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Double Bass Trad Jazz Strings

#21
Jake deVilliers said:
The Innovation Honeys are a good choice if you want to play arco but they are still metal wound strings. They do make a good crossover string in that they are somewhere between Weichs and Super Silvers in character.
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I'm currently running the Innovation 140B(raided) D&G and the 140H(oney) E&A and quite like them. They seem to have a little more tension than something like Spiro Weichs, but not uncomfortably/stiffly so (discussion on stiffness vs tension, anyone?); if anything, I find the extra tension allows a little more dig-in and gives a bit more feel back thru the fingers. They've got a reasonably nice but not overdone thumpy attack & they're pretty good under the bow, too. The synthetic core seem to lend itself to a bit less sustain which makes them (to my ears) gut-ier, but I'd agree with Jake; they're a good in-betweener but not what you'd call a classic gut-sound.


As always, different basses react differently to different strings...
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+1 My bass is quite young and very resonant in the upper range; older basses I've heard seem to be more mellow in that regard, leaning towards a deeper, warmer sound.
 
#22
swingingoodtime said:
I'm currently running the Innovation 140B(raided) D&G and the 140H(oney) E&A and quite like them. They seem to have a little more tension than something like Spiro Weichs, but not uncomfortably/stiffly so (discussion on stiffness vs tension, anyone?); if anything, I find the extra tension allows a little more dig-in and gives a bit more feel back thru the fingers. They've got a reasonably nice but not overdone thumpy attack & they're pretty good under the bow, too. The synthetic core seem to lend itself to a bit less sustain which makes them (to my ears) gut-ier, but I'd agree with Jake; they're a good in-betweener but not what you'd call a classic gut-sound.
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Good point. The Honeys are stiffer strings because of their solid nylon core and consequently they do offer more resistance to the right hand. Their tension is a little less than Weichs though.
 
#23
calivox said:
I gotta throw my 2 cents in here. I NEVER glissed on Spiros because I couldn't do it without it sounding like I was playing a big fretless. I gliss all of the time on gut. It has a beautiful vocal quality to it. I slide around while walking lines and especially while soloing.
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After Lucas' post yesterday, I decided to get a little more "glissy" :hmm: than I normally would, last night on the gig. Really no problem at all; like you said, a nice vocal quality. Even the wound lower strings are quite comfortable. And without the "giant fretless" sound that sometimes comes from Spiros. It still sounds like a double bass.
 
#24
So I have a set of cheap gut strings that I purchased awhile back just to try. I took off the d within the first day. It sounded awful. The g sounded ok and I left it on for a little while but then took it off. I just put them back on to try again and as before the d string sounds awful. THe g is ok and sounds like it might open up but the d... its like I am not even playing a note. At best it sounds like I am tapping on a plastic toy xylophone with drum stick. Anyway, are there any thoughts on how to get this thing sounding better? Do I just need to be patient? Can it really sound that awful now and be great sounding in a couple of weeks? Thanks
 
#25
Guts do open up and it can takes weeks for that to happen but I think the real root of your problem is you're using cheap guts. Get a good D/G. They'll last a really long time and they'll sound good right away and great after a few days and really great after a week or two. And they'll stay that way for a very long time.

mark
 
#27
Marcus Johnson said:
After Lucas' post yesterday, I decided to get a little more "glissy" :hmm: than I normally would, last night on the gig. Really no problem at all; like you said, a nice vocal quality. Even the wound lower strings are quite comfortable. And without the "giant fretless" sound that sometimes comes from Spiros. It still sounds like a double bass.
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LaFaro did this sliding thing while walking. He'd work up the G, stairstepping up the scale (in Bb--Bb, D, C, Eb,D etc.) And he'd do a quick gliss on the up a third part and, man, it kills me every time I hear it. It goes without saying, I had to steal it. I can't do it on my Kolstein Travel bass strung with Spiros because it doesn't sound right on steel. Works GREAT on guts.

The other cool bit I heard him do was over a A-7b5/D7 ii V. 2 beats each chord. He'd play an A on the G string, slide up to the Eb on the G and slide down to the D. Amazing on guts. Sounds like Jaco on Spiros (not that there is anything wrong with that but when I want to sound like Jaco, I'll get out my fretless Jazz).

mark
 
#29
It's not so much that I want to sound "slippery" all the time, but it is nice to be able to slide around if you want to/need to! Most of the time my hands don't sweat enough anyway, so if my hands are particularly dry then I don't do as much of it as I could.

I would agree that I don't need my bass to sound like a fretless electric...and it is why my action is fairly high at all times. I don't use the "Mwah" sound much, but like I said...for some jazz soloing it is nice to have if you need it!

I don't have much experience with these hi-end guts, but I have played a couple basses over at Lemur music that obviously had good ones, with varnish...and the sound was INCREDIBLE!

But to respond to a couple of posts up, cheapo guts won't do the trick. I have tried, and all they are good for is real folksy music like bluegrass, Hawaiian or Mariachi...in my opinion, anything were you don't need a lot of articulation.

I did tool around with some "rat pack live in Vegas" one time, using the cheap guts...and as long as I amplified them, they sounded ok as I played along with the CD....

The Gamuts sound intriguing....but $500 bucks for a set? Wow!
 
#30
lucas vigor said:
The Gamuts sound intriguing....but $500 bucks for a set? Wow!
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Yeah, there is that factor... but the good news is, they last a long time and sound reaaaaly good.

I did a show with Willie Nelson last month on O'ahu. Of course, Willie is known to be aligned with the whole biodiesel thing.. he owns his own string of bio-d statons on the mainland. So the guy that drove me around Honolulu had this beautiful big Mercedes 300D, running on bio. It had to be at least 30 years years old, maybe more. It was well-cared for, and easily one of the nicest rides I've had in a long time. As I stepped out of this wonderful car at my hotel, for all the world, it reminded me of the Gamut strings that I'm using right now. LOL. Same level of quality.
 
#31
I hear ya, Marcus...there is something about quality made items that is so immediately apparent. This is something I argue with the slab-heads over on the other side of this forum , whenever they crow about how much they love their $129 SX basses compared to hi end boutiques like Lull, Lakland, Celinder, etc....

I am willing to bet the Gamuts are exactly as you describe them...not your Parent's gut string!

One day!
 
#32
I guess I've professed my love for the Gamuts over too many threads here now... I'm surprised that nobody has used the word "shill" yet in referring to me.

But I've tried a lot of gut strings that didn't work for me at all. The bottom line for me would be; if you're on the fence about trying gut strings, it would be good to judge them by the current state of the art. Any of the limitations that might come from lesser gut strings are not present with these strings on my bass.

YMMV.
 
#33
calivox said:
LaFaro did this sliding thing while walking. He'd work up the G, stairstepping up the scale (in Bb--Bb, D, C, Eb,D etc.) And he'd do a quick gliss on the up a third part and, man, it kills me every time I hear it. It goes without saying, I had to steal it. I can't do it on my Kolstein Travel bass strung with Spiros because it doesn't sound right on steel. Works GREAT on guts.

The other cool bit I heard him do was over a A-7b5/D7 ii V. 2 beats each chord. He'd play an A on the G string, slide up to the Eb on the G and slide down to the D. Amazing on guts.
mark
Click to expand...

Big +1.
I don't do gut, but why don't more players use these little glissandi? So many bassists think every note has to be hit dead on.
Sorry fer the OT. (sorta, I guess). ;)
 
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