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Double Bass New Gamut Gut strings

#141
jmceachern36 said:
I've got a maintanance question. My strings are 2 weeks old and the G is sprouting quite a few hairs already. The D is fine. Has that happened to anyone else? I trim them but they seem to keep coming back. I'm a litle leary of using sandpaper. Is this normal? Does it stop?
Click to expand...

I find it easier to VERY CAREFULLY use a butane bbq match to sear the hairs. I set it on the lowest setting and very quickly pass it over the hair until it disappears. I think that, unlike trimming, this seals the hair well and keeps it from reappearing in the same place. Sometimes I'll finish it with an emery board. I really haven't had many with the Gamuts... some of the other guts I've seen would need that treatment pretty regularly.
 
#142
William Hoffman said:
please don't say you were ignorant to do that 87 years ago. you were young...

but seriously, i've always just used the knot as an end ball. when asked, Dan Larson said that's what the knot is for. the strings have always held, and never once pulled through. where did you get the revelation that there is a "great chance" that they'll pull through? i've been livin' recklessly! :eek:
Click to expand...

Meant to say "greater". The last time I used them like that, when I took it off, the knot had wedged itself about halfway into the slot. Given the upward force on the string, I guess it is unlikely that it would pull all of the way through but it definitely wasn't where I left it.

mark
 
#143
jmceachern36 said:
I've got a maintanance question. My strings are 2 weeks old and the G is sprouting quite a few hairs already. The D is fine. Has that happened to anyone else? I trim them but they seem to keep coming back. I'm a litle leary of using sandpaper. Is this normal? Does it stop?
Click to expand...

Varnished or unvarnished? If they're varnished, I'd give Dan Larson a call. I VERY rarely get hairs and then I just trim them with a nail clipper. Marcus's solution is probably better though. I don't know how often unvarnished strings see hairs but I'd imagine it's much more frequent. You might still want to give Dan a call since the string is so new. He might replace it for you.

mark
 
#145
i rarely get hairs on my varnished Gamuts, but when i do i use 800 grit sandpaper ever so gently, rubbing against the direction of the hair so as to remove it completely. i haven't seen one come back, but Marcus' method sounds like the best way to remove them, really sealing off the string surface. Dan has always been quick to replace a string if there were something wrong...
 
#146
I replaced my Evah Weichs on the E&A last night with Velvet Animas.

That combined with Nyman rosin (over Carlsson), improved my over all Arco sound across all strings. Pizzicato is fun and relatively balanced, although the Velvets are a little bright having not had a chance to settle in.

I am in wait and see (hear) mode regarding when and if to take a sabbatical from the Gamuts. I do have to say that the above combination seems to complement my instrument.

Although I am considering further string experiments, I do have to say that the Gamuts are a superb string!
 
#148
I am really loving these strings! I had them installed this tuesday (along with bridge height adjusters and a velvet tailpiece rope).

They sound just the way I hoped they would, and they are settling in very nicely!!

Regarding rosin, I am using pops! Arco is not at all as hard as expected!!

All in all I don't thing my bass has ever sounded so good, and this is definitely the sound I have been hearing in my head all along! And the feeling of these strings is amazing to!

Jesper
 
#149
Just got back from my holiday missing my basses like crazy! My Gamut Lyon D & G settled in and with the super silver E & A, they sound sick! Beautiful projection, remarkably even sound, addictive tone! This is the first time in 30 years when I can say that I can finally focus on my playing and worry not about the strings no more :)
 
#150
Did my regular gig at Four Seasons Wailea last night... piano duo with occasional vocals from the pianist. This is a big room which adjoins the reception lobby, all open, so the space is huge, with lots of people moving about. It's worth noting that this pianist, Sal Godinez, is not afraid to use some volume and dynamics. He's not a timid little pianist. Since he's been singing through the house system (a 13-speaker Bose array embedded into the ceiling), I've gotten into the habit of just plugging in as well.

So last night, I forgot to bring up a cable to get into the board, and was just too lazy to run back to my truck. I just decided to go unplugged. The Gamuts allowed me to play totally comfortably all night, completely acoustically. The balance with the piano was perfect. The E string, which as we know can sometimes be a weak link, was a champ. Round, huge, perfect growl and balance with the rest of the set. A friend of mine, another pianist, came in, and said that he could hear me all the way out by the valet stand. Because of the quality of the sound coming off the bass, it actually seemed louder than when I use the PA. An added bonus was the smooth transitions between pizz and arco; the tone and volume were already perfectly matched. I had no trouble at all cutting through the audience noise, and got great crowd response to solos throughout the evening. I wonder if people just respond more favorably to the unamped sound? I sure do, I feel like I played some of my best stuff in awhile last night. Sal asked why the bass sounded so good last night, and I just pointed at the empty pickup jack. Got a good laugh out of that.

So I think I'm going to go that route on this gig for awhile. It was just a great evening. These Gamuts have opened up the possibility of playing more gigs unamped for me. I also might just forget to bring my amp to my duo gig at the Hotel Wailea tonight. :D
 
#152
Hello brothers in gut! I've been continuing to love being back on a gut setup for many reasons. One of them is, as you've been discussing, the great projection they produce unamplified. But I also so much prefer the results I get amplified to using steel stings. I always thought a set of Spiros sounded pretty good unamplified, but never was satisified with them when using amp/pickup. My current setup is Gamut Pistoys on the G&D and Super Sensitive Sensicores on the E&A. I've been using a K&K Bass Max pickup, a Mark Bass Little Mark III head and a no name 2x10 cabinet with Hartke speakers. I've been very happy with the results, it sounds like gut, gets even response, doesn't have excessive overtones or feedback, I can give the soundman a DI out from the amp and I'm good to go. I just did two performances at the IBMA convention in Nashville last week, and got lots of compliments on the sound. On the unamplified side, I did a session yesterday doing some Western-swingy type arrangements of Christmas songs (it's that time again folks! :) ) They used one Sennheiser 421 on the bass, simple, sounded great. And of course, I've always loved the feel of gut, it's addictive!

The only thing I don't like about gut is the arco. But I've got a cello now!
 
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#154
William Hoffman said:
hey Bobby. did you get the Pistoys new and if so did they need a few days or weeks to settle in?

how does the cello fit in? does it help you with bowing the Gamuts? :confused:
Click to expand...


Hi William!

Yes I got the Pistoys new maybe 6 weeks ago. They take a little while to settle, they're still settling actually, but they keep sounding better to my ears!

I love the cello, although it's a new experience playing an instrument tuned in 5ths, and you use a French bow only with cello, whereas I am a German bow player on bass. The cello has Evah Pirazzi strings on it which , like their bass sisters (is Evah a girl?) bow like a dream.

I thnk that all bowing practice that you do helps, but I'm not crazy about bowing on plain gut. The D is fine actually but bowing on that G gives me a feeling like having my teeth drilled ("is it safe?"). That may simply be my inept technique. You need to use less bow pressure and more speed with gut. But hey, there's a reason that very few serious arco bassists use gut any more.
 
#155
I just put a new Pistoy G on and it sounded amazing right off the bat. I think my old one was a bit worn out. The new one is significantly louder. I replaced the Garbo E and A with Animas and I really don't notice THAT much of a difference. The Animas are a little edgier but not that much on my bass. When these wear out, I have a set of Garbos to put on. I have an Anima D on right now just to mess around with it. I tried the Anima G but I can't go without gut on the G. It came off fairly quickly. I have a gig tonight and am going to give the Anima D a shot but I have a new Pistoy D that will probably go on tomorrow.

mark
 
#156
Mark... I guess that poses the dilemma for us Gamut gut-boys... economics aside, how do you know when to order new ones? Mine are ALL "used", pretty heavily, by three different bassists.... and it's the best set of strings I've ever had. I'm as curious as the next guy... wondering what a fresh set of Dan Larson's intestines :eek: would sound like on my bass.... but the current set sounds and feels so good, I wouldn't wanna change nuthin'. Bill Hoffman suggested that I might want to have Dan re-wrap the copper E & A, but the way they sound right now, I don't think that will happen for awhile.

I suppose the wise thing would be to pony up for a fresh set, when my pockets are deep enough. That way, if Dan decides to pack it in and go fishin', I'll be set for a good long time. The other option would be to head to Duluth, MN., and take up Dan's offer on that job at his factory that's he's advertising on his website. :hmm:
 
#157
To be honest, I put new ones on because I found myself hitting them hard and they weren't responding like they used to. A couple of caveats, we're just moving out of the time of the year when it is swampy humid when the bass NEVER sounds it's best. It's hard to tell if it is the lousy weather or the strings that are the problem. I resisted changing strings all through September and just decided to go for it. I have the strings as backups already on the shelf.

The first thing I did was put all four Animas on. I've never used Animas and wanted to see what they were about. They are nice strings but the G was too stiff for me and took too much effort to get going. I had it on for a few days but it just wasn't happening. I put on the new Pistoy G and it blended extremely well with the other 3 Animas. I haven't put the Pistoy D on yet.

I just got back from my first gig and I miss the weight of the Pistoy D but the Anima D has a nice singing tone to it and it still has plenty of bottom. I like the feeling of the Pistoy D better. I'll almost certainly put the Pistoy D on but I'm going to explore the Anima D for a few more gigs.

The Anima E and A are significantly growlier than the Garbos. They also don't have the depth. The Garbo E and A sound more like guts than the Anima E and A. The Animas have more mids and cut through a dense mix better. The Garbos have the fundamental punch that guts have although THEY don't have the depth of guts. They are really close though particularly the E.

So I'm going to leave the Pistoy G, Anima D,A,E on for a few weeks and see what comes of it. Right now it looks like the D will get replaced with the Pistoy D but I'll probably leave the Anima E and A on for a while.

mark
 

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