I had to dig up this thread(since I have just joined partially), because this subject has been something I have really been on the fence about throughout my playing from almost the start. There is NOTHING like the sound of a bass with gut strings across the board, into a mic. I don't think you can get either the sound or more importantly the "feel" or same pulse with steel strings. The response is totally different. However, there is something to be said for the clean, sustaining, and lyrical quality of steel strings in the upper register for soloing. I don't know... sometimes I can tolerate playing with gut strings and no amp, but when the leader calls over for me to turn up, or we have a noisy crowd, it can be a drag.
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