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Nickle alternative to dr hi beams

#42
Cleezmo said:
Agree with the recommendations for Sun Beams and Pure Blues.

But I must admit I'm scratching my head a little bit with the notion that High Beams (or as some posters have stated, Fat Beams) are too 'grippy'. I played High Beams for several years before discovering Fat Beams, which are my favorite (have them on several of my basses), and I have SunBeams on another. I've never found them to be 'grippy' unless you compare them to a flat wound or tape wound. Part of what I love about those DR lines is how smooth they are, especially for a SS string. But I suppose everyone's hands are different and react differently to strings.
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+1.
 
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#43
Das Jugghead said:
Not sure if you are open to trying other brands of strings but this is what I use for precisely the same reasons you listed:

D'Addario XTB45130 XT Nickel Plated Steel Bass Guitar Strings - .045-.130 Regular Light Long Scale 5-string

The DR's felt like they grabbed my fingertips the way a microfiber towel grabs your skin if your skin is roughed up. The D'Addarios sound great for what I do and last longer than any other string I have tried. Over the years I think I have tried about every round-wound string offered at Sweetwater. For what it is or is not worth I play rock and roll and ocassionally some country.
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I think I've tried most strings as well. I have tried those D'as (and the regular ones) , but I don't remember what they were like.

You described what I feel perfectly. The hi beams feel like a funky micro fiber. It's one of those feels that makes my teeth hurt if I touch them just right on the wrong day. The "feeling" I have gotten used to, it's the sticking to my fingers that annoys me. Unintentionally making notes louder during faster runs is driving me nuts.
 
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#45
Drop1 said:
I am trying so hard to get along with Dr hi beams.

They sound amazing. Truly. They are the best sounding strings I've ever found for this bass and I've tried about 40 different sets now.

The problem I'm having is the texture.

It's going on 2 months since I switched to hi beams and they don't seem to get along with my fingers.

They aren't painful to play, they just stick to my darn fingers. This makes playing fast (as fast as I could otherwise play) seem impossible without a substantial loss in volume.

I dont want to go back to elixirs due to tension. Thr hi beams have helped ease my tendinitis a good bit.

The elixirs would build some gnarly , HARD calluses. That coupled with the elixirs coating is a recipe for blazing fast speed. The hi beams seem to sand off a lot if ehere my calluses would usually be. This leaves fingers in a softer state which in turn let's the raw steel stick to my fingers even more.

Im.going to give the hi beams another month but I want to start thinking about alternatives now just in case. I'd say I'm up yo about 3/4ths of my usual speed now on the hi beams but that last bit of speed seems almost impossible to get without playing very light.

I have no problem playing most lines with the hi beams. It's the quick fills giving me all the problems.
Maybe i will have to accept the trade off of speed for sound if I want to keep this sound. Idk.
Are there any nickle strings out their that have a similar bendy feel (round core) that can get into hi beam brightness territory?
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Sunbeams.
 
#46
BGroovy said:
I played sunbeams for a long time but in the last year or so all my basses with rounds I’ve switched to SIT power wound nickels
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Hi,
I'm curious why the switch? Can you compare the two?

I've never had a chance to try Sunbeams. I've used Hi Beams, Lo Riders and Fat Beams and recently put a set of SIT Foundations on my Spector Euro 4LX and I am really enjoying them. I usually prefer a stainless steel string for the Euro(Big Rotosound Fan! :)) but the Foundations feel tremendous! :)
 
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#47
I wanted to update this thread for anyone with a similar experience to mine with grippy steel strings.

I spent a good 10 hours straight playing Saturday and I have overcome the feel. It just took a couple months for my calluses to change. My fingers had to adapt to the different string texture and they have.

Now my only real hang up with the hi beams is something I also consider a positive. The tension. The lower tension feels really good, but the e feels quite loose compared to any other string I've used. So I have to be careful to not dig in too much but I'm 90% there.

I think another couple weeks and I won't even be thinking about strings any more. So if you are having issues with strings but you really like their sound, don't give up too early. Give it at least a couple good months of regular playing and I think things will work themselves out. Obviously you can't do this if you are gigging regularly but it can be done. Patience and persistence is key.
 
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#48
Drop1 said:
if you are having issues with strings but you really like their sound, don't give up too early. Give it at least a couple good months of regular playing and I think things will work themselves out... Patience and persistence is key.
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This is good advice. :thumbsup:

I've had love-hate relationships with stainless steel rounds in the past - "love the sound, hate the feel". My problem is I always give up on them way too prematurely. I do have a couple of brand new sets of SS rounds in my personal stash I've been meaning to try on one of my Yamaha 5'ers but I keep hesitating. Now with eight basses in my collection, I figure I should have at least one with SS rounds just for the sake of having the tonal option available for when I need it.
 
#49
michael_t said:
This is good advice. :thumbsup:

I've had love-hate relationships with stainless steel rounds in the past - "love the sound, hate the feel". My problem is I always give up on them way too prematurely. I do have a couple of brand new sets of SS rounds in my personal stash I've been meaning to try on one of my Yamaha 5'ers but I keep hesitating. Now with eight basses in my collection, I figure I should have at least one with SS rounds just for the sake of having the tonal option available for when I need it.
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I had to play quite a bit in those 2 months to adapt. Initially the strings took most of calluses off, but new ones formed in a different spots. And now that I have the new ones, my fingers glide right across no problem. The first couple of days on a new set is still a bit tedious, but once broken in its great. I think I still have some new callus building to do but I'm not giving up. I like the sound too much.
 
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#50
Indeed, I was also going to suggest sticking with the Hi Beams a bit longer. I don't think any other strings really sound quite like them while offering the round core feel. It took me several months to adjust to them after years of playing only flats, but now they just feel like bass strings. I remember having this same initial reaction to other SS strings in the past.
 
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#52
I wanted to give this thread one last update.
I have stayed witht he hi beams and now feel 100% at home on them.
My fingers have adapted completely. They no longer feel sticky, even after putting new ones on and I have gotten just as fast , if not faster on the hi beams as I was with the coated elixirs. My fingers glide across the hi beams effortlessly.

I am going to try sunbeams due to so many recommendations, but unless they have a superior sound, I'm not switching for good.
 
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#56
I used Fats on a Wick Streamer w/Barts and an HPF for several years, but too flexible for detuning stuff I do now. Still great on my Ibby fretless though.
 
#58
How close are the sunbeams to pure blues?

I ask, because I had a new pack of PB sitting around and threw them on for the heck of it. They didn't even make it an hour. I think I've gotten spoiled with the sharpness/clarity of the hi beams. So far , they are rhe closest thing I've found to ehat a bass should sound like to me.

If the sunbeams are anything like the Pure blues at all, I'd rather not waste the $.
 

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