DR Lo Riders Clearer Than Hi Beams???

[eff-clef]

Geez, no contest...I think the SS Lo-Riders take the cake for clarity and aggression. That's impressive, and the only other strings that impressed me on that page, which really stood out, were the Fat Beams.

And the nickle Lo Riders too.

 

[Tubehed]

The sound sample of the Lo-Riders sounds louder to me than the others. I wonder if that might be a factor in how people are hearing the differences.

 

[Mickeyb48]

I think maybe what I'm hearing has to do with the attack / sustain as well as the tonal balance of the high end

That is to say, the Hi Beams have highs present in both the attack and sustain phases, whereas the Lo Riders mostly only have the highs present in the attack phase

That combined with more high-mids in the Hi Beams, whereas the Lo Riders have less high mids, is creating an effect wherein the highs of the Hi Beams spread out – tonally into the mids and dynamically into the sustain – whereas the highs of the Lo Riders are more focused – tonally in the just the treble and dynamically just in the attack – lending it the clarity I speak of.

Does that seem right?

Yes

 

[bassist4dalord]

Side note: the Fat Beams on those samples, those have to be recorded on a different bass / different pickup, right? They sound *drastically* different from the Hi Beams and Lo Riders... as if they were recorded on the Neck P/U, whereas the others sound like they're on Both P/Us

Not sure if the SoundCloud track has accurate information but the Fat Beams track says it was recorded using a 60s P whereas the SS Lo Rider says it's a 5-string Jazz. That's a little disappointing if it is true. The samples should be recorded on the same bass.

I'm shopping for a set of SS rounds for my SBMM Ray5. I've heard rave reviews about the Fat Beams. Right now I have DR Dragon Skin K3 Coated SS 40-120 on it. They're fine but I think I'll stay away from the coating in the future.

I've heard great things about Lo Riders, Fat Beams and Hi Beams on a Ray. I just can't decide which I want to try next.

 

[eriky4003]

Currently sporting DR Lo-Riders on my SBMM Ray5. Sounds amazing! Saying that, they're all great strings. I went with the Lo-Riders more for their tension as the string before (even though they are hex-core) were a bit floppy.

 

[LetItGrowTone]

Intelligibility and clarity aren't exactly the same thing, but very close.
While Hi-Beams are probably more pure/undistorted/"clear", Lo-Riders have an additional edge - a kind of distortion - caused by the hex core, that probably increases intelligibility.

(I hear what you're saying. I like Roto 66, hex core stainless.)

 

[eriky4003]

Not sure if the SoundCloud track has accurate information but the Fat Beams track says it was recorded using a 60s P whereas the SS Lo Rider says it's a 5-string Jazz. That's a little disappointing if it is true. The samples should be recorded on the same bass.

I'm shopping for a set of SS rounds for my SBMM Ray5. I've heard rave reviews about the Fat Beams. Right now I have DR Dragon Skin K3 Coated SS 40-120 on it. They're fine but I think I'll stay away from the coating in the future.

I've heard great things about Lo Riders, Fat Beams and Hi Beams on a Ray. I just can't decide which I want to try next.

I'd go Fats over Hi as you get most of the HIs but also get a great booty on the string. Lo's if you want a bit of grind in your tone with crisp highs and warm mids.

 

[bassist4dalord]

I'd go Fats over Hi as you get most of the HIs but also get a great booty on the string. Lo's if you want a bit of grind in your tone with crisp highs and warm mids.

For now, the Fat Beams and Hi Beams are still on my "try list". I just picked up a set of Pure Blues 45-125. They were the strings I put on my Ray5 the day after I bought it.

I'm going to leave the Dragon Skins on until the end of October, then use the Pure Blues for a few months.