Advice needed on gut strings for an EUB?

[derrenleepoole]

I'm thinking of getting a cheap set of gut strings from India (eBay) for the NS Wav EUB. I've never used them before, so I suppose I need advice on the pros and cons of such strings. What are the pitfalls to look out for? What are the benefits of such strings etc? Your wisdom and guidance is much needed

[yanto]

[quote name='derrenleepoole' post='1128434' date='Feb 15 2011, 03:15 PM']I'm thinking of getting a cheap set of gut strings from India (eBay) for the NS Wav EUB. I've never used them before, so I suppose I need advice on the pros and cons of such strings. What are the pitfalls to look out for? What are the benefits of such strings etc? Your wisdom and guidance is much needed [/quote]

Not sure what kind of pickup is on the NS.If it's magnetic then it won't pick up the guts,so no sound.If it's a piezo you'll be OK.I wouldn't go for that cheap Indian guts.I've seen reviews on Talkbass and DoubleBassChat and they're not universally liked as they're very stiff and the quality of the gut is poor.With guts you also have maintenance/stretching/tuning problems.I wouldn't bother unless you want all these problems at a big price-decent guts can set you back £250-£500 a set!If you're after a similar low tension feel then companies like Innovation and Presto make hybrid strings that would suit you better and cost £75-100 a set.Also look at Obligatos,Evah Perazzi's,etc.It all depends what kind of sound/feel you're after.There's plenty of people on here who have put double bass strings on to their NS's so I'm sure they'll be along in a minute.
Good luck-it's a never ending quest!
Iain

[BassBus]

I changed the strings on my CR4M last year from the stock strings. It made a huge difference. From hating the sound of the instrument to just loving it. I came across a used set of Belcantos on here, thought it would be a good, cheaper way to try different strings. Big success.

What kind of sound you are after?

If you want a darker, warmer sound than the stock strings on your WAV then you might want to try an orchestral string. They have less brightness and less sustain. Thomastic Belcantos and Pirastro Flexocors are such strings with a metal rope core. Obligatos have a synthetic core and a lot of players have used them on WAVs. Synthetic core and gut strings do have to be allowed to settle in as Iain said. They are also more susceptable to climatic conditions.

One other thing to be aware of is the length of the string. Some 3/4 strings don't fit NS basses. 3/4 TI Spirocores don't fit, I've been there. 4/4 sets will fit.

I wouldn't skimp on the cost for DB strings. The above mentioned strings will cost around the £140/150 mark. That may seem expensive but when you factor in the length of time they will stay on your bass they are more cost effective than bass guitar strings. I changed the Spirocores on my DB recently for the first time in four years.

You can hear some sound samples of different strings [url="http://www.hervejeanne.de/saitenmatrix.php"]here[/url]

[NDH]

I use Oligatos on my NS NXTand I like the feel and sound very much. Plenty enough suistain for me and a richer sound than the originals. I have also put these on my DB which I bow a lot more than the NS - they work fine.

Nigel

[derrenleepoole]

Cheers guys for the responses. I bought the bass off Ruairidh here on BC, and the bass came fitted with Thomastik Infelds. These a great strings but I'm looking for a very dark tone with a very soft feel. This was the experience I had when I first ever played a quality DB owned by Steve Berry (Loose Tubes). I know that my EUB will never quite get that experience, but I'm sure that the right set of strings will go a long way. I'm inspired by bassists like Jasper Høiby (Phronesis) and Dan Bergland (EST) as well as Sven Faller (Trio ELF).

I've had an upright before and have had several different EUB's, but none of them did it for me. I'm now seriously bitten by the bug and the purchase of a better instrument (to me at least), is pushing me into making the right choice. I'm only too aware of string costs, but I don't want to go down the route of buying a set that might not work for me. My money isn't that flexible enough at the moment. That link you posted detailing the different string recordings is excellent. I'm particularly taken by the Pirastro Jazzer's, they seem very dark and growly!

I have actually taken the plunge on a very cheap set of guts off eBay made in India. They were so stupidly cheap that it was worth the punt to see if they offered anything usable. But I'm not daft, and I'm not holding my breath. They seem to get mixed feedback from several sources. But hey, I might just be surprised.

[BassBus]

Be interesting to hear how you get on with the guts on your WAV. Let us know how you get on with them. Probably the best bet to start with something cheap. If it doesn't work you haven't lost much.

[derrenleepoole]

[quote name='BassBus' post='1130452' date='Feb 16 2011, 11:46 PM']Be interesting to hear how you get on with the guts on your WAV. Let us know how you get on with them. Probably the best bet to start with something cheap. If it doesn't work you haven't lost much.[/quote]

My thinking exactly

[derrenleepoole]

Bugger! Well, the cheapo gut strings from India arrived today. They came wrapped in muslin around a cardboard box. Quite novel.

The strings unfortunately though are way too thick on the E and A strings to go through the holes of the string through body setup of a NS Wav EUB - they won't even fit in the machine heads

So if anyone wants a set of unused black gut strings, give us a shout out and we'll work out a price. All I've done is open the packaging of the strings, soaked the strings to allow me to knot them, and then promptly placed them back on the table for packing away again! A good opportunity to try guts at a cheap price I guess!