Guts oh guts

[Rabbie]

For years I played gut strings. It had a lot to do with slapping (which I no longer do a lot of) and playing roots music (which I still do on occasions).

then I turned veggie and decided I could no longer justify playing animal insides (please let’s not discuss the ethics of this on a bass forum, because people tend to feel strongly about this stuff and it may derail the purpose). 

Since that, I love my Spiros but always struggle with the “intrusive and abrasive” (to my ears) nature of the G and (to a lesser extent, D).

out of sheer desire, I just went back to gut G and the Oliv D that I could not sell on the forum and oh! It’s heaven!!

i kept my Spiro mitts A and Spiro Stark E and honestly I don’t struggle with tension changes across the strings. At the end of the day Charlie Haden, whom I adore, played guts and Spiros for ever.

however, my ethical dilemma about animal products remains. Who’s gonna finally come up with the perfect gut substitute? 

[Jezyorkshire]

the ethical situation doesn't end there though with how its all glued together!!! i was vegan for about 5 years and thought about this but i cant see any substitute glue being available either?

 

[Rabbie]

Good point Jez. The inner devil’s advocate tells me that as double bass player we hardly contribute to mass slaughters, but still, the synthetic options have got to be the future.

[BassBod]

On my old bass (ply with solid top) I found that Spiro E and A, with Innovation black Rockabilly D and G worked surprisingly well.  I’m still tempted to try it again..

[keeponehandloose]

Do Quorn make strings?

I sympathise with your dilema but you know the adage that there is no substitute for gut. 

[Rabbie]

7 minutes ago, keeponehandloose said:

Do Quorn make strings?

I sympathise with your dilema but you know the adage that there is no substitute for gut. 

Yep, you are indeedy correct. At least at present. And probably forever because I dare say research into making a double bass string sounding exactly like gut is possibly gonna cost more than what it’s going to profit.

[Blartfactor10]

Would a Cordes Lambert D+G not get you anywhere near Rabbie? Im on Guts at the minute, (Lenzer) paired with and A+E from the Pirastro Evah Slap set. It works well on my bass.  I tried the Cordes A and G with this set up and keep going back to the Guts but in all honesty there isn't much difference in it tone wise. (depending on how picky you are) Feel wise well thats another thing. I'm keeping them though, just in case, but I know they work if I need them.

[petebassist]

17 hours ago, Rabbie said:

Do Quorn make strings?

Yes :-) They're even more unstable in tuning though...

[Dad3353]

29 minutes ago, petebassist said:

Yes 🙂 They're even more unstable in tuning though...

That problem is solved. Introducing the Quorn Tuna ...

[Rabbie]

3 hours ago, Blartfactor10 said:

Would a Cordes Lambert D+G not get you anywhere near Rabbie? Im on Guts at the minute, (Lenzer) paired with and A+E from the Pirastro Evah Slap set. It works well on my bass.  I tried the Cordes A and G with this set up and keep going back to the Guts but in all honesty there isn't much difference in it tone wise. (depending on how picky you are) Feel wise well thats another thing. I'm keeping them though, just in case, but I know they work if I need them.

Thanks mate. For slapping, Lamberts are awesome, I have had a couple of sets in the past.  I did eventually turn back to guts though...just better in my opinion of course.

Edited October 19, 2018 by Rabbie

[Rabbie]

37 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

That problem is solved. Introducing the Quorn Tuna ...

Hahahaha! Awesome.

I was never that bother with the tuning thing much. You just check your tuning a bit more often; it’s not like it takes a long time. And once they settle in, they get much better.

[petebassist]

@Rabbie, hi, did you have to alter your nut or bridge grooves to switch to your gut strings from Spiro wiechs? Just wondering whether to make the jump,. Though crazily my current spiros have been on about a year now and are settled nicely and get better & better. Even on the G I can get a nice tone  by playing higher up the neck and using more skin. I thought I might find a shop with a bass setup with guts to try first if it was an 'easy' swap. Thanks.

 

[Rabbie]

Hi Pete, I’ve always had guts, the Spiros were a short phase, but yes you very much would have to widen nut and bridge grooves and probably raise the action. It’s just a little bit of a bass and technique adjustment but if that’s your tone, I reckon it’s worth it. Very very subjective though. Some try guts and find them too dark/floppy/undefined/troublesome, etc... I see their point entirely, but they do it for me. 

Edited February 3, 2019 by Rabbie
Typos

[PaulKing]

On 19/10/2018 at 12:01, Blartfactor10 said:

(Lenzer) paired with and A+E from the Pirastro Evah Slap set. 

That.

Good match. I got one of those set up too.