Mixing Steel and Gut Strings

[petebassist]

Hi, I have Pirastro Obligato strings on my Stentor 1950 acoustic bass, which sound great apart from the G string, which can sometimes sound 'tinny' compared to the other strings.
Has anyone had a similar issue and tried a different G string, such as a gut string, to get more of a 'boom' sound? Or am I being a bit lazy? I can get a more mellow sound by playing up the neck a bit, and using a bit more skin.
Any advice would be welcome,
Thanks,
Pete

[spencer.b]

I had a similar issue with a bass and I tried everything and ended up realising it was just an intrinsic quality of that bass , that said I have also basses that work best with a mix of strings , on my bass with a thin sounding G I found gut or nylon to be even worse , and actually ended up with a Spiro mittel which even though was very bright was a loud string and seemed to make the best of it . Unfortunately I suspect there's no easy fix. Have you outgrown the bass?

[ubassman]

Could be a simple matter of taking it to a luthier and looking at a sound post adjustment . You can take away brightness , add warmth, brilliance etc by repositioning the post. Have a read of this - hope it helps!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_post

[oggiesnr]

Start with a Luthier, how does the G on the E string sound? In my case the G throughout the range was weak (not good for a folkie whose main keys are G and Em) and repositioning the soundpost worked a treat.

Steve

[petebassist]

Thanks chaps, good advice about the sound post - I think I need to get it to a luthier for an MOT.
Apart from this quirk, it's a great bass otherwise for my needs, it's never let me down.
Pete

[geoffbassist]

+1 on making sure the bass is set up right.

I think the G is always the toughest string to get right, especially the open G. I know Larry Grenadier has used a velvet G string with steels to great effect. A lot of people use an orchestra string like belcantos, which I personally don't like to do as they sound too weak. An Oliv G is also a really popular choice to mix with other brands.

I've chosen to stick with one set, but I think it does work for some players/basses.

[petebassist]

Geoff, many thanks for this tip - I might try the Oliv.