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mooseherman
Published on 03/28/10 at 13:12
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.
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.