It has a grainy quality to the sound that I find compelling but I'm not sure how versatile it is. I'll record it tomorrow or Thursday to compare. I really want it to work but have my doubts. I have an impromptu recording date on Sunday so the DD wound A is gonna be at the ready just in case!

Once again a hearty thanks to BK for the chance to try this beast out!
-J
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I was curious about the beast A myself but I had a feeling that it would more thunk than note which is too bad because a plain A would be great right now. I'm having trouble with my Gamut wound A. The weather here has been nuts. One day it is 40, the next 10. The poor A can't settle. Last night I played a gig standing next to a small single pane window. It was about 65-70 inside but about 15 outside. Every couple of tunes the A would be a half step sharp. I detuned it at least 3 or 4 times which really affects the tension on the bass and consequently how the bass sounds (and plays for that matter). The other strings were fairly stable but playing the A was like target shooting from a boat bobbing in heavy seas. The notes weren't in the same place twice.

I'm really tempted to put the Garbo A back on or try an Anima A until the weather settles down.

mark

mark
 
#120
I know what you mean, I think I chase the tuning on the A more than any other string. I'm curious what the Dlugolecki A is like. I'm also curious how you like matching the Velvet strings with gut. They seem like they would be too small in diameter to feel comfortable but the silk cores seem like the best match to gut.
I'm hoping this Gamut A will settle down... we'll see.
-J
 

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