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DR Dragon Skins & Conductive Coated Strings

mmbongo

mmbongo

I have too many basses.
Inactive
Aug 5, 2009
25,372
30,975
54
Upstate, South Carolina
#1
Carrying on a discussion from another thread..I think this deserves its own thread.

Discussing the conductivity of coated strings, it was stated by Roger Sadowsky that D'Addario EXP and Cleartone coated strings were the only conductive coated strings out there (meaning that they ground when you touch them since the bridge is grounded....unless you have EMG pickups).

I recently checked my DR Dragon Skins and they ARE conductive coated strings. I use them on my Lakland and my Warwick and are some of the best strings I've used. Bonus that they are coated AND conductive.

And as a side note, as you can see in the pictures, the Dragon Skin Acoustic strings are also conductive.

So if you want a nice stainless steel coated string that's conductive, give Dragon Skins a try. www.bassstringsonline.com has the best price on them.

Open circuit:
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Dead Short:
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Proof is in the packaging!
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Acoustic Dragon Skins also conductive:
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#4
I have never had a coated string cause my bass to hum, but my basses don't hum when there are no strings on it.

Is this because your bass does have RF interference and since they aren't grounded you get RF hum constantly even when you are playing/touching the strings? If that is the case, why not just shield your bass?
 
#5
DiabolusInMusic said:
I have never had a coated string cause my bass to hum, but my basses don't hum when there are no strings on it.

Is this because your bass does have RF interference and since they aren't grounded you get RF hum constantly even when you are playing/touching the strings? If that is the case, why not just shield your bass?
Click to expand...

Well this is basically what got the discussion started:
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I've never had a coated string cause hum either, and I currently use DR Black Beauties on my Roscoe which are not conductive strings. Zero hum. Might be a problem with other brands, but it's not a problem with my Warwick, Spectors, Roscoe, or Laklands.
 
#7
MCB 5150 said:
When you buy Black Beauties, what gauge do you go with? I went through three packs of medium gauge and the G-string was dead in all of them.
Click to expand...

45-130. Last set had a dead A string and I have had a few dead G strings from BB's as well as Neons and Dragon Skins. DR always takes care of them though. I keep a spare set handy in case of dead strings. It's a tradeoff, as there's just no other string quite like DR.
 
#8
I've been thinking about adding a splash of color to my very, very black bass.
image.jpeg

The problem is, the jazz pup is a bit noisy.

So, the dragon skins are conductive, but the other coated/colored DRs are not? Bassstringsonline separates DR coated strings into three categories:
1)Dragon skins, which are apparently conducive but don't come in colors.
2) K3 extra life which include black beauties, cool blues and Red Devils
3) Neons, which include all the wacky colors.


I think blue would look cool, but I don't want added noise from non-conductive strings. So are the cool blues conductive like the dragon skins? Are the neons?
 
#9
Gorn said:
I've been thinking about adding a splash of color to my very, very black bass.
View attachment 775777
The problem is, the jazz pup is a bit noisy.

So, the dragon skins are conductive, but the other coated/colored DRs are not? Bassstringsonline separates DR coated strings into three categories:
1)Dragon skins, which are apparently conducive but don't come in colors.
2) K3 extra life which include black beauties, cool blues and Red Devils
3) Neons, which include all the wacky colors.


I think blue would look cool, but I don't want added noise from non-conductive strings. So are the cool blues conductive like the dragon skins? Are the neons?
Click to expand...

K3 and Neons are the same thing, just different colors. None are conductive. Dragon Skins are the only ones that are conductive.
 
#13
Gorn said:
I've played and liked the reds, but I kinda want blue strings for this one. It's fine. Steel colored is good enough for me.
Click to expand...
Got it.
I still wonder about Aurora strings, which also come in (sundry) colours, re:conductive coating. I'm not sure if they were considered, or even around yet, by Sadowsky for his article.

Actually, I'm not even sure what material they're covered in.
 
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#14
Gorn said:
I've been thinking about adding a splash of color to my very, very black bass.
View attachment 775777
The problem is, the jazz pup is a bit noisy.

So, the dragon skins are conductive, but the other coated/colored DRs are not? Bassstringsonline separates DR coated strings into three categories:
1)Dragon skins, which are apparently conducive but don't come in colors.
2) K3 extra life which include black beauties, cool blues and Red Devils
3) Neons, which include all the wacky colors.


I think blue would look cool, but I don't want added noise from non-conductive strings. So are the cool blues conductive like the dragon skins? Are the neons?
Click to expand...

By "jazz pickup is a bit noisy" I'm guessing you mean it is a single coil that gets 60hz noise. Your choice of strings will have no impact on this.

If your bass gets RF interference/has a hum when you don't touch the strings then you will get added noise with non-conductive/coated strings. If this is the case a proper shielding job will silence the bass regardless of string choice.

D'addario stopped making BXP reds by the way. I liked them but I had a student who loved them, I tried to order him a set recently and couldn't. I have a set of Auroras on hand, that same student also ordered a couple sets, I have yet to try them though.
 
#15
DiabolusInMusic said:
By "jazz pickup is a bit noisy" I'm guessing you mean it is a single coil that gets 60hz noise. Your choice of strings will have no impact on this.

If your bass gets RF interference/has a hum when you don't touch the strings then you will get added noise with non-conductive/coated strings. If this is the case a proper shielding job will silence the bass regardless of string choice.
Click to expand...
No, I know. The noise goes away when I touch the strings but I don't want to get the shielding done. I can't do it myself and I don't wanna pay for it.

I'll leave it alone regardless. I don't like the feel of coated strings anyway. I can live without blue strings.
 

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