The fundamental tone of the big fat gut A and E strings carry a long way, but they are harder to hear from the player's perspective. Playing mostly amplified country and rockabilly myself, they amplify beautifully actually. Yes, they are thumpy - but work well and sound "right" for slap bass / roots music stuff. Pizz is a compromise, for sure.
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Double Bass New Gamut Gut strings
- Thread starter NielsDale
- Start date
I have a plain gut A - it's close to 4mm, a bit less, and it sounds like thunder, both plucked and bowed. It's bowed 99% of the time, but Bartok pizz is awesome on that string.
George
As mentioned in another post somewhere, Mark & Marcus' experience with the Gamuts inspired me to give it a whirl.
I have had the Lyon G and Pistoy D on my Hungarian Carved Bass for a week now. Evah Weichs on E & A.
The tension definitely changed, and the E & A have a darker more resonate sound as a result of the Guts on top.
I love the pizz sound and get to really run them through their paces in ensemble class tomorrow.
What I am trying to get used to is the Arco sound- pretty scratchy. I have a Finale salt & pepper bow. Either the strings need to mellow out, or the bow isn't the greatest match, or my Arco chops are really not happening. (I am heavily weighted on the last option.)
I still have the Oliv s on my Kay, and I enjoy the Arco experience on those strings, but am certain I get nowhere near the explosive bloom the Gamuts provide on Pizz.
The string experiment continues...
I have had the Lyon G and Pistoy D on my Hungarian Carved Bass for a week now. Evah Weichs on E & A.
The tension definitely changed, and the E & A have a darker more resonate sound as a result of the Guts on top.
I love the pizz sound and get to really run them through their paces in ensemble class tomorrow.
What I am trying to get used to is the Arco sound- pretty scratchy. I have a Finale salt & pepper bow. Either the strings need to mellow out, or the bow isn't the greatest match, or my Arco chops are really not happening. (I am heavily weighted on the last option.)
I still have the Oliv s on my Kay, and I enjoy the Arco experience on those strings, but am certain I get nowhere near the explosive bloom the Gamuts provide on Pizz.
The string experiment continues...
The arco takes awhile. I've been using a really light touch, just really let the weight of the bow do the work, and that seems to work out best for me. The scratch does tame down after awhile, maybe a combination of the strings settling in and your technique adapting. The arco also sounds a lot better either acoustically or with a mic than it does with a pickup in my experience.
Ultimately they are always going to have that gut sound under the bow.
Ultimately they are always going to have that gut sound under the bow.
One month today-I'm liking these strings (LT+) a lot. The (pizz) G is great all around, the D is coming along, and the A & E are fine. They do sound better to listeners than from behind the bass, which is the ultimate goal, right? I played amplified with a 7 piece Western Swing band last Monday and everyone said the bass sounded great. Arco is still evolving; the scratchy attack on the plain strings has lessened. I'm due for a rehair and will ask for whatever hair is optimal for gut, if there is such a thing. The drastic NYC temp and humidity changes lately are a pain; all you can do is tune and tune some more. Haven't had the urge to switch, which tells me something.
I am thinking about trying these on my back up bass. I am sold on what everyone says about the pizz, but what kind would you guys recommend for arco (gauge, varnished, unvarnished)? I am about 90/10 pizz to arco.
After 3 weeks of waiting I have finally received my beautiful MEDIUM Gamut Lyon Varnished D & G strings!!! Unfortunately my excitement lasted about 2 seconds! The gauge difference is huge! The D string is twice the size of the G, in fact the D string is heaps larger then the Garbo A. My fault because I did not look at the size of the strings just assumed that if I order both in a medium gauge they will match! NOT SO! Very expensive lesson to learn! The G (skinny) string ended up on my CROSS BOW and the D string (too fat) is getting eaten by my dog as I am writing this. So please make sure when you order these strings that you also pay attention to the actual diameter of it!!!!! Don't just assume that they will match just because they both medium. Back on the Spiros for now! I had more fun with the cheap crap Indian gut strings!
Oh man... you could have easily sold those strings on this forum! Sorry it didn't work out for you.
Well I live and never learn
My plan is to investigate the Sonores Gut Strings by Gerold Genssler Twine!!! This time I will take my time chatting with the dude about diameters sizes etc. I wont give up! I love the sound of gut strings but I listen to people too much and often just go ahead buying ****! This time I will be wiser!!!
My plan is to investigate the Sonores Gut Strings by Gerold Genssler Twine!!! This time I will take my time chatting with the dude about diameters sizes etc. I wont give up! I love the sound of gut strings but I listen to people too much and often just go ahead buying ****! This time I will be wiser!!! 
MollyKay
Supporting Member
Your kidding the dog is chewing on $200 worth of gut strings. When he poops them out Ill pay you $20.
Gamuts would sell in a flash in the classified. I actually need a Gamut G&D medium but that doesnt help you now. Bummer.
Dude! 1. you just have to file a little around the nut and bridge with the medium D (I didn't have to do anything with my medium G) and 2. they get drastically thinner after you put them on and they stretch out. They continue to get thinner as they age as well. What a waste.
Mark, after reading your note I realised that as always I was a little too hot headed! Basically I felt sorry for myself. Anyway not all is lost!!! I needed special clamp for the crossbow so the G string is safe, and the D string was only chewed to shreds at the end and my wife took it away from Reggie fearing that it might choke on it! So after measuring the string it was lot longer than what I needed so I just cut the damaged part of and made the slot wider. I got the right size round file! So there is NO bite marks and plenty of extra on my wooden peg!!!! Thank you for kicking me into gear about it. I will get some different A string because it bothers me that the D is bigger than the A! Although you said that it will get drastically thinner! Sorry for my outburst. I just played some Charlie P. songs and it sounded lovely and even though my G string action is low 6mm I had great tone in the upper register!! I imagine that in 3 months when they settled in properly my wife will divorce me for neglecting her over my bass. Sorry for the fuss! Tone
Excellent! I checked my D and A and the D is still slightly larger than my Garbo A but not by a lot. I'm so used to it though I had to check and it certainly doesn't bother me.
However they sound now, they will just get better and better as they stretch out and it'll be a few weeks before they are fully stretched out. You'll need to practice a lot to get used the response. It requires a very different touch than what you use on steel strings. They respond slower and take longer to recover. It takes some getting used to but once you do, you'll be able to play faster on gut than on steel. It took me a month or two of serious practice to recalibrate my touch to where it felt normal and natural and I didn't have to think about it anymore.
Use the side of your right finger and kind of snap the string a little for walking. If you need to play fast or get more definition (for soloing), use two fingers and pluck with the very tip of your fingers.
Lastly, you'll have to tune a lot while they are stretching out. They will go flat very fast as you play. When I put new gut strings on, I have to tune between songs on a gig. I plug a tuner into the effects out of my amp and check the tuning between songs. When they are fully stretched out, they will stabilize and you can tune between sets.
mark
However they sound now, they will just get better and better as they stretch out and it'll be a few weeks before they are fully stretched out. You'll need to practice a lot to get used the response. It requires a very different touch than what you use on steel strings. They respond slower and take longer to recover. It takes some getting used to but once you do, you'll be able to play faster on gut than on steel. It took me a month or two of serious practice to recalibrate my touch to where it felt normal and natural and I didn't have to think about it anymore.
Use the side of your right finger and kind of snap the string a little for walking. If you need to play fast or get more definition (for soloing), use two fingers and pluck with the very tip of your fingers.
Lastly, you'll have to tune a lot while they are stretching out. They will go flat very fast as you play. When I put new gut strings on, I have to tune between songs on a gig. I plug a tuner into the effects out of my amp and check the tuning between songs. When they are fully stretched out, they will stabilize and you can tune between sets.
mark
Thank once again, and thank you for the little tips too!!!!
These stings feel so so so smooth under the fingers, I can not describe it! I played 6 hours straight and now is 11pm here and getting my Oscar Petersen play along out for another 40 minutes. The string difference doesn't bother me anymore I cant really feel it and I certainly don't look at the strings and fingerboard while playing. It is remarkable but after the firs 2-3 hours of tuning in the middle of the sond stopping the music and tuning, but now they hold the note and I only tune a little between songs. One thing is for sure Mark, when I play the intro of Haitian Fight Song it sounds nasty, addictive, infectious. I am so glad now that my wife pulled the D string into safety and I thank the All Mighty that my pup ate the end not the middle!
These stings feel so so so smooth under the fingers, I can not describe it! I played 6 hours straight and now is 11pm here and getting my Oscar Petersen play along out for another 40 minutes. The string difference doesn't bother me anymore I cant really feel it and I certainly don't look at the strings and fingerboard while playing. It is remarkable but after the firs 2-3 hours of tuning in the middle of the sond stopping the music and tuning, but now they hold the note and I only tune a little between songs. One thing is for sure Mark, when I play the intro of Haitian Fight Song it sounds nasty, addictive, infectious. I am so glad now that my wife pulled the D string into safety and I thank the All Mighty that my pup ate the end not the middle!
On a side note - some gut strings are treated with garlic (no joke, though I doubt that about Gamuts specifically), and garlic is toxic for dogs.
Man, timobee4, I'm so glad those strings found their way back onto your bass. I've made no secret of my love for Gamut guts here, so I won't rehash it... but I can't imagine using anything else, and I've used a LOT of different strings over the years.
timobee, sorry you had that dog-eat-D experience.
but your first reaction was also mine, too, some years ago, when i got my first set of 4 Gamut mediums. just the optics of these new Gamuts on my bass, what an odd thing they were, just visually! that fat D string looked as fat or fatter than even the E string! but like you i got over that issue real quick! it's not about the looks, really, it's about that sound and their playability. wow, i'm not going back any time soon.
i did order different gauges when i reordered Gamuts. now i've got Pistoy G (medium), Pistoy D (light), and copper wound E and A (both heavy). i find the heavy E and A give me a bit more tension and volume on my bass.
enjoy
Will, I am very interested hearing about those copper wound gut strings!!! I have Garbos on the bottom and they do compliment each other but still it sound like an improvement and I might be a cheap butt person but not when it comes to sound. My Gamut D & G are settling down and they are the real deal as far as I am concerned (despite my crazy initial outburst) I was recommending it to fellow bass players here in Oz only wishing that I held my tongue! I dont want anyone sounding like moa! Just kidding! In any case Gamut is a superior quality gut string and I couldnt be happier! Thanks to Mark who put me onto it.
Just kidding! In any case Gamut is a superior quality gut string and I couldnt be happier! Thanks to Mark who put me onto it. timobee, sorry you had that dog-eat-D experience.
but like you i got over that issue real quick! it's not about the looks, really, it's about that sound and their playability. wow, i'm not going back any time soon.
i did order different gauges when i reordered Gamuts. now i've got Pistoy G (medium), Pistoy D (light), and copper wound E and A (both heavy). i find the heavy E and A give me a bit more tension and volume on my bass.
enjoy
