Supernaut Posted July 15, 2023 Share Posted July 15, 2023 I have been using DR strings since 2012 and have always struggled to buy them in the UK, at least for a fair price. Before the B word, I used to order DR strings via eBay and could sometimes get them as cheap as £18 delivered. Those days are long gone... now it's closer to £35/40. UK retailers are selling anywhere between £30-£40. If you use DR, where do you buy them from? In the States, they're still around £20 delivered, yet nearly double that here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted July 15, 2023 Share Posted July 15, 2023 I use DR's as well, I used to get them from the States but they don't seem much cheaper these days and not many suppliers seem to keen to avoid custom charges like they used too, I bought my last set off Amazon UK for about £32, I've just checked and prices do seem to have gone through the roof, here and the USA, £43 from Amazon, £38 from Thomann are the cheapest I could find When I need some I just Google DR neon green bass strings and get them from whoever is cheapest They do last a long time though, I probably buy about 1 set a year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudpup Posted July 15, 2023 Share Posted July 15, 2023 (edited) Just buy them in bulk from the USA? Last time i did it 6 sets of Hi Beams came to $129 inc shipping. As long as you keep it below £130 (I seem to remember, check up on that amount) you don't need to pay import duty. Edited July 15, 2023 by Mudpup 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walshy Posted July 15, 2023 Share Posted July 15, 2023 Don't Bass Direct still sell and stock them? Thats where I used to get them from 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted July 15, 2023 Share Posted July 15, 2023 I’ve always got mine (Lo Rider nickels or Sunbeams) from Amazon. Pretty good prices - I think about £35 for a 5-string set? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 16, 2023 Share Posted July 16, 2023 I used to get DR from strings direct, string busters or the bass gallery. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigthumb Posted July 16, 2023 Share Posted July 16, 2023 The cheapest I used to get them was off eBay from an American seller. Took a bit longer to get here and no fees, I'm sure they were around £25 delivered but that was a good few years ago. I've just ordered a set from amazon for £30 inc. delivery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee650 Posted July 21, 2023 Share Posted July 21, 2023 I remember buying my first set of High Beams for £20 in 1995 a revelation at the time. I used to buy them in bulk whenever I was playing in the states, and they were cheap and lasted ages. Prices have gone daft in the UK, to a point where I stopped using them and went to Dunlop Superbright nickels, however they've gone up so much they cost the same as DR, but don't last anywhere as long, as im now gigging again i need longevity. After recently buying a set of High Beams, they don't sound the same to me, very harsh and not much bottom (ears and taste change over time I suppose) I've recently tried Fat Beams again as Pure blues don't last 5 mins, and liked them. I've been ordering from Amazon and I've found that the prices fluctuate a lot and occasionally they can be quite cheap. Also the 5 string versions are only a couple of quid more than the 4. I've noticed they occasionally have sets marked as used for up to £10 cheaper, but as these are returned and I've heard horror stories of people buying new strings and returning the packaging with old strings, which Amazon just resell without checking, I'm reluctant to try them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munurmunuh Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 On 15/07/2023 at 09:21, Mudpup said: Just buy them in bulk from the USA? Last time i did it 6 sets of Hi Beams came to $129 inc shipping. As long as you keep it below £130 (I seem to remember, check up on that amount) you don't need to pay import duty. Making up custom sets of Daddarios from singles costs a fortune in the UK, eg 45-65-85-105 Chromes from Strings Direct is £79 So I bought 4 sets of Pro Steels and 3 sets of Chromes from the US, and paid $45 for UPS shipping. This came to $240 all in, and I didn't pay any customs charges. Very slightly more than half the UK price, iirc. With UPS you can have the parcel sent to a local Access Point. For me that's a Londis on the walk home from work. It's usually 6 days from order to delivery from the US. As I have many times before, I shopped with Greg at Rocket Music. He's listing the standard DR sets at £19 / £20 atm, but email him first to chat about shipping options, possible bulk prices. He is truly everything you could hope for from a retailer. Fast, friendly, engaged, amenable, and deeply, deeply honest. If you purchase from USA using PayPal, remember to make sure the payment is in dollars or suffer PayPal's hilarious exchange rate. But on Greg's site, I just use my debit card. Every time I've purchased with him, we've agreed an all-in price, and he's sent a link to a page on his site where you input the precise price. (BTW, the more recent time I had a bass sent via UPS, I didn't get customs charges either. That was a long way north of £130, obvs) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted August 25, 2023 Author Share Posted August 25, 2023 Unfortunately, I don't have the time or energy to spend 200 bucks on a shipment from the States. Amazon occasionally have sales on DR strings so I snap them up when I can. £25 is the best price I see nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigguy2017 Posted August 27, 2023 Share Posted August 27, 2023 Thomann or Amazon when the price is right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 having an idle moment thought I'd check up DR prices, £40 seems the bench mark figure at the moment, mind you I've not changed mine for about a year and they still sound ok, roughly that's about 80 hours playing, I use my back up for practice and that's got a set of Neons on it off main bass last time I changed them, and they still sound ok, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazhowe Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 Just ordered 2 sets of Sunbeams (45-100) from the States. Came to just under £48 including delivery. https://www.stringsbymail.com/dr-nmlr-45-sunbeam-nickel-plated-electric-bass-strings-med-light-45-100-22362.html 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ern500evo Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 I love DR’s but my last two sets of hi beams (both bought from Amazon) have had the same issue. E string dead within about 4 weeks. I emailed DR to inform them, they said they’d send me a couple of E strings but it never happened. Shame really, as I really like their strings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 14 hours ago, ern500evo said: I love DR’s but my last two sets of hi beams (both bought from Amazon) have had the same issue. E string dead within about 4 weeks. I emailed DR to inform them, they said they’d send me a couple of E strings but it never happened. Shame really, as I really like their strings I returned mine to Amazon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ern500evo Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 11 minutes ago, fretmeister said: I returned mine to Amazon. I’ve since replaced the sets in question with EB cobalts. I’ll definitely give DR’s another go and should the same issue occur, I’ll def take the same route and send them back to Amazon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 just ordered some DR neon's from stings by mail in the USA, after a couple of days leaving my order in the sites basket got a discount code for $5, which bought the total price down to £28, including postage, waiting to see whether I'll get any extra import charges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Nickel Lo-Riders £24.46 https://www.amazon.co.uk/DR-Strings-40-100-Handmade-Lo-Rider/dp/B0002FO8CE/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?crid=1DFV8TSJ0VBM8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kWke_1Tb4podYmPwk3OCRReWw9fpAGjHwFGQQ2FXDP_rkdi5XRgymcwyPbXFwF4HLyzul4nfMdULdftCR0igBBE6CiJwkQRzxbKd_JOAI4GSOB36aFkb3Dmm8pwkoKlIjWIpRYmNcpskuPFoiN7d0Zw4eQsHOL-23mE1Ugjnz68gJmy0nDOlEQ0CM6t1p9dCKDALf-G9EG_jmalFTF_J9A.tfR2LNmZ9s70B4ZgxF6GjSgINrhwI2fGJxeKho7Sbjo&dib_tag=se&keywords=dr+bass+strings&qid=1710850830&sprefix=dr+bass%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-14 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 On 18/03/2024 at 11:33, PaulWarning said: just ordered some DR neon's from stings by mail in the USA, after a couple of days leaving my order in the sites basket got a discount code for $5, which bought the total price down to £28, including postage, waiting to see whether I'll get any extra import charges the DR Neon's arrived today, no extra charges, bizarrely, according to tracking they came from Sweden! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssexBuccaneer Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 I got a set of Neon Green’s that arrived today. A bit buzzy, but well soon fix that. Not had a chance to try them out properly yet, that’ll come at rehearsal. Love the look of them 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 10 hours ago, EssexBuccaneer said: I got a set of Neon Green’s that arrived today. A bit buzzy, but well soon fix that. Not had a chance to try them out properly yet, that’ll come at rehearsal. Love the look of them 😎 I use green ones all the time, I get far more comments about them than about my playing 😂, where did you get them from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssexBuccaneer Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 10 hours ago, PaulWarning said: I use green ones all the time, I get far more comments about them than about my playing 😂, where did you get them from? I got them from Amazon on a whim 🤣 I love the look, the bass is black with chrome hardware - if I get on with the neon strings I may put black hardware on the bass. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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