I'm about to pull the trigger on a D & G - what size do you have? - I'm actually looking forward to the higher tension (i think...) I am currently using Golden Spirals ...
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Double Bass New Gamut Red Diamond Gut Strings
- Thread starter Earl
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I'm about to pull the trigger on a D & G - what size do you have? - I'm actually looking forward to the higher tension (i think...) I am currently using Golden Spirals ...
Sorry, I see that now - I'm looking at the Lyon's and they ask for a size specification at check out ...
I don't know if Gamut sells individual strings from the Red Diamond set, but i think there is a D and G in the classifieds.
Got a red diamond D and G here in the forum. Had it installed last Sunday morning, so far sounds really good. Used to have plain gut G and D, I am liking the sound of these nylon wound guts better. Have not tried it with a bow yet. It's pretty loud and matches well with the naked A and Spiro mittel E. I will replace the Spiro E with a Kaplan Solo soon once I get it back from a friend. Tension is not that high on my bass btw.
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That would be good to know too what the difference is. Btw how is the red diamond E and A when bowing? I have the D and G and the D is very nice to bow, having problems with the G tho, but it's definitely a technique issue. And does the nylon wound gut last longer than plain guts?
I've been going back and forth between Spiro Mitts and Red Diamonds on my Shen 3/4 hybrid since December, sometimes spiro E RD ADG, sometimes spiro EAD RD G, sometimes the full set or one or the other, I threw in some pirastro slap gut synths for a couple of days, I never really got a feel or a tone that stuck. I swear to god I've changed strings every 3rd day since the beginning of February.
Today I took off spiros and put the RD's on again, but this time I under strung the E & A at the tail piece (knots in front of the TP). I'm very happy with the tension and the tone that I'm getting right now. Very bassy. Very loud acoustic, but not in a spiro crackle kind of loud, in a furniture rattling bottom end kind of loud. And through the realist life line pickup that I just bought as a backup to my full circle, my amped tone is huge, all I have to do is pull out some treble to kill any finger noise from the windings. Everything else is at noon.
I haven't tried arco with this setup yet, I need to take a break before I get tendonitis from all the peg turning and test stops. I have no doubt that they are going to sound great under the bow.
This might be it for me, I might be having a string and pickup sale soon!
Today I took off spiros and put the RD's on again, but this time I under strung the E & A at the tail piece (knots in front of the TP). I'm very happy with the tension and the tone that I'm getting right now. Very bassy. Very loud acoustic, but not in a spiro crackle kind of loud, in a furniture rattling bottom end kind of loud. And through the realist life line pickup that I just bought as a backup to my full circle, my amped tone is huge, all I have to do is pull out some treble to kill any finger noise from the windings. Everything else is at noon.
I haven't tried arco with this setup yet, I need to take a break before I get tendonitis from all the peg turning and test stops. I have no doubt that they are going to sound great under the bow.
This might be it for me, I might be having a string and pickup sale soon!
Bowing shouldn't be too bad.
I'm honored. But will accept that challenge any day.
Velvet Garbos on the bottom are a nice match with Gamuts. Great pizz tone right across and not so sensitive to the weather.
I bought a set of these used. I really dig them so far. They have been on my bass for a couple of weeks now, but I haven't gotten to gig on them much yet due to a theater run where I am played bass guitar exclusively. I have an unamped gig with a drummer and pianist this Saturday, I will try to report back afterward.
They feel great on my left hand, and the E and A sound really nice on my bass. I have not had low tension strings before, and it is interesting. My bass was pretty powerful with spiros, but sounded unbalanced, especially in regards to volume on the E and A. I like to pizz hard at times, and the any E string I have used would bottom out on me from time to time. I don't have that problem (at least, not yet). The D and G are not bad, either, but they are kind of noisy. I can hear the plastic covering when I pluck and when I shift. Not sure how much this matters, but I can definitely hear it and might be an issue with recording.
My slapping is functional at best, but if slap is your thing than I would highly recommend trying these.
I am a decent arco player, but have to try hard to keep the d and g from sounding anything other than awful. They definitely have a PC arco vibe, but it is a little different.
These strings hold tune pretty well. Granted they were used, but I don't believe they were used long. Mine started to hold tune fairly well after only a few days, even in southern US humidity.
All in all, I want to give these strings a good run for a few months. If I had any arco heavy gigs coming up these would definitely be coming off, but I don't. I am hoping they will continue to break in, and perhaps the more I work with them arco the better they will sound.
They feel great on my left hand, and the E and A sound really nice on my bass. I have not had low tension strings before, and it is interesting. My bass was pretty powerful with spiros, but sounded unbalanced, especially in regards to volume on the E and A. I like to pizz hard at times, and the any E string I have used would bottom out on me from time to time. I don't have that problem (at least, not yet). The D and G are not bad, either, but they are kind of noisy. I can hear the plastic covering when I pluck and when I shift. Not sure how much this matters, but I can definitely hear it and might be an issue with recording.
My slapping is functional at best, but if slap is your thing than I would highly recommend trying these.
I am a decent arco player, but have to try hard to keep the d and g from sounding anything other than awful. They definitely have a PC arco vibe, but it is a little different.
These strings hold tune pretty well. Granted they were used, but I don't believe they were used long. Mine started to hold tune fairly well after only a few days, even in southern US humidity.
All in all, I want to give these strings a good run for a few months. If I had any arco heavy gigs coming up these would definitely be coming off, but I don't. I am hoping they will continue to break in, and perhaps the more I work with them arco the better they will sound.
Update: On Saturday I played un-amped with a drummer and pianist, and they performed very well. I had some arco sections that were very hard to pull off, but that is not the focus of the gig. I got a really big pizz tone, and felt like I was present the whole time. I am still getting used to higher string height, and found myself overplaying at times with my right hand which caused my time to suffer. No big deal, just means back to the practice room.
Sunday was a different story. We were moved outside (brunch gig, they wanted to use our space for an extra table). The humidity was very high. I had to retune after every tune, and the combination of sweat, humidity, and copper windings on the E and A turned my hands green. Definitely not unexpected, but beware of this if something like that would bother you. More importantly, just avoid playing outside in conditions like that if you can.
There are things I really like about these strings. Pizz is wonderful, and I can get a lot of sound out of them without bottoming out. Great low end, and clear highs. They play well in all positions on my bass, which is inconsistent with reports on other gut strings. I also am not noticing that noisey plastic sound I mention in the above post. Maybe that is part of the break in, sort of like getting the "zing" out of metal strings. Hopefully the arco settles down, too.
I love the pizz sound of Red Diamonds so much I will keep working with them over the summer (hopefully in the AC). I hope the arco sound will come around to at least something usable, otherwise I won't be able to stick with these strings.
Sunday was a different story. We were moved outside (brunch gig, they wanted to use our space for an extra table). The humidity was very high. I had to retune after every tune, and the combination of sweat, humidity, and copper windings on the E and A turned my hands green. Definitely not unexpected, but beware of this if something like that would bother you. More importantly, just avoid playing outside in conditions like that if you can.
There are things I really like about these strings. Pizz is wonderful, and I can get a lot of sound out of them without bottoming out. Great low end, and clear highs. They play well in all positions on my bass, which is inconsistent with reports on other gut strings. I also am not noticing that noisey plastic sound I mention in the above post. Maybe that is part of the break in, sort of like getting the "zing" out of metal strings. Hopefully the arco settles down, too.
I love the pizz sound of Red Diamonds so much I will keep working with them over the summer (hopefully in the AC). I hope the arco sound will come around to at least something usable, otherwise I won't be able to stick with these strings.
