Double Bass Time to change it up.. what strings should I get next

[210superair]

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...

PM me if you want to part with some James. I need an A and E for both basses now. My Lezner's started to come unwound just like the Gaumts, grrr.

Anyone have thoughts as to why that is? Obviously the problem is me. Do the wrapped guts not like slapping or bowing, or both? I don't play slap like a psyhcobilly guy would or anything, but I do pull pretty hard in general I think...

 

[unbrokenchain]

Anyone have thoughts as to why that is? Obviously the problem is me.

Other than having smooth, lubricated bridge and nut slots, it's probably more temp/humidity related than the way you're playing, if I had to guess. Steel windings and gut cores supposedly do wildly different things. I expect that mine will come undone at some point, hopefully get a good while out of them though. If it happens too soon I'm going Spiro mittel on the E/A, but I do hope they last cuz I'm liking them a lot!

 

[210superair]

Other than having smooth, lubricated bridge and nut slots, it's probably more temp/humidity related than the way you're playing, if I had to guess. Steel windings and gut cores supposedly do wildly different things. I expect that mine will come undone at some point, hopefully get a good while out of them though. If it happens too soon I'm going Spiro mittel on the E/A, but I do hope they last cuz I'm liking them a lot!

That's what Gollihur said. I have a home humidifier hooked up to my boiler, and generally speaking my humidity is perfect for instruments, but who knows. I find it odd because they all loosened up right at the same spot, between the fingerboard and bridge, right where I bow, and play pizz often when not slapping. At any rate, It's a bummer. I'm going to have to do something in the next day or two, heavy gigging starts up March 14th, so the timing probably bums me out as much or more than having an issue. Thinking about an E and A golden slap from what I've read, just to get through for now. I don't think I have proper time for pure guts to settle in, which stinks....

 

[210superair]

Gotta give a shout out to Gollihur here. He did every well in making me a happy customer, even though obviously whatever happened wasn't his fault. I was already a loyal customer, but thanks Mark! Much appreciated.

 

[unbrokenchain]

@210superair sounds like you've got some kinda game plan, but if ya just need something on the E and A I've got extra Helicore and Corelli TX E strings and a Spiro mittel A I'd be happy to send ya, just let me know.

 

[210superair]

@210superair sounds like you've got some kinda game plan, but if ya just need something on the E and A I've got extra Helicore and Corelli TX E strings and a Spiro mittel A I'd be happy to send ya, just let me know.

I think I'm covered, but appreciate the offer. I'll let you know if that updates. I'm gonna throw golden slap A and E with the red diamonds on the Eastman, and some unwound E/A lezners for the Kay...

 

[Don Hergert]

Interesting!

What do you think of the unwound Lenzner E/A?

 

[unbrokenchain]

Yeah I'm also curious what the "flubby" E sounds like, let us know when you find out superair!

 

[AGCurry]

I use a piece of Scotchbrite to wipe my strings.

 

[AGCurry]

Interesting!

What do you think of the unwound Lenzner E/A?

Looks like he has wound E and A. To my knowledge, Lenzner doesn't make an unwound E.

 

[unbrokenchain]

To my knowledge, Lenzner doesn't make an unwound E.

Gollihur carries them, from their page: "I am using the set with a wound A and E, for the more uniform string sizes, though many rockabilly folks swear by a completely gut A and E strings, so I have that set available as well."

I wish there were an easy way to get a visual representation of all the notes we hear when a string is plucked, fundamental in relation to the harmonics. Cuz there's something really interesting going on with guts, that I recognize from listening to old Paul Chambers and such that I now can hear on my bass. Like there's a particular note an octave or two up that sounds simultaneously but distinct from the fundamental, that's much more apparent on gut than on steels. Anyway.

 

[Don Hergert]

Yes, Gollihur's Lenzner web page (NFI) discusses three sets, one with wound EA gut DG, one with wound E gut ADG, and one with all guts, plus you can buy singles of any of them.

Personally, among the Lenzners, if the not-wound gut EA are clear and loud, at least consistent with the gut DG, I'd prefer to just go all gut and not worry about having strings unwind. If I'm going to do gut string maintenance, I may as well do it with them all...

On the other hand, if the not-wound gut EA are not clear and loud, more or less out of balance with the gut DG, I may as well use my NOS (UK) SilverSlaps EA with only not-wound gut DG, as I've been thinking about for some time.

That's why I've asked about impressions of the not-wound gut Lenzner EA here.

 

[mittenwald]

That's why I've asked about impressions of the not-wound gut Lenzner EA here.

I used to use the not-wound gut Lenzner A...it gave me the confidence to upgrade to a Gamut Pistoy plain A which i've been using for a year or two.

I specified a light gauge Lenzner A when I bought it, it wasn't as thick as I expected and it was a darker brown color than most gut strings I've used, maybe it was loaded?

It sounded good to me, I used it for jazz gigs and it filled up the room with deep bass the way plain guts do. I've used heavier plain gut A strings and they can buzz and get a bit pitch indistinct if they are too big, I guess that's why they used gut frets in the olden days.

I think all plain gut A strings probably need at least 15mm off the fingerboard or they're too quiet. (edit)

 

[unbrokenchain]

They are staying in tune now, that's good. The pizz is a wonderful thing, I feel like I've got some more dynamic range now for sure. Amplified tone is the best I've had yet. Raising the bridge so much has thrown my intonation off a bit, I'm adapting. Arco on these makes me feel like a total beginner again, mostly the wrapped strings. Bow pressure is a major factor in intonation now too. When I get it right they really do sound good, but that's maybe 30% of the time at the moment... Sure makes the Spiros on my other bass feel easy peasy though, so I figure it's good practice.

 

[210superair]

The A is on, but I had to exchange the E string due to a manufacturer defect, the replacement should be here tomorrow hopefully, because st pats gigs start this week, so a little nervy about new strings right before doing like 6 gigs in as many days. I did play it for a sec and will say this :

I like the A string OK, but yeah, the E is going to take some getting used to. Flubby for sure, inarticulate compared to wound strings. It's pretty fat, so had to do a little nut and bridge tlc for it to fit right. BUT! They do sound really awesome and are fun to slap....

I'll try and update more completely once they're on and I'm used to them. My feedback is limited at best right now.

 

[210superair]

Well they're all on. Had a super time doing it. Bridge moved on me so I slacked the strings to move it, post falls. #@$&! Lol. So reset the post, did the bridge, tightened her back up. Gonna let it settle and play for a while before a full report, but it's definitely different than the wrapped a/E combo. Pretty cool though so far, I dig the sound and feel. The e is so super fat, gonna take some getting used to...

 

[210superair]

So they're supposed to get better as they settle in, but as they sit now, here is my review: the E is absolutely useless. Sounds terrible. The A isn't as bad, but still not good. I much prefer the wound guts, but I can't drop that kinda cash every six months for strings. So I guess I'm down the rabbit hole now. My Kay was sounding and playing awesome until this string issue, now I'm absolutely deflated with how it sounds, bummer. Eastman strings are backordered, so I'm gonna have to gig with the Kay in a state I really don't wish to play it in. I actually just quit my band, and I'm only honoring what's currently booked, which is to st pats, so after that, I'm casing everything up and stepping away from it for a while.... Time for a break. I'm even contemplating selling one of the basses. If I'm not gigging I don't need a backup, so....

 

[unbrokenchain]

So they're supposed to get better as they settle in, but as they sit now, here is my review: the E is absolutely useless. Sounds terrible. The A isn't as bad, but still not good. I much prefer the wound guts, but I can't drop that kinda cash every six months for strings. So I guess I'm down the rabbit hole now. My Kay was sounding and playing awesome until this string issue, now I'm absolutely deflated with how it sounds, bummer. Eastman strings are backordered, so I'm gonna have to gig with the Kay in a state I really don't wish to play it in. I actually just quit my band, and I'm only honoring what's currently booked, which is to st pats, so after that, I'm casing everything up and stepping away from it for a while.... Time for a break. I'm even contemplating selling one of the basses. If I'm not gigging I don't need a backup, so....

Dang superair, sounds like a rough patch of pavement. And I thought it wasn't friday the 13th til tomorrow? Can't help ya with your band situation, but I can offer that having two basses is really great if for no other reason than you can experiment with (or repair) one at a time. Good deals are hard to find, don't sell unless you absolutely have to! Apparently everyone's scared of coronavirus right now and not buying doughnuts, I think we had 4 (count 'em, four!) customers today. Took all the food to the homeless shelter. But if I get super hard up, bass is the very last thing in line for the chopping block, just sayin. Happy to send ya a steel E and A on me if you need, just let me know.

As for my lenzners, I'm starting to get a hang of the arco. It's difficult, quite difficult in fact compared to every string I've ever tried. But boy are the low notes LOUD when I get it right.

 

[AGCurry]

So they're supposed to get better as they settle in, but as they sit now, here is my review: the E is absolutely useless. Sounds terrible. The A isn't as bad, but still not good. I much prefer the wound guts, but I can't drop that kinda cash every six months for strings. So I guess I'm down the rabbit hole now. My Kay was sounding and playing awesome until this string issue, now I'm absolutely deflated with how it sounds, bummer. Eastman strings are backordered, so I'm gonna have to gig with the Kay in a state I really don't wish to play it in. I actually just quit my band, and I'm only honoring what's currently booked, which is to st pats, so after that, I'm casing everything up and stepping away from it for a while.... Time for a break. I'm even contemplating selling one of the basses. If I'm not gigging I don't need a backup, so....

Yeah. I refrained from warnings regarding naked E/A strings because I didn't want to color your experience. I too tried that route only to end up where you are, although my experiment was a lot more costly (Gamut). Kept the D/G, Spirocore weich on the bottom.

The Gamut Pistoy A is a great string but simply not practical. The E: impossible.

 

[210superair]

Yeah. I refrained from warnings regarding naked E/A strings because I didn't want to color your experience. I too tried that route only to end up where you are, although my experiment was a lot more costly (Gamut). Kept the D/G, Spirocore weich on the bottom.

The Gamut Pistoy A is a great string but simply not practical. The E: impossible.

I would've dove in anyways, lol. I'm a hard learner, always! I couldn't agree with you more tho. I don't even mind the A horribly, though I liked the wrapped much better, but I'm taking ideas on how to use the E string as something useful.... Any ideas guys? Clothesline to dry laundry on? Possibly a dog leash for walking my pups? Any other comedic uses for a pure gut E are welcome.... Lol.

Yeah chain, you know I'm in the food biz too. One of our best customers? A CRUISE LINE! Yayyyyy.... I won't say which, but it's a big name place, and I feel bad for them right now. There was literally a news story on every major online news outlet this week saying "Don't take a cruise". Can you imagine if there was a news story on Fox, CNN, and Yahoo, telling people not to buy donuts at your shop? Lol, not good for business!!!!!