I just installed a set of Rotosound RS4000 strings on one of my basses, a "Wunderlich" hybrid made in Germany in 1968. I am primarily a jazz player, but I do a bit of slapping with the traditional jazz band I play with and I've toyed with the idea of setting up this bass with gut strings. The Rotosound set came to me at a great price, so I thought I'd share my thoughts as these strings are not discussed too often
They look, feel, and sound a bit like gut strings. The D and G are thick, have a tan color, and are among the lowest tension bass strings I've ever played, making them both easier and harder to play than steel strings, if that makes sense. The pizzicato sound has that springy character you hear with gut strings, and bowed they have a sort of nasal, wobbly sound. The bowed sound is not awful, but I wouldn't use to these to audition for the NY Philharmonic. The loose tension lends itself to slapping, and I could see bluegrass or rockabilly players liking them for this purpose.
The E and A are wrapped in metal and are much more like traditional metal strings even though they have a synthetic core. They are not bright sounding, but the bowed and pizzicato sound is more stable and conventional in comparison to the D and G. They are quite a bit stiffer and you have to approach them differently, but this is also a characteristic of gut string sets with a metal wrapped E and A strings. All four strings have a slightly textured feel when compared to steel or synthetic core strings. I suspect this set was an attempt to offer bassist a more stable string that retained some of the characteristics of the gut strings that were still common at the time. I'd say that it succeeds in that regard. Whether they stay on my bass for long remains to be seen.
- Steve
They look, feel, and sound a bit like gut strings. The D and G are thick, have a tan color, and are among the lowest tension bass strings I've ever played, making them both easier and harder to play than steel strings, if that makes sense. The pizzicato sound has that springy character you hear with gut strings, and bowed they have a sort of nasal, wobbly sound. The bowed sound is not awful, but I wouldn't use to these to audition for the NY Philharmonic. The loose tension lends itself to slapping, and I could see bluegrass or rockabilly players liking them for this purpose.
The E and A are wrapped in metal and are much more like traditional metal strings even though they have a synthetic core. They are not bright sounding, but the bowed and pizzicato sound is more stable and conventional in comparison to the D and G. They are quite a bit stiffer and you have to approach them differently, but this is also a characteristic of gut string sets with a metal wrapped E and A strings. All four strings have a slightly textured feel when compared to steel or synthetic core strings. I suspect this set was an attempt to offer bassist a more stable string that retained some of the characteristics of the gut strings that were still common at the time. I'd say that it succeeds in that regard. Whether they stay on my bass for long remains to be seen.
- Steve
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