To coat or not to coat? That will be a question discussed in this review on DR HandMade Strings, a boutique string manufacturer who has and continues to garner attention from the likes of legendary Bootsy Collins, Larry Coryell, Roy Clark, Mike D’Antonio, Steve Howe, Joe Walsh, the late Dimebag Darrell, and many others.

Strings come in all different sizes and tonal flavours, and in such a range that it is apparent so many manufacturers are attempting to appeal to very diverse and discerning tastes from millions of guitar and bass players. As a result, you have arguments as to how strings should be wound, if nickel is better than phosphor bronze, etc., and obviously if coated strings are superior to non-coated strings.
In regard to tone, any set of strings, coated or not, will have its own qualities that will appeal to some players and not others, and some guitarists will be drawn to coated strings because of a brightness that seems to set them apart from their non-coated counterparts. Still other axe swingers prefer non-coated strings as they ‘apparently’ offer a more full-bodied and harmonic experience. I’m not so sure about that, having tried DR HandMade Strings, but one thing is for certain, “it’s all in the ears!”

An argument for coated strings is that they usually offer a smoother play and the tone lasts longer as these strings tend not to oxidize as quickly. Being a fan of coated strings, although I sometimes use less expensive non-coated brands when they’re on sale and inexpensive, it is quite apparent that they offer a smoother playing field and I have found they do last longer. However, it should be stated that I play only in a climate-controlled environment, never hot and humid, which is the bane of steel-based guitar strings. I have heard doubts of potential longer string life in other ‘gear’ reviews, but this will depend on the guitarist and how much s/he sweats playing in varying climates, etc., all of which could make less of a difference in the end if conditions are so extreme that any added string life is too short lived to make a good comparison. (Unfortunately, most reviews are based on ‘at the time’ conditions of hours or a few days of playing around with gear, and not using the product for several weeks or months.)

When it comes to ‘feel,’ this is another issue for the preference of one string over another; it’s no different than the quality of a guitar neck, in that how it feels on the super sensitive finger tips becomes a very personal experience.

And so, what we need to look when discussing any string is longevity, tone and feel. Having tried other coated strings, I can vouch for the longevity, and I have found they can last three times as long before sounding ‘dead’ or losing their grace. This makes sense since metal oxidizes when in contact with air, and if that metal is protected by a coating, to eliminate air exposure and hinder oxidation they will last longer. However, I would rather focus more on tone and feel rather than hyping coated-string dollar value/lifespan.

Made in the USA, DR HandMade Strings have been around since 1989, but it’s only been recently that I’ve been a convert, switching over from a coated competitor. This next point may be true of other companies and products, but with the DR team being actual musicians who know what they want in strings (FYI: Mark Dronge, the founder of DR HandMade Strings is the son Guild Guitars founder, Al Dronge), it helps to set this company apart, similar to a luthier company that involves musicians crafting each instrument as opposed to regular people working an assembly line. A bit more heart and soul goes into production and you can’t put a value on that.

Part of DR’s claim to fame is through their patented K3 coating, which purports to “sound as good or better than uncoated strings,” or at least that is the feedback DR has been receiving from its customers. I reserved judgement on that basis since strings are a faction of “I have to play to believe.” I doubt many guitarists have tried every conceivable string out there, and so it is a situation whereby a handful of strings have been tried and eventually a guitarist will pick and stick with one or only a few companies since s/he feels comfortable with the brand; and the sound/tone is ‘good enough’ that investing in different string companies is of little interest and you don’t want to lose out on what you have. I would speculate that I tried about 10-15 different string brands over the years, usually based on a guitar legend’s endorsement. What I can say about DR HandMade Strings is that they do sound as good as uncoated strings, but more importantly, from my perspective, they sound more ‘lively’ than other strings I have used. Generally speaking, there is a more tone-saturated quality to these strings, with a bit more sparkle, clarity, snap and even loudness.

Recently, I tried three different sets of DR HandMade Strings, including the Neons, the DDTs and the Dragon Skins (for acoustics), all of which are packaged in envelopes using the Cortec protection to ensure corrosion resistance until use. DR’s website provides some general information on each string set, and so it’s difficult to articulate just how good these are without coming across as copying and pasting what’s already there. Nonetheless, here goes.

The Neons are nickel plated strings wound on a hexagonal core (to increase gripping surface for longer intonation longevity), and they are just plain fun to use because of their bright and startling colors (green, orange and yellow). It’s a good way to set off a guitar, as though you have custom strings on your old six-shooter. Although you require a UV light to really show these off (and they truly do look like neon lights), their radiant colors remain attractive even without the UV. Fitted on my Les Paul Custom, Neons are very smooth on the fingers, and the pick rolls over more easily and very cleanly for those quick sweep patterns and metal runs than I have experienced with other brands. They are highly responsive to bending and vibrato and what becomes clear is the good volume of the higher strings and the tight bottom end of the lower strings. The tone may have an element of ‘bright and crisp,’ but there is nothing thin or tinny about them.

The DDTs were designed, engineered and patented for drop-down tuning (although you can use them for any application), and so I took up this challenge with the lightest gauge that DR makes: 10-46. I have my Reverend ‘Unknown Hinson Signature’ guitar tuned to a C, four semi-tones lower than standard tuning and everything remained tight – surprisingly tight. This is not something I experienced with other (standard tuning) strings and you can tell these have been created with drop-tuning in mind. Even while hitting away on the open C string, the tone was very clear and not muddy. I avoided drop-tuning in the past because of that ‘garbled’ sound that often emanated from regular strings (and I do not care for really heavy gauge strings), but now I found a great solution.

The Dragon Skin Acoustics put a smile on my face as much as the other DR strings. Fitted on an Ovation Celebrity guitar, these strings are warm, yet bright and punchy. Most obvious is how loud they are, which really took me by surprise since the thin-body Ovation I play is hardly known for its volume output. These phosphor bronze strings (with featured coated brass treble strings for added warmth and balance) ring out at nearly double the loudness as the Martin strings I used previously, and at the same string gauge (12-54). The Dragon Skins also were far easier on the fingers (and electric guitarists who play only occasional acoustic know what I mean) since the Dragon Skins offered an unusually low tension effect; and because of the coating there was less squeaking when the fingers slid up and down the neck.

PLUSES: Extremely clear sounding with no tininess, these strings are smooth to the touch, loud and respond better than other strings I have tried.

MINUSES: Sting sensitivity and tone is so subjective that you will need to try them for yourself to be a true believer!