Black Dragon DR Multiscale Stainless Steel 45-125 5-string set

[kwmlondon]

This is a personal review and very subjective but I'm going to try to give some useful info in case anyone wants this kind of thing. 

 

Disclaimer - I bought these by mistake, I really wanted the nickels.

 

Score 6/10

 

Packaging - good. No plastic at all. Nice.

 

Fitting - no problem, they are just the same as any other string

 

Feel - okay, as far as coated go. I prefer Elites as they feel more natural and these have taken me a few hours of playing to get used to. I'm not sure if that's me wearing them in or my getting used to the coating but the first couple of hours were really odd and my timing was rubbish but now we're getting on okay together.

 

Sound - hmmmmmmm. This is where I was NOT happy. I'm comparing with the original fitted Dingwalls on my bass and my only criticism of those was that the G string was a bit lacking in oomph. The Dingwalls were gutsy, bright, rich and stayed vibrant for a few months which I didn't used to find with their own brand. So. By comparison these DRs are much weaker sounding. They have decent low and and a nice ping when you attack them with slap or a pick but finger picking they seem really scooped and lack the midrange that cuts through. They also sound like a pice of wire rather than a string, a bit fence-ish. I was so put off I checked the packet and realise I'd bought stainless steel strings by mistake. I've never had them before but I won't ever buy them again as they are not to my taste.

 

However. It was my fault so this will be my sound for the next few months! To be fair, with a bit of playing in the tone is levelling off and I'm warming to it a bit, but I'm going to ask the team at Bass Direct if I can swap the other set for nickels.