Please Note: selected shipping has no bearing on how long your order will take in the string workshop.
Gamut strings are hand-made to order — shipping timelines are calculated from when your order leaves the workshop, not when the order was placed. We will send a sales receipt with tracking # when your order leaves the shop.

International Orders: are subject to customs/VAT ("landed cost") fees at the receiving end. Gamut Music has no control over carrier- or government-imposed taxes or fees. See our Shipping & Returns Policy and Authorized Worldwide Dealers for additional details.

Contrabass Tuning in Fifths

Contrabass Tuning in Fifths

Jan 23rd 2025

Gamut Music now offers strings for the Contrabass Tuning in Fifths.

One way to extend the Contrabass range is to tune it in fifths rather than fourths. This tuning takes the musical range of the instrument from three octaves and a major third to three octaves and a major sixth. It also offers several other advantages:

  • It allows the player to access the low C without a string extension.
  • It adds more resonance to the instrument due to the overtone structure and relationship within the strings.
  • Fingering patterns and playing style is more accessible for those already attuned to instruments of the violin family.

Although it is not a common way to tune a double bass, it has some advantages, and its popularity is growing.