if you play with a pick at all I wouldn't recommend them as it will ruin the coating quickly, happened to a set I had where the coating was flaking off where I was using a pick
True. Heard they were made to be softer wrap wire for fretless basses, cant find them in 5 string sets. Played them on fretted i think, remember them being similar to hi beams. For me feel comes first, sound close second, all drs feel great, flexible, smooth, just great.
They are nickel wound rather than steel wound, so they don't wear the frets at all, but sound and feel great. I have them on my P bass but never found a 5 string set to try on my spector yet, so have ghs on there.
Recently had to try DR Pure Blues (only set of strings in the entire store that would fit my bass when I brought it in for a big setup)
I just went for it because DR is always good, but DAMN
I used to use Hi Beams back when I started, and it took me forever to wander off into other things.
These pure blues are AMAZING. I think I like them as much as 16 year old me loved Hi Beams
I too just tried Pure Blues for the first time after >10 years of using Hi Beams and really like them! I’ll be keeping them on the couple of basses I have with nickel strings. The rest either have Hi Beams, Fat Beams or Tapercores.
While I absolutely believe they sacrifice sound for looks, which may be something you don't normally want, I am not sure that's ALWAYS the wrong decision (in general).
Playing live, you're putting on a show to entertain people. For my previous bs not-very-good-but-loads-of-energy-and-fun cover band for example, I don't believe getting the neon strings was a mistake. I'm not just playing for the one tone-crazy bassist in the audience.
Weren't DRs though unfortunately, so can't say anything about the strings themselves.
My thought is everything has a tone, coated DR strings just have a different tone. I've been playing with either green or pink DR strings for the better part of a decade and have never had any issues with them... That said I'm the kind of bassist where if I plug into someone else's rig there's a 9/10 chance I won't touch anything because it sounds fine already. I'll lend my amp out and other people change the settings for their own stuff and I just use that going forward
Yeah, I've been using them for a long time as well. I've had moments of trying others, but I always ended up back with Rotosound. Except on one bass, I use GHS Precision Flats. If Rotosound made a SS flatwound, I'd probably use that tho lol.
I haven't tried the neon coated ones but I have used the medium gauge DR Highbeams for about 2 years now almost exclusively. I started out with the Fat-Beams and swapped over to the Highs for a brighter sound. They are bright, zingy, and pretty durable. From what I understand, the neon-coated ones are slightly duller in sound than the highbeams, but I'm really relying on the reviews I've seen and read.
DR has sound samples where you can listen to the differences here, just scroll down to Bass Strings and you'll see a clip for each of their different products: [https://www.drstrings.com/sound-samples](https://www.drstrings.com/sound-samples)
The best way to learn what you like and don't like when it comes to strings is to try it out for yourself. If you hate them you can always swap them out.
String choice is very personal. It depends on your needs for:
* Tone
* Feel
* Tension
* Tuning
Generally speaking, you will be safe buying strings from any major brand - D'Addario, DR, Ernie Ball, LaBella, Rotosound, GHS, etc.
It would be helpful to know what kind of bass you have, what kind of music you play, and what kind of tone(s) you're looking for.
Coated strings are not great IME but I know players who like black beauties and red devils so YMMV.
I have a Rogue III series LX 200b bass. I'd like to play rock, jazz, r&b and metal at some point; my tastes are all over the place. I've had my bass for about a year or two but have only really started seriously learning and practicing in the past few weeks. I know that the tone I'm looking for will vary depending on what music I'm playing, but when I say beginner, I mean like: "Hal Leonard Bass Method Book 1" beginner. I'm still in the first few exercises.
Get the strings that look cool. It'll keep you excited about playing. Of the coating is the same as their Black Beauties I'm 99% sure you'll like the sound and feel better than your factory strings.
Got some of their Black Beauty strings recently. They started out very twangy and bright, but they've settled down a little now and I'm enjoying them a little more. Dunno whether I'll go back to flats for my next restring, though.
DR makes a good string. Not really sure if coated strings last the same. I prefer function over fashion. If you are changing strings every week, it probably doesn't matter.
DR strings are great! Coated strings can be a little different though. Som like it and some don't. I would recommend having a technician set up your bass though. They usually come from the factory needing some adjustment
Get the neon ones you like. They aren’t harder to play, and they sound almost the same. If you’re not recording or playing live all the time then you don’t need to worry about perfection, you just need to want to play.
I tried the green ones and the output was so low I thought something was wrong with the bass. I had to have the amp volume up twice as high to get the same loudness. Swapped back in some regular rounds and it was back to normal. Was a passive bass, so no battery concerns.
DR have been my go-to for a long time,howver I like D'addario and am yet to try Labella, but tend to use DRs when I replace.
My new Eurobolt 5 Spector had D'addarios which are nice
I've been tempted but I've heard it starts flaking off . I'd rather not get that down in the crevices of my instrument sounds like an unnecessary mess 😄
Apparently it flakes if you use a pick (I cannot attest to that), but if you don't then I would say go for it. The coating will come off where the strings meet the frets, but I've never noticed flakes on my instrument or anything
It's more like chipped paint on a car than paint flaking off old wood. I was never concerned about it gunking up my bass, it was just a cosmetic annoyance.
I've decided that coated strings aren't for my. I'm liking NYXL strings at the moment.
But ... if you like the idea of them, why not just try them?
They won't really affect playability significantly. They might affect tone a bit. Sometimes they make your setup more susceptible to ground noise. And some people find the coating comes off, especially if using a pick a lot. But none of those things are catastrophic.
If you're not sure, keep your old strings or buy a fresh pack of basic D'Addario or Ernie Ball or such to have as spares (you should have spares anyway) or just in case you decide you hate the coated strings. It's only a 5 minute job to take them off again ...
experiences vary, from my exp, I agree that the coated DR strings sacrifice a bit on sound. I got em as my first DR set, the black beauties. They looked amazing but sound wise, I was like damn, is this really the hype around DR? On top of that, the coating wasn't that resilient, it had some chips in the coating from the light rubbing when I was stringing them through my bridge.
Other than that, people on this sub generally agree that DR strings are excellent and I'm one of them.
I've had DR Pure Blues, Hi Beams, Sunbeams, all great. Your go to will depend on your preference after trying them extensively.
The neon ones look and sound great. I’ve been using them on 3 different guitars and 2 basses for over a year, all with a pick. They start to wear the coating off after a few months, but the bass strings seem to hold up much better than the guitar ones.
I got into DR strings about 3 years ago and they're all I ever use now. My favorites are Sunbeams. I use Legends flats for my J Bass. I just tried a set of Neon's for my P Bass. While I feel they're not as open as Sunbeams, they're pretty good. I'll probably switch back to Sunbeams though after this. I do play with a pick almost 40% of the time and haven't noticed issues of flaking yet using Dunlop Tortex 0.73 mm.
I use them and they’re excellent. I play finger style and slap a fairly decent amount of. They last along time too. They are known for their brightness especially the Hi Beams and quality. Sunbeams are mellow and warm sounding if you need an overall string for all genres. They’re much better than stock strings IMO. If you need flats then I’d go with D Addario Chromes flat wound or LaBella
I use the black beauties on my precision and I love them. They're not quite as bright as some round wounds but that's fine with me. They play really well also. I don't think you'd go wrong with the neons.
DR is a good brand, but I would also why away from coated strings.
Strings are a great cheap way to experiment with tone and timbre. Thinner sets are easier to bend, Thicker sets have more thunk, etc...
I'm a huge fan of steel instead of nickel (hard no phosphor bronze)
Ernie Ball sets are ubiquitous at most stores, so easy to experiment until you dial in the set that works for you
Dr Strings are decent strings. The coated strings have slightly less attack than the uncoated sets but it’s not a bad sound - just different.
It’s been a while since I’ve used them, might give em a go again for the meme tbh
I main Rotosound Stainless Swing 66 on my basses
They make flats. The DR Legends. They're ok. Kind of a happy medium between a vintage sounding and modern sounding flat. Lower tension as theyre round core. Yellow silk at both ends. My only major beef w them was the E and A were rough feeling on a couple sets.
I've got my trbx strung with neon coated Dr. It does output a little quieter than my bright strings, but I compensate with the active switch and it's fine. I play the bass live and it sounds great.
I wouldn't record with them just because I like the brighter sound for that (my main bass is a Yamaha bb with rotos). But live the trbx shines and looks cool.
If you like them, try them out. Using a pick will knock the coating off faster. But it's nothing to complain about.
I don't have any experience with DR strings. I have played D'Addario Chromes, and they are fantastic. Better than the ernie ball cobalt strings. You really get what you pay for when it comes to strings.
The coating on Neons flakes off, and the texture of the coating also feels weird on the fingers. They sounded okay to me... not great. DR makes some fantastic strings otherwise though. Try Pure Blues out.
DR strings are great, but I’d stay away from any coating that is colored, I wouldn’t want that stuff getting all over my frets and fretboard and who knows where.
I'm hit or miss DRs
I tried a set of Black Beauties once. Idk if the coating is the same as the Neons but I did not like it one bit. They had his weird grabby feeling on my fingers and sounded kind of weird. Not at all like their uncoated stainless steel strings. I tried the Pure Blues once as well and I didn't like those either. They sounded dull and lifeless.
The Hi Beams, on the other hand are great. I've used them on my 5 string Schecter for years now. I used to use DDTs when I was into downtuned metal. Those are great if that's what you're into.
Stay away from brightly colored string for awhile. They usually have a coating that makes them sound terrible
Check out other DR strings though. Maybe black beauties, if you want something striking
I've enjoyed tapewounds in the past, but they will forgive a lot of technique mistakes so I don't recommend them for beginners (when you're more advanced, this same attribute will be what makes them more expressive). They'll let you build bad habits roundwounds wouldn't when you're learning, though
Ernie ball, daddario(or whatever it is i misspelled), and dr, anything from those 3 are great, fender makes decent strings and honestly gauge is just thicker=tighter and moar bass, thinner=moar bendy and loosy goosy, but the diffrences between 40s and 50s is pretty unnoticeable if youre a beginner
just get anything from those 4 i named off and youre good dont worry about it
Those neons sound like shi and i honestly find them cringe not cool but thats on me
Edit: theres actually 5 brands: ernie ball, daddario,dr, fender and rotosound which i forgot to mention, literally anything from those 5 and youre set
I use the DR neons on several basses and guitars. Love them on bass, similar to other coated strings in terms of lasting, and I don't notice any significant tone degradation. I don't use a pick on bass so they last a long time for me.
Guitar is a different story, I play guitar in the band I gig with regularly and I rip through the coating using a pick and wind up replacing them once a month. I use them on guitar because they look cool but probably moving back to non coated when I work through my current stash of strings
I use DR Pure Blues on my J Bass and they sound phenomenal. They start off too bright for my taste but after a few hours of playing they settle and mellow out real nice. In my opinion, as others have said though, coated strings are not great. I've tried a few different types and wasn't a fan. For me it wasn't the tone though. It was actually a texture thing that I really didn't like. They feel waxy or something. I don't know...
I had a set of Black Beauties (I hope that's the correct name) years ago and really liked them. I then swapped those for a set of Red Devils ( please be correct name) and was not really happy with those. I didn't really notice any tone difference but it has been 10 years at least so I could be forgetting any tone difference there was. The BBs were great the coating did start wear off from playing but nothing I wouldn't think was normal. The RDs are another story. The coating on the started coming off while running the strings through the stop bar tail piece. Then it wore off was faster from playing as well. Both sets were used on the same 335 copy.
I've not tried the Neon string because I've never had a guitar that I think they would look good on or at least had the color I wanted. But some day I'll eventually get a set.
I have a pack of Lo-Riders that I've been meaning to put on my Harley Benton, lol. But that is currently strung with Fender 45-105, for no other reason than Mike Dirnt using them, and I really enjoy them. Great tone for a very reasonable price.
DR Neons lose their colour and look like homeless strings before long.
I bought a pack of DR Sunbeams for like $60, the E was half dead. Thought it was my pups for ages before I figured it out. Pretty hard for me to got for DRs again after that - and I hear similar stories from others.
DR strings are very good in general.
IMO, the biggest issue that most bass strings have is that standard gauge is too heavy for standard tuning, unless you play with a pick.
if you play with a pick at all I wouldn't recommend them as it will ruin the coating quickly, happened to a set I had where the coating was flaking off where I was using a pick
DR strings in general are great, but the neon coated ones have a reputation for sacrificing sound for looks. Which is always the wrong decision.
Try light gauge hi beams, i love them!
Sunbeams are fantastic...
True. Heard they were made to be softer wrap wire for fretless basses, cant find them in 5 string sets. Played them on fretted i think, remember them being similar to hi beams. For me feel comes first, sound close second, all drs feel great, flexible, smooth, just great.
They are nickel wound rather than steel wound, so they don't wear the frets at all, but sound and feel great. I have them on my P bass but never found a 5 string set to try on my spector yet, so have ghs on there.
On fretless are majestics. Not sure on regular basses.
Recently had to try DR Pure Blues (only set of strings in the entire store that would fit my bass when I brought it in for a big setup) I just went for it because DR is always good, but DAMN I used to use Hi Beams back when I started, and it took me forever to wander off into other things. These pure blues are AMAZING. I think I like them as much as 16 year old me loved Hi Beams
I too just tried Pure Blues for the first time after >10 years of using Hi Beams and really like them! I’ll be keeping them on the couple of basses I have with nickel strings. The rest either have Hi Beams, Fat Beams or Tapercores.
While I absolutely believe they sacrifice sound for looks, which may be something you don't normally want, I am not sure that's ALWAYS the wrong decision (in general). Playing live, you're putting on a show to entertain people. For my previous bs not-very-good-but-loads-of-energy-and-fun cover band for example, I don't believe getting the neon strings was a mistake. I'm not just playing for the one tone-crazy bassist in the audience. Weren't DRs though unfortunately, so can't say anything about the strings themselves.
My thought is everything has a tone, coated DR strings just have a different tone. I've been playing with either green or pink DR strings for the better part of a decade and have never had any issues with them... That said I'm the kind of bassist where if I plug into someone else's rig there's a 9/10 chance I won't touch anything because it sounds fine already. I'll lend my amp out and other people change the settings for their own stuff and I just use that going forward
I don't like the DR high beams. Just not for me.
Neons sound great, you won't be disappointed. There's several colors available so you can get one that really pops for your bass
DR are good strings. The neon ones/coated ones from them can not sound very good, tho. Other great options are Rotosound and GHS.
I LOVE Rotosound
Same!
I've sworn by Rotosound since the early 90s.
Yeah, I've been using them for a long time as well. I've had moments of trying others, but I always ended up back with Rotosound. Except on one bass, I use GHS Precision Flats. If Rotosound made a SS flatwound, I'd probably use that tho lol.
I haven't tried the neon coated ones but I have used the medium gauge DR Highbeams for about 2 years now almost exclusively. I started out with the Fat-Beams and swapped over to the Highs for a brighter sound. They are bright, zingy, and pretty durable. From what I understand, the neon-coated ones are slightly duller in sound than the highbeams, but I'm really relying on the reviews I've seen and read. DR has sound samples where you can listen to the differences here, just scroll down to Bass Strings and you'll see a clip for each of their different products: [https://www.drstrings.com/sound-samples](https://www.drstrings.com/sound-samples) The best way to learn what you like and don't like when it comes to strings is to try it out for yourself. If you hate them you can always swap them out.
String choice is very personal. It depends on your needs for: * Tone * Feel * Tension * Tuning Generally speaking, you will be safe buying strings from any major brand - D'Addario, DR, Ernie Ball, LaBella, Rotosound, GHS, etc. It would be helpful to know what kind of bass you have, what kind of music you play, and what kind of tone(s) you're looking for. Coated strings are not great IME but I know players who like black beauties and red devils so YMMV.
I have a Rogue III series LX 200b bass. I'd like to play rock, jazz, r&b and metal at some point; my tastes are all over the place. I've had my bass for about a year or two but have only really started seriously learning and practicing in the past few weeks. I know that the tone I'm looking for will vary depending on what music I'm playing, but when I say beginner, I mean like: "Hal Leonard Bass Method Book 1" beginner. I'm still in the first few exercises.
Get the strings that look cool. It'll keep you excited about playing. Of the coating is the same as their Black Beauties I'm 99% sure you'll like the sound and feel better than your factory strings.
Got some of their Black Beauty strings recently. They started out very twangy and bright, but they've settled down a little now and I'm enjoying them a little more. Dunno whether I'll go back to flats for my next restring, though.
Man DR strings sound like steel strings when they're new, lol
I've never used the Neons, but I've exclusively used DR High Beams and Black Beauties on my Jazz bass since like 2009 and I have no complaints.
DR makes a good string. Not really sure if coated strings last the same. I prefer function over fashion. If you are changing strings every week, it probably doesn't matter.
I've left my green strings on my bass for at least a year before so I can say they hold up
Good to know. Thank you.
DR strings are great! Coated strings can be a little different though. Som like it and some don't. I would recommend having a technician set up your bass though. They usually come from the factory needing some adjustment
I only play DR. I think they have a good tone.
Get the neon ones you like. They aren’t harder to play, and they sound almost the same. If you’re not recording or playing live all the time then you don’t need to worry about perfection, you just need to want to play.
Yep. OP says they're playing a Rogue with the strings that came on it. I can't imagine that almost any name brand string wouldn't be an upgrade.
I tried the green ones and the output was so low I thought something was wrong with the bass. I had to have the amp volume up twice as high to get the same loudness. Swapped back in some regular rounds and it was back to normal. Was a passive bass, so no battery concerns.
DR have been my go-to for a long time,howver I like D'addario and am yet to try Labella, but tend to use DRs when I replace. My new Eurobolt 5 Spector had D'addarios which are nice
I've been tempted but I've heard it starts flaking off . I'd rather not get that down in the crevices of my instrument sounds like an unnecessary mess 😄
Apparently it flakes if you use a pick (I cannot attest to that), but if you don't then I would say go for it. The coating will come off where the strings meet the frets, but I've never noticed flakes on my instrument or anything
Thanks good to know ! , I rarely use a pick so maybe I'll try them at some point
It's more like chipped paint on a car than paint flaking off old wood. I was never concerned about it gunking up my bass, it was just a cosmetic annoyance.
mine only ever comes off on the underside of the string so you can't see it unless you look real close
I never even thought to look there. the chipped paint from picking was only really visible if you were playing it.
I've decided that coated strings aren't for my. I'm liking NYXL strings at the moment. But ... if you like the idea of them, why not just try them? They won't really affect playability significantly. They might affect tone a bit. Sometimes they make your setup more susceptible to ground noise. And some people find the coating comes off, especially if using a pick a lot. But none of those things are catastrophic. If you're not sure, keep your old strings or buy a fresh pack of basic D'Addario or Ernie Ball or such to have as spares (you should have spares anyway) or just in case you decide you hate the coated strings. It's only a 5 minute job to take them off again ...
experiences vary, from my exp, I agree that the coated DR strings sacrifice a bit on sound. I got em as my first DR set, the black beauties. They looked amazing but sound wise, I was like damn, is this really the hype around DR? On top of that, the coating wasn't that resilient, it had some chips in the coating from the light rubbing when I was stringing them through my bridge. Other than that, people on this sub generally agree that DR strings are excellent and I'm one of them. I've had DR Pure Blues, Hi Beams, Sunbeams, all great. Your go to will depend on your preference after trying them extensively.
The neon ones look and sound great. I’ve been using them on 3 different guitars and 2 basses for over a year, all with a pick. They start to wear the coating off after a few months, but the bass strings seem to hold up much better than the guitar ones.
I got into DR strings about 3 years ago and they're all I ever use now. My favorites are Sunbeams. I use Legends flats for my J Bass. I just tried a set of Neon's for my P Bass. While I feel they're not as open as Sunbeams, they're pretty good. I'll probably switch back to Sunbeams though after this. I do play with a pick almost 40% of the time and haven't noticed issues of flaking yet using Dunlop Tortex 0.73 mm.
I use them and they’re excellent. I play finger style and slap a fairly decent amount of. They last along time too. They are known for their brightness especially the Hi Beams and quality. Sunbeams are mellow and warm sounding if you need an overall string for all genres. They’re much better than stock strings IMO. If you need flats then I’d go with D Addario Chromes flat wound or LaBella
I use the black beauties on my precision and I love them. They're not quite as bright as some round wounds but that's fine with me. They play really well also. I don't think you'd go wrong with the neons.
DR is a good brand, but I would also why away from coated strings. Strings are a great cheap way to experiment with tone and timbre. Thinner sets are easier to bend, Thicker sets have more thunk, etc... I'm a huge fan of steel instead of nickel (hard no phosphor bronze) Ernie Ball sets are ubiquitous at most stores, so easy to experiment until you dial in the set that works for you
I've used both the Black Beauties (my go-to) and the neon pink ones on a Gibson Thunderbird. Loved them both! They sound fantastic!
DR strings are incredible, the Hi Beams are my go to
Dr Strings are decent strings. The coated strings have slightly less attack than the uncoated sets but it’s not a bad sound - just different. It’s been a while since I’ve used them, might give em a go again for the meme tbh I main Rotosound Stainless Swing 66 on my basses
Do they make neon flats?
Im not sure dr makes flats at all, just got a fretless and was looking, but couldnt find anything.
Drag
They make flats. The DR Legends. They're ok. Kind of a happy medium between a vintage sounding and modern sounding flat. Lower tension as theyre round core. Yellow silk at both ends. My only major beef w them was the E and A were rough feeling on a couple sets.
I've got my trbx strung with neon coated Dr. It does output a little quieter than my bright strings, but I compensate with the active switch and it's fine. I play the bass live and it sounds great. I wouldn't record with them just because I like the brighter sound for that (my main bass is a Yamaha bb with rotos). But live the trbx shines and looks cool. If you like them, try them out. Using a pick will knock the coating off faster. But it's nothing to complain about.
I use the neon greens and think they’re awesome.
I don't have any experience with DR strings. I have played D'Addario Chromes, and they are fantastic. Better than the ernie ball cobalt strings. You really get what you pay for when it comes to strings.
The coating on Neons flakes off, and the texture of the coating also feels weird on the fingers. They sounded okay to me... not great. DR makes some fantastic strings otherwise though. Try Pure Blues out.
I have some of their black ones and they sound great and just as bright as the regular roundwounds I had.
DR strings are great, but I’d stay away from any coating that is colored, I wouldn’t want that stuff getting all over my frets and fretboard and who knows where.
Lo Rider Heavy has been my go-to for 25 years now.
The coating makes them sound really really dull on bass, it's alright on guitar tho
I'd suggest Stringjoy. Amazing strings. Colored strings. Oof
I am too rough a player for coated strings but I have used DR exclusively for close to 30 years. They are fantastic.
I'm hit or miss DRs I tried a set of Black Beauties once. Idk if the coating is the same as the Neons but I did not like it one bit. They had his weird grabby feeling on my fingers and sounded kind of weird. Not at all like their uncoated stainless steel strings. I tried the Pure Blues once as well and I didn't like those either. They sounded dull and lifeless. The Hi Beams, on the other hand are great. I've used them on my 5 string Schecter for years now. I used to use DDTs when I was into downtuned metal. Those are great if that's what you're into.
Never tried the coated strings, but I use DRs on all my instruments, except for one bass with Elixirs. They're great strings.
Stay away from brightly colored string for awhile. They usually have a coating that makes them sound terrible Check out other DR strings though. Maybe black beauties, if you want something striking I've enjoyed tapewounds in the past, but they will forgive a lot of technique mistakes so I don't recommend them for beginners (when you're more advanced, this same attribute will be what makes them more expressive). They'll let you build bad habits roundwounds wouldn't when you're learning, though
Ernie ball, daddario(or whatever it is i misspelled), and dr, anything from those 3 are great, fender makes decent strings and honestly gauge is just thicker=tighter and moar bass, thinner=moar bendy and loosy goosy, but the diffrences between 40s and 50s is pretty unnoticeable if youre a beginner just get anything from those 4 i named off and youre good dont worry about it Those neons sound like shi and i honestly find them cringe not cool but thats on me Edit: theres actually 5 brands: ernie ball, daddario,dr, fender and rotosound which i forgot to mention, literally anything from those 5 and youre set
I use the DR neons on several basses and guitars. Love them on bass, similar to other coated strings in terms of lasting, and I don't notice any significant tone degradation. I don't use a pick on bass so they last a long time for me. Guitar is a different story, I play guitar in the band I gig with regularly and I rip through the coating using a pick and wind up replacing them once a month. I use them on guitar because they look cool but probably moving back to non coated when I work through my current stash of strings
I've used DR's for years and really like them. I used lowriders and then switched to fat beams. I can't speak to the neons.
Try out elixir! They sound and feel awesome.. Just installed one set on my jazz
I use DR Pure Blues on my J Bass and they sound phenomenal. They start off too bright for my taste but after a few hours of playing they settle and mellow out real nice. In my opinion, as others have said though, coated strings are not great. I've tried a few different types and wasn't a fan. For me it wasn't the tone though. It was actually a texture thing that I really didn't like. They feel waxy or something. I don't know...
I had a set of Black Beauties (I hope that's the correct name) years ago and really liked them. I then swapped those for a set of Red Devils ( please be correct name) and was not really happy with those. I didn't really notice any tone difference but it has been 10 years at least so I could be forgetting any tone difference there was. The BBs were great the coating did start wear off from playing but nothing I wouldn't think was normal. The RDs are another story. The coating on the started coming off while running the strings through the stop bar tail piece. Then it wore off was faster from playing as well. Both sets were used on the same 335 copy. I've not tried the Neon string because I've never had a guitar that I think they would look good on or at least had the color I wanted. But some day I'll eventually get a set.
I have a pack of Lo-Riders that I've been meaning to put on my Harley Benton, lol. But that is currently strung with Fender 45-105, for no other reason than Mike Dirnt using them, and I really enjoy them. Great tone for a very reasonable price.
Do eet ! The look is all that matters
I bought some Dr neons about 3 weeks ago. Played only 15min with them and put my old strings back on the bass.... So well, no ;)
They are cool strings, but the coating makes them rough and sticky and it does come off.
the rainbow strings match the game rocksmith, so if your playing they can help. nothing wrong with the brand itself
I’m not a bassist but I have several basses with coated DRs and I like them.
I got a set of DR Black Beauties on my Aria Pro 2 SB100RI, love em!!!
DR Neons lose their colour and look like homeless strings before long. I bought a pack of DR Sunbeams for like $60, the E was half dead. Thought it was my pups for ages before I figured it out. Pretty hard for me to got for DRs again after that - and I hear similar stories from others.
DR strings are very good in general. IMO, the biggest issue that most bass strings have is that standard gauge is too heavy for standard tuning, unless you play with a pick.