One more on the greatness of Hi-beams!

ArwinH · #1 02-05-2006, 10:57 PM

So three months ago I took the hibeams off of my main bass because they were already on for a very long time and they felt a little dead. I put on a set of strings made for a fender bass VI, stainless steel and gauges 95-75-55-45-35-25 included. I strung up with 95-75-55-35 and initially they were much brighter than the hibeam set, which had been on for months. Just one month later I broke the included 35 gauge string, so I put the 45 on. Well this week that string broke, and as I had held onto the high beams I decided to throw them back on.

It's amazing, the fender strings died after one month of use, yet these DR's are just SO bright and alive after probably close to 6 months of constant use! The tension is just a little bit higher, but the tone has improved drastically!

I just had to post this as a reminder for myself next time I want to try another brand of strings, hopefully I'll be smart enough to stick with the DR's!

Any cool or similar experiences with the brand that you guys swear by?

FaithNoMan · #2 02-05-2006, 11:02 PM

I love DRs...have Sunbeams, with no loss in tone after 7 months...I'm probably going to stay with DRs for quite a while..

My Fender Superbass strings lasted about three months at best...as have others I've tried, plus DRs seem to be a higher quality string too

FunkSlap89 · #3 02-06-2006, 12:28 PM

I put an old set of fatbeams on after trying some other brands and breaking the g string in the middle of a gig

.

I love DRs. they make a top quality string!

RSchuster · #4 02-06-2006, 02:54 PM

I wonder why their strings last so long . . . until I put Hi-beams on my bass, I'd never had roundwound strings, nickel or steel, last longer than a month of hard playing before dying. The Hi-beams lost a bit of "sparkle" after a week, but that was about it (and they actually sounded better that way). Six months later, they finally decided to die. And that was at least two hours of playing a day, and I hit the strings really hard. How in the world do they last so long?

FaithNoMan · #5 02-06-2006, 05:58 PM

I think the compression winding lets less gunk in between them.....I just thought about this right now...

Lorenzini · #6 02-07-2006, 01:57 PM

No.
I think it is much more simple than that.
It's the mojo each string builder puts into each set of strings.

Austin Powers would agree

RSchuster · #7 02-07-2006, 02:26 PM

Maybe the compression winding holds in more mojo . . . or at least keeps it concentrated . . .

Greg Clinkingbeard · #8 02-07-2006, 03:12 PM

I've had Nickel Low-Riders on my bass for over two months and last weekend, thinking they were going dead, I popped some XL Nickels on. The XL's are a bit floppier and seem to clack against the frets a bit. They also require slightly more neck relief.

They lasted 24hrs before the DR's went back on. The Low-Riders are great strings that just seem to cut through and sit in the mix with a clean, punchy tone.

They don't seem overly bright; even when new. I think the higher tension may have something to do with their tone. Great strings.