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Double Bass GUTS ARE SO MUCH FUN!!!
- Thread starter Marc Piane
- Start date
Pretty sure he doesn't do that... he doesn't even go on internet chats like this. But I am going to try and meet him next summer.
Hi!
A couple of days ago I put Gerold Genßlers Sonores on my classical bass and I loved them instantly.
They are the nicest strings I have evervplayed.
Very easy to bow, very warm sound and easy on the left hand too.
I will order such strings to my jazz double bass too.
A couple of days ago I put Gerold Genßlers Sonores on my classical bass and I loved them instantly.
They are the nicest strings I have evervplayed.
Very easy to bow, very warm sound and easy on the left hand too.
I will order such strings to my jazz double bass too.
Amazing.
How did it go? Would love to hear the track when it's all finished up!
Interesting. At what height were your strings before and after?
I'm really curious about this now.... mainly because my bass is set up pretty low action (about 7-8mm). But, I have played many gut strung basses with high action (way above 9-10mm) and my bass is, and has always been, louder acoustically. Keep in mind these are laminates. I have played a few hybrids that had gut strings on it with lower string height that boomed as well.
So, do you guys think that the ol' legend of "the higher the string height, the louder the bass acoustically" is not true?
Every bass has it's sweet spot beyond which raising the adjusters doesn't result in more volume. You just found it.
I didn't measure the heights, so I'll say medium high and now they're down to where there are no gaps between the adjusters.
The volume/string height rule def remains true for steel strings. The thing with gut is that there is no core, so tension from string heights affect it less. The diff in volume before/after is negligible. If anything the strings feel a little more flabby but after a few weeks I don't sense any diff for the most part.
My only complaints about the Gamut lowers are that they get affected by temp far easier than the Olives. The Olives have broken in and keep their tuning pretty consistently. The Gamuts go through wild swings with temps. The bass is in my bedroom, so I hear the windings click against the bridge as the temps heat up once in a while. Yeah, it's that drastic.
hehe... that's pretty freaky. I live where it's warm all year, and they still move around. I've just gotten good at tuning on the fly.
So check this... I just went back to my bass after writing my previous post and going off to do something else. There isn't that much of a temp fluctuation - maybe 10 degrees? 3.5 hours later and the E & A are a half step off from the where they were in relation to the G & D. I swear sometimes it doesn't happen until I start playing it for a few minutes. Like it's in tune at first and then changes as I'm banging something out as the string is unwinding any latent energy changes or something.
Meanwhile the Olives are true as ever. I love the sound of my strings but I'm going to have to develop those tuning on-the-fly chops. Any tips?
Meanwhile the Olives are true as ever. I love the sound of my strings but I'm going to have to develop those tuning on-the-fly chops. Any tips?
So do you have the Olivs for E & A?
I'm looking for a better bowing wound gut E & A than the re-wound Gamut/Dlugolecki Frankenstrings I have currently. They're very powerful pizz but a little uncontrollable with my feeble arco chops. I tried (pizz only) a bass with Olivs on the bottom but am still curious/concerned about tuning and longevity.
Regarding tuning- practice harmonics and listen hard when you hit open strings. Sometimes the open string references the other instruments are your best friends on the fly.
Also make sure your references are actually in tune, easier with piano but sometimes others, horn players especially, give you the look when they're actually the offender!
My bass likes to go sharp as I play/warm up. I just expect to tune the E & A for the first 2-3 tunes after a break. But once the bass is used to the room it's not that bad and the D & G are almost always stable. I'm currently digging the snark clip-on because it doesn't rattle but I try to rely on my cohorts as much as possible for reference (real world ear training!!)
-Jeff
I've heard about such madness with gut E and A. I've got Velvet Animas on the bottom and Gumut Lyons on top. I actually find the Gamuts to be more stable than the Animas!
As far as tuning on the fly... I just find a note in a chord (easiest for me is root, third, or fifth) for one of the open strings.
As far as tuning on the fly... I just find a note in a chord (easiest for me is root, third, or fifth) for one of the open strings.
Has anyone tried (special ordered) Gamut's "gymped" gut strings?
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all this talk about windings coming apart makes me think that the gymped model might be a very good alternative. Basically the wire is wound with the gut inside the rope, instead of around the gut on the outside. This way you get the extra mass that the metal brings to the lower strings, but you don't get the unwinding problems.
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all this talk about windings coming apart makes me think that the gymped model might be a very good alternative. Basically the wire is wound with the gut inside the rope, instead of around the gut on the outside. This way you get the extra mass that the metal brings to the lower strings, but you don't get the unwinding problems.
How new are your strings? Guts (of all types) take longer to break in and hold tune than steel strings. Continuous tuning and playing is crucial to them breaking in quicker.
They will also be temperate in different weather because of their organic properties. It's usually best to let them 'adapt' to the room you are playing in before the gig. In California, especially an area like San Fran, we have some pretty drastic weather changes daily.... you can be in cold foggy weather one minute, then in 75-80 degree sunshine the next.... so it's best to let your bass and strings to adapt to the room you are playing in for at least 20-30 minutes before you start tuning and play.
Tips for tuning by ear on the fly? Keep practicing your ear training. Keep testing yourself daily by tuning your bass by ear, then with your tuning machine. Any chance you have to tune to a piano or guitar, do it. If you practice to CDs, find the root note for one of the chords and try to tune off of that one note. (with the CD paused of course
)Hope this helps
I know Mark Perna used to plug a tuner into his amp, always ready to go, when he was playing guts. I always just grabbed a handful of tuning keys when necessary (I've never used an electronic tuner)... but that seems like a good idea.
The Olives are older as I got them from my teach. The lowers are Gamut Heavy E and Med+A copper wound. When it comes to tone, they are just about perfect - loud, rich, and more modern sounding than plain gut when combined with the Olive uppers. My only complaint is the inconsistency in pitch, but that's what we're trying to mitigate here.
I have a couple Snark tuners coming through the mail but all the tips here certainly helps with tuning on the fly.
I have a couple Snark tuners coming through the mail but all the tips here certainly helps with tuning on the fly.
I've never been a big tuner user either and found that when I had one plugged in all the time I got caught up in always looking at it.
+3 on not liking tuning racks. I use my Cleartune tuner on my iphone. Works like a charm unless the venue is really loud. Then I use a little plug in tuner. But, tuning by ear is something I've always worked on from when I was young. Been at gigs too many times where my tuner was left at home.
Usually, a pre-show tune will do the trick for me. Might have to tune up the G halfway through a set. Outdoor gigs are when I've found that you constantly have keep tune-checking with guts.
Guts are so worth the constant tuning though!
I use the Peterson Strobe tuner app but it jumps around a little too much. We'll see how the snark goes.
P Waite.... I have a friend who uses Garbos on his road bass (Eminence with removable neck). He chose them for the sound, but also for their stability on the road, and he seemed happy with them. In my experience, the unwound Gamut tops are very stable... so I think you should be in pretty good shape. If I were doing road work now, I'd probably put Animas on the bottom for their bowability and their similarity in sound to the Gamut copper lowers... but the idea is the same.
