Double Bass Gut strings,

[slbass]

Found these strings in box my late father had. I have no clue who makes them. They remind of the Kaplan Golden Spiro strings I used in the 80's. G string has a orange wrapping and the D string had a red wrapping. Any Ideas?

 

[slbass]

I was told that the strings are golden tone strings made by Labella

 

[Sam Dingle]

Next question is how do they sound? Did you find them in a package or on the bass? Was there an E/A?

 

[slbass]

Sounds like the golden spiro strings I used in years ago. I like them, I found them without packaging. Just a G and D string,

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

The silks look like Goldentones. Are the playing lengths wrapped in a plastic monofilament?

 

[AndreasH]

Yes, sure looks like LaBella Goldentone.

 

[PJustice]

I agree, they sure look like Goldentones to me. I found the same D and G strings in my collection about a month ago in Labella wrappers. A rigid, hard surface and if your run your fingernail along the string you'll feel an extremely fine winding of some sort. You could never tie them like a gut string. I must have have used them for a short while and put them away. The G had actually cracked and crumbled just before passing through the nut and that fine winding came exposed. I still have the D, threw the G out.
The entire Labella set catalog number is 2000L. When I was trying to ID them myself I saw an online a retailer advertising them for around $300 marked down from an MSRP of $800!! Wow..!?

 

[Mark Gollihur]

The entire Labella set catalog number is 2000L. When I was trying to ID them myself I saw an online a retailer advertising them for around $300 marked down from an MSRP of $800!! Wow..!?

Goldentones are still active in the LaBella catalog. I've been considering adding them if there's interest. They're nylon wound on gut for the G and D, and Chrome Steel flat wound on a rope core for the A and E. That $300 price for the set is about right; they'd probably be a touch over $300 for the set (I'd have to do the math.)

 

[Sam Dingle]

Wait so the E/A aren't wound gut?

 

[Mark Gollihur]

Wait so the E/A aren't wound gut?

Nope. Ropewound, kind of like the 7720L's, I'd think.

 

[Clarkybass]

Nope. Ropewound, kind of like the 7720L's, I'd think.

Correct, I had a set of Goldentones once (KungFu Sherriff bought the D/G off me and now has them for sale on the forum). The E and A are like regular (non-gut) steel wrapped rope core strings. To my mind they didn't match too well with the D/G either tension or feel wise so I sold those on straight away and kept the D/G