marvin spangles Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) Just pulled the trigger on a set of guts from a fellow bass chatter . I do a reasonable amount of classical playing so I've always stuck to some form of steels or wound guts. . I'm lucky enough to have two basses so while my go to bass is strung with wound guts which bow and pizz great I thought I'd give the guts a try. I LOVE THESE strings. Only been on the bass two days so I have to tune frequently . I'm hoping they'll stretch in time. The low tension is so appealing. I can get round the bass so much easier. The tone is full Fat ... None of your semi skimmed stuff here. I hope this translates well in a gig. Thought I'd share my initial enthusiasm. Edited May 23, 2014 by marvin spangles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Please don't...... I'm trying very hard to not get tempted into trying guts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 If I still had two basses I would have one strung with guts. I don't have a gig for them but my god they are so much fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbie Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Good on ya sir. For me there is no other string but Gut. Yet I do understand the predicament of those who bow a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencer.b Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Nice one Marvin, be interested to hear how it goes on gigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin spangles Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 Gig tonight with a 4 piece all original stuff. This only my second gig with this singer so couldnt afford to use her as a string experiment. Didn't have the courage to use the gut strung bass. I'd prefer a straight ahead jazz gig first to see how they blend. Just in the door but I'm thinking about practicing tomorrow. These strings are addictive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 They would've gone out of tune every song anyway, next week will be more practical. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtroun Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I'm on the way to plain gut from wrapped. I had all spiros, then oliv G, then oliv D as well, then I bought a gamut lyon G. I find it superior to the Oliv G in terms of flexibility, tuning and tone. With the bow it responds well, though it requires a slightly different approach from the Oliv D, which is awaiting the arrival of gamut D to replace it. I just bought Evah Pirazzi Weich E and A to replace the spiros and I'm now wondering why I put up with such high tension for so long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I can't read this thread as the GAS is too strong! I would love to try out a set of guts though and I know a friend who has just put them on his bass so will go and have a go on his! I hope I hate them as my string addition is getting expensive...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtroun Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 You're doomed Geoff, but fear not, apparently plain guts can last decades... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 [quote name='mtroun' timestamp='1401020803' post='2459171'] You're doomed Geoff, but fear not, apparently plain guts can last decades... [/quote] That's interesting I think one concern I would have is how well they did on the gig. There are some strings which I like the acoustic pizz sound of like Belcanto, but for me don't cut it on a gig. I'm looking forward to hearing more about how everyone gets on with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 The lack of sustain did for me. I think if the gig was all about playing rhythm they'd be the perfect string but if you're used to playing long purring notes from steel/hybrid strings you might miss that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtroun Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I guess it depends what you want out of them. I like a little bit of a fight in my action at the moment, but the spirocores were just killing me at the current height (10-12mm) but the gamut G feels very happy at 10mm (bearing in mind this is with Oliv D and Evah Weich A and E, the idea is to wait for the Gamut D and see how it goes with the Evahs but I think they will be an okay match). I am more or less a straight ahead jazz player, though I do like my strings to be bowable. If you were expecting your instrument to sound like an electric bass or to play modern orchestral music I think there would be performance issues. I don't think the gamut lyon (unvarnished) is drastically more difficult to bow than the Oliv, but it requires a lighter, faster approach, and is much much brighter than a year-old Oliv D but even with my modest arco skills I can play some coherent music without it sounding too mismatched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin spangles Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 Hi nameistaken The gamuts have more than enough sustain IMHO. Maybe not as much as Spiros but then sometimes that Mwah isn't always desirable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I had pistoy D and G strings on my bass but I suppose 'enough' sustain is quite a personal thing. It wasn't enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeponehandloose Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 guts are becoming far too popular, your bound to push the price up... stop it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvin spangles Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Ok so update The love affair continues. The pistoy was a bit thuddy compared to the Lyon e but it's starting to open up. The E copper wound is probably the weakest on this bass . The tuning is stabilising. The feel and tone continue to inspire. Practicing some Parker Heads and trying to get some speed. There is an addictive 'chiff' to the pizz. The arco for me is unusable. I can bow the strings ok but the tone on the G string wouldn't work for me in an ensemble. I'm fortunate enough to have another bass that can do that stuff. Still I can do stuff on this gut set up that was a 'fight' on steels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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