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Double Bass GUTS ARE SO MUCH FUN!!!
- Thread starter Marc Piane
- Start date
Higher action gives you more attack, but less sustain, since you need a higher force to press the string down onto the fingerboard which will damp the vibration more than with a lower action.
A less stiff string (from a lot of use) delivers a longer sustain than a string out of the box.
A less stiff string (from a lot of use) delivers a longer sustain than a string out of the box.
So it seems that the Lyon gut strings now have the option of having the nylon wrap on them. I was thinking of getting a Heavy Lyon G to match my thick D gut string and an incoming unwound gut A. Any experiences on nylon wrapped gut compared to naked gut? How are they volume wise compared to each other?
I just put a set of Lenzner full gut strings on my bass. It was interesting filing and sanding the slots in the 'Tailpiece". That surprised me. I expected to file the bridge a bit and the nut was fine. The other drama was setting the peg box up so that the strings didn't rub against each other. The A string was pushing up on the D string in there so I had to unwind the two strings and make sure that the A and D didn't catch.
As far as tone and feel. WOW!!
I'm glad I took the plunge. I have a gig in a few weeks and I can't tell you how much the guts love to be slapped. We are gonna have a great time slapping this beast now.
I am coming from Innovation Super silvers and they were great to start with. I kept the set so that if something happens to any string, I've got a quick change available.
As far as tone and feel. WOW!!
I'm glad I took the plunge. I have a gig in a few weeks and I can't tell you how much the guts love to be slapped. We are gonna have a great time slapping this beast now.
I am coming from Innovation Super silvers and they were great to start with. I kept the set so that if something happens to any string, I've got a quick change available.
Plain gut GD + Evah weich AE question here. Those of you who knows this ( or the sort of, similar tension difference between higher and lower strings, Spiros w or m, zyex etc )how high do / did you end up setting your strings? I get the best sonical results on my 42-ish inch scale bass with G@ 9mm - E@ 12mm height. Sounds great but the playability is a little on uncomfortable side of things, especially when playing in horn keys / half position.
Many thanks in advance, Reiska
Many thanks in advance, Reiska
I only set my strings that high when I had something lower tension on the bottom like Evah Slaps. If you are finding it uncomfortable to play in half position, you may also want to look at the height of your nut.
- Steve
Thanks @Steve Bassman, I had Evah slaps there for a short while but my bass, me and the guts really like Evah weichs. The nut is fine but I quess that that`s life when mixing plain guts with reqular tension strings like weich Evahs and Spiros. 9 millimeters under the G is when guts start to shine on my bass, and I don`t wan`t to let that go. I just wan`t to know how others, propably much more seasoned players than me, approach the issue.
Dear @KUNGfuSHERIFF, would you please share some numbers from your past, and what you have seen in the wild?
I never remember what "normal" string heights are. posted a thread asking what everyones string height was and i got most responses like 8mm on the E 5 on the G (or 9/6 7/10). Thought I may have been in a good place but never really messured it. What I thought should be a good height was actually 12 on the E string and this is a full steel set.
Off topic post sorry.
Off topic post sorry.
No worries bskts, you`re right on the money. 12mm`s E on full set of Evah weichs is stupid high for me, lots of volume with pain everywhere, all the time. I remember TB`r Korotkov writing somewhere that 8mm`s under the G is default for Russian ( at least in St. Petersburgh ) luthiers, no matter what strings are used. I`ve seen the guy play and I can tell you that he is good, very strong tone. Actually I thought that he was playing guts, on the street in Helsinki, but when I got closer and talked with the man, strings were Dominants. Great player and fella.
Still, I think that this sort of setup goes back to Charlie Haden, Spiro mittels under guts. It would be nice to know how Haden`s bass was set up, numbers and ballistic stuff. One great Finnish player uses Evah weich / plain gut mix, so I might ask him, even when I don`t know him personally.
Anyway, I`d really love to hear what bassists who actually play this kind of setup use, the how`s and why`s of it. And the numbers to compare!
Thanks, Reiska
Still, I think that this sort of setup goes back to Charlie Haden, Spiro mittels under guts. It would be nice to know how Haden`s bass was set up, numbers and ballistic stuff. One great Finnish player uses Evah weich / plain gut mix, so I might ask him, even when I don`t know him personally.
Anyway, I`d really love to hear what bassists who actually play this kind of setup use, the how`s and why`s of it. And the numbers to compare!
Thanks, Reiska
@Reiska Stop me if I've told you this before, but the last time I had a bass dedicated to gut, it was an old German flatback that had last been set up God knows how many decades ago by Emile de Lucchia in Philadelphia.
You could fit your hand under the strings, but my God was that bass a cannon. Outside you could hear me a football field away. Thumb position wasn't fun (with Chordas Carlos) but with something more flexible like Gamuts it would have been more manageable.
You could fit your hand under the strings, but my God was that bass a cannon. Outside you could hear me a football field away. Thumb position wasn't fun (with Chordas Carlos) but with something more flexible like Gamuts it would have been more manageable.
Exactly KfS, I remember you writing about leaving gut strings for good, but since you`ve been active on different threads about this stuff I felt comfortable to ask. I can only imagine the gut stringed beast`s roaring you describe 
Thanks for answering.
I really like how Evah weich and req lower strings sound and behave, but there`s nothing in between the 3 different Evah`s for this sort of mixed set. Evahs with Velvet tension would be optimal I quess, with the sustain, clarity, intonation, growl and power of weichs. i could go back to Garbo / gut mix I played some time ago, Garbos are not Evahs but this set really sounded and played in very balanced manner
edit: Solo Evahs?
Thanks for answering.I really like how Evah weich and req lower strings sound and behave, but there`s nothing in between the 3 different Evah`s for this sort of mixed set. Evahs with Velvet tension would be optimal I quess, with the sustain, clarity, intonation, growl and power of weichs. i could go back to Garbo / gut mix I played some time ago, Garbos are not Evahs but this set really sounded and played in very balanced manner
edit: Solo Evahs?
Yep. Animas. Low tension, they sing and sustain, growl, don't rattle on the fingerboard and they're LOUD.
Then they fall apart, and you are sad, and broke from buying more Animas.
The EP Slaps are cool but I sold the set I had. Nic plays 80% slap so I can see why he liked that formula.
The plain gut tops are what they are, and the low strings are loose so they make a note and not just a dead thud.
On my old Saxon the E/A were a lot looser in feel and bassier in tone than the gut tops. That worked soundwise for what they were meant to do.
As a set I could beat on for years, they didn't work so I went back to the dead Spiros I've played for most of a decade.
Then they fall apart, and you are sad, and broke from buying more Animas.
The EP Slaps are cool but I sold the set I had. Nic plays 80% slap so I can see why he liked that formula.
The plain gut tops are what they are, and the low strings are loose so they make a note and not just a dead thud.
On my old Saxon the E/A were a lot looser in feel and bassier in tone than the gut tops. That worked soundwise for what they were meant to do.
As a set I could beat on for years, they didn't work so I went back to the dead Spiros I've played for most of a decade.
Animas are great but with gut tops I prefer Garbos, and yes it`s very different world of tone comparing to Evah weichs. I don`t dig Evah slaps too much, they lack the pitch definition, growl and power that Evah weichs deliver on my bass, but if I were mainly slapping bass they would be great, I see what KfS means with Nic playing 80% slap. We recorded some impro stuff with bass, el. guitar and effects yesterday and today with my buddy, and Evah w / gut mix sounded ffing fantastic! Very Haden-esque tone, but boy is this setup merciless to play in the lower register. My friend propably still has Garbo EA I borrowed and used for some time, I`m trying to make him sell those strings to me. Money is dead tight at the moment and new strings are out of the question. As much as I love the tone of this setup it`s just too much work with the lower strings, and as I wrote I don`t want to lower the action because guts sound and work like they should on my bass when there`s the magical 9mm`s under the G string.
D
Reiska, shoot me a PM. I just replaced my Garbo E&A and might be willing to sell them (small disclaimer; they've been on my bass since 2009 or '11 and have not seem much action since '13).
IMHO the best E+A to mix with guts, but I couldn't get the arco sound out of them that I was looking for, so the search is back on. Right now, I'm experimenting with Evah Slaps, but they are dissapointingly dull and soft in volume.
Anyway, I just came to this thread to exclaim the fact that guts are fantastic. This week I realised that my Koerschner G has been on my bass since 2009, has seen not a lot of maintenance and still sounds friggin' fantastic!
IMHO the best E+A to mix with guts, but I couldn't get the arco sound out of them that I was looking for, so the search is back on. Right now, I'm experimenting with Evah Slaps, but they are dissapointingly dull and soft in volume.
Anyway, I just came to this thread to exclaim the fact that guts are fantastic. This week I realised that my Koerschner G has been on my bass since 2009, has seen not a lot of maintenance and still sounds friggin' fantastic!
Thanks HCF, youre pm`d I managed to get 4/4 Spiro solos for my lower strings and it`s a suprisingly nice match! Tension is great, they are easy on the left hand at gut heights, and the bass opens up under lower and more even tension. E is very thumpy straight out the package, but still has some growl too if needed and the A is nicely calming down while played in more. I like how overall lower tension makes my playing more relaxed and especially how it feels easier to play time when I don`t have to fight the instrument. The bass still sounds big but it plays more evenly, plucked, bowed or slapped. There`s also this nice minimum bs -factor with Spiros and plain guts, these propably last a very long time and didn`t break the bank in the first place. My DG are some generic plain guts I got second hand from a buddy, the whole set cost me less than a fresh set of Spiros.
I managed to get 4/4 Spiro solos for my lower strings and it`s a suprisingly nice match! Tension is great, they are easy on the left hand at gut heights, and the bass opens up under lower and more even tension. E is very thumpy straight out the package, but still has some growl too if needed and the A is nicely calming down while played in more. I like how overall lower tension makes my playing more relaxed and especially how it feels easier to play time when I don`t have to fight the instrument. The bass still sounds big but it plays more evenly, plucked, bowed or slapped. There`s also this nice minimum bs -factor with Spiros and plain guts, these propably last a very long time and didn`t break the bank in the first place. My DG are some generic plain guts I got second hand from a buddy, the whole set cost me less than a fresh set of Spiros.
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One possibility. Another one with even a bit lower tension would be Innovation Braided Solos (140BS) tuned down.
