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Double Bass Quick help needed! Garbos and Calipers

B

Brian Howell

Jan 5, 2007
14
0
47
Philadelphia PA
www.myspace.com
#1
Can anyone do me a huge favor? I'm ordering from DD and want to mix his top two with Garbos on the bottom. I want it to feel as close to a "set" as possible. I wrote Velvet and got measurments, but Damian said they were not right???
Can anyone measure a Garbo G, D, and A for me? Does anyone else do this and could they tell me what size DD strings you use with the Garbos? Thanks so much in advance!
 
#2
I use a .080 plain gut G and .100,D,with garbos on the A&E
I find they work very well,but I use gamuts or old stock guts which have a tighter twist than Damians do which gives a bit more tenison,than one with a more gradual twist,,I have had a G and D from Damian,,and did'nt like them near as well as gamuts,,I can measure the garbos for you but they will be very small and guts at the same gage will not have the same tenision,,hope this helps,,K
 
#3
Hi Brian,
In case you don't remember, The DD's i bought from you are '44' G and '55' D [.088 G and .11 D], which I believe you felt were on the heavy side. The A didn't have any packaging to refer to.

Hope this helps narrow things down.
Happy New Year!
 
#5
Hi Brian :)

I am thinking of going the same route real soon ..... plain gut G & D (probably Gamut) and Garbo A & E. I was also curious about gauge of Garbos so I checked the string gauge sticky here at TalkBass:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
The Garbo gauges are listed there .... I assume they are correct and are for the "regulars" (Velvet also has a "light" gauge Garbo ..... I don't know what those gauges would be).
Page down to Velvet Garbo and then to the right to see the "gauge" in thousandths of inch:
G 0.092 (2.3mm) / D 0.093 (2.4 mm) / A 0.097 (2.5 mm) / E 0.111 (2.8 mm)
As far as converting Damian's Pirastro / Pirazzi gauge to millimeters to thousandths of inches, you can use Damian's convertor here:
http://www.damianstrings.com/calc.htm
or
from the Gamut website:
"Gauging systems ... In the Gamut catalog the plain gut strings are gauged by millimeter diameter .... There are at least three popular gauging systems for measuring strings. Strings are also measured in thousandths of an inch, or "thou", and wound strings are often measured in "pirazzi-meters" . You can switch easily between each system by the following methods.
To change from millimeters to pirazzi-meters divide the millimeter number by .05.
To change from pirazzi -meters to millimeters multiply the pirazzi-meter number by .05.
To change from millimeters to thousandths of an inch divide the millimeter number by 25.4.
To change from thousandths of an inch to millimeters multiply the thousandths number by 25.4."

Now ....if you want those measurements in leagues or miles .... I can't help you there :D .

P.S. Listen up to what superman has to say .... that feller knows what he's talkin' about ;) .
 
#9
I just called you for a gig, then I see you here? Too weird...
You were incredible when I saw you. Totally inspiring!
As far as strings. I like the Garbos. I like Damian's guts better. I just can't deal with the feeling of having lower strings be thinner than higher ones. I've been emailing Damian, and I think it's just not gonna work. My Garbo A is already starting to buzz on some notes, but I recorded with the buzz, and it was cool, not really bad yet and it's been on since late Aug. I'm just trippin' man! I want guts and an E and A thicker than them. Is this too much to ask? What should I do? What should I get? I just really like the feel of the garbos' E and A, not too smooth, but not piano wire! I really want to get some sort of set-up that I can stay with. Have you tried Garbos?
 
#11
Hey Brian, You called?
Damn, I did not get the message.
Anyway, I have used every string you can think of.
It is not far for me to judge - I sweat like no one else through my hands.
I can not play on Garbo E,A,D because I turn the copper black in 30 sec.
One combo that worked for Avishai Cohen and I is Spiro E,A, Olive G,D.
Avi used Weich's , I use Orchestra.
All my basses have been on the darker side. Believe it or not, the olive G is always brighter for me than obligato or (originals) piastros, can not remember the name.

I am now back to my long time favorite - Spiro E,A,D - Olive G.

I once got a bass with the Labella Gut set. I thought the E,A were killing.
I remember playing on Wilbur Ware's bass and they felt very similar.

Brian , you and I both missed the glorious Golden Spiral days. You would have liked them. Not as thick as Garbo G.
Bob Hurst, Reginal Veal, and Peter Washington just to name a few.
But they bowed like crap. I can remember Bob swapping them out all the time because Wynton Marsalis had him doing a lot of Arco - pain in the ass to change strings all the time.

The night you saw me was the first time I had been all steel in a while. Helen has a lot of Arco in here music. So now I am back to the set up I had 15 years ago. Oh well.
good luck. There is no answer, just keep trying. Sometimes I think it is important to experiment, it gives you a perspective on your playing. Funny how your problems will follow you no matter what strings you are using.

What gut's have you been using?? I tried Goetz - but age old problem of them unwrapping in first set.

Oh yah , you are looking for even thickness . Hmmm?
Try the Olives some time - gut wrapped with metal. Thick but not as thick as Spiro Orchestra E,A

All the best Brian - you sound great!
mp
 

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