Double Bass String Recommendation Gamut Lyons and ???

[rogerjeep]

First off, a little of what I have and looking for.
I have a 65 Kay S-9 currently strung with Evah Slaps. I like the gut G of the slaps but not really any of the other strings. I mainly play older country and R&R as well as western swing. Primarily Pizz.

I am looking at the Gamut Lyons G and D but not sure about which A/E string to use. I would like more sustain on the A/E during ballads so I'm not sure about using Gamut Wounds. Since I've never played a set of Gamuts, I am not sure if the A/E are more thud than sustain. Would it be ok to pair the G/D Gamuts with spirocore A/E mediums? Would the balance ok or would the feel be off? Is that a bad idea??? Or should I stay with Gamut Wounds A/E? Any recommendations or opinions would be great.

 

[AGCurry]

The wound Gamuts have plenty of sustain! Not thuddy. Spiros on the bottom are also tried and true, but the weich may match better to the high guts in tension.

 

[Grant the Canuk]

First off, a little of what I have and looking for.
I have a 65 Kay S-9 currently strung with Evah Slaps. I like the gut G of the slaps but not really any of the other strings. I mainly play older country and R&R as well as western swing. Primarily Pizz.

I am looking at the Gamut Lyons G and D but not sure about which A/E string to use. I would like more sustain on the A/E during ballads so I'm not sure about using Gamut Wounds. Since I've never played a set of Gamuts, I am not sure if the A/E are more thud than sustain. Would it be ok to pair the G/D Gamuts with spirocore A/E mediums? Would the balance ok or would the feel be off? Is that a bad idea??? Or should I stay with Gamut Wounds A/E? Any recommendations or opinions would be great.

Buy My Gamut GDA and use your slap E! You'll probably like how they work together. If not you can always get a wound gamut E and you'll save a bundle.

 

[210superair]

I was eyeballing your gamuts the last few weeks, lol.

I always enjoy the string threads. There's so many options out there, and they're so expensive, I always find these threads helpful in future decision making.

I haven't played Lyons, but I have a set of red diamond cheapie guts, which obviously don't compare. Still, I don't mind the D and G strings, and I'm currently waiting on some golden slaps to replace the unwinding A and E strings. I personally won't buy wound strings again, but I am sure others dig them. I didn't have a problem with performance, they just don't last well for me evidently. And paying $60 to rewind a string seems nuts to me.

Good luck!

 

[Grant the Canuk]

I was eyeballing your gamuts the last few weeks, lol.

I always enjoy the string threads. There's so many options out there, and they're so expensive, I always find these threads helpful in future decision making.

I haven't played Lyons, but I have a set of red diamond cheapie guts, which obviously don't compare. Still, I don't mind the D and G strings, and I'm currently waiting on some golden slaps to replace the unwinding A and E strings. I personally won't buy wound strings again, but I am sure others dig them. I didn't have a problem with performance, they just don't last well for me evidently. And paying $60 to rewind a string seems nuts to me.

Good luck!

I like the Red Diamonds almost as much as the Lyon/Pistoy. Just not the best for arco. Also I've decided that I'm a Thomastik guy and that I should share the spoils of my string rabit hole instead of dusting them off from time to time for a walk down memory lane so to speak.

 

[Sam Dingle]

I enjoyed Evah weich with gut DG

 

[Reiska]

+1 for Evah weichs, I use Pistoy medium+ G and light+ D with them. Spiros are great too, but unfortunately my bass doesn`t like steel A strings with plain gut on top.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Evahs choke when you lean on them.

I’m a fan of guts over stone-dead Spiro Weichs on a good Kay.

 

[Reiska]

Evahs choke when you lean on them.

I’m a fan of guts over stone-dead Spiro Weichs on a good Kay.

Yes they do but find that less of a problem than incredibly hard to play A string which Spiros represent on my bass. I think I get plenty enough volume out from my setup, but without a screaming A string. One thing I would change in all Evahs is the nonsense tension confiquration with less tension on the E than A. It makes setup critical to avoid weak sounding and feeling E string.

 

[Sam Dingle]

what kung fu says about evahs is true and is why I don't use evah weich anymore, BUT I found the evah weich EA more flexible than spiro weich and at a higher string height liked it fine. Still not perfect.

 

[Jim Dombrowski]

Spiro Weichs. Much better tension match than Mittels. My favorite are the 3/4 (3885) Weichs, which are harder to find unless you’re buying new.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

One thing I would change in all Evahs is the nonsense tension confiquration with less tension on the E than A.

That’s a thing for most or all Pirastro sets. Their logic is that a lighter E is more likely to project a clear tone.

 

[juusokasperi]

I have a Gamut wound A string and it's got plenty of sustain & the tone is clear in the thumb positions as well. Before that I had a Pirastro Chorda Carlos A which IME stays in tune better.

 

[Sam Dingle]

That’s a thing for most or all Pirastro sets. Their logic is that a lighter E is more likely to project a clear tone.

I personally hate this a lot. I asked pirastro when getting a tester Perpetual set if the E string was weak, and on the normal set yes, but on the extended set no, the E is higher tension. Good for me but not for most.

 

[labravajazz]

The wound Gamuts have plenty of sustain! Not thuddy. Spiros on the bottom are also tried and true, but the weich may match better to the high guts in tension.

Yes the Gamut’s are round wound on gut and definitely not dull or thudding!
They also match the plain gut tension better than metal lower strings. A whole set is the way to go if you can afford it