artisan Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 (edited) after 18 months or so of swapping about i think i have finally settled on my choice of strings ( for now) without spending too much in the process. initially i had Innovation Super Silvers,i quite liked these but the tension on the D & G was a bit too high for slapping in comfort. next came a set of Superior Bassworks Deluxe Wackers,i didn't like these at all due to the very rough texture,dead sound & found i struggled with my intonation with these. next came the Rotosound RS4000,i've had these on for quite a while now & whilst loving the D + G to bits i have never been too happy with the wrapped E + A strings as i found the tension a bit too high for me,they feel slightly sticky plus the pizzz + click sound isn't as mellow as the D & G strings. so a couple of days ago i stuck the Innovation S/Silver E + A strings on my bass & now i'm a very happy camper as i now have a pretty even tension set of strings that all sound very much alike with the added bonus that my bass is a lot nicer/easier to play,result. Edited November 13, 2013 by artisan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbie Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Good stuff. Yes mixing sets is indeed often the key of a happy DB sound. Good on you for finding a mix that suits your bass early on, it will save you £££. But....If you ever get dissatisfied with your choice, i have one message from the "gut preservation society": try gut D and G. Or failing that try to get a set of Lamberts (vastly better than all other slap strings IMO). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted November 13, 2013 Author Share Posted November 13, 2013 (edited) Thanks Rabbie I must admit i would love to try some guts but at the price they are i'd be a bit worried about not liking them,plus my bass lives propped in the room corner right next to our sofa so if they smell manky the wife wouldn't be too pleased. I'm really chuffed at the moment though my bass sounds great, well appart from my dodgy playing Edited November 13, 2013 by artisan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 That does sound like a good set. Guts are amazing if you never play music that requires any sustain. Old rock n' roll or swing stuff they are just brilliant, they make anybody swing, but the moment you want a note to ring out for half a bar you will think they suck. I had a set of Gamuts on my bass earlier this year and I declared that if there was a Disney film featuring an anthropomorphic hippo bassist, those are the strings he would've used. But unfortunately they weren't modern-sounding enough for my main gig so they had to go. I did love them though, in a very primal way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted November 14, 2013 Author Share Posted November 14, 2013 Sounds like they'd be perfect for me then i just don't fancy paying the rather high price for a set of guts as i am a tight yorkshireman Someone on Doublebass chat once said the only problem with guts was "they smell like donkey ass" This puts me off a little too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbie Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 (edited) My main bass is also kept in the corner of our living room and my wife never complained about gut strings smell in our house. I was also raised in a farming village and yet I am not that familiar with the smell of donkey's bahoochy. Makes me wonder about the person on doublebasschat..... Edited November 14, 2013 by Rabbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted November 14, 2013 Author Share Posted November 14, 2013 [quote name='Rabbie' timestamp='1384437880' post='2276667'] My main bass is also kept in the corner of our living room and my wife never complained about gut strings smell in our house. I was also raised in a farming village and yet I am not that familiar with the smell of donkey's bahoochy. Makes me wonder about the person on doublebasschat..... [/quote] Lol i did wonder as to the truth of his comment but even so it had put me off trying guts but now i may just give them a whirl. Any reccomendation for some ecconomical guts ? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbie Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 (edited) As it stands I think that Lenzner are the cheapest good quality ones. You can buy them singularly from Bassico. Efrano are also great. Never tried the cheap ones on eBay, but they might be ok. I am gonna take the plunge on some Gamut soon, which are £££ but everyone says they are worth it. Anyone got a used set? Even for a straight rockabilly player, the unwrapped E and A may be too thuddy, not to mention expensive! The wrapped fall apart with slapping (apparently, never really tried them long enough to know), so you may have to find a compromise for especially the E. people use anything from solo steels detuned to velvet garbo lights to innovation etc... Edited November 14, 2013 by Rabbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddy109 Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 I bought some cheap ones from eBay that came from India - thought they sounded fine and not that different from Clef. The came in an amazing hesian package. I bought 3 or 4 sets and sold the spare ones covering my cost and had a free set! As for the title of this thread - never read anything else string related or try anyone else's bass that way you won't be tempted the grass is greener. My wife will probably divorce me if I buy another set of strings for at least another year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 Rabbie thanks for the info much appreciated. I may try some Lenzers in the near future & keep my innovation E string as i really like it for both tension + sound. Paddy109 cheers for the info Its a never ending & bloody expensive quest for the perfect tone it seems,but for now i'm happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah thomas Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I had some gut strings on an old ukulele and they didn't smell in the slightest. They seemed to stick to my fingers though and became a bit flaky. I felt uncomfortable with them because they seemed to have a memory of being skin. I have no experience of upright guts, but wanted to say gut strings don't smell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeponehandloose Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 i found the Indian sourced guts to be slightly thinner and a lot quieter than the Lenzners. Clefs and Lenzners are identical in every way , which makes me think that the Clefs are just rebranded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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