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Wow, DR Highbeams. Any recommendations for strings on the higher end of cost?
- Thread starter Nomoncello
- Start date
The round core is the secret sauce for the comfort and tone of Hi Beam and Fat Beam. They’re great strings - if you like them, don’t second-guess them based on cost.
Dr high beams are a unique string. They are kinda a stand alone string. Now you can try Dr fat beams and Fodera stainless steel but those would be the next closest thing to high beams. Fat beams and Fodera are a bit fatter sounding in the mids as well as a little stiffer feeling but I would check it out and see what you like best. Aside from that you have Dunlop stainless steel super Brights and sit foundations which would be close but stiffer due to being hex core strings vs the unique round core construction of DR.
I have Magma SS set sitting. The ultra flats are so good that I had no need to try.
Op: I am not Not digging Dunlops SB I felt that the EB regular slinky's were more fit for my EBMM SR5. The price of Dunlop Flats are now TI territory so I will not be surprised if they raise the price of their other strings soon.
If you are happy with DR Hi Beams just stay there. They are not that expensive . And they last longer than DAdds so the price difference is offset.
DR is a benchmark string. In my experience, they are the longest lasting strings I've used. A set of Hi-Beams or steel Lo-Riders still sound fresh to me a year later. I prefer the Lo-Riders simply because hex core strings are less finicky to intonate. They're priced pretty well too, especially considering the quality you get. Many GHS strings are more expensive nowadays, and they don't hold a candle to DR.
A lot of people like Dunlop SuperBrights as a less expensive alternative, especially since one of the main string developers at Dunlop is an ex-DR person. I personally dislike Dunlop strings. The set of SuperBright steels I tried went ploppy dead on me faster than Sonic the Hedgehog. The Hybrid Nickels I tried were the best feeling strings I've ever used (in terms of texture and flexibility), but they're too polite sounding and went super dull on me after just one gig.
When it comes to luxury brand strings like Thomastik-Infeld strings... Their rounds cost over $80 a set. Some people think they're magical. I tried their Superalloy rounds decades ago, just to see (I'm a notorious string GASer; gotta try 'em all), and I didn't think they were worth the price at all. Maybe they were "better" than DRs but not $50 better.
My favorite cost-effective brand is SIT. If I'm in a situation where I can't afford DRs, I'll go SIT.
A lot of people like Dunlop SuperBrights as a less expensive alternative, especially since one of the main string developers at Dunlop is an ex-DR person. I personally dislike Dunlop strings. The set of SuperBright steels I tried went ploppy dead on me faster than Sonic the Hedgehog. The Hybrid Nickels I tried were the best feeling strings I've ever used (in terms of texture and flexibility), but they're too polite sounding and went super dull on me after just one gig.
When it comes to luxury brand strings like Thomastik-Infeld strings... Their rounds cost over $80 a set. Some people think they're magical. I tried their Superalloy rounds decades ago, just to see (I'm a notorious string GASer; gotta try 'em all), and I didn't think they were worth the price at all. Maybe they were "better" than DRs but not $50 better.
My favorite cost-effective brand is SIT. If I'm in a situation where I can't afford DRs, I'll go SIT.
I've been through a few that really are stand out to me, Dr Sunbeams, Dr Hi Beams, Curt Magnan suited for a while and then I discovered Thomastik Rounds and they became my favorites. However I feel strongly that strings should suit the bass so I do have some TI flats and La Bella flats on a few basses and recently went through a ton of strings trying to find something I really loved on my StringRay Special which turned out to be Ken Smith Rock Masters.
I just put on the Magma 100-40 Stainless Set. They are really good, and they are cheap 19 a set in AMZ
They get the job done indeed and very reasonable prices (for an import)---makes ya think, about all the stateside and Euro company's, that pretty much gouge prices and pass 100% of their production / bulk shipping cost etc, to their customers.
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the last two sets I've used lasted me two hours, just the time of a gig, and then felt like rubber bands. never used them again, I kill them too fast. old Rotosound Swing can keep their bite for longer, under my hands.
that's interesting, because Rotosound is one of the oldest string maker, and perfectly "standard" in Europe. Elixir is just a "coater", they use D'Addario strings and then coat them with their patented coating.
Dunlop are IMHO kind of cheap strings, always found them to be on the cheapest side (in terms of quality), and the Super Bright are the worst strings I've ever used.
Fender has a long history in string making, since the early 50's, long before Ernie Ball (which started as a "re-packager" creating sets with different gauges that weren't available at the time (think of the plain G string on guitar, "invented" by Ernie Ball by repackaging. also the "light" sets like .009 and .010 were made this way, by switching strings and taking the smalle "E" string from banjo sets), and only after some years started he's own factory.
no, they make a couple of roundwound sets, but with different plating than stainless, like the Powerbass, only in one gauge.
And body chemistry plays such a huge part in strings.
DR Hi-Beams still sound fresh and amazing to me a year later, yet others' body chemistry kills them quickly.
Ernie Balls are like that. I kill 'em quick, others can play 'em forever.
I think my body chemistry simply doesn't work with Dunlops. The SuperBrights are praised up and down here and the Hybrid Nickels could also become a TalkBass darling, but both the Hybrid Nickels and SuperBright steels dulled out on me very quickly. (Hybrid Nickels are the best feeling strings I've ever used, though, in terms of both texture and flexibility. I just wish they were brighter and longer lasting).
Some people say Rotosounds go dead quickly. I find that the RS66 steels dull out on me quick, but the RS66 nickels were super sizzly and stayed sizzly for a very long time when I tried them in the early 2000s. It took me forever to break those things in.
I am a string GASer. Like Pokemon, I gotta try 'em all. Strings are the cheapest and easiest "mod" I can make to a bass to drastically change its feel and tone. Before changing out the pickups or preamp, I always recommend people try a different set of strings. Oftentimes, the right strings are all a bass needs to be its best for you. I know my ideal strings for my favorite bass would not be your ideal strings if you had my bass.
DR Hi-Beams still sound fresh and amazing to me a year later, yet others' body chemistry kills them quickly.
Ernie Balls are like that. I kill 'em quick, others can play 'em forever.
I think my body chemistry simply doesn't work with Dunlops. The SuperBrights are praised up and down here and the Hybrid Nickels could also become a TalkBass darling, but both the Hybrid Nickels and SuperBright steels dulled out on me very quickly. (Hybrid Nickels are the best feeling strings I've ever used, though, in terms of both texture and flexibility. I just wish they were brighter and longer lasting).
Some people say Rotosounds go dead quickly. I find that the RS66 steels dull out on me quick, but the RS66 nickels were super sizzly and stayed sizzly for a very long time when I tried them in the early 2000s. It took me forever to break those things in.
I am a string GASer. Like Pokemon, I gotta try 'em all. Strings are the cheapest and easiest "mod" I can make to a bass to drastically change its feel and tone. Before changing out the pickups or preamp, I always recommend people try a different set of strings. Oftentimes, the right strings are all a bass needs to be its best for you. I know my ideal strings for my favorite bass would not be your ideal strings if you had my bass.
My experience with high beams is the same. They sound great when fresh and then sound dead fairly quickly.
SIT Powersteels tension is tight & consistent, for weeks. It seems, Highbeams stretch out, after a few days and become rubber bands and lose their snappy mojo.
