Double Bass Gut D&G, wound E&A combinations — GO!

[Ed Fuqua]

On the Kriegel - Spiro Mittel E and A, Oliv D, and Chorda G
On the Mittenwald factory bass - Anim E and A, Oliv D, and Chorda G

 

[Keith Rawlings]

The Evah slaps with gut D & G sound like what you’re going for. I get no meows on the e and a and they arco well.

I second this one.

 

[iankenselaar]

I’m currently using Spirocore weich E & A with a medium+ Gamut Lyon G and a light+ Lyon D. The gut is varnished and the bass is a 2005 laminated NS Cleveland.
The only thing I might change is swapping for a light Pistoy D. I really like the tension and I feel like the Spirocore has a very similar bowed response to plain gut.
In the past, I have used Lenzner or Efrano silver wound E & A with Gamut or Dlugolecki plain D & G on this bass.

Thanks for responding to my post!

Curious about your decision regarding using different gauges on the D&G Gamuts. What is your experience w the Lyon vs Pistoy? I recall the pistoy having a little less sustain but lasting a bit longer (possibly due to the braiding)

 

[iankenselaar]

I’ve tried a lot of combinations over many years - the issues seem to be matching the tension feel and tone… and then there is the diameter side of things as a lot of metal A are thinner than a gut D. My best combination has been Eudoxa A and E but very close and more inexpensive and practical is Perpetual - especially the E. More straightforward choosing the G and D. Chorda CH, Gamut etc lots of choice

I attended a talk at David Gage’s shop with the Pirastro team a few years ago and they were discussing the Perpetuals — they gave me a set to take home and try! They made my bass sing, although I found the sustain to be almost too much for me. I remember they spent a lot of time explaining the importance of having the tension evenly distributed in order to allow the instrument to speak to its full potential. This is one of the main difficulties when it comes to pairing plain gut D&G and wound E&A — and why I feel it’s an important discussion.

 

[Jeff Kissell]

Thanks for responding to my post!

Curious about your decision regarding using different gauges on the D&G Gamuts. What is your experience w the Lyon vs Pistoy? I recall the pistoy having a little less sustain but lasting a bit longer (possibly due to the braiding)

The last Pistoy I had seemed to blend better with the steel core A string... (we'll see eventually, I'm waiting until the next sale if something doesn't come up used.)
I'm more about diameter than tension and my favorite Dlugolecki G string was .085"/2.16mm.

 

[littlebun]

I have a early-mid 20th century carved German bass (unlabeled), play primarily country/bluegrass, modern/trad jazz, and Turkish folk music. Primarily pizz but some arco too. Very minimal slap stuff. I like medium-high action and tension on the medium-stiff side. I use this bass for recordings, completely acoustic gigs all the way up to large festivals. (Using a DG Realist going straight into a beat up Fender Rumble lol — but looking for a new amp/mic now…I know, I know, different thread!)

Been experimenting w raw gut D&G for about 5 years now. I like a natural, relatively short, punchy thump. I find most guts to have minimal differences but I’ve never found a wound E&A that I really like.

Right now I’m using this combo but I want to swap out the E&A:

G: Gamut Lyon, varnished (medium)
D: Gamut Lyon, varnished (medium)
A: Evah Mittel
E: Evah Mittel

This is my first time trying the Gamut varnished G&D, I found the raw lyon wore down my finger board quickly and only lasted about 9 months. The Red Devils were nice for the price, but the nylon wrapping gave me a plastic-y kinda sound and feel. Don’t think I’d opt for the nylon wrapping on another set. I’ve tried the Pistoy D&G (unvarnished) and honestly can’t recall much of a difference in feel to the Lyon (unvarnished). Never experimented with wide range of different gauges they offer.

As far as E&A:
I find the Evah’s have too much ‘mwah’ and not enough bassy thump.

I remember loving the wound E&A Chorda & Chorda CH (which are now discontinued I believe) but they are very pricey. Would love to find a steel-wound natural gut alternative. The D&G Chordas are also lovely but spenny!

Spiro’s seem to have even more undulating sustain for me.

Curious to hear everyone’s experience w these and other strings! Thanks in advance.

I've been playing wire wound gut E and A strings with plain gut D and G strings for years. The wire wound gut are usually high tension and hard to play. For me the only strings besides wire wound gut that play well with gut D and G are the La Bella 7720L. I've tried other steel strings for the E and A but was never happy with them.