Dean Markley strings

[dmaki]

What do you think of Dean Markley strings? More specifically "Ground Round Wound" and "Sr 2000" strings. I have a 4-string fretted with passive pickups...

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"Music's what I need to keep my sanity." - 311

[Bernie]

I didnt much like the blue steels.Very bright at first but died quickly.There was an aspect of their tone i liked so i got a set of the nickel blue steels on sale from Mars for 15 with a DM tee shirt.I havnt put these on yet.

[funkastorious]

Well, I won't use actions to bodily parts to describe the strings....but I have very good luck with Blue Steels.

I've used Blue Steels and DR Low riders for my fretted basses for around 8ish years. The Blue Steels are pretty "raw" out of the wrapper, so they do a nice job building caluses. They tend to get dirtier than the average string, so you need to wipe rather frequently.

I also buy all my strings by the box (24 sets of strings), so they may have a better control over the quality and they are cheaper. Ends up being around $15/set rather than the typical $25 deal. I believe retail is $45.

As for changing them, it all depends upon my mood and sound I am looking for....but it never goes over 3 weeks on my bass. Sometimes, I change them every 3 days. It has nothing to do with the strings wearing out, it's an attitude/sound thing.

As for the strings breaking, I would suggest not beating the **** out of your bass. If you take care of your strings and play with good technique, the strings will not break.

I couldn't help but notice Trust2belies profile says he uses GHS strings. Well, those would be the worst to buy.

[This message has been edited by funkastorious (edited July 04, 2000).]

[john turner]

i've been using dean markley sr2000 strings on my 7 and 8 string basses pretty much exclusively for the past 5 or 6 years now, and i really love them. they last a pretty long time for me (probably about 150-200 hours), and i play pretty hard, considering. they intonate _very_ well, i am able to play in tune all the way up the neck on pretty much every string, even the low b (the only flaw is the low f#, it doesn't intonate very well up past the octave.)

their tone is very even string to string, and very consistent from when they are put on until when they die. some strings are super-shrill brite for the first few days,and then they die pretty quick, but the dean markleys, in my experience, "settle down" tone wise after a day or two and then stay put, tonally, for a long time.

the one thing to consider is that the "will lee" signature set sr2000's are pretty heavy gauge, but the low b of the set is actually pretty light, for a low b (.127") i tend to like my strings heavier low and lighter high, so i get my strings individually.

back in my 4 string days i used to use the blue steels occasionally, but i favored rotosound funkmasters back then, very light strings that aren't made anymore.

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john

"Bad Muttluk, No Anuses!!" - our own lil'biski

[This message has been edited by john turner (edited July 04, 2000).]

[Bernie]

Well ive had the nickel BS on about a week now and so far their great.Theyve already outlasted the other BS strings.They have that "tonal aspect" i liked about the others but are MUCH nicer sounding with the nickel wrap.I just hope they continue to last a few more weeks at least.

[rsautrey]

I've always loved the sound and consistency of Blue Steels. Better than Rotosound or GHS Boomers IMO.

[timv]

I use blue steels also and like them. I like stainless steel type and the blue steels were the best that i have tried so far. A bit expensive though but they seem to last all right to me.

[rapido]

Forget Dean Markley string.
I read allover the net that DR are the best strings on this planet.
I want to buy DR strings. i play slap. Are they best possible strings for slap does anyone know?
What is better Sunbams or Lo-riders?
I know that Sunbams are Nickel Plated Round Core and Lo-riders are Stainless Steel Hex Core strings. On DR page (http://www.drstrings.com/LoRider1.htm) they say that Lo-riders are for slap, pop and tapping. But many people here on Talkbass said that Sunbeams are the best, but what is better for slap steel or nickel?
What gauges are better 50-110 or 45-105???

[Modern Growl]

Hey everyone, check out my comparitive review of about 5 strings under "Growly Nickels?" - I put some effort into it, but noticed not too many people checking it out.

But NO, I dont like DM Strings. Always went dead on me very quickly!

[rashbeep]

argh i just broke my g string and i got the blue steels not a couple of weeks ago!!! they sounded nice but theybreak way too easily.. my stock ibanez gsr200 strings lasted 6 months and i played the hell out of them. can someone recommend some nice sounding strings that dont break?

[MAJOR METAL]

The blues are great clear sounding string but i tend to kill them quickly.

[Snarf]

I've been playing Blue Steels for years, and now I'm going to be changing over to . . . something. Probably D'Addario nickels. The Blue Steels start off very harsh on the fingers, and my fingers always drag, so playing for the first several hours is very difficult. And they don't last as long as they advertise.

[bigbajo60]

I've been using SR2000 Will Lee's for about 4 or 5 years now, and have found them to be the strings with the most "open tone" on the highs and best fundamental lows combined. On my Amer.RI '75 Jazz they're the strings that get me closest to the "Geddy" sound. Feel/tension-wise they're great. They intonate very well, break in pretty quickly... and they last quite a long time... 3 to 4 months at least with 3 to 4 gigs a week (some in the great, dusty, sweaty outdoors!)!!!

FWIW, their customer service has been second to none! The two or three times I've had probs with a random string (2 or 3 times in 4 or 5 years!!!), they have taken VERY, VERY good care of me! Just remember to have the 'bad' string handy to return to them... they like to see what the problem might have been for Quality Control reasons!

[carl-anton]

I've been using Blue Steels for a year now. Nice fat tone with outstanding harmonics. Our soundman doesn't eq the bass anymore, just adjusting volume. Same thing in the studio.

[Jonki]

i use Dean Markley NickelSteel CL strings, two tings about them...

growl and clarity

[JimmyM]

I don't think there's anything wrong with Markleys. I used to use their nickel strings before I discovered D'addarios sound about the same and cost less.

[Jonki]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

I don't think there's anything wrong with Markleys. I used to use their nickel strings before I discovered D'addarios sound about the same and cost less.

ye, i tried both, i liked Dean Markleys better. D'Addario are great too.