Dragon Skin Series Strings By DR

Ask 10 guitarists their favorite set of strings and you could hear 11 or 12 different answers! The beauty of DR is the handmade string maker from Emerson, NJ doesn’t stop to bank on their classics like the Hi-Beam, Sunbeam, Low-Riders or Black Beauty sets, rather they keep churning out new ideas to keep up with what musicians are after. In the past year alone I’ve checked out their NEONs, DDTs and Extra-Life sets. This past month I tested the new Dragon Skin series.

The Dragon Skin strings are available for Acoustics, Electrics, Bass and 12-string Guitars. I tested out two electric sets gauges 9-42 and 10-46 as well one bass set gauges 45-105. Bass players note; DR makes Dragon Skin sets for 4, 5 and 6 string players. DR strived to take their K3 coating and give you the best of both worlds; the longevity of a coated string without the coated feel and the tone of an uncoated string.

Before I strung up my Telecaster with the 10-46 set I gave the 9-42 set to a friend and said, “Put these on your guitar and tell me your initial impression on how they feel” Now remember the beginning of this blog? Guitarists can’t agree on anything! Surprisingly enough though we both agreed the strings felt great and couldn’t tell they were coated except for just a light texture on the G.

Next was my P-bass. Like other steel strings the Dragon Skins where initially very bright, but that was nothing rolling back the tone knob a notch couldn’t handle. The feeling of the strings is incredible. No gunky coated feel and no rigid cold feeling some other steel bass strings offer. I’m truly a fan; my right hand isn’t torn up from finger-style playing and slides on my left hand feel as natural as any string.

A month later, the bass strings have mellowed out a bit and the guitar strings still feel brand new. Both instruments were put through practices, gigs, home recordings and any sort of jam I could throw together. With a great feel and excellent tuning stability every guitarist or bassist I held hostage to test out either set agreed they were worth looking into.

Web: drstrings.com
Street Prices: $37 4-string Bass Sets and $12 Electric Guitar Sets.