DR Strings up close and personal....

[ProfessorString]

It makes you wonder about "handmade" strings, does that mean quality and performance may vary from set to set?

This issue here is the winding method used by most string companies.

Most are using the "Open Style" winding method. It is great for mass production, but not great for tonal qualities or longevity.

The "Torque Style" winding method focuses on tonal quality with high winding density, and eliminates this problem. More about this on posting: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=418343

It is amazing how many people think that +3,000 strings can be made per day, individually, ALL by hand, in a tiny factory. ...LOL.

Here would be a real scenario for handmade strings:
We have a room of manual string winders with a +2 year waiting list for custom string sets. Here is a 60sec vid show how it is done:

Hope some of that helps.

Cheers!
-Prof

 

[maconbass]

From my experience, the DR HighBeams last much longer than the EB's do. I used to buy Slinky's a lot until I started experimenting with other brands. I've settled on DR's.

 

[Parabolic Box]

The first string I looked at was the DR off my bass, it was played on for about 3 months I'd say. Then I looked at a brand new EB slinky and thought the same thing as you did. So I grabbed my spare set of brand new DR's and found the same thing as the used DR's. Large gaps to where you can actually see the core and a lot of the gaps were actually uneven.

Unless it was the G string, that's hard to believe. Wound bass strings have three or four layers of windings.

 

[KJung]

This issue here is the winding method used by most string companies.

Most are using the "Open Style" winding method. It is great for mass production, but not great for tonal qualities or longevity.

The "Torque Style" winding method focuses on tonal quality with high winding density, and eliminates this problem. More about this on posting: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=418343

It is amazing how many people think that +3,000 strings can be made per day, individually, ALL by hand, in a tiny factory. ...LOL.

Here would be a real scenario for handmade strings:
We have a room of manual string winders with a +2 year waiting list for custom string sets. Here is a 60sec vid show how it is done:

Hope some of that helps.

Cheers!
-Prof

All I care about is if each set sounds the same, that they don't cost an arm and a leg, and that they maintain their inherent tone for a long time. The DR's do that as well or better than any other string I've ever used, by a rather large amount, which is why many of us are so high on them

Of course, there are many good strings out there, and some will seem to last longer than others given the inherent voicing of the instrument and the tone goals.

Given my love of bright, open, wide and sizzle... that's a very hard tone to keep 'live' for any amount of time. I started out back in the day with the Rotosound 66's... like most of us, and was lucky to get two gigs out of those before they went dead.

The Dean Markley Superwounds sounded great and close to the Roto's, and lasted a touch longer.

The Hi Beams, while a little smoother than both of the above strings, are very bright and alive, and I've been able to get 10-15 gigs out of them, or at least a couple of months, whichever comes first, before the low end compresses and the hi end gets clanky.

Wonderful stuff if you like a bright, modern, J Bass on Steroids type tone.

 

[Mikeyd74]

I just took this pic with my phone so please excuse the overall quality. It still illustrates my point.
This is a brand new DR string. You can easily see the uneven gaps between the windings. I would post a pic of the used DR's but they are in the dumpster and I'm not about to go digging through that mess. Plus it shows pretty much the same thing.
I wish I had another spare set of Ernie Ball's in order to show you a comparison between the two. I really don't like to remove brand new strings from my basses otherwise I would show you, plus it defeats the purpose of comparing brand new strings right out of the pouch. But let me assure you, there is a huge difference between gaps and consistency throughout the string compared to the DR's.

 

[vision]

All I care about is if each set sounds the same, that they don't cost an arm and a leg, and that they maintain their inherent tone for a long time. The DR's do that as well or better than any other string I've ever used, by a rather large amount, which is why many of us are so high on them

+1000

 

[RapierSix]

Handmade doesn't mean that there is a little old man with a pair of tweezers winding the wrapping around the core. Handmade means that there is a man watching, monitoring, and controlling the machine doing the wrapping.

DR's are tightly wrapped and if I remember correctly they have at least two wrappings, one on the core, one on top of the one on the core. So with the extra tight winding it may cause the final wrapping to shift the lower rapping and also go into off-pattern grooves caused by the lower rapping.

 

[Mikeyd74]

I do understand that the strings aren't made by one person wrapping the string with his own to hands, but more of monitored by a human being and not a laser guided machine. I think in my case I would prefer having a machine make my strings ultra-consistent and remove the human element. When I get my next set of EB Slinkys I will bring them to work and put them under the MicroVu in order to demonstrate how uniform they are compared to the DR's.
Don't get me wrong, when I first put the DR's on my basses I was amazed by the sound and feel. The only problem is that they went dead too quickly for my tastes and at their price they just don't seem worth it to me.
Now this may be due entirely to my own body chemistry interacting with the strings and the amount of grime getting between the gaps of the strings but I don't seem to have that issue with the EB Slinkys.

 

[bradjonesbass]

interesting. I'm a die hard DR user - pretty much exclusively Hi-Beams for the past 15 years. I don't like lo-riders at all and I've tried them on a few different basses. I've got a fresh set of MM Fats that are going on my G&L L2500 this week to replace the lo-riders that I thought I'd give another shot. I use Labella flatwounds on my fretless, but other than that it's DR all the way and I agree with Ken, they last forever. I like my strings to sound a little worn in, rather than that brand new string tone, so I've had them on for up to six months or more of regular gigging - 3 sets a night playing a lot of slap/funk stuff. From about 3 weeks in to the end of their useful life (around 5-6 months for me) the tone doesn't change at all. Then when they do die, they go quickly.

 

[Sundogue]

I've never paid attention to the wrappings. I only know that out of every string made that I've tried, only the DR's do it for me.

I LOVE the super bright SS/RW sound, but have come to settle on the Nickel wrapped on round core DR Sunbeams as the best of all possibilities. Unlike SS/RW which are very bright but lose too much sizzle too soon, the Sunbeams are bright enough and maintain that brightness the longest. It's like they don't start out as bright, but all other things taken into consideration, over time they are brighter (for a longer period of time) than the SS/RW that started out brighter.

There are plenty of factors that go into why a string goes "dead", just as there are opinions as to just what "bright" and "dead" actually mean to an individual.

While I desire the super bright sound, it is almost impossible to maintain that sound without constant, regular string changes (regardless of string brand). So I settle for a bit less brightness, to gain longevity.

Perhaps there are gaps in the windings on DR's. But given my experience with them, perhaps it is more a testimonial as to how good they are even with the gaps.

My hands don't sweat much, I play my strings rather hard, I'm not anal about cleaning them (between sets or gigs) and I practice on my own every day, rehearse with the band once a week and play out once or twice a week, every week. Still, my DR Sunbeams last me about two months before I want to change them, and about six months before I really have to change them.

But that's me. Given how much bass strings cost, we all want more than strings that simply stay in tune. Thankfully we have lots of choices today. My DR's cost $25 at juststrings.com...which is about $20-$25 less than they would at a store (if a store even carried them...and even then, who knows how long they've been sitting on the shelf).

I think sometimes we over analyze problems with our gear and really only need to use the best tools available to us to determine what works best. Our ears. Go with what works for you. The "why" is kind of irrelevant.

 

[KJung]

I do understand that the strings aren't made by one person wrapping the string with his own to hands, but more of monitored by a human being and not a laser guided machine. I think in my case I would prefer having a machine make my strings ultra-consistent and remove the human element. When I get my next set of EB Slinkys I will bring them to work and put them under the MicroVu in order to demonstrate how uniform they are compared to the DR's.
Don't get me wrong, when I first put the DR's on my basses I was amazed by the sound and feel. The only problem is that they went dead too quickly for my tastes and at their price they just don't seem worth it to me.
Now this may be due entirely to my own body chemistry interacting with the strings and the amount of grime getting between the gaps of the strings but I don't seem to have that issue with the EB Slinkys.

We get it... you like Slinky's better than DR strings. Cool!

Since the vast majority of us that use Hi Beams find they last significantly longer than most other SS roundwounds (i.e., maintain a reasonably bright, wide tone for a long, long time), your hypothesis about the nature of the windings does not seem to really be true (that it is a general negative), or if so, seems to be very specific to your situation.

Enjoy those Slinky's... that's why there are so many different brands and voicings of strings out there.

 

[mothmonsterman]

I had a pair of low riders on my corvette for over a year, before i figured "eh i got some over time should at least change my strings.


Not sure if it was mentioned but,
when you put them under a micro scope, where both sets used, i would imagine any string would have gaps in it if you played on it, while a brand new string wouldn't have any or as much.

 

[Mikeyd74]

We get it... you like Slinky's better than DR strings. Cool!

Since the vast majority of us that use Hi Beams find they last significantly longer than most other SS roundwounds (i.e., maintain a reasonably bright, wide tone for a long, long time), your hypothesis about the nature of the windings does not seem to really be true (that it is a general negative), or if so, seems to be very specific to your situation.

Enjoy those Slinky's... that's why there are so many different brands and voicings of strings out there.

Actually, in my opinion the best tones I've gotten was when I put brand new sets of the "Marcus Miller" DR's on a few of my basses. They were bright and snappy, yet had a nice mellow midrange tone and a deep full bottom end. They were great while they lasted which unfortunately wasn't too long.
For consistency I have to say that the Elixirs are on top. I still have a set on my EB Stingray and they are almost as bright as the day I put them on and I put them on within a week of when I put the DR's on my other basses. The only negative things about the Elixirs is the fact that the nanoweb covering is already becoming frayed and they feel stiff on the neck just as they did when I took them out of the pouch for the first time.
In my personal opinion the best bang for my buck are the EB Slinkys. For me they stay nice and bright for a long long time, have a nice warm tone, and feel nice and comfortable on the neck.
Looking at these strings under the MicroVu answered a few things I was wondering about. I was wondering why the DR's felt slightly abrasive compared to my other strings and why they didn't last as long. Apparently the answer has to do with the gaps between windings.
I'm not saying this is good or bad for everyone else, I'm saying that it just doesn't work for me.

 

[mikeswals]

A few months have gone by and I've noticed that the DR's have become completely lifeless where as my Slinky's have lasted as long as 4-5 months while maintaining a nice bright warm tone.

I always have the complete opposite experience....
I cannot get a month out of Slinkys, then they're dead and thuddy. Where with DR's High Beams or Marcus Millers, I typically get 5-6 months before I need to change them. And I just sold my SR5 that had a set of DR's that were almost two years old and still zinged and growled.

Another great I like to use, and very similar string to the DR BH/MM is the MTD stainless. I consider it a real treat *when* I can actually find them.

-Mike

 

[kayakbass]

I'll take the one's that play and sound better over the one's that look better under a microscope every time

AAAAMEN! It really isn't rocket science. If you like the tone, the feel and the string life, BUY'M AND PLAY'M! If you don't like'm, don't buy'm and don't play'm! WOW! Isn't that easy? I don't need a picture to tell me that hitting my thumb with a hammer hurts. All that aside...NICE PIX!

 

[Parabolic Box]

Looking at these strings under the MicroVu answered a few things I was wondering about. I was wondering why the DR's felt slightly abrasive compared to my other strings and why they didn't last as long. Apparently the answer has to do with the gaps between windings.

Actually, it has to do with the fact that it's stainless steel. Rotosounds or D'A ProSteels are no nicer to your fingers.

 

[Mikeyd74]

Actually, it has to do with the fact that it's stainless steel. Rotosounds or D'A ProSteels are no nicer to your fingers.

I've used Rotosounds before and they were a lot easier on my fingers then the DR's. Never tried the D'A ProSteels before, but they are on my list of strings to check out at some point.

 

[Tony G]

I've used Rotosounds before and they were a lot easier on my fingers then the DR's. Never tried the D'A ProSteels before, but they are on my list of strings to check out at some point.

Now I know something is wrong with you.

Rotosounds feel like barbed wire compared to DR Hi-Beams...

 

[mjolnir]

Maybe you just got a bum set of DR's, MikeyD. I don't doubt your sincerity, but like many others in this thread, my own experience with these strings has been nearly the opposite of yours. Have you tried any other sets since then?

 

[Mikeyd74]

Maybe you just got a bum set of DR's, MikeyD. I don't doubt your sincerity, but like many others in this thread, my own experience with these strings has been nearly the opposite of yours. Have you tried any other sets since then?

True, that is a possibility.
I bought 4 sets at the same time from the same store. It is possible they had a bad production run.
Maybe the guys at that new Bass Gear website should tackle this topic.