Gamut Red
Diamond Gut Bass Strings
These are the new
Red Diamond gut bass strings made by
Gamut. They are hand made strings in Minnesota and
are very well made strings. The G and D strings are gut, but
wrapped in a dark-brown nylon tape. The E and A strings,
similar to the Lenzner brand that we also offer, have copper
wrapping, again with a gut core.
How do these compare to other gut bass strings?
The first thing we noticed just from taking them out of the
package is how substanial they look and feel. By that we mean,
just well made. No loose or sloppy windings, but very precise
(and tight). Our first impression upon playing them (jazz)
pizz is that they have a nice firm feel. Maybe not as loose as
some gut strings can be. This is a plus! A common
complaint with some gut strings is that they feel too loose or not
enough tightness. While we certainly do not ever want the high
tension feel of a typical metal string, perhaps with the nylon
wrapping, makes them feel and behave better. Another nice
upgrade we noticed quickly was that each set comes completely sealed
in plastic packaging. Hopefully, this too will help keep the
strings super fresh unitl they are opened and installed on the bass.
(You can buy a couple of extras for spares and keep them in your
bass cover knowing that when you need them, they're fresh new still.) Anyone that plays gut strings knows all too well
that sometimes without warning, but during a gig of course, a string will
break!
Why nylon wrapping and not just plain gut? While Gamut is
planning to make pure guts (without any wrapping) in the future, we
like these strings the way they are. First, it's another
alternative to a pure gut (with no wrapping on the G and D), but
more practically, having the wrapping is that it will keep the
strings 'nice' far longer. That is, tas traditional pure gut
strings start to age, it is common to see micro tears in the fiber of the string.
(Players that use guts regularly know all about this!) First, you
will see super small little frays perhaps, but as you play
over time the little fragments that start to peel away and get bigger
and more exaggerated. Sure, we can clip these and keeping the
strings oiled (Pirastro string oil!) will keep the string from
drying out. With the tape windings on these Red Diamonds, they
will feel nice for a very long time and hopefully last way longer.
These are good strings for rockabilly slappers, or jazz purists that want to sound like
Paul Chambers.....who wouldn't want to sound like Paul Chambers?!
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Red Diamond Gut
Strings (by Gamut) |
Price |
RD-100 |
Red Diamond set (EADG) |
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RD-101 |
Red Diamond, G string with nylon tape winding |
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RD-102 |
Red Diamond G & D packaged discount when purchased
together |
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RD-103 |
Red Diamond D string with nylon tape winding |
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RD-104 |
Red Diamond A string with flat copper winding |
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RD-105 |
Red Diamond E string with flat copper winding |
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