Elixir vs DR Lo Riders

Catalin · #1 06-16-2006, 04:04 AM

I need some help fom you guys ! I want to buy some new strings and i don't know wich one to chose: Elixir nanowebs or DR Lo Riders.
I play metal and i play mostly with a pick

Tnks !

mister fister · #2 06-16-2006, 04:17 AM

i'd go for elixirs

HMZ · #3 06-16-2006, 05:04 AM

The two strings you picked are very different. The Elixir’s are nickel stings with a coating on them so they supposedly will last longer I think they just sound dead from the beginning. (just my opinion Elixir users please don’t attack me) The DR’s are a stainless steal string, which is much brighter sounding and has a stiffer feel to them.

DR low riders = bright sound
Elixer= warm sounding

Subculture13 · #4 06-16-2006, 06:53 AM

If you are after the warm sound, but don't want your strigns to shed on your bass like the Elixirs can, try the DR Black Beauties, a different kind of coated string. If you don't like the black colour, get it in silver.

I was a die hard Lo Rider user for years, have had an enodrsement through them for al long time now, but after one try of the BB's, I switched. A few basses still have LR's as I just want the brighter sound, but my main basses are all BB's now.

HMZ · #5 06-16-2006, 07:12 AM

DR also makes coated low riders which are call Bootzillas .

Subculture13 · #6 06-16-2006, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HMZ

DR also makes coated low riders which are call Bootzillas .

THOSE suck ass!!!! It was those I was thinking of when I made the Elixir comment. I put a set on a gothic Thunderbird and within minutes of playing them, the heat from my fingers melted the coating like wax and it flaked off onto the matte black finish, like dandruff on a black T shirt. They just feel gross. I still have them on the bass cuz I my latest order of DR's hasn't come in yet, but they are going right quick in favour of the Black Beauty coated.

They shouldn't even call them the same thing, calling the BB's "coated" I think hurts them, if you tried the Elixirs or Bootzillas and don't like them you'll never try the BB's, but they are totally different animals. I liken the BB's to being more of a plating than a coating, yes it does flake off slowly with use, but you dont see the flakes they are so small and rare, and it doesnt affect the feel or tone at all.

pickles · #7 06-16-2006, 07:23 AM

Picks tear up the coating really quickly IME.

I keep buying nice basses that come with coated strings, and its a real shame in my opinion, they always sound at least 50% better with regular strings on them, and always feel 100% better.

Lo riders, no doubt.

SGT. Pepper · #8 06-16-2006, 07:25 AM

Elixirs and all coated strings suck ass!

Subculture13 · #9 06-16-2006, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGT. Pepper

Elixirs and all coated strings suck ass!

I disagree... all coated strings LIKE Elixirs do suck ass, but the treated strings that DR has is a completely different thing, IMO they are a whole other thing, should be categorized as such....

There is Stainless Steel strings, Nickel PLATED strings and now black (or silver, red, blue...) PLATED strings. They aren't coated in the way Elixirs are. I don't know exactly how its done, but to wager a guess (and having worked in manufacturing for so long, I dare call it a mildly educated guess) I would say that the plating is put on Electrostatically, not unlike Chrome, brass or powder coated metal is plated.

Acepiloto · #10 06-16-2006, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HMZ

The two strings you picked are very different. The Elixir’s are nickel stings with a coating on them so they supposedly will last longer I think they just sound dead from the beginning. (just my opinion Elixir users please don’t attack me) The DR’s are a stainless steal string, which is much brighter sounding and has a stiffer feel to them.

DR low riders = bright sound
Elixer= warm sounding

Actually, DR Lo Riders come in both SS and Nickel Plating. I use Nickel Lo Riders all the time, I've thought about Elixers, but I've heard they last about the same as DR's. I never have really liked the feel of the coated strings.

Bigoo7e · #11 06-16-2006, 08:14 AM

The coated DR strings are coated while the string is being wrapped and the Elixir's are coated after the strings are wrapped. From my personal ventures with both strings the coating on DR's lasts a lot longer than the Elixir's.

I personally like the sound of the Sunbeams, they have a round core but they feel just like the lowriders to the touch. They have more sustain, rebound better when slapped, harmonic's ring out louder/longer, and they have some of the brighter bite as the Low Riders do but they are warmer and are down right awesome!

All the Low Rider fans out there wish they had a warmer sounding string or an opinion for your fretless, these are great strings to try out. I wish I could setup some sound clips of both strings... your ear's "do" hear a difference.

IMO it is just like having a nickle set of Highbeams, its "SWEET"... "DUDE"

Peace,

Subculture13 · #12 06-16-2006, 08:23 AM

DR really needs to come out with a flatwound, or a groundwound at the least.

HMZ · #13 06-16-2006, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acepiloto

Actually, DR Lo Riders come in both SS and Nickel Plating. I use Nickel Lo Riders all the time, I've thought about Elixers, but I've heard they last about the same as DR's. I never have really liked the feel of the coated strings.

You are absolutely right, I just always think SS for Low riders because that’s what I use if I buy DR's

rockstarbassist · #14 06-16-2006, 10:54 AM

If you play with a pick, you kind of defeat the purpose of Elixirs at least on the right-hand side of things. They'll be shredded and ugly looking and the coating all over your pickups and bass within 2-3 gigs. Not pretty.

Fingerstyle? I like Elixirs alright (currently have a set on the Spector 5) but Lo-Riders are just "Me".

Figjam · #15 06-17-2006, 09:46 AM

Drs sound a lot better. Elixirs last longer and feel funny. DR stainless strings eat your frets up pretty quick. I used em for a year before i realized this.

Calaverasgrande · #16 06-20-2006, 01:03 PM

I was turned on to DRs about ten years ago or so. I had been a D;Addari user until they changed the length of their silk and it didnt fit anymore. DR's are great. never had any problem with them soundwise or quality-wise. Elixirs I got as a gift one time. They feel funny, they kind feel like they are rolling around under the surface of the covering. I dont like em.

woody357 · #17 06-21-2006, 07:56 AM

I've tried Drs, and they sound kewl, but I've used Elixirs, and the sound good, they take some getting use to the feel didd untill you get use to them, but over all they sound the same two days out the box, or two months. I've changed ovet to Ken Smith burneers tho and i juz love them, they feel good out the box, and the sound good, pluse they are just a lil less expencive than the other two. Check them out .

songwriter21 · #18 06-21-2006, 09:22 AM

...and I'll tel you why. Elixirs last a long time, but they are way too trebley and brittle for me, and don't really seem to have any mid-oomph. Bass players need that crucial midrange quality, if you want to make the lower frequencies really growl, and Elixirs just don't have them. Plus, they don't stay in tune that well, unless you have a graphite neck, or a really strong wood one.

DR Lo-Riders, if I only had a choice between them and Elixirs, I'd go with the DR's. I don't know if it's because I play with a heavier attack than most low-action bassists, but DR's die out within a few days for me. Every other factor in the Lo-Riders, triumphs over the Elixirs. The DR's stay in tune and intonate well (no coating interfering-this helps), no shedding of coating, but most of all, the sound is there. They do eat your frets a little, too. DR says they don't, but any stainless string will over time, whereas nickel is very easy on the frets, but doesn't sound nearly as alive. These strings have a nice stiff, but pliable feel, too. Lo-Riders are a very solid-sounding and evenly balanced string, but that sound only lasts a short period of time. They're grat for studio time, if you're not planning on being there for long. It's a trade-off, really.

I'm an extremely picky player, when it comes to string preferences. I've tried just about every regular and uncoated string out there, and my opinion, the absolute best string brand you can buy, is FireWire. They're from Canada, and they make a string that lasts as long as coated ones, but it's not coated. Their website is www.firewirestrings.net, and you can only get them directly from the company, or a few dealers throughout the country. They're pricier than Elixirs and most coated strings, but totally worth it. I hope they take off, as they're a small company, but very friendly, when it comes to comments/gripes, and special custom sets.

Lastly, my opinion for the most badass and longest-lasting uncoated string, goes to La Bella Hard Rockin' Steels. Oh, and La Bella doesn't have that quality control issue anymore, that supposedly they use to. I've yet to find any flaws in my sets. I'm posting another thread about these, under the column about what strings we use, and I'll talk about FireWire, too. I hope this helps you weed out the junk!