DR Lo-Riders--Great Strings!

BassSurfer · #1 07-17-2007, 05:58 PM

There has been alot of DR hype and there has also been alot of DR dislike.

For Me i never really liked the DR Hi- Beams. They DO feel rough on the hands if your not used to these types of strings.

They are VERY bright espically if your playing with a pick near the bridge position ( although i heard they sound bright finger style too )

They do ( for me ) have alot of unwanted noise and not enough real sounds from the bass and alot of your tone you worked so hard to dial in ( in some cases lol ) is greatly or some what reduced.

So i took them off my Modified American Jazz Bass and took the chance with DR one more time and went with The Lo- Riders. I switch on and off between Daddarios and
DR's but i needed a new sound to experiment with.

So after paying $27.00 total for the Lo-Riders i came home and put them on the bass, tuned it up, dialed in on my Graphic Equalizer flat, and already felt a difference in playing
and in sound overall..

Great midrange and still are bright.. but a more comfortable level of brightness other than the Hi-Beams. After tweaking the EQ i began to see what else these strings had to over and started playing with a pick.. Everything was greater than the Hi_Beams... I do alot of mellow playing high up on the neck and with the right tweaking of the amp they once again sounded great..

So in conclusion to settle all this DR bashing... If you have a set of Hi- Beams and are not satisified with them TRY OUT the Lo-Riders before you buy.. ask a sales rep. if any basses in the store have them strung or ask to string them for you. I saw a change and hope you do to. Try em out..

Anyone else have a similar experience with DR?

810wmb · #2 07-18-2007, 07:32 AM

i did - dr's lowriders on my fender am J, lakland 4-94 deluxe.

just enough high end...i'm not a fan of bright strings

ti flats on my fender am P - i'm going to try the dr flats soon though.

punkbassistfc · #3 07-18-2007, 07:35 AM

I have dr lo-riders in 50-110 atm on my jazz and they are amazing, kinda weird at first but you grow into them.

JGR · #4 07-18-2007, 10:51 AM

i use the 50-110 on most of my basses - they seem to work well with a variety of bass types - p, jazz, stingray, rick...

i play pickstyle and i love the midrange these have - very prominent where a lot of other SS strings sound scooped, and the lows and highs are nicely balanced as well.

JR

Mike Shevlin · #5 07-18-2007, 11:02 AM

I usually play hi beams & tried low riders once. they felt like a stiff heavy hi beam with more low end but less dynamics - i didn't like them. I use blue steels as an alternate. my 2c

cdef · #6 07-18-2007, 12:46 PM

I've been using Lo-Riders exclusively (funds permitting) on my P copy for over ten years. Those strings deliver. For the way I play, which is pretty hard fingerstyle, they've got that low-mid grind plus a tight top end that lasts and lasts. A great balance. I can't see myself switching as long as I can afford them.

BassSurfer · #7 07-18-2007, 01:00 PM

agreed with everyone!

3NotesAbar · #8 07-18-2007, 01:22 PM

Is it safe to say that if I have my Roscoe Beck V tuned to Standard Eb and the strings are a little too floppy for my taste (high beams), the Lo-riders would alleviate by tightening things up?

alexofc69 · #9 07-18-2007, 01:25 PM

I love my Hi-Beams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But, actually I have tried several different types of DRs and they are all good. They all have different qualities.

cdef · #10 07-18-2007, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3NotesAbar

Is it safe to say that if I have my Roscoe Beck V tuned to Standard Eb and the strings are a little too floppy for my taste (high beams), the Lo-riders would alleviate by tightening things up?

Hi-Beams are wound on a round core wire, while Lo-Riders are hex core. That makes them less supple, and they would probably feel a little "tighter" on your bass.

dave64o · #11 07-18-2007, 02:47 PM

I have them on an SR5 HH and love them. They feel like they're higher tension than the average string, which I like. I was also happy that they didn't sound too zingy at first. I love stainless steel strings, but I prefer them after they've been broken in for a while and have lost that zinginess. These haven't lost too much and to me still sound great even after 6 months.

My new SR5 still has the original Ernie Balls so I wanted to give them a try for a while but now that I've had it for a month or so I think I'm going to put the Lo Riders on it also.

FunkyFlashFive · #12 07-18-2007, 02:53 PM

i started using low riders a few years ago and have yet to try anything else since, they do well in all of my different styles which says a lot when i am using them one night in my rock band and the next day in a showchoir competition!

Double Agent · #13 07-18-2007, 02:58 PM

I agree with all the praise in here. I tried them out about 3-4 months ago for the first time on my Bongo5 (45-130) and what a growly sound it was. High end is perfect, and they are nice and tight. Great for some chord tapping and harmonics that I like to do once in a while, but also great for regular fingerstyle, especially if you like to dig in a little.

I just changed that set this past weekend and I used to change strings every 4-6 weeks. They just kept sounding good, so I didn't need to change them. They are also much easier on my hands than Rotosounds or D'addario Prosteels which I had been using. I will never put anything else on the Bongo again!

DJJazzV · #14 07-18-2007, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassSurfer

There has been alot of DR hype and there has also been alot of DR dislike.

For Me i never really liked the DR Hi- Beams. They DO feel rough on the hands if your not used to these types of strings.

They are VERY bright espically if your playing with a pick near the bridge position ( although i heard they sound bright finger style too )

They do ( for me ) have alot of unwanted noise and not enough real sounds from the bass and alot of your tone you worked so hard to dial in ( in some cases lol ) is greatly or some what reduced.

So i took them off my Modified American Jazz Bass and took the chance with DR one more time and went with The Lo- Riders. I switch on and off between Daddarios and
DR's but i needed a new sound to experiment with.

So after paying $27.00 total for the Lo-Riders i came home and put them on the bass, tuned it up, dialed in on my Graphic Equalizer flat, and already felt a difference in playing
and in sound overall..

Great midrange and still are bright.. but a more comfortable level of brightness other than the Hi-Beams. After tweaking the EQ i began to see what else these strings had to over and started playing with a pick.. Everything was greater than the Hi_Beams... I do alot of mellow playing high up on the neck and with the right tweaking of the amp they once again sounded great..

So in conclusion to settle all this DR bashing... If you have a set of Hi- Beams and are not satisified with them TRY OUT the Lo-Riders before you buy.. ask a sales rep. if any basses in the store have them strung or ask to string them for you. I saw a change and hope you do to. Try em out..

Anyone else have a similar experience with DR?

I've been using DR's off and on for many years. My favorite DR's are the LO-RIDERS NICKEL. Give those a shot! Harder to find, but well worth it!

Jazzin' · #15 07-18-2007, 03:11 PM

I prefer Fat-Beams, but right now I have Lo-Riders on my Jag. I'm going to switch back to Fat-Beams.

BassSurfer · #16 07-18-2007, 03:12 PM

glad to see all the love for Lo- Riders here!

BassSurfer · #17 07-19-2007, 01:30 PM

Bumper

Jim Carr · #18 07-19-2007, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzin'

I prefer Fat-Beams, but right now I have Lo-Riders on my Jag. I'm going to switch back to Fat-Beams.

Might you compare Fats-Beams to Lo-Riders for us? Which is brighter? What gauges do you use? How is the actual string tension? What about mids? What makes you want to switch back?

MysticMichael · #19 07-19-2007, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SR5X5

I've been using DR's off and on for many years. My favorite DR's are the LO-RIDERS NICKEL. Give those a shot! Harder to find, but well worth it!

I must be a nickels kind of guy. Have tried stainless steels many times, but just could never get past the "clackiness" of the tone...

I've used the nickel Lo-Riders too, but was less than blown away. Decent tone, relatively long-lasting. But they just didn't seem to have a lot of presence or liveliness...

Best nickel sets for four-string that I've used lately are GHS Boomer 52s and Dean Markley Bass Blasters...

MM

mark roberts · #20 07-19-2007, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexofc69

I love my Hi-Beams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But, actually I have tried several different types of DRs and they are all good. They all have different qualities.

+1
...and Hi-Beams and Lo-Riders settle-in very nicely. At first, they tend to be more on the bright side...but, after awhile (playing equally on all of the strings) they really develop a very nice balance between fundamentals and harmonic overtones.