Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Why DR strings are amazing
- Thread starter lburton2
- Start date
Sometimes I wonder if the things that make DR so magical is also what makes them maybe hit/miss sometimes with dead/broken strings right out of the package? Almost like they really are made by hand, and when it's done right...which is 99% of the time...it's pure bliss. But sometimes crazy things seem to happen with only DR strings....like my .125 that snaps just by bending it. But as long as they will replace them, I'll stick with them. I just can't get that same sound out of anything else.
Same journey for me, only on a J-bass.
I still love TI Jazz flats, but for rock I go with sunbeams.
I admit that strings are something I generally don't want to bother worrying about.
With DR sunbeams, that's pretty easy.
"Almost" made by hand? They better be HANDMADE, that's their entire marketing strategy. But I think you're on the right track there, with some coming out of the package dead/brittle.
Hi-Beams for me all the way, been using them for 5 years. Every time I get a new bass, it doesn't sound like me until I get some Hi-beams on it.
I also like the Hi-Beam Flats. They're a really nice middle-ground, in-between Labella's and TI's on the hi-tension dead side, and Chromes on the low-tension bright side.
hasbeen
Commercial User
- Sep 23, 2004
- 4,806
- 2,667
- Disclosures
- Executive Vice President, The Adam Hall Group
not a chance. The folks at DR are very passionate about what they do....and that includes the quality of the product they deliver.
hasbeen
Commercial User
- Sep 23, 2004
- 4,806
- 2,667
- Disclosures
- Executive Vice President, The Adam Hall Group
i always find they buzz more and are harder to set up
d'addario for me
do you play back towards the bridge or more towards the neck? I only ask because if you're using DR round core strings, they WILL have more side to side excursion than hex core.
That's not a measure of the string. It is more a measure of the application.
i always find they buzz more and are harder to set up
d'addario for me
Lower tension strings will do that when your bass is not properly set up.
DR stainless steel Hi-beams all the way.
They are super crisp and full on my active P/J.
I find them a little harsh on the fingers for the first couple of hours, but once they're got a bit of sweat and grease on them they're perfect.
They last forever and i've never had _any_ problems with them.
Good strings are expensive as hell over here, so i've been buying them in bulk from the states via ebay or juststrings or whichever website has them cheapest.
IMHO they've earnt every ounce hype.
They are super crisp and full on my active P/J.
I find them a little harsh on the fingers for the first couple of hours, but once they're got a bit of sweat and grease on them they're perfect.
They last forever and i've never had _any_ problems with them.
Good strings are expensive as hell over here, so i've been buying them in bulk from the states via ebay or juststrings or whichever website has them cheapest.
IMHO they've earnt every ounce hype.
DR Black Beauties/Peacock Blue/ etc. feel/sound nothing like Elixers, and this is a good thing! Where Elixers have a polymer coating over the string, the DR's outer wrap is coated BEFORE it is wound on the string. The result is a coated string that feels very much like an uncoated, sounds much closer to an uncoated, and last forever since the outer wrap is coated 360 degrees! I mostly play flats these days but they are my favorite roundwound, used them for years, and was recently stening to some studio work I did with them a few years back and dug the tone! Give em a try if you haven't.
when i played DR i used the hex core lo riders, and i play with a pick near the bridge.. also i prefer flats nowadays, which if i wanted DR i could only get through special order.
but anyway, when i used to use them i tried to do my own setup and i just couldn't get it to sit right, so i had a tech do it, and he even said that he finds them to be the hardest brand of strings to use on a setup. i always liked the tone though.
elixer nanowebs are coated in this manner too, as well as d'addarios. really the only strings that have the outer coating are the elixer polywebs.
they are what i use, 105-45. amazing
I started out using RS66's, but after getting 2 packs in a row that were wrong (dead e, two d strings), i made the switch the DR.
I started with SS lowriders, they were good at e flat tuning, but once i moved on back to standard tuning, they were a little too tight for me. I swapped to SS hibeam 105's and i havent looked back.
I just switched to DR low riders myself. I was playing with Ernie Ball power Slinky (heavy) before and couldn't stand the buzz from them. I haven't gotten my bass back from the shop yet as its being restrung and setup, I also opted to downtune to B E A D on my 4 string so I needed a custom filed nut put in too. Ill update after I play the new strings for a bit, but I've heard so many great things about these strings that I'm sure I'll love them.
I do have a question about the Neons though. I've heard that the coating makes them sound a bit chunky and not as bright. I think they'd be fun for gigging with though, and as I mainly play black metal I do t really require a bright sounding tone, I prefer a dead, dull kind of growl. Has anyone played the Neons for metal? If so what was your experience.
I do have a question about the Neons though. I've heard that the coating makes them sound a bit chunky and not as bright. I think they'd be fun for gigging with though, and as I mainly play black metal I do t really require a bright sounding tone, I prefer a dead, dull kind of growl. Has anyone played the Neons for metal? If so what was your experience.
