Double Bass Muddy gut D string

[tito mangialajo]

I have been playing with gut strings for many years. I’ve tried various brands. Recently I’ve been playing with a whole set of Pirastro Chorda Carlos Henriquez, that I like so much. What I notice, and still do, is that the D string, especially when I play the notes from A up to the thumb position, is a little bit deaf, the sound is not clear. Ok, it’s gut, but the G string sings very well, when I play the D string, especially as I said from the note A, sings not so well. It's muddy. I noticed it with every string used: Pirastro, Gamut Pistoy, Gamut Lyon, others previously. Are all the gut D strings so or is the problem in my double bass? In the set-up, peer example?

 

[Jay Corwin]

Other than the G, plain gut has diminishing clarity the higher up you move IME.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

That’s every plain gut D string, which is why you play that string as little as possible.

 

[Stuart.C]

The reason Simandl fingerings go up and down the G string rather than across the strings.

But also I suspect setup plays a large role, basses built in the last ~70 years are designed for steel strings.
Old basses with lower over stand, longer string lengths and thinner tops, likely sing much nicer with plain guts.

 

[JBarz]

I had never considered low overstand having anything to do with this phenomenon, but that tracks with my experience - I’ve got a 5 string Kay that does something magic up in TP with Gamut Pistoy med, but the same string sound relatively dead on my carved Shen and aluminum Pfretz. Fascinating…

 

[tito mangialajo]

The reason Simandl fingerings go up and down the G string rather than across the strings.

But also I suspect setup plays a large role, basses built in the last ~70 years are designed for steel strings.
Old basses with lower over stand, longer string lengths and thinner tops, likely sing much nicer with plain guts.

My bass is 100 years old and has 109cm string lenght...

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Try an Oliv D, that worked well on my German bass and the Kriegel.

 

[AGCurry]

It's not just gut strings. Even with steel-core strings, the G will sing better than the D above the neck heel.

 

[Don Hergert]

^^THIS^^

I've read lots and lots of comments and complaints here in TB/DB about how the D string sounds, no matter what kind it is. There's something about the acoustics of the double bass that does that.

FWIW, it may be a 2nd string thing, I hear and read the same comments about string#2 from guitarists, mandolinists and banjoists...

It could also be a perception thing for mobile units with 10 fingers and two ears.

 

[stefaniw80401]

I do not play on gut strings. Metal D-strings on both of my modern carved basses sound pretty good throughout the range, especially in TP with arco. The problem for me has been A-strings.
E-strings are glorious on my basses.

 

[Earl]

Nature of the beast.