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Double Bass GUTS ARE SO MUCH FUN!!!

#601
Evidently I am being beckoned back into the club.

I have been very satisfied with my Oliv G, and Anima E, A, D. But all this talk of ampless gigs have me chomping to come back around to a full gut experience. I have a Kay in with the Doctor right now to get a new fingerboard, and will be giving it a whirl with Lyon G, Pistoy D and Anima E, A. But the Hungarian will be going in for maintenance and tweaking once the Kay comes back for a full Gamut set. Copper wound E & A, Pistoy D & G.

The sound I want to hear is Jymie Merritt and Reggie Workman. That works for my study and performances of Jazz Messenger material over the Summer.

However, in my recent experience, it seems a lot of folks want to hear that front end click from the bass (non-bass players that is- they call it, "dig in more"). It seems with the right tension, one could have it all with the guts. And without an amp unnecessarily compressing or coloring the sound.

What are the feelings about guts in a more contemporary context? ECMish, Modern Piano Trio type stuff? Who's playing full guts in that type of setting?
 
#602
Holy crap, BIGGUS is right... the Lyon G & D absolutely thunders. I practiced with a big rubber mute tonight and still it was really loud!

Drew - ain't nothing like a full gamut set. I was on the verge of putting the Olive G & D back on just for bowing's sake and after tonight... yeesh! I did a little bit of arco and if you work the strings just right the nasal gut arco grind can be diminished. As for trying to make it fit a genre... who cares? Make it work and make it sing regardless of the style of music. It's all in the hands/ears.
 
#604
fingers said:
Drew. I think the key is getting the sound of your bass so in your head that it is just an extension of you. After that style ceases to matter.
Click to expand...

Spoken like a true Swami. :)

What you reference seems to me to be a lifelong endeavor. Something that as I continue to study, music theory/ear-training/bass, becomes more discernible over time. I have developed some tastes with regards to what I like to hear, whether I am capable of coaxing it out of my instrument or not is another story, and a matter of vigilant practice.

I was asking about genre specific experiences, or samples, in order to contextualize those sounds. Possibly part of the "imitate/assimilate/innovate" axiom.
 
#606
It hasn't been an issue at all. Gamut strings on my La Scala bass is not an "old school" setup by any stretch of the imagination. It's just a bass that sounds great all the time. If anything, it's opened up more musical possibilities to me than my previous string choices. It's the sound in my head, which allows me to express myself freely, regardless of the musical context.
 
#608
I can understand Drew's concern. Similar preconceptions kept me from going gut for a long time, largely because I was judging the potential by my experience with budget guts on borrowed ply basses for the most part. When I made the leap of faith and put the Gamuts on my own good bass, it eased my worries. Bear in mind... I still haven't actually paid any money for the gut strings I play now... they were a gift. But now, I'd have absolutely no qualms about spending $400-500 on them when it comes time to restring... lord only knows when that will be. These really aren't your dad's gut strings. Actually, if someone was looking for "old school thump", they might want to look elsewhere. This things sing pretty nicely.
 
#609
Not trying to sound like a mr poopie-pants. At least for me there was an adjustment period. I'm still in it but I definitely have found the things that give me a stiffy and the things that make me want to cut the mfs off and go back to spiros. I think once you embrace the strengths AND the weaknesses rather than fight them you come that much closer to forgetting the bass and making the Moosic.
 
#610
It was easier for me, because the sound in my head just wasn't the Spiro sound any more. So I'd already had a couple of shots of gut kool-aid :hmm: before I ever mounted them on the bass. Factor in the time I spent with Animas, and then the great times I spent with the Olivs... the Gamuts transition just took a nudge. I got it right away... I think my head was already telling me what my hands were supposed to do.
 
#611
Marcus Johnson said:
Factor in the time I spent with Animas, and then the great times I spent with the Olivs... the Gamuts transition just took a nudge. I got it right away... I think my head was already telling me what my hands were supposed to do.
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This kind of alludes to something I've been wondering for a while... I'm a bass beginner (I've got a whopping not-quite-five months under my belt), but I'm definitely more attracted to the sound of guts than I am the mwaaah sound.

I've been thinking that I should just learn to play steels and not worry about guts until later (MUCH later).

Then I read about all this unlearning that you go through, and it makes me wonder if I shouldn't just go for it.

FWIW, I'm not anywhere close to gig-ready, so there's no pressure in that sense.

Advice?
 
#612
I don't know if there's an easy answer to that, my Cheesehead brother (I was born in Rhinelander). But if there was, I'd say that it would probably be good for you to play steels for awhile, and let them age along with your experience, because a well used set of Spirocores is a very nice thing indeed. The mwahh subsides somewhat over time. You may find that it's all you need. It's still one of my favorite strings about 85% of the time. I have a set of Spiros as a backup. With all the stuff you have on your plate, it might be good to have experience on them. Later, you can ramble down the primrose path to string insanity that I've been down. :rollno:

Addendum.. the "unlearning" for me was relatively quick, but bear in mind that I've been playing basses for four decades. I have to go quickly now... I don't have that much time left! LOL
 
#613
fingers said:
Not trying to sound like a mr poopie-pants. At least for me there was an adjustment period. I'm still in it but I definitely have found the things that give me a stiffy and the things that make me want to cut the mfs off and go back to spiros. I think once you embrace the strengths AND the weaknesses rather than fight them you come that much closer to forgetting the bass and making the Moosic.
Click to expand...

There was a huge adjustment for me. Walking was glorious right from the beginning but soloing and playing funk and latin were challenging. At the beginning, 50% of my solos really stunk big time. That percentage went down with time as I got my gut chops together.

I'm 2.25 years into guts now and I'm playing better than I've ever played and I have the best sound I've ever had. Random people come up to me at gigs and comment on how great the bass sounds (giving me an excuse to pontificate about greatness of gut strings; usually their eyes start glazing over within a few seconds). I theoretically could go back to Spiros full-time but I'd be depressed for a long time.

mark
 
#614
Marcus Johnson said:
...I'd say that it would probably be good for you to play steels for awhile... With all the stuff you have on your plate, it might be good to have experience on them. Later, you can ramble down the primrose path to string insanity that I've been down. :rollno:
Click to expand...
That's pretty much what I was thinking. Thanks.

Marcus Johnson said:
but bear in mind that I've been playing basses for four decades. I have to go quickly now... I don't have that much time left! LOL
Click to expand...
Well, I don't either - I'm a reforming saxophonist, beginner bassist at 40. :)
 
#615
fingers said:
Hmm Drew. 3 guys who can play a little bass weighed in. Whatdayathink?
Click to expand...

I get your point totally.

I am still searching for the connection to the instrument that will allow me to play anything I hear or technically wish to accomplish. It is the difference of my months/years on the instrument to yours, Marcus', and Mark's decades on the instrument.

I've worked with the G & D Gamuts before, but couldn't bear the Arco scratch before (Diddy- your point is taken as well). This time, I intend to really work on improving that sound, because I liked everything else about the string. (I only Arco for practice purposes these days.) I've learned a few things about sound production since, and intend to continue working on it with the new set up I am getting within the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for the feedback.
 

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