officially on the DR Hellborg bandwagon

chunkstyle · #1 06-10-2009, 10:16 AM

i'm so fickle. but perhaps that's a good thing.

i got a set of DR Jonas Hellborg strings a couple months ago. i've been a Ken Smith Compressors / Slick Rounds kind of guy for a long time. i dabble in different strings but i keep coming back. recent experiments have included R. Cocco and Dunlop. i liked both a lot, but i eventually dumped them and went back to Ken Smiths.

i had Slick Rounds on my G&L L-2000 and everything was as it usually is. but i got bored and decided that it was time to give the DRs a shot.

wow!

my first impression was that they were much lower output then the Ken Smiths. i put the E string on first and compared it to the rest of the strings. it seemed like it had way lower output. i came to realize that the bottom was still all there, but the mids were gone. well, not entirely gone, but i see now that the Ken Smiths are very mid heavy. G&Ls seem to be very mid oriented as well.

i played along with a buddy on acoustic 12 string. the DRs seemed to settle in quickly and were very very musical. i noticed that while a lot of other strings seem to have a ton of extraneous things going on, the DRs presented a very unified tone. it was a solid bottom with plenty of detail, but nothing extra. very nice top. they reminded me of TI flats in the sense that TIs also have a very unified solid tone. the E string was nice and full and the G string was full as well. a really good sound even high up, kind of like the way some hollowbodies sound sweeter the higher up you play.

i was suprised how playable the DRs were. while i dig the tone of TI flats, they are a little too soft for me. i was worried that the 40-100 DRs would be a little too light, but that's not the case. sure, they're light, but nothing crazy.

i love G&Ls, but i rarely have a use for the bridge pickup soloed. it just doesn't do much for me. the DRs really made the bridge pickup on my L-2000 sound great. not too honky middy, but solid, burpy, plenty of bottom and nice growl when i dug in.

the neck pickup was super throbby and with both pickups on i was in pure bliss. ground pounding bottom and a musical detail that you just don't hear that often. i love it. it seems like the DR and the G&L were made for each other, with each showcasing the others talents.

i'll fire up the big rig this weekend and test the strings in a rowdy rock and roll setting.

i'm expecting great things.

ps. $22. do an online search.

thobbinghotrod · #2 06-10-2009, 10:24 AM

I really want to try these if you say they are similar to TI's, do they have more sustain? Post back after the gig.

chunkstyle · #3 06-10-2009, 10:29 AM

the comparison to TI Flats is based on there being a solid tone with enough detail to cut and make it interesting without all the clang and overtones of your typical round wound.

these are definitely round wounds and would not be confused for TI flats. they do have nice sustain, but i bet even a rubber band would sustain for days on a G&L.

bassman blue · #4 06-10-2009, 02:01 PM

great review! being a compressors fan for so long, how do you find the finger noise of the Hellborgs?

p.s. yes, that query was fruitful in that another outlet was able to beat it... :-)

sir juice · #5 06-10-2009, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassman blue

great review! being a compressors fan for so long, how do you find the finger noise of the Hellborgs?

p.s. yes, that query was fruitful in that another outlet was able to beat it... :-)

i'd like to know this too

chunkstyle · #6 06-10-2009, 02:22 PM

i didn't really notice the finger noise so much, but to tell you the truth, that E string outer winding is huge. it seems like if you get a little sloppy, these strings will let you know.

they'll get a good workout tonight, so i'll pay attention to that and report back. again, tho, nothing really jumped out at me...

Gab124 · #7 06-10-2009, 02:53 PM

I put some on as well, and at home really liked them, alot. For me they did not do it in the full band context though, I really think they are too light for my taste and playing style. I got burried kinda fast and when digging in the lighter gauge just did not do it. Really wish they made a stiffer set.

chunkstyle · #8 06-10-2009, 02:59 PM

i'm a little worried about that. i've got enough horse power behind me so i don't have to worry about getting burried, but in a live context i tend to dig in a little more and lighter gauge strings don't push back enough for me. this is the main reason why i don't like TI Flats.

so it wasn't the tone, it was the tension that caused you to get buried?

Gab124 · #9 06-10-2009, 03:28 PM

Well, I would say what I may need to do is raise my action to have these strings on. When I dug in I got more string movement and therefore frett noise. Why I got buried I am not sure, I have 550 whats and a 2x10 and 1x12. I should have plenty of power. I may not have given them a good go, but I still have them and may try again. like you said though, I do like the string to push back a little more when i did in.

Wilbyman · #10 06-13-2009, 05:29 PM

These are great strings. They do require you to back off a bit on the right hand but the tension is excellent for a light gauge string. They will really change the way you hear your bass...the whole thing about most bass strings "sounding an octave up" because of the overtones is totally true, but it's difficult to understand until you hear the UFO's. If you put these next to a set of similar hi-beams, it is like night and day...the UFO's are nothing but clear, tight, punchy fundamental bass sound. The hibeams have all kind of bright, gnarly banjo sounds going on in comparison.

Surly · #11 06-14-2009, 05:29 PM

dumb question- why do they call them UFO's?

chunkstyle · #12 06-15-2009, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassman blue

great review! being a compressors fan for so long, how do you find the finger noise of the Hellborgs?

p.s. yes, that query was fruitful in that another outlet was able to beat it... :-)

did you get them yet?

Mad Tango · #13 06-15-2009, 09:20 PM

I got them on last week. I had them on my 74 jazz and w/in ear monitors; they give too much roundwound ring and srting noise. So I now I replaced the E & A strings w/reg. roundwounds. I kept the D & G on and it worked out fine. They sounded good out of the amp and mains w/out IEMS though. The big E looks and feels like an allthread which is a turn off. I am going back to reg. type strings.