The Hot Club of Cowtown is back together and finally came back to my favorite local venue, The Palms Playhouse in Winters, CA. Jake Erwin, their bass player, has had the biggest influence on my playing since I picked the double bass back up five years ago.

He plays all of the styles of music that I play, and does so incredibly tastefully. Most people are wowed by his super slap chops—which are undeniably punch-you-in-the-face serious—but what draws me to his playing the most is his restraint and feel. He’s one of the more dynamic players out there. His slap chops are amazing, but no one waltzes with more class.

A few years back I notice he had switched from gut strings to a steel/synthetic combo. The two synthetic strings are bright red, which is a fairly unique thing in the double bass world. I figured there was something new on the market, and since I’m in the market for a new instrument, I decided to check them out.

There aren’t that many double bass string manufacturers out there. I was a little surprised that I couldn’t find them, but didn’t think too much of it, since I'm pretty happy with my full gut set-up. The red strings do look bad ass, though, and I still needed to know who made them.

Last night I got a rare chance to shake Jake’s hand and talk to him about his set-up.

The Palms is a modest venue ¹. It probably seats 150 to 200. Artists usually mill about the room and mingle with the audience between sets. After the first set I went back to the merch table to say hi to Jake, and talk to him about his red strings.

"Weed-whacker," he said.

Not the synthetic bass strings you buy at the music store that we rockabilly/honky tonk/bluegrass bass folk lovingly refer to as weed-whackers, but actual weed-whacker wire purchased at the hardware store.

They were the un-ribbed kind, of course. He said they have a very similar tension to gut strings, and he even denoted the specific gauges he used. They sounded great and seemed to stay in tune. He even bowed them. He said a friend of his in Austin uses them, and recommended them as an alternative. Gut strings can be a bit finicky in different climates. They also need to be oiled regularly. Oh, and they can run up-wards of $400/set.

So there you have it. One of the most talented bass players in Americana/country/hot club today swears by the weed-whackers. I plan to give it a try once I have a spare instrument to test them out with. I can’t risk putting them on my only gigable instrument.

¹ It’s actually the Winters Opera House. The Palms leases it out for shows every week, so it pretty much is just The Palms.