Played guts forever and never noticed any significant wear. Perhaps the quality of your fingerboard has something to do with wear patterns.
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Double Bass GUTS ARE SO MUCH FUN!!!
- Thread starter Marc Piane
- Start date
Played guts forever and never noticed any significant wear. Perhaps the quality of your fingerboard has something to do with wear patterns.
I have no reason to suspect the quality of the ebony. It's a pretty nice Bass. I did play the hell out of it for the last year, many hours on it.
So I ventured forth with the gut experiment. Actually had the balls to play with the Boston Pops on the fourth of July with the gut D and G. All the section guys, and some cellist, gathered around and marveled at the sound. What an experience, 95 degrees, 90 percent humidity, tuning on national television. But I stuck with them and they sounded glorious. Came home and decided to try the wound A. Kept it on for a few days and gigged with it. It was amazing for certain things, truly great. I could just add the slightest snap to the string (not really slap but pulling the string out a bit) and get this punchy clarity that was to die for. But the open A and the lower positions on the A were a little diffuse. Kind of missed that growly C. There is something very nice about the balance of guts on top with Spiros on the bottom. Rather than being opposed they are actually quite compatible. The steel adds power and mids to the bottom which really kicks. I guess that's why Charlie used them. Certainly he was tempted to go all gut but didn't. Ah, trade-offs! I can bow the guts but it kind of takes the flash out of my jam. Solos strings give you that Edgar sheen, guts are back in the Slamhouse. But solo bowing is something I only can do really at home or the studio. Even on a gig I'd have to retune the bass etc. I've never busted out a fiddle tune in solo tuning on a gig, its just too complicated. So, here I am, back on the gut. I have to say though, it's nice to have so many people interested in my SOUND again. Sound is what I pay the most attention to as a listener. It's a pleasure to have that be the focus rather than how fast I can play a fiddle tune, which, in the end, is a rather fleeting exercise that has little to do with the music I'm actually performing with others. Here's a screenshot of the Boston Pops gig on the fourth. Guts were glorious.
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Are we talking round guts? I guess that makes sense that it would eat away more than smooth steels.
Mike and David at Gage's shop have both told me that plain gut causes more fingerboard wear than Spiros. They guessed it was from the greater excursion. More wear, mind, not "eats up the fingerboard" wear. If that's your sound you don't need to fear.
No I'm talking about plain gut. I had wound E and a and plain D & G, and the G string and D string were really worn where I play, but not the a and e which where were wound. It was also David Gage who told me that the plain guts will wear out a fingerboard faster. it was interesting experiment on my own bass having two different types of strings, wound and plain, and the plain caused more wear, totally opposite of what I would expect
he also told me it looks like I must have great intonation because he could see exactly where my notes were.
Over the course of decades, plain gut will wear a trench into your board.
Changed the wound lower guts to Spiro Weichs with Pirastro Carlos D&G on top. (which are still going strong after 3 years of constant use!!!)
I miss the wound guts already but I'm willing to give this a go. The spiros move air quite a bit differently but sit in well with the D&G.
Let's see!
I miss the wound guts already but I'm willing to give this a go. The spiros move air quite a bit differently but sit in well with the D&G.
Let's see!
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
I rebuilt an American Standard a few years ago and it was strung with guts when the customer brought it to me. He didn’t want them back so they went in the drawer.
Fast forward: I’m preparing for a recording session with a singer songwriter with a Country bent. The Kay is now strung with those guts on the D and G. Animas are on the bottom and it’s fun again!
There is just something right about them on a plywood bass.
Fast forward: I’m preparing for a recording session with a singer songwriter with a Country bent. The Kay is now strung with those guts on the D and G. Animas are on the bottom and it’s fun again!
There is just something right about them on a plywood bass.
Truth in reporting. Put the spiros back on my Italian. Played a few gigs where I felt that the notes weren't speaking fast enough or evenly enough with the gut D and G with a steel E and A. I don't know. Same old problem. In addition I can't bow the guts with half the speed and clarity of the steels and bowing is how I practice (almost exclusively). My road bass (an American Standard) comes home next week and I might throw the guts on it. I really need three basses to be happy. A gut strung, a steel strung and a solo strung. Three distinct personalities. Without all three I'm not sure I can fully commit one to gut. Love the sound. The huge notes. The raw expression. I feel like I can say more on a gut string, I'm just not sure anyone can hear it unless I'm playing alone. In my reality I really don't play for myself, I play for others. I admit to feeling a little defeated. I could just tell it wasn't really jiving with my gigs.
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I have plain guts on ADG back on, with a E.P. slap E, so it`s all gut tension and med / high action. I`ve found out that more that I have guts on my bass then more logical and fluid my playing gets, as there are no huge differences in feel under the hands and intonation between differently structured strings. It`s practically easier to find a sweet spot in the string height, feel, tone and volume, for me at least. I had spiro or evah weichs with stiff plain guts on DG for some months and I loved the tone, volume and projection, but the feel was off, be that pizz, arco or little slap that I do.
I have now Efrano mediums AD with a trusty Chorda G on. I need to play the Efranos in since I`ve had them for some time without checking how they really work when / if they open up. I need to keep them on for at least 3 months, and several circles of maintenance, I think. Another big issue is to relearn the system of playing those chunky bastards and bow them a lot to learn the symphatetic resonance and intonation, which I`ve found beeing easier when there`s more plain guts involved than only G or DG, and sounding really cool, at least accidentally sometimes Sustain comes only with correct intonation, that much I learned from my previous crusade, I have to be in balance with natural resonances of my bass, no less.
Needless to say, besides strange rehearsals yesterday, I`m hooked again. There`s nothing like them, the deep colourful tone, like timpani when played pizz, like reed or voice arco, smooth bouncy feel. It will take time anyway
I have now Efrano mediums AD with a trusty Chorda G on. I need to play the Efranos in since I`ve had them for some time without checking how they really work when / if they open up. I need to keep them on for at least 3 months, and several circles of maintenance, I think. Another big issue is to relearn the system of playing those chunky bastards and bow them a lot to learn the symphatetic resonance and intonation, which I`ve found beeing easier when there`s more plain guts involved than only G or DG, and sounding really cool, at least accidentally sometimes
Sustain comes only with correct intonation, that much I learned from my previous crusade, I have to be in balance with natural resonances of my bass, no less.Needless to say, besides strange rehearsals yesterday, I`m hooked again. There`s nothing like them, the deep colourful tone, like timpani when played pizz, like reed or voice arco, smooth bouncy feel. It will take time anyway
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I agree, there is a fluidity that comes with guts. They just want to be played. Fast pizz passages just sound great, especially in the upper ranges. What I am not missing, now that I switched back, is thinking about my strings...at all. I think a person just plays differently on gut that steel. Yesterday at my gig I was digging into using and manipulating the sustain on the spiros, finding sounds that I liked and the other players noticed saying "Damn that bass sound great". They said that because I was consciously using touch to draw a lot of sound out of them. I would have been playing something else if I was on gut, beautiful, but different.I have plain guts on ADG back on, with a E.P. slap E, so it`s all gut tension and med / high action. I`ve found out that more that I have guts on my bass then more logical and fluid my playing gets, as there are no huge differences in feel under the hands and intonation between differently structured strings. It`s practically easier to find a sweet spot in the string height, feel, tone and volume, for me at least. I had spiro or evah weichs with stiff plain guts on DG for some months and I loved the tone, volume and projection, but the feel was off, be that pizz, arco or little slap that I do.
I have now Efrano mediums AD with a trusty Chorda G on. I need to play the Efranos in since I`ve had them for some time without checking how they really work when / if they open up. I need to keep them on for at least 3 months, and several circles of maintenance, I think. Another big issue is to relearn the system of playing those chunky bastards and bow them a lot to learn the symphatetic resonance and intonation, which I`ve found beeing easier when there`s more plain guts involved than only G or DG, and sounding really cool, at least accidentally sometimes
Needless to say, besides strange rehearsals yesterday, I`m hooked again. There`s nothing like them, the deep colourful tone, like timpani when played pizz, like reed or voice arco, smooth bouncy feel. It will take time anyway
Sir, as you wrote earlier, you absolutely have to have 3 basses. However, I tried tuning ADG plain guts to solo tuning for a evening, EBEA, and it worked ok after some settling in. Even the feel was manageable on higher action. Don´t know how this would work in longer run though, constant detuning.
Full set of Efrano medium plain guts progris riport: Had The E String ( 4,6mm gauge!!! ) on for three days. Today there were recoqnizeable pitches coming out instead of Thonk -sound, only pretty quietly. Started to work under the bow too. I realised that I`d need dramatic changes to my setup and propably a new bridge and fingerboard plaining to keep up with that beast, more air under the E -way too much hassle and possible money wasting without certainty if it would work. Switched to a new Evah slap E and fine tuned the string heights for this setup. Had to try it anyway as it had been on the back of my head for a long time. End of progris riport.
Efrano medium plain GDA / Evah slap E progris riport: Very promising, to the extent that I fine tuned the individual string heights for optimal feel under the hands and the bow, despite the hatred in another thread. Gauges are G 2,2mm D 2,85mm A 3,75mm ( if I recall ) and heights on my big-ass carved bass with 106cm mensure are G 9 mm`s D 12 mm`s A 13 mm`s E 12 mm`s. I`ve had the D and A on with a reqular Chorda G earlier and so they are played past their initial break in -perioid, but this setup was pretty unbalanced as the Efranos are high twist rate, soft and flexible and the Chorda is opposite, very tense and stiff.
G is still stretching and settling in, but it all is surprisingly good. With higher string height all three speak everywhere on the board, low positions deliver massive low end, punch and projection with surprisingly long decay, on the transition area they ( especially D and A ) sound timpani-like and thumb position is fat but still with sustain. Very, very loud and when played quietly they still have the gut warmth and fat presence.
These bow really well. Not at all as squeaky as Pirastro plain guts and much easier to start. Overall very warm and balanced bowed tone comparing to just about any plain guts I`ve tried so far. Uniform tension and matched string heights makes playing in tune and with a clean tone possible ( = or as " clean " as it`s possible with plain guts anyway ). There`s this reed or voice -like thing happening, beautiful archaic bowed tone, great arco feel.
So far it`s very positive. I`ll write more when they are settled tuning -wise and I have heard recordings from rehearsals and such.
Efrano medium plain GDA / Evah slap E progris riport: Very promising, to the extent that I fine tuned the individual string heights for optimal feel under the hands and the bow, despite the hatred in another thread. Gauges are G 2,2mm D 2,85mm A 3,75mm ( if I recall ) and heights on my big-ass carved bass with 106cm mensure are G 9 mm`s D 12 mm`s A 13 mm`s E 12 mm`s. I`ve had the D and A on with a reqular Chorda G earlier and so they are played past their initial break in -perioid, but this setup was pretty unbalanced as the Efranos are high twist rate, soft and flexible and the Chorda is opposite, very tense and stiff.
G is still stretching and settling in, but it all is surprisingly good. With higher string height all three speak everywhere on the board, low positions deliver massive low end, punch and projection with surprisingly long decay, on the transition area they ( especially D and A ) sound timpani-like and thumb position is fat but still with sustain. Very, very loud and when played quietly they still have the gut warmth and fat presence.
These bow really well. Not at all as squeaky as Pirastro plain guts and much easier to start. Overall very warm and balanced bowed tone comparing to just about any plain guts I`ve tried so far. Uniform tension and matched string heights makes playing in tune and with a clean tone possible ( = or as " clean " as it`s possible with plain guts anyway ). There`s this reed or voice -like thing happening, beautiful archaic bowed tone, great arco feel.
So far it`s very positive. I`ll write more when they are settled tuning -wise and I have heard recordings from rehearsals and such.
I like anyone that says "you absolutely have to have 3 basses"
I think the "timpani" middle tones are my absolute favorite trait of gut. It makes you want to play in that region whereas with spiros I am less inclined to do so...
Beeing a drummer and percussionist, I absolutely love that pitch tuned drum -vibe of plain gut. Not that spiros didn`t sound beautiful too, but it`s more of a mwahh and growl -thing. IME guts have their own way of mwahhing and growling, but it`s more of a " sparkling " sound and leads to different associations than with Spiros.
Hi gut lovers,
i have a question, i need a suggestion on the G plaing gut unwrapped.
I have a Kay 3/4 bass and i play jazz 90% pizz and arco in few moments, i play mostly acoustic, i have an high action, until now i used Lenzner full gut set and Pirastro Chorda CH and im satisfied but i feel that maybe a bigger diameter G shoud add more tension and will be more durable.
Anyone experienced this?
When i play hard the g string loose the smoothness so i need to sand and to oil and the string due to the consumption dont last more that a year. I would like to have a more durable string with exactly the same sound and volume, i tried velvets i tried evah pirazzi but i dont want any plastic or metal, the sound is different.
So any big and durable G plain gut (not expensive) that somebody know?
Ciao to all music lovers,
Stefano
i have a question, i need a suggestion on the G plaing gut unwrapped.
I have a Kay 3/4 bass and i play jazz 90% pizz and arco in few moments, i play mostly acoustic, i have an high action, until now i used Lenzner full gut set and Pirastro Chorda CH and im satisfied but i feel that maybe a bigger diameter G shoud add more tension and will be more durable.
Anyone experienced this?
When i play hard the g string loose the smoothness so i need to sand and to oil and the string due to the consumption dont last more that a year. I would like to have a more durable string with exactly the same sound and volume, i tried velvets i tried evah pirazzi but i dont want any plastic or metal, the sound is different.
So any big and durable G plain gut (not expensive) that somebody know?
Ciao to all music lovers,
Stefano
The only inexpensive option is propably a heavy gauge Efrano ordered directly from the factory. A reqular gauge Chorda is fat gauge, stiff feeling and extremely projective and powerful, but it`s expensive and not most durable. I have now a med gauge Efrano in it`s settling in -stage on my bass, but have used a reqular Chorda for the last 11-ish months. It`s still playable, but I wouldn`t completely trust it anymore. I`ve come to terms with that I wear a plain gut G string out in approximately one year. Not a big deal in my book when the plain D and A strings seems to be practically eternal if maintained properly.
