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Double Bass GUTS ARE SO MUCH FUN!!!
- Thread starter Marc Piane
- Start date
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
Basses aren't so good for the trees. Leather isn't good for the cows. Vinyl (faux leather) isn't so good for the earth as it is made from oil. Yada, yada, yada.
Although I see your point, gut strings are made from a by-product that would be wasted. In the Native American tradition, we are honoring the life of the sheep by putting more of it to use. Try to see it that way.
Although I see your point, gut strings are made from a by-product that would be wasted. In the Native American tradition, we are honoring the life of the sheep by putting more of it to use. Try to see it that way.
It's also not like steel strings fall from the sky, fully manufactured with no environmental impact.
Many sheep these days are opting to donate their organs when they die to The Mark Perna Foundation for Intestinal Acoustical Research
I'm not going to even get into how wrong this sounds on so many levels! LOL...... Mark, I've always wondered how harmonic passages and/or false harmonic passage work on guts. Are they as clear as steel strings?
That was a really good question, Trey. I don't use harmonics that much on upright except to tune. As an experiment, I played Portrait of Tracy on the gut string and on the Spiro bass. It projected and sounded about the same on both. I don't know how it sounds with a bow. I'd bet that the Spiros would be louder and clearer but I don't know for sure.
Took my bass over to my friends house last weekend so he could try my gut setup, he played gut strings for like 20 years and metal strings for another 20, all of his 5 DB's are strung with metal strings only his main bass has Spiro E&A and Garbo D&G. Guess what!!! I think that playing my baby converted him back to guts! Just couldn't put it down! It was like a reunification of two great friends hadn't seen each other for 20 years. I love my Spiros too but playing gut somehow sounds more organic, traditional and true. When I die I want my guts to be turned into strings, I'm am conditioning it already with loads of Guinness, pizza, and McDonald's......
A lot of good things have been said about Gamuts in these gut threads and rightfully so. One of my basses is sporting a full set and I love them.
For the moment, my other bass is wearing old Spiro Mittels that I just can't manage to take off. Recently I scored a new Chorda Carlos Henriquez set and they just arrived. Eventually I will be able to A/B the two full sets but until then, would anybody care to offer their thoughts on how Chordas compare to the boutique sets?
Thanks,
Thomas
Edit for disclosure: I have had limited experience with wound Chordas, but they were old and used, so my ability to compare full set to full set wouldn't be fair.
For the moment, my other bass is wearing old Spiro Mittels that I just can't manage to take off. Recently I scored a new Chorda Carlos Henriquez set and they just arrived. Eventually I will be able to A/B the two full sets but until then, would anybody care to offer their thoughts on how Chordas compare to the boutique sets?
Thanks,
Thomas
Edit for disclosure: I have had limited experience with wound Chordas, but they were old and used, so my ability to compare full set to full set wouldn't be fair.
Thomas, I have had experience with Gamuts, Dlugolecki's, and Pirastro Carlos Henriquez Chorda's. I used to use the C.H. Chorda's, but I have switched to the original Chorda's, as they work a bit better for me. The Chorda's are my string of choice for the time being. They have a super round sound, and they move a lot of air. They don't have as much upper register singiness as the Gamut's, and they are not as even throughout all the registers. But, they sound the most 3 dimensional of the three sets.
I have the least time with Dlugolecki's strings, but I'm saving up to try another set, know that I know just what I'm looking for. Of all of them, the Gamut's are my least favorite. They are clearly nice and well made, but they lack are certain something for me and my sound. They just don't sound old school enough for my tastes. It seems that most the people that dig them are looking for a different sound than I am.
So, while the Chorda's might not be the most versatile of 3 fancy sets, I think they sound the best. And, in my experience, their wound strings (E and A) are the toughest of the bunch. I am a tad heavy handed, and the Chorda's hold up to much abuse.
I hope this made sense. I'm not super articulate, but there might be a few cogent ideas in there. I hope I don't get in trouble for this. It's a freakin' Gamut love-fest in these forums, and I'm sure the string mafioso are reading this.
You make yourself very clear. I do think that the Gamuts appeal to someone looking for the most versatile gut string, not necessarily the most old school sounding.
Au contraire, Pierre
... that was very descriptive and clear. You sharing your experience with all three sets is very valuable to anyone who's dropping top dollar on strings.They were the same gauge as the Carlos Chorda's, with a lyon G, and a pistoy D and theh wound A and E. They are very nice strings, they just have a very modern sound. I like my bass to sound like a pitched drum, and these sing a little too much for this. I didn't leave them on for a very long time, but the Chorda's got me the sound I like right off the bat.
They are great strings, just not for me.
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
Nathan,
Both the Gamuts and Chordas were purchased used, correct. I saw that the Chordas were maybe two years old when you got them and the Gamuts only a week or so.
I put a new Gamut D on a few weeks ago, and have noticed a continued improvement, although it's sounding clearer and less 'old school' as you put it. Mark has posted that guts will age gradually and probably lose upper end clarity. I hope I understood him correctly. IF that were to occur in the first two years with a Chorda set, that might 'splain some of the difference.
My point is that if your Gamuts were only a week or two old, they may not have been given a fair shake. Maybe, maybe not..
I do find that, on my bass, the Gamuts sing and have quite a bit of midrange clarity. Your investment in all of these different guts does certainly carry a lot of weight though. I don't know of anyone else trying so many different guts, so thank you for your relaying your experiences.
Both the Gamuts and Chordas were purchased used, correct. I saw that the Chordas were maybe two years old when you got them and the Gamuts only a week or so.
I put a new Gamut D on a few weeks ago, and have noticed a continued improvement, although it's sounding clearer and less 'old school' as you put it. Mark has posted that guts will age gradually and probably lose upper end clarity. I hope I understood him correctly. IF that were to occur in the first two years with a Chorda set, that might 'splain some of the difference.
My point is that if your Gamuts were only a week or two old, they may not have been given a fair shake. Maybe, maybe not..
I do find that, on my bass, the Gamuts sing and have quite a bit of midrange clarity. Your investment in all of these different guts does certainly carry a lot of weight though. I don't know of anyone else trying so many different guts, so thank you for your relaying your experiences.
I have tried a few different Gamut's, Chorda's, and all that. Both new and used. As it stands now, I have the set on my bass, 3 Chorda sets and my set of Gamuts in the string drawer. I've learned that it's not economically wise to sell the sets you buy new. They stay with me as backups.
I hear what you are saying as far as time on the bass goes. Perhaps I could have waited a bit longer for the Gamuts, but they just weren't working for me. I found myself thinking too much about getting a sound while I was playing. It was distracting.
I've put them back on my bass a few times. They have a lot of nice qualities. If I ever decide to use an amp again, perhaps I will try them with a pickup and see how they sound there. But for now...
YouTube - MIngus Solo Bass
This is the sound I'm going for. To my ears, on my bass, the Chorda's get me the closest. The rest lies in practicing.
I hear what you are saying as far as time on the bass goes. Perhaps I could have waited a bit longer for the Gamuts, but they just weren't working for me. I found myself thinking too much about getting a sound while I was playing. It was distracting.
I've put them back on my bass a few times. They have a lot of nice qualities. If I ever decide to use an amp again, perhaps I will try them with a pickup and see how they sound there. But for now...
YouTube - MIngus Solo Bass
This is the sound I'm going for. To my ears, on my bass, the Chorda's get me the closest. The rest lies in practicing.
