I been playing since 97 and been through many basses, strings etc. Right now I have a GK 600 amp, GK 410, GK 115 and I own 2 Dean Metalman basses. V series, I'm very partial to the V design. I want to upgrade to a better string. The DR black beauties have my eye. We play in the style of The Sword, Sabbath, High on Fire. Doom stoner metal. I also run through a fuzz box. So are these Black Beauties as great as the reviews I have read? They are about 35. A set and I wanna string both my V's. 4 string. Any personal experience w these strings is appreciated . Thanks. PS- I use all my strings lol. I need to go from high solos to E growl fast without it Getting drowned.
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DR Black Beauties
- Thread starter Reigninblood
- Start date
I had them on my explosive Ibanez project. They weren't bad, and always felt new. I've been told that pick players eat through the coating, pretty easily. They are a bit rougher on the fingers than my favorites; DR Sunbeams.
I've had a set on my bass for ~6 months, they aren't as bright initially, but they don't fade as quickly either, They still have a bit of snap to them.
They don't feel rough to me, but one thing I found is that if I do a fast slide with any pressure, I get rope burn like feeling on my fingertip that I don't get with bare metal strings.
They don't feel rough to me, but one thing I found is that if I do a fast slide with any pressure, I get rope burn like feeling on my fingertip that I don't get with bare metal strings.
They lasted a while....and I have pretty sweaty hands. They never really sounded as "new" as I would like, though....I want that fresh livliness when I put new string on and these neber have that. What it does have, last for a long time, though. That might fit in with the style of what you're playing but I didn't dig them all that much.
Yea, if you play with a pick, it literally eats the coating, so thats quite bad. They also dont provide that super fresh metallic sound, which is super nice when you want a growly distorted sound. However, the freshness stays longer than regular. But overall, i dont really like em. Id rather go for elixir. Better sound, also stays longer, and not so rough on fingers, but still, the coating doesnt last long if you use pick. Still worth buying though
Ah ok thanks guys. I alternate, some songs I finger play, some I use a pick. I play more with a pick in this band, but some songs I use my fingers because certain songs need that. Couple songs I do both, because certain moments of the tune call for switching rapidly between. I'm gonna get em n try em out. I don't think ill wear through the coating because I don't play on the same spot all the time. Some songs I play directly over the pickup then more to the board.
I have to differ with everyone's opinion. While I will agree that the strings are not a super bright sound to them, that is what I like about them; they have a dark tone to them and they do last quite a while. When using a pick the coating will wear off but it doesn't effect the string's sound too much. They are a tad rough on the hands but I highly recommend them.
Cyanate- thank you. That's what I'm thinking.my v is going to the paint shop to get her Emerald Green paint this week, I think these strings on top of the new paint will be amazing. 
For the style of music you play, I would think the Black Beauties would be a bit too mellow. To my ears, they have a very warm and woody sound - almost acoustic in nature. I'd even go so far as to say I'd put them in the same camp as bright flats and tapewounds for having a vintage sort of thumpy tone with just a little bit of defintion. I personally dig them, and use them on all of my Thunderbirds- but if I was playing metal I'd probably go for something brighter.
Stiles- what would u recommend for my style and my setup? I don't want the bright twangy sound, I want dark. But i want my highs to be pronounced, and my lows to come through without that mud.
I like them on my MM Stingray, as they take that metallic edge off of them; I would be flamed at the EBMM site for saying so, but they are-to me--the perfect complement to brighter-sounding basses.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
Yeah, the internet is full of jerks but the EBMM forums are a bunch of really whacko fanboys... I was going to sign up to ask for help one day but I read a few other posts and realized it's a waste of time.
In regards to the strings, buy 1 pack not many to try them, some people say they are amazing but I could really feel the coating on my bass strings, wouldn't buy them again. Didn't mind them on guitar but that might be because I'm not nearly as proficient on guitar.
If you want to sound appropriate and not have to deal with the BS that Black Beauties give you, get good uncoated strings, or elixir if you want coating.
If you want to look cool buy black beauties, simple as that.
Everbody i know who has tried em hated them because of the coating, how it stripped quickly especially.
DR sunbeams or Hi beams and EQ out the twang when they are fresh, after about a week of good playing you should be fine. At least this is my experience i don't sweat a lot so i don't go through strings quickly. I was always able to get a really nice growl out of normal strings i just eq'd that annoying twang out, it wasn't hard either and the balance came out sweet because i had a dark but present tone.
I've been using them for about 6 months. Initially, I got a set for aesthetics, but within a day they became my favorite strings ever. I love the feel, and for me the tone is tighter and punchier than any other string I have tried. I've now put them on all my basses except my Jazz (flats).
I use black beauties on all my basses now ( except the Schecter which has red devils) and I feel like some of the people commenting here have never actually used them. Yes they are a bit dark sounding, but they don't have trouble cutting through a mix and they are not muddy, they just give a little less metal on metal clank. I think they make a good complement to a bright bass ( my p and j were sounding a little twangy to me), but if your bass is already dark sounding think twice. But I simply cannot understand all these people saying the coating wears off. I play about 90% pick, many types ( celluloid, nylon, and mostly Dunlop big stubbies which are some kind of super hard lexan or something) and always in the same 2 places, and I have NEVER had the color fade, let alone wear off. The exception is metal: metal items or picks are the only things that scratch the coating, so you've got to be careful when feeding the strings through the bridge and string trees when changing your strings.
I tried a set on my P-Bass. While they sounded good (not spectacular), I didn't like the feel of them! They had to go!
- Apr 18, 2008
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I have 'em on my Tobias. They look cool. They sound great - very balanced. They are sticky at first. The black coating does wear off where you pick, but I call that patina.
Recommended.
Recommended.
