Aurora/Arkay Strings

[BassApprentice]

Just found these on eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251865899904

Anyone used these before? I'm a sucker for a set of black strings and have heard that DR have changed their coating and are a wee touch expensive.

I also found these Arkay discount strings http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252313291249 apparently the same as Aurora but not silver coated(?)

Any views welcomed!

Edited March 1, 2017 by BassApprentice

[Saved]

I am using neetone strings.Neil builds custom gauge and lenght for me.Give em a shot.I highly recomend them

[BassApprentice]

Thanks Saved,

I'm well aware of Newtone strings and their reputation but I really like the look of black strings on my white G&L. At £25 these strings are too sore on the pocket if they are crap anyway

[BassApprentice]

I've taken a punt at the £14.99 Arkay "discount strings".

Will let you know how it goes....

[blank20]

I heard about Aurora strings, but for this price I would choose one of these sets
[url="https://musicsquare.co.uk/148776_Rotosound-RB-405-bass-guitar-strings.html"]https://musicsquare....ar-strings.html[/url]
[url="http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/erbacoslbagu.html"]http://www.stringsan...bacoslbagu.html[/url]

Edited March 4, 2017 by blank20

[BassApprentice]

Thanks for your recommendations, I was specifically talking about the Aurora and Arkay strings as they are colour coated which I like from an aesthetic point of view

[kodiakblair]

[quote name='BassApprentice' timestamp='1488447441' post='3248960']
I've taken a punt at the £14.99 Arkay "discount strings".

Will let you know how it goes....
[/quote] I'll be looking forward to your thoughts on the Arkay. Fancy the lime Aurora ones myself.

[BassApprentice]

So they arrived last night. They are very blue! but that's what I was looking for.

Initial impressions are good, quite bright but not offensively so. Tension is a touch higher then DR Black beauties I reckon. Only got about 45 mins playing on them so will see how they go.

Downsides: Some imperfections in the coating which does concern me how long the coating will last.

I'll update this thread as I discover how long these strings last!

Have some more photos: [url="http://goo.gl/photos/TVypGi6n17oHHC6k9"]http://goo.gl/photos/TVypGi6n17oHHC6k9[/url]

Edited March 7, 2017 by BassApprentice

[kodiakblair]

Gonna take a punt myself. Think there might be an Aurora 5 string set and the DR neons on my 5'er are dead.

edit

Aurora 5 string set was confirmed half hour back so the order is in and I've already received the dispatch email

Edited April 8, 2017 by kodiakblair

[BassApprentice]

Interested to see how you think the Aurora are. The Arkay are ok, think I might have to order a set of the Aurora to see how they compare.


I'm not disappointed by the Arkay but maybe the Aurora should be slightly better

[kodiakblair]

BassApprentice

Get them. Don't think you'll be disappointed, I'm sure as hell not

edit
I was gonna start a new post but think it's best to keep this together.

First thing the supplier Fret Funk. Can't rate them highly enough,emailed them 11pm Friday about a 5 string set and had a reply by 10am Saturday morning. Placed the order and had the strings by 10am this morning,48 hrs including the weekend is pretty impressive.

The strings themselves feel great,they also look great. The photos were taken with my mobile so it doesn't show how vibrant the colour is to full effect. I was swapping from DR neons and the Aurora feel the same,different from the Nexus I normally use. The Nexus I've been finding to bright recently, Auroras are bright but not overkill.Also got a very clear full tone,like they're carrying a bit weight

Up and down the strings the winding is even and strung through the bridge they're a perfect size on the 34" scale Peavey Zephyr 5.The strings step down in size so there's no trouble getting them on the tuners.Tension on B is good.

Them being £25 is just icing on the cake.Bloody good strings. I'll post back in a month on how they're lasting.

[attachment=242728:Aurora-Reds.gif][attachment=242729:Aurora-Reds-2.gif][attachment=242730:Aurora-Reds-3.gif]

Edited April 10, 2017 by kodiakblair

[rmorris]

I got a set of the 'budget' Arkay (in Red) from Fretfunk via ebay.
Good Service / Delivery.
Strings seem okay - not really tested them too much.
One point too be aware of though - and I guess this might apply to all coated strings:
If you're relying on fingers / hand being in contact with the strings to 'ground' yourself and avoid hum/buzz pickup - the coating isn't really compatible with this.
Tending to get 'brushing / rustling' noises as when you make/break contact with strings/hardware.
Often it then 'goes quiet' which means either that the coating isn't 100% or that it's thin enough to allow enough capacitance to effectively 'ground' at audio frequencies.
Might not be an issue if you're not listening critically or at low gain or low Z pickups.
Solution, connect yourself to some other 'earthed' metalwork - equipment chassis etc...

The Red strings do look good on a black bass btw :-)

Edited May 8, 2017 by rmorris