Dean Markley Blue Steels

heath_the_great · #1 10-17-2006, 05:32 AM

well ive been trying various sets on my ksd 5er, and not too many have been fitting properly with the winding decreasing in the first fret on my b and e string, some i havent minded like d'addarios and ernie balls, (the eb's being the fav outta those two) but ive just slapped my seccond set of Blue Steels 45-128's on there and they're awesome, perfect winding length, great feel, great tone and last a good 4 gigs or more...any other fans of the wierd guages?

Tony G · #2 10-17-2006, 05:39 AM

I am a big fan of the blue steels. I used to use them exclusively, but currently find myself constantly trying new strings. I just may one day go back to my tried and true blue steels.

RWP · #3 10-17-2006, 05:57 AM

+1 on Blue Steels, but the last set I bought was defective! When I went to tighten up the A string the ball popped right off then end. GC made good with a new one. I want to try the 45-128's but GC does not carry them, have to order I guess. Thanks for the reminder.

heath_the_great · #4 10-17-2006, 06:10 AM

45-128's were the only size in 5'ers available...but damn thats the best b ive ever heard

ryla · #5 10-17-2006, 03:28 PM

which are the better blue steels by you guys - the med 050-128 or the med light 045-128?

heath_the_great · #6 10-18-2006, 01:55 AM

acutally, i had a 5 string med set of 50-128's, then i bought a cl 46-102 and slapped that on with the 128 from the other set and i like that best...pity they dont sell them in sets like that

LiquidMidnight · #7 10-18-2006, 05:49 PM

I love Blue Steels. They are by far one of the most tight and focused sounding strings I've ever used (and are still very affordable). The bottom end on them is very tight, they have top end for days without sounding harsh or nasally, and the mids are just soooo smooth. For a while, I was using DR coated strings, which are of course very excellent, but then I went back and put on a set of Dean Markleys. Blue Steels are still my favorite string.

I have a set of med-lights currently on, and even for med-lights, I find them to be rather thick strings. I actually had some trouble pulling the B string through the bridge of my Carvin. DM seems to put an excessive amount of yarn on their strings.

kingmacaw · #8 10-19-2006, 12:19 PM

they are my favorites-the ss medium lights .45-.100 on my fretted basses, tho it took 5 days to get used to their sound. on my fretless probably go for dr sunbeams or lo-rider nickel rounds. different sound, different fretboard.

el_Kabong · #9 10-19-2006, 06:17 PM

I tried a set of sr2000's last night and was impressed. How do the blue steels compare to them? Anyone used both?

kingmacaw · #10 10-19-2006, 06:34 PM

i've found it useful to contact string brand site to get info on different sounds & appropriateness of applications. let's face it we're all gonna have different ideas many times on what we like best but the manufacturer rep is probably going to give you the best info to work on concerning 2 different sets of their string brand. shoot them an email & see what they have to say on ex. sr2000's v. blue steel. re: designate whether you mean the ss or nps version of the strings to compare. personally i like the brightness more on ss than nickels but those who prefer nickels usually cite that tho not as bright a sound they will retain a more consistent sound for a longer length of time.

HELLonWheels187 · #11 10-19-2006, 08:20 PM

If anybody wants to try a set. I have a set of blue steels that i put on my bass for about an hour before i took them off and went back to my old DR's. Its a 4 string set 45-105 guages

mimaz · #12 10-19-2006, 09:25 PM

Blue Steels for me on everything, the 4's and the 5's! Actually, I never thought of the 45-128 as a weird gauge, 'cuz for me a 125 is too light, a 130 too heavy, 128 is just right!! I get lots of extended life out of them too, if I could afford it I'd be changin' out every couple of gigs, but with the Blue Steels I don't really need to.

A side note: my 40th Anniv Fender is strung really light, I believe 40-95, but the Blue Steels still manage to sound tight and focused. (Doesn't hurt that this bass just sounds fabulous, I wish I had a twin to it with just one more string......)

Jake · #13 11-12-2006, 11:20 PM

I had a set of Blue Steels on my MIJ Jazz with a Warmouth neck (wish I still had that bass) when I was 16 and had them on there until I was 23. I was playing upright just about exclusively during that time, but I got a recording gig on electric when I was about 22 and they sounded great on tape. They were fat and really growly sounding. I kept them on until as result of playing that bass a lot without an amp, one of the strings busted. I would have bought a set for my new BG, but the store I went to that had em was charging $30 for a set. I went with some DR Lo-Riders at a different store.

saxnbass · #14 11-13-2006, 05:10 AM

I once had Blue Steels flatwounds on a fretless. Like them, but then sold the bass, and then found DR.

I am trying new strings though. Next on the list: Sadowsky and EBS. I should probably try out LaBella soon too.

heath_the_great · #15 11-13-2006, 05:13 AM

i had dr black beautys on my atk when i bought it, they were good, then i tried sunbeams and didnt like them, chucked on the blue steels and loved em....they're all my ksd has sseen too

kingmacaw · #16 11-13-2006, 11:27 AM

well 'hell on wheels,' we are opposites on these strings.

on my fretted warwick i bought hi-beam ss dr's & tho my guitarist loves the sound i will definitely be returning to the blue steel ss. the dr's have a definite piano tone but i want my bass to sound like a bass - not a piano! thankfully, i didn't buy sunbeams for my fretless but will be trying on nickel lo-riders instead. hopefully, i'll like the hexcore & nickel sound over the dr's ss & roundcore sound. i'm sure on different basses especially active v. passive can make a difference on the sound we get & prefer. found i had to cut the equalization on my active fretted w/hi-beams to get a sound i could live with. when i first tried the blues it took 5 days to decide i really liked them, after 5 days i still didn't appreciate the dr's.
2 things to note: hi-beams (& therefore, i assume sunbeams which are basically hi-beam nickels) are very elastic/flexible - lo riders & blues are stiffer & never buy more than 1 set of bass strings at a time until you've tried them out & see if they are really what you want.

dragoon419 · #17 01-02-2007, 09:18 PM

I love 'em. They're both inexpensive. and they sound great. The B and E sound great with a pick, and the higher strings are solid aswell. The silvery-white slik is also great. It's colour is subtle, and works nicely with the steel of the strings.

And don't let the steel fool you, they are very smooth.

mike phillips · #18 01-04-2007, 03:29 PM

love the blue steels on my jackson kelly. i play alot of dio and the blue steels match the tone perfectly.

stealth51 · #19 01-28-2007, 09:06 AM

On my Warwick FNA Jazzman I tried the DR LO-Riders but didn't like them. I love the Blue Steel MLs.

ryco · #20 01-28-2007, 09:27 AM

Didn't Blue Steel discontinue their ss line? I thought they changed over to a nickel blend.