DR Hexcore, is it truly ruining my tone or am i just mad?

theknops · #1 08-12-2007, 07:46 PM

well out of my amazement the Guitar Center near me actually had 6 string bass strings, which was totally random of them since earlier in the week they said they never have carried them. the kind, DR Long Neck with the hexcore. i get home, put them on and every time i try to get to the higher registers, round the 20th fret area, especially on the D and A string, it rings. its not like a regular sound but like a bell sort of, with no real definition of what the note is. it just resonates awkwardly enough for me to just not play at all but when i put on my old strings (roundwound) it sounds fine. so basically my question (and gripe) is do the hexcore actually cause such a horrible tone or is it just me going mental? (it seems to have nothing to do with the bass, just the strings)

rsautrey · #2 08-12-2007, 08:31 PM

This has to do with the amount of taper at the bridge. The long Necks are taperwound and have a longer than normal tapered portion (made for string through body bridges) that causes really bad warbling and inability to intonate, particularly in the higher registers of the strings. The hex core (which is standard for most string makers) has nothing to do with this. DR Lo-Riders, which are hex core, are some of the best stainless steel roundwounds out there IMHO.

theknops · #3 08-12-2007, 08:42 PM

thank you so much for the explanation. i mean when it happened i was just seriously awed and just righteous baffled at that sound to the point i just had to put down the bass with annoyance like wow whats going on mang.

pickles · #4 08-12-2007, 08:44 PM

If you didn't adjust the saddle heights to make up for the taper cores, that is the problem.

John Wentzien · #5 08-12-2007, 08:49 PM

pickups might be too close.

Deep · #6 08-13-2007, 06:48 PM

The hex core has nothing to do with it at all. What rsautrey said is true. The "long-necks" from DR are really made for thru-body stringing. They have an extra long tapered section. Putting them on "thru-bridge" gives you too much taper causing that weirdness many have talked about before. Stringing thru-body will put the taper right where it's supposed to be, just like other tapered strings. Long-Necks are just Low-Riders with a tapered section.

Also, in general, any taper-wound or exposed core string should have the saddle heights adjusted, because the strings will probably sit closer to the pick-ups. And of course, you have to re-intonate the bridge.

rsautrey · #7 08-13-2007, 08:14 PM

Deep, do you personally have any experience with the DR Long Necks? I love my Lo-Riders on my jazz bass (strung through the body) and I wanted to hear from someone that actually used them through body. It seems most talk about these is negative because they are going through the bridge.

Deep · #8 08-13-2007, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsautrey

Deep, do you personally have any experience with the DR Long Necks? I love my Lo-Riders on my jazz bass (strung through the body) and I wanted to hear from someone that actually used them through body. It seems most talk about these is negative because they are going through the bridge.

I use Low-Riders also. I love'em. I use them on my Lakland, thru the body. Since I have a 5 string I use the "Long-Neck" B string. That is the only experience I have with the Long-Necks. Perfect fit, and it's a really good B string. I also find the regular Low-Rider B string to be good as well.
I think DR Long-Necks are the only taperwound strings to go thu-body. You can't put SR2000's or Super-Steps thru body....they come up short.

Yea....you're right. Any negatives for these strings are from people who are NOT going thru the body.......as they were designed for in the first place.

Well, I only use the one string...a B string...thru-body......not the whole set, but I hope I helped anyway.

kalle74 · #9 08-14-2007, 03:32 AM

I use Long Necks on my 55-02. Thru body, as they were designed to be strung. No complaints here. Very solid sound and balanced feel. Couldn´t be happier, actually (well, they´re pricey here in Europe...)

Razoul · #10 09-13-2007, 03:34 PM

Late response but figured I just put this here instead of making another thread.

I put some DR Long Neck strings on my bass about a week ago and they sound terrible. Extremely metalic, clanky, and just plain funky sounding. Maybe it was just a bad batch or something. I have it strung through the body which from what I read is supposed to fix the sound problems. They are on a Fretless Carvin Icon 6 if that helps any. Do I have a setup problem or what?