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DR "Legend" Flats

#21
just finished a cover band gig on DR flats on a P bass. very easy to play and lower tension than most flats, very much a light gauge feel, even though they are marked 45-105. they put out somewhat less sound than the 49-109 La Bellas i took off, but there's a volume knob for that. the DRs sounded pretty good, very even across the 4 strings, warm but not totally dead, capable of good old school slap tone. the loose feel was a fun change of pace, really invites one to over play if so inclined :)
 
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#23
i think the DR flats are lower tension. i've used chromes in mixed sets, 45-105, and the DR G and D are certainly lower tension, b/c the DRs measure somewhat under the gauges they report (see comments above) AND the round core makes them more flexible too. the A and E DRs are lower tension than 85 and 105 chromes, and the DR A and E being larger than the 80 and 100 chromes, might have similar, or perhaps slightly lower tension, b/c the chromes are hex core (stiffer) and the DR are round core (not as stiff).

by way of comparison, i think round core strings 45-105 feel lower tension than 40-100 hex core. not sure if that's a correct perception, but the flexibility of round cores gives me the perception, at least.
 
#24
great.. I'm getting dr flats next... just switched from ghs flats to dr hi beam, the transition made me miss my old jazz bass low end growl... by far i liked the hi beam ss rounds but it won't work for me, I tried the chromes 40-100 before, honestly they sound nice on the recording but doesn't sound full to me..
 
#25
I know this is an old post, but there seems to be a lack of info on the DR Flats.

I put some DR Flats on my Warwick Corvette Std. They are pretty high tension... higher tension than Rotosound 77s which I had on prior to these.

As mentioned in other posts, they are very smooth/tightwound. Feel great on fingers.

I think I like the tension of the Rotosounds better, as they are a bit lighter. But I like the tone of the DR's. Sound great.
 
#26
I just ordered a set of Hi Beam Flats..... would love to hear about these strings from folks who have used them. I hope they are what I thought they were. I read a lot about "DR Flats" but now I am wondering if what I read about was the DR Legends and not the HI Beam flats.
 
#27
I put a set of Legends that have been sitting in my desk drawer for at least two years on my Warwick last week - and I love them! I could be wrong - but I think these are fundamentally different than typical flatwounds. These are regular wound strings that are then polished to eliminate the ridges. There are probably other brands that do this too. But on my Warwick, these strings sound phenomenal. The strings have tone instead of the dull thud of normal flatwounds. The only thing to complain about is that the silk winding near the ball end of the E string was too fat to go into the tailpiece as tightly as I'd like it.
 
#28
armybass said:
I just ordered a set of Hi Beam Flats..... would love to hear about these strings from folks who have used them. I hope they are what I thought they were. I read a lot about "DR Flats" but now I am wondering if what I read about was the DR Legends and not the HI Beam flats.
Click to expand...

I have had DR Hi Beam flats and DR Legend flats on basses over the years. As far as I can tell, same strings.
 
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#31
I've been a GHS Precision Flats player for years...
I just picked up a set of the Legends... put them on my J-bass with DiMarzio Ultra Jazz PUPS. I personally like the tone they produce... there seems to be more of an old school feel to the tone and the smooth feel. They also tend to activate the G&K growl more than my GHS strings and I feel more thump in my pants leg. The Ultra Jazz PUPs are pretty bright, so the Legends tame that thin edge and leave me with those bold brights without sounding thin.
I also think they're just a bit easier to play 1st and 2nd strings are less "jump into you face" and richer sounding... although I miss a little bit the bright howl of the GHS from those 2 strings when soloing.
As far as overall tone goes... I have to be careful on the tone knob on the bass... they do have the tendency to create a sound as if there's a pillow in front of the speaker if I go too far flat, the Precisions never did.
The stay in tune even after the first set up... to be expected from a good set of string though...
Just my 2 cents
 
#32
I actually joined this forum just now so that I could chime in on DR flatwounds. They really do have some confusing labeling (High-Beam vs Legend, Hex vs Round), but I think they only make one kind of flatwound strings (with a short-scale option), and I think they have a hex core... I don't know!

I've been playing roundwounds exclusively for a long time (my favorite are DR Sunbeams), and I recently made the switch (permanently, I think) to flatwounds. The DR Legends were the first flatwounds I tried, and I was actually alarmed by how dull they sounded in comparison to roundwounds. I did appreciate the one tone I got from them, but I felt that they would be far too limiting for a variety of musical styles. I tried a few other major brands, and I was pretty sure the D'Addario Chromes were going to be the perfect strings for me, but in the end I went back to the DR Legends.

The tone you get from new Chromes is really extreme, and I don't think it's fair to evaluate them until they've mellowed. The difference between new Chromes and new DR Legends is completely night and day, but the aged tone of both is much closer than I initially expected. The Chromes do retain a bit more "parp" in the attack, and I think they have a more extended upper-mid sustain, but I far prefer the way the DR strings look and feel. They're so much smoother and more pleasant to the touch than Chromes, in my opinion, and I appreciate the simple brass ball ends and gold silk wrapping. The Chromes actually looked and felt surprisingly cheap in comparison, to me.

To be honest, I think I might slightly prefer the tone of broken-in Chromes, but the DR Legends feel five times as good to my fingers (and look twice as nice). With a little amp EQ they can sound all the ways I want them to sound (never really bright, but very focused in the range they occupy), and they're not at all as limited as I first thought. They sit in every mix I've done really, really well with almost no effort.

I just ordered two more sets, and I think that'll take care of me for the next ten years!

Edit: Well, it's been only a very short while since I sang the praises of DR Flats (round core, I now think), but I thought I should mention that I have become a huge convert to TI Jazz Flats. They were one of the strings I had tried earlier, and I really didn't like how floppy and loose they felt, but after giving them another chance I can't believe I ever didn't love them. The low tension does take some getting used to, and the tone might too, at first, but once you get past the initial weirdness they are absolutely incredible. They sound astonishingly good on a p-bass, and if you're wanting more thump and vintage low end, put some foam by the bridge, and you'll be in Jamerson-tone heaven.
 
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#33
squier dimension v with dr legends

squier dimension v with dr legends

acdc bass
squier dimension v with dr legends

squier dimension v with dr legends

legends for acdc squier dimension v

I put some on my dimension v. I found them to be just a tad bit rougher than ghs precision flats. They have about 14 hours on them now. and still have a lot more high end than I anticipated from reading stuff on here. The mids are very pronounced and fat. The b barely fit in through the bridge. They respond well to pick playing.

They have a lighter tension than the ghs also. So far, I really like them and plan on keeping them on this bass for a long long time.
 
#34
I know this is an old post, but I just recently changed from Chromes 45-100 to DR Legend 45-105 because the Chromes felt like bridge cables to me, and my fretting hand was feeling abnormally sore. The Legends to me have the tension of a round wound, which is exactly what I was looking for. As far as a realistic audio example their tonal quality - below is a live performance where the bass player is using Legends. Head to the 6:40 mark.

 
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#35
quilanthegreat said:
I know this is an old post, but I just recently changed from Chromes 45-100 to DR Legend 45-105 because the Chromes felt like bridge cables to me, and my fretting hand was feeling abnormally sore. The Legends to me have the tension of a round wound, which is exactly what I was looking for. As far as a realistic audio example their tonal quality - below is a live performance where the bass player is using Legends. Head to the 6:40 mark.

Click to expand...


when I get my t-40 it will probably get legends
 
#37
Well, I bought some and had them on for several hours before I decided these aren’t the strings I was looking for. They weren’t quite as smooth feeling as I thought and heard about. They are balanced nicely from string to string. The E string is noticeably thumpier than the others out of the package. What killed it though, is these strings are STIFF. A little much for me on the Stingray, where I play by the pickup. They may fare much better on a P.
 
#38
CapnSev said:
Well, I bought some and had them on for several hours before I decided these aren’t the strings I was looking for. They weren’t quite as smooth feeling as I thought and heard about. They are balanced nicely from string to string. The E string is noticeably thumpier than the others out of the package. What killed it though, is these strings are STIFF. A little much for me on the Stingray, where I play by the pickup. They may fare much better on a P.
Click to expand...
I haven't tried these but the fact they only seem to come in one gauge stops me from wanting to try these, 105-45 to me screams stiff regardless of the core. Had similar experience with Pyramid gold flatwounds, had heard they are roundcore and low tension, put them on my bass and they came off the following day, they may have been low tension but they felt really stiff
 
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#39
I’ve played these strings on a few occasions, and it’s almost like they’re two different sets of strings and it’s random on what you get. One set was super high tension and thuddy and the other reminded me a lot of TIs.

The low tension set was wonderful but the high tension set busted a core after a single practice and didn’t sound all that great all around.
 
#40
Just put a set of Legends my 1970-fretless P-Bass. I'm digging these flats. They have a sparkle other flats don't have. Not bright or to much treble. Very smooth to the touch.
And very even from string to string. Will wait to see how they break in. That is the test for Flatwound's for me, how they sound a month later.
 
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