Gut Strings

[needsmorecowbel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7-4TH7yWrA

Saw this and thought: has anyone had the pleasure of using gut strings on their double basses or on other stringed instruments?

Probably more a question for the resident double bass specialist Matthew

Stu

[matthew]

Now where do I start ?

yes I have played guts, metal wound guts, synthetic guts (silk core, nylon core) but as the price of the real thing, and the best strings, is close to $500 per set and they don't last forever, experimenting is an expensive hobby!! One I can't afford.

The thing that attracts players to guts is the sound, first, and then the lower tension on the strings.

The thing that turns players OFF guts are tuning stability, the extra thickness of the strings, and the need for maintenance over time!

To get good volume on the lower strings without a ridiculous increase in string diameter, the guts need to be wound with copper or silver. They're still like telegraph poles through, unlike steel strings, and take a while to get used to.

Under the fingers, the decay dynamics is ver different to steels. It's hard to describe. A kind of bounce at the beginning of the note and much less sustain, but a rich dark tone with lots of fundamental. And the strings vibrate in a larger arc because lower tension, and they rattle and buzz a fair bit, but that's kinda nice once you learn to control it.

Synthetic "guts" are quite nice too with thinner string diameters and a nice attack/decay. But true guts sound like nothing else.

But they don't suit all styles of playing. You need greater string height for starters. fast complex fingerings high up on the fingerboard are much more difficult.

I have copper-wound synthetic guts on my first bass. the bass LOVES them, they are incredibly loud. I am still getting used to them, and I love the sound.

[needsmorecowbel]

Cheers Matthew i didn't realise how expensive some of those strings can be but logically it would be a very very niche market to be making such things. I'm thinking of chucking some nylon flat wounds on my standard electric bass purely because of that "fuzzing" and those fundamental tones which you described...just love that depth of tone as opposed to the very clean, often sterile roundwound steel string tone. Gotta love a good valve amp...Are you a believer in putting pickups on double basses?

[matthew]

you usually have to put a pickup on a double bass if you're playing with a drummer. Else you shred your fingers trying to be heard.

[needsmorecowbel]

being a drummer i can completely understand that hahaha...snares are very loud things as are 22 inch bass drums