What is your opinion on DR strings?

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guitardude

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So i always wanted to try this brand out, and I did. There still on the guitar, but i notice they never stay in tune. I really DO NOT like them at this point...maybe I should stick it out let them sit on the guitar for a little bit.

Any others think they suck?

this is acoustic strings too.
 
I tried a set on my electric about 10 years ago. They sounded pretty good for the first couple of days (not as bright as some new strings), but they sounded awful in less than a week. I mean really bad. I've never used them since.

ps - did you stretch them? just a thought for the out-of-tune thing.
 
guitardude said:
So i always wanted to try this brand out, and I did. There still on the guitar, but i notice they never stay in tune. I really DO NOT like them at this point...maybe I should stick it out let them sit on the guitar for a little bit.

Any others think they suck?

this is acoustic strings too.
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I use their 100% nickel strings; they give a bit more of a bell tone to my Strat. Steel sounds a bit harsher to me; different overtones, I guess. Are they the right guage for the nut slots? If the nut is too tight on the strings, you'll have intonation probs. I can't think of any reason the strings themselves, once stretched and acclimated, would be the culprit.
 
I like 'em. They sound good, play good, and have good life. Most guys I jam with like 'em. I have never had any problems with them and I have never heard of any problems with them. Except for this one.
 
I tried them on my Taylor acoustics and a Takamine acoustic. Went right back to the Elixirs I had been using before. I noticed them going dead very quickly too, just as guitardude did.

I tried them on my USA Strat and my LTD EC-1000. Went right back to the GHS Boomers I had been using before. In this case, they were way too twangy...made my strat sound more twangy than any tele I've ever played.
 
Their bass strings are great but I had a couple of sets of the guitar strings that had totally dead strings right out of the package. I called the guy up and he asked "WHO I was"... guess I wasn't important enough 'cause he offered no remedy.
 
hey to be honest i have stretched them...I usually dont. Figured by the 4th day they would be good to go. I will do that tonight. I find them really brigh on my acoustic.

the description for the acoustic strings are:

Premium acoustic guitar phosphor bronze wrap on a hex core.
 
guitardude said:
hey to be honest i have stretched them...I usually dont. Figured by the 4th day they would be good to go. I will do that tonight. I find them really brigh on my acoustic.

the description for the acoustic strings are:

Premium acoustic guitar phosphor bronze wrap on a hex core.
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i meant i havent stretched them...
 
I have to join the list of dissatisfied users, I found they went dead fairly quickly.
 
I have a friend who runs a small music store and works occasionally as a studio musician (he is a very good guitarist,) so when he recomended that I try DR strings I was more than willing to give them a test run. Needless to say, I was greatly dissapointed. They sounded dull and had virtually no sustain right out of the pack, like they were dead. Being open minded I tried a set on another giutar, same result. Not quite ready to give up yet i tried a set on my acoustic, I've heard three year old sets (of Martins) covered with rust which sounded better. Needless to say, within a week the DRs were replaced (Ernie Ball Hybird on electric and Martin light on acoustic) and I have never bought another set of DR strings, and don't think I ever will. I don't like to dismiss any product but for my style of playing and the sound I like, DR strings simply do not cut it.
 
sile2001 said:
I tried them on my Taylor acoustics and a Takamine acoustic. Went right back to the Elixirs I had been using before. I noticed them going dead very quickly too, just as guitardude did.

I tried them on my USA Strat and my LTD EC-1000. Went right back to the GHS Boomers I had been using before. In this case, they were way too twangy...made my strat sound more twangy than any tele I've ever played.
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Elixirs haven't worked well for me whereas DRs have - go figure?
 
DR's sound harsh IMO

Ernie Ball Slinky 10's - All I ever use now....
 
ahuimanu said:
Elixirs haven't worked well for me whereas DRs have - go figure?
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Different guitar, different ears, etc. They wouldn't make them if nobody liked them.
 
I have sworn by DR 110-50 gauge stainless steel Lo-Riders for my bass for over 7 years now (they are the only ones I put on my bass - period)... but for guitar their various offerings just don't seem up to the same level.
 
I've had differing experiences with them. I've used the acoustic bronze which are gauged between medium and heavy, but reach pitch at a slightly lower string tension than standard mediums. I stopped using them because I found them hard on my fingers - not the tips, which are calloused, but the muscles- I was cramping up with them.

For tone, I've never, never found a better or brighter tone than I can get with these strings. But I have had weird issues. For instance, I've had a problem with intonation going off as the string breaks in. Tuning problems. And they occur occasionally for no apparent reason. It may have something to do with the hex core; if there is a twist or something it might throw everything off.

When they are on, they are head and shoulders above anything else for killer tone. When they are off, they come off the guitar fast. Odd.
 
Treeline said:
I've had differing experiences with them. I've used the acoustic bronze which are gauged between medium and heavy, but reach pitch at a slightly lower string tension than standard mediums.
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I haven't had my coffee yet, but don't heavier strings need more, not less, tension to bring them up to pitch?
 
ggunn said:
I haven't had my coffee yet, but don't heavier strings need more, not less, tension to bring them up to pitch?
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I agree with you in theory, but I've also found that the material the strings are made of can often make them feel *slinkier or tighter*. Steel feels different than nickel, which feels different than phosphor bronze....ect.

IMO, there is at least a 'percieved' difference.
:)
 
I got a set thrown in on a used Tele copy I bought with TOTALLY dead strings and a horrible set-up. They sounded good after I put them on and adjusted bridge and neck. Shortly after though I noticed major buzzing from my D string. I discovered that the winding had broken around the 2nd fret area of the string....so I agree they seem to make junky strings. :(

On another note--any of you other guys remember those nasty Black Diamond strings I used when starting out all those decades ago? They were brutal but about all I could find back then.
 
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Anfontan said:
I got a set thrown in on a used Tele copy I bought with TOTALLY dead strings and a horrible set-up. They sounded good after I put them on and adjusted bridge and neck. Shortly after though I noticed major buzzing from my D string. I discovered that the winding had broken around the 2nd fret area of the string....so I agree they seem to make junky strings. :(

On another note--any of you other guys remember those nasty Black Diamond strings I used when starting out all those decades ago? They were brutal but about all I could find back then.
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Ah, yes, Black Diamond strings. My fingers remember them well, but not too kindly. In all fairness, it's also the crummy guitar I had back then, too.

As to what you describe on DR strings, I have been through about 20 sets and I never saw anything like that. I use the pure nickel ones on my Strat, and I like the way they sound compared to steel. Some have posted here that they go dead quickly; again, that's something that I have not experienced. YMMV.
 
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