Also, is it recommended that I should get a full set, or only certain strings. If so, which strings? Also, which brands are best? I'm mainly a jazz player.
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Double Bass Pros and cons to Gut Strings?
- Thread starter NDBass
- Start date
Respectfully, I would suggest that you consider reading through the big gut threads here- like "Guts are so much fun", "the Gamut Pistoy thread" and all the others. It's a LOT to go through, but it is the best way to get close to the subject so you can make an informed decision. Pay close attention to the time lines- see how some folk get all hot and bothered for a while and then fall off the wagon...very, very important imho. 
Check out the search function!
Also consider that there are a lot of "flavors" of gut out there- plain, wound, NOS, new, used, cheap, expensive, foreign, domestic, boutique...
That all said, you might consider trying a gut G just to see what's what...maybe a Lezner, or a Pirastro Oliv- they both are quite popular...be careful with used Pirastro wound gut though...just sayin'!
In the interest of full disclosure- I am an unabashed Gamut Pistoy fanatic- LOVE LOVE LOVE em'-
YYMV and all that....
So snuggle up with the gut threads! You'll be glad you did!
Joe
Check out the search function!
Also consider that there are a lot of "flavors" of gut out there- plain, wound, NOS, new, used, cheap, expensive, foreign, domestic, boutique...
That all said, you might consider trying a gut G just to see what's what...maybe a Lezner, or a Pirastro Oliv- they both are quite popular...be careful with used Pirastro wound gut though...just sayin'!
In the interest of full disclosure- I am an unabashed Gamut Pistoy fanatic- LOVE LOVE LOVE em'-
YYMV and all that....
So snuggle up with the gut threads! You'll be glad you did!
Joe
It depends.
The lower the string the more critical it gets.
It also depends if you want to use naked guts, wound guts or a mixture.
A common mixture is G and D (naked) gut and A and E steel (with not too much sustain?).
G strings are generally no problem, good D strings are harder to find.
Wound gut has humidity problems resulting in going up and down in tuning (somtimes about a minor third). Mostly on the lower strings, some people use non-gut or (rarely) naked gut (very thick, almost no sustain) for the E to reduce this problem.
Read the gut string threads here, there is a bunch of information in there. It may take some time until you got through, but it is worth reading them.
The lower the string the more critical it gets.
It also depends if you want to use naked guts, wound guts or a mixture.
A common mixture is G and D (naked) gut and A and E steel (with not too much sustain?).
G strings are generally no problem, good D strings are harder to find.
Wound gut has humidity problems resulting in going up and down in tuning (somtimes about a minor third). Mostly on the lower strings, some people use non-gut or (rarely) naked gut (very thick, almost no sustain) for the E to reduce this problem.
Read the gut string threads here, there is a bunch of information in there. It may take some time until you got through, but it is worth reading them.
Have you read War and Peace? Well, you're about to. I've had them all and extolled the nature of most of them. Guts are a glorious sounding, primitive feeling, readily achievable connection with the history of the double bass and the sound of pre-1960's jazz.
Playing guts will teach you a new way to play the bass and show you how the fore-runners created the beautiful music they did. I highly recommend spending a period of time on guts and you might as well go for the gold and get yourself a full set of Gamut strings with the roundwound E and A and the medium gage D and G (varnished). They will be totally strange at first and you will have to adjust your bass accordingly (widen the bridge and nut spaces to accomodate the larger widths and adjust the bridge height to allow for a full healthy rotation of the string). Things will happen to you while you play the guts, you will focus on them as though you are taking care of someone's cat (which you are) watching them change, being in tune with their little quirks. You will play faster and sound more like the old bassists you love and learn a lot about note fundamentals, intonation and projection. It will likely completely take over your life and you will talk incessantly about them to your loved ones and anyone else who will listen. You will be, in short, in love. This period may last a lifetime or just a year. You should stick with this relationship for at least a year to make sure these are 'the ones'. At the end of a year you will be either evangelical in your praise or you will be exhausted and feel defeated. No one can tell you what to do, you just need to live from the 'gut' for awhile and find out if it's you. I played guts for many years, and then I played hybrids and then steels....then guts....then steels...then...STOP! After thousand of dollars had been spent I put on an old set of Spirocores and never looked back. You must take your own journey. You will learn a lot.
Playing guts will teach you a new way to play the bass and show you how the fore-runners created the beautiful music they did. I highly recommend spending a period of time on guts and you might as well go for the gold and get yourself a full set of Gamut strings with the roundwound E and A and the medium gage D and G (varnished). They will be totally strange at first and you will have to adjust your bass accordingly (widen the bridge and nut spaces to accomodate the larger widths and adjust the bridge height to allow for a full healthy rotation of the string). Things will happen to you while you play the guts, you will focus on them as though you are taking care of someone's cat (which you are) watching them change, being in tune with their little quirks. You will play faster and sound more like the old bassists you love and learn a lot about note fundamentals, intonation and projection. It will likely completely take over your life and you will talk incessantly about them to your loved ones and anyone else who will listen. You will be, in short, in love. This period may last a lifetime or just a year. You should stick with this relationship for at least a year to make sure these are 'the ones'. At the end of a year you will be either evangelical in your praise or you will be exhausted and feel defeated. No one can tell you what to do, you just need to live from the 'gut' for awhile and find out if it's you. I played guts for many years, and then I played hybrids and then steels....then guts....then steels...then...STOP! After thousand of dollars had been spent I put on an old set of Spirocores and never looked back. You must take your own journey. You will learn a lot.
Wow Jason, nice post! You're like the Jedi Master of gut bass strings.
- Steve
- Steve
+ 1 ,cant be written better than this, bravo Jason
- May 3, 2007
- 1,472
- 1,165
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: D'Addario Strings, Remic Microphones
This is the best, most succinct description of the gut playing process I have ever read. And very timely as I have been courting the idea of going back to guts on one of my basses.
To simplify:
Pros: Sound
Cons: Cost, instability
Pros: Sound
Cons: Cost, instability
I'm just glad Jason liked my comment nine years later.
- Steve
- Steve
I can't quit them...back to a plain gut A today (because I couldn't get a wrapped replacement locally), and despite a certain "thudiness", it makes the D and G so much more powerful. It bows like a dream too (I can't believe I'm saying this but damn...not sure if I'm getting better or the 'freshness' of the string).
I was considering stringing a '30'S-vintage Kay with guts several years ago. I had used them for a while way back but had changed to steel for the usual reasons. I thought it would be fun to try them again to get the old-school sound. Ben Street came through town with an excellent group and I loaned him my main bass with Evahs. He was complimentary about the bass, which was nice of him, and asked about the strings. I told him and mentioned that they were rather pricey. He asked how much and when I told him he said,"I pay that much for a gut D string". I hadn't bought gut strings for a long time and the sticker shock made me reconsider.
When I first started playing double bass I borrowed a plywood bass which had what I think were some kind of gut cored string (fine silver wrapped E and A, coarse round nylon wrapped D and G, loop ends), and I really wasn't fond of them at the time - I wanted a Spirocore sound like Dave Holland or Danny Thompson.
Later I tried a plain gut D and G over my Spirocore E and A, and thought the G was cool but the D was far too dark and flubby on my bass. I think I pretty much need the Spirocores on the bottom to be happy, but I do wonder if I could get away with a Haden-ish setup with a wrapped gut D and G. There's something about the attack on the high strings I hear from people with gut that I like, that little dry snap, even if I know I couldn't deal with a full set.
But I don't have any sense of urgency about trying as the full set of Spiros work well enough...
Later I tried a plain gut D and G over my Spirocore E and A, and thought the G was cool but the D was far too dark and flubby on my bass. I think I pretty much need the Spirocores on the bottom to be happy, but I do wonder if I could get away with a Haden-ish setup with a wrapped gut D and G. There's something about the attack on the high strings I hear from people with gut that I like, that little dry snap, even if I know I couldn't deal with a full set.
But I don't have any sense of urgency about trying as the full set of Spiros work well enough...
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At about three years I had a comment lined up, but the phone rang. At six years, I sat dumb in front of the screen, still, not ready. At nine years, after three espressos I sat down with pandemic determination and finally...
I put a full set on my American Standard at the beginning of the pandemic just to try to make me play more. I absolutely loved them. They were perfect for a second bass. My other bass was strung with solos and my main practicing bass, almost completely arco. I had to sell my American Standard due to pandemic loss. Once faced with only one bass again I tried to string it with gut solos. They were beautiful, amazing! But I couldn't get the highest stuff to ring the way I had grown accustomed to (Bach Cello Suites). I actually put them up for sale here on TB because I'm afraid I'll just keep going back and forth and not get any practicing done. They are gamuts and they are unbelievably great. When they sell I may just spring for a full set just to keep around for pizz playing and recording. There is nothing like them. I love gut. But I often find that it can't be my only string, too many steel sounds that I also favor.
I have never been able to take that plunge. I like doing two bass projects with someone else on gut! I did some beautiful duos with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and this was one of my favorite recordings I've made. Nate McBride, a fantastic bassist is playing gut here. Two basses, two drummers one pianist:
When I had steel strings on one bass and gut on the other it was tricky to switch back and forth between basses. Each string type require a different approach and I found it hard to adjust on the fly.
- Steve
- Steve
I think I played gut for so many years that I just automatically switch approaches. But bowing is definitely different, starting the note, how much bow to use etc.
