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Double Bass Sonores Gut Strings by Gerold Genssler

#441
Billy Mohler said:
I've played Gerold's WRAPS, HELIX and J-ROQUES. On my bass the J-ROQUES are hands down the best strings I've ever played! I came from playing Pirastro Chorda guts, which I loved until I put the J-ROQUES on. They have the best qualities of gut strings - playability, tone and feel, while being as stable as steels with tuning. They also have a top end/midrange articulation that guts always lacked for me. As far as string tension goes on my bass from tightest to loosest - WRAPS, HELIX (smaller gauge) and J-ROQUES. Hope this info helps someone on the string quest!
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Can you provide a photo of the strings on your bass?
 
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#442

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#448
Oh my god guys, I haven't been stringing my 2020 APs looped around the tailpiece the way Gerold recommends. I just changed it and the difference is so shocking!!! There's so much more overtones, bottom end, it's louder, and it feels like the strings are really driving the top now.

To be fair I don't know if everyone's bass will respond this way, but if you play these strings just pay the cash for his tailpiece and do the loop around instead of waiting two years to get around to both like me!
 
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#454
ablumley said:
I have had 2 sets of B-roque strings made for fifths tuning. They were fantastic gut strings. Quality comparable to Gamuts but a more modern approach with the wound strings being flatwound with mysterious alloys.
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I imagine that a bass strung with guts tuned in fifths must be an amazing sound! Thanks for sharing. I've been very impressed with his Helix set but have spent so much of my life playing gut I think I have to go back to that.
 
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#455
crd said:
I imagine that a bass strung with guts tuned in fifths must be an amazing sound! Thanks for sharing. I've been very impressed with his Helix set but have spent so much of my life playing gut I think I have to go back to that.
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Improvised music may or may not be your thing but I recorded this solo record on a set of BRoque strings for fifths tuning:

On the current Sonores brochure it looks like the low strings of the BRoque set aren't wound gut. The sets that I had were both wound gut ("stablized"?) but what was amazing was that the cores never shrunk or separated from the windings . After about 3 years of hard use, the harmonics were pretty gone and I did manage to break treble A strings faster than the rest were wearing out though. Extra heavy varnished gauges of the unwound strings would've been my preference but Sonores are geared more towards lower, balanced tensions. They are eminently playable strings (both arco and pizz) and to my ears they sound fantastic even after they get pretty worn out.
 
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#456
ablumley said:
Improvised music may or may not be your thing but I recorded this solo record on a set of BRoque strings for fifths tuning:

On the current Sonores brochure it looks like the low strings of the BRoque set aren't wound gut. The sets that I had were both wound gut ("stablized"?) but what was amazing was that the cores never shrunk or separated from the windings . After about 3 years of hard use, the harmonics were pretty gone and I did manage to break treble A strings faster than the rest were wearing out though. Extra heavy varnished gauges of the unwound strings would've been my preference but Sonores are geared more towards lower, balanced tensions. They are eminently playable strings (both arco and pizz) and to my ears they sound fantastic even after they get pretty worn out.
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That is going to the top of my listen pile. Thanks!!
 
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#460
Ben Rolston said:
Yeah none of the Genssler I’ve tried are at all similar to those strings. Tempera Basso are bright and articulate like Spiro Weich and Tempera Hybrid have an authority kind of like Spiro Mittels.
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Yeah, Temperas. But they are much softer (not floppy) than spiros still with great sustain. I liked Tempera Bassos as a hybrid strings but when I played amplified with strong drums in the band I suddenly had difficulties in hearing the lower notes. That bass is is very dark. Now I´m waiting for the Helix for my brighter jazz bass :)
Gerold said you should pick the APs if you want those mids that cut through. But not if you have a nasal bass.
 

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