Dr High Beams

[monkeylover009]

Just bought a pack a DR high beams and the instructions are confusin me a bit. Can someone tell exactly how to put them on, so they last the full length and arent under too much strain or watever. Also how long before a gig should i put these on to make sure they dont keep goin out of tune before im playing?

Saunter lads!

[abngourmet]

I use DR Hi Beams as well. Here's how I do it:

Take old strings off (I usually do one at a time). Put new string on, and cut to length (depends on your scale, four inline heads or two per side, etc.). Place string directly in hole in tuning peg (if you look straight into the tuning peg, looking down from above it, you will see a hole for the string), then wrap it at a right angle around the tuning peg post. Begin winding the string around the post using the tuning peg (or a pegwinder affixed to the tuning peg), making sure to wind the string down towards the headstock (this will ensure there is no unwanted string noise). Tune to pitch. Stretch the string a bit by pulling on it (I normally grab the string at about the 12th fret to do this), retune. Repeat until string holds pitch.

Some folks will tell you not to stretch the string, but I've never had any problems. Try it and see if it works for you.

If you've got a gig coming up, I'd put them on at least a day or two ahead of time, and play it a bit. That way it's worn in and is less susceptible to going out of tune.

Hope this helps,

Alan

[pickles]

With high beams, before you cut the string you are supposed to bend the string 90 degrees to crimp the core and keep the windings from loosening up where you cut it. It ends up being nice, the bent part of the string inserts down into the tuning peg and you start wrapping from there.

One very important thing I do is after I've started winding, I take my other hand and push the string back out of the tailpiece and reseat it to make sure I didn't accidentally twist the string while cutting and bending.

[Magneto]

Originally Posted by pickles

With high beams, before you cut the string you are supposed to bend the string 90 degrees to crimp the core and keep the windings from loosening up where you cut it. It ends up being nice, the bent part of the string inserts down into the tuning peg and you start wrapping from there.

One very important thing I do is after I've started winding, I take my other hand and push the string back out of the tailpiece and reseat it to make sure I didn't accidentally twist the string while cutting and bending.

This is what I gathered from the instructions as well. I just put my FIRST set of DR hi-beams on 2 days ago, and this was the first I had ever heard of bending/crimping before cutting. I didn't want to take a chance on something weird happening to these strings.
I usually lay my new uncut string on the bass, ball-end in the bridge, and string laying through the tuner peg. I mark a cut about 3-3 1/4" from the center of the peg to the end of the string, and that's my cut. With the DRs, I just gave the string a bend about 1/2" inward from the cut line, then cut the string. Stick it in the peg hole and start winding..

Mag...