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Double Bass Time to change it up.. what strings should I get next
- Thread starter unbrokenchain
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Initial impression: had to crank the bridge adjusters WAY up from where I had the Spiros. Still might go more. Pizz on G and D is immediately outstanding, what I had in mind originally. The A string has a great tone to it if not a ton of volume (and to be fair this bass always has kind of a weak open A). The open E sounds amazing, but notes F through G# basically don't exist
. Hope that changes. Arco, eh.. the plain guts have kind of a nice tone but the wound ones are super hard to start. I have the Spiro E/A's both weich and mittel at the ready but all new strings, and I suppose guts most of all, are supposed to change a good bit so I'll leave them on for a while at least. My only gig this weekend got canceled so I've got another week to get used to 'em. Definitely a different animal! Shakes the room 
After seeing your pic with the new strings I spent some time looking at Lenzners at Gollihur's (NFI) and have to say I'm pretty intrigued... Very affordable guts and they look very well made.
For me, I'm still not completely ready to give up my SilverSlap E and A for clarity, growl and volume. But the Lenzners look very nice and I'd almost be tempted to go gut with the full set, especially at that price.
For me, I'm still not completely ready to give up my SilverSlap E and A for clarity, growl and volume. But the Lenzners look very nice and I'd almost be tempted to go gut with the full set, especially at that price.
Yeah it's not that they're exactly cheap, but for guts... and Gollihur ships nearly instantly, sheesh.. As far as I can tell they're well-made, uniform diameter and windings are perfect if a little rough compared to steel strings. The A string already had a knot tied in it at the tailpiece end, I added another for fear it would pull through and it wasn't easy. I keep picking up the bass and playing while I'm *trying to accomplish other tasks at home, they are getting more stable and pretty much blowing me away. The arco will definitely take some getting used to, but good practice and that's what the carved bass is for anyway. Feeling like I should have taken this plunge some long time ago..
Give them a month. Do nothing to them but tune and play. They should wake right up.
IME, guts require a slower start to the note, and pretty light weight/low pressure in the bow arm. You can pick up the speed of the bow a bit once started, but the very start of the bow stroke needs to be slower (especially for the lower strings, but I found this true for the D and G as well). Anyway, just my .2 cents.
Also, good call and leaving them on for a while, and it's a blessing in disguise your gig got cancelled this weekend, as it'll let you play in and stretch the strings out a bit more before actually gigging with them.
I bet arco will break them in more quickly than pizz... Seems that constant vibe loosens up any strings.
I advise you to rewind the E string so that it addresses the nut at less of an angle!
Advice heeded, good call Mr. Curry! Stretchy strings mean more turns on the peg than I anticipated..
The next day: Into it. Jacked the bridge up another couple whole adjuster turns, sky high now. It looks scary but it's actually easy to play, the strings have such a soft feel. The pitch center issue on the E mostly went away when the bridge went up further. Pizz they are glorious, just a bit of boing to the E and A that I think will subside. Love being able to dig in super hard and have the strings just get louder, really a different beast. Arco still nah, but I'll keep trying
If I had been following this thread better, I could have given you a set of those to checkout, as I have a couple of used sets in the string drawer right now....'might be time to put them in the calssifieds...
The next day: Into it. Jacked the bridge up another couple whole adjuster turns, sky high now. It looks scary but it's actually easy to play, the strings have such a soft feel. The pitch center issue on the E mostly went away when the bridge went up further. Pizz they are glorious, just a bit of boing to the E and A that I think will subside. Love being able to dig in super hard and have the strings just get louder, really a different beast. Arco still nah, but I'll keep trying
Guts can do that, there seems to be no limit!
Well what the H James!
Nah thanks anyway, something nice about having a fresh new set, besides if I break 'em I'll only have myself to blame. So far so good, one of the projects I have coming up is an album for a killer young banjo player/ETSU grad. It's on the border between trad grass and newgrass, so I'm thinking this setup will be the bee's knees. I'll be leaving the bow at home for a while though
Arco puzzled solved. Solution: more rosin. A lot more compared to what I usually use.. Guts need a lot of everything apparently, string height, string grooves, elbow grease.. but now these suckers are singing, the low strings are unexpectedly LOUD arco now that I've gotten them to start well. Probably need less now that there's a little base layer on the strings. HECK yeah. Happy camper.
Good that you've discovered the missing element! But ... you don't clean the rosin off the strings? Just asking, 'cause I've found that rosin buildup can have negative effects. ?
Similar experience with the nyl-something-on wrapped SilverSlaps, which are not officially rated well for arco. Generous rosin, tight bow, a little technique evolution; get them started and they don't want to shut up. Not that my bowing is anything to brag about, but for the occasional long simple deep note, they sound good. I also found that once filled with sufficient rosin stored between the wrap windings, they continue to respond pretty nicely. And then the strings break in noticably more quickly with arco than with pizz.
And, I do wipe them regularly to reduce buildup, but once the rosin gets between the wrap windings, it's there for keeps and arco benefits for it.
And, I do wipe them regularly to reduce buildup, but once the rosin gets between the wrap windings, it's there for keeps and arco benefits for it.
I feel similarly to Don, my tendency thus far with steels is to clean them only when they're really getting caked, maybe once a week, and even then I usually just wipe it off with a dry rag or my fingers in a pinch. Alcohol only when changing types of rosin or if something's not acting right, cuz I always have to play it for ~20 minutes after to "season" the strings again, so to speak. But I also use very hard rosin and generally as little of it as I can get away with. And all that said, I've never had guts before so these might require something different. I've got some Pops that I bet would make these strings speak a little more quickly, but I'm not going to put it on either of my bows unless I absolutely have to, not much a fan in general but it sure is some grippy stuff.
I'm a little more vain about it I guess, I'll wipe the rosin after a gig or jam or session. But, I don't wipe it off, I wipe it in with my fingers, knowing it improves the bowing grip later on.
I prefer the Nymans rosin with chestnut bow hair for plain gut, roughly 8 swipes of it works great for me. I try to keep it warm and use a dedicated dry rag to wipe it from the strings, not the bow, if I see powder.
I've never had much luck with Pops or stickier rosins. All the other rosins I've tried (quite a few!) are too scratchy for me, I always end up back at old Nymans...it just sounds the best for me. Pops is popular though, so it must work better for other people.
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