Dr Strings PURE BLUES 11-50 user reviews ( 9/10) - 2 user reviews

• 08/03/11

  moosers's review

  Overall Opinion

  The DR Strings Pure Blues 11-50 are a set of electric guitar strings that I recently purchased to string up my Schecter Ultra III guitar. I hadn't used these strings before getting them as the guy at the guitar store recommended trying them out as a lot of people there were digging them. I don't get too fussy when it comes to strings, but I do like 11 gauge strings as these are. I figured I'd try them out and I'm glad I did as I'll definitely be buying a few more pairs of these for the same guitar in the future. While the Ultra III isn't my main axe, it was in dire need of string replacement and figured it would be a good opportunity to try some new strings. They don't cost much and are certainly comparable to other electric guitar strings, so price shouldn't be very much of a factor here. It was easy enough to string up my guitar with the DR Strings Pure Blues 11-50's as they are standard in every sense of the word. I was immediately happy with the way they were feeling as they felt sturdy while still easily playable. They sound good to as my Schecter Ultra III sounds as good as it has sounded. I don't know exactly why these are deemed "blues" strings as they were certainly work for other types of music as I mostly play rock. I'm not sure that the strings would be the right fit for my main guitar which is a Fender Jazzmaster as I like lighter strings on them, but next time I need a change I'm going to try them anyway to see how it works. If you're looking for a new set of strings for your electric guitar, go out and try the DR Strings Pure Blues and I think you'll be pretty satisfied with them.
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• 03/28/10

  mooseherman's review

  Overall Opinion

  These are a super-heavy electric guitar string made by DR. They are part of the Pure Blues series of strings, which feature a nickel wrap wire, wound to a round core. This is apparently a slow, meticulous process, which results in these strings being sold at a generally more expensive price. These are pretty great strings, they have a great way of sounding full and rich, and they do manage to sustain better than most strings. However, this is only going to be the case if your guitar has decent sustain already. If you're guitar has an issue with sustain, than perhaps you might not get the full benefit of these strings.
  
  The pure blues branding in this case is dead on. The first thing I thought when I played a guitar (Telecaster) with these strings was how much it felt like Stevie Ray Vaughn (even though he played a Stratocaster, I could still feel the bluesy vibe that I got with these). I later learned that Stevie Ray used a custom-gauge extra heavy string, which is probably why this particular set (11-50) reminded me of him so much. I eventually tried them on my Strat until it was time to change them. At that point, I ultimately decided they weren't for me. For me, the biggest issue with using these strings was the fact that I had to get my guitar set up again just to have them work on it. They are so drastically removed from what I was used to playing that I don't think I was really that impressed. A big factor for me was the fact that I couldn't really get the same bright, sparkly tones that I used to get out my Stratocaster because these strings emphasized the low tones far more. I don't get a great low end response from that guitar either, so I felt like I wasn't getting the full benefit. I thought about using them for a different guitar but I didn't really foresee that working so well either.
  
  I haven't actually felt the need to try a lower gauge, because I think that the main aspects of the string weren't as good as the Dean Markley Blue Steels that I like so much. Even though they are arguably better feeling and are probably constructed far more elegantly, I didn't appreciate them as much. I would recommend this only to really serious blues players who don't want much else besides a good blues tone.
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