DR Black Beauties

[GBassNorth]

I like them on my MM Stingray, as they take that metallic edge off of them; they are-to me--the perfect complement to brighter-sounding basses.

+1 Exactly my experience as well. Sound great on basses that have a tendency to have a zingy top end (like stingrays and G&Ls). Really tames the top end and reinforces the bottom end. I use them on all my rays.
I can't stand overly bright sounding strings and the DR Black Beauties are about as good as it gets in not being overly bright but still having very good definition on the top end and not muddy on the bottom end. I'd call them warmer and darker than a stainless or nickel round wound, not as dark and more defined than a tapewound, much more defined than a flat wound and 5 to 10 times longer lasting than a typical round wound (I have one set that's on year 4 now).
I only play finger style so I've never had any problems with the coating coming off due to my picking hand. I understand they did change their coating material very recently so it's even less likely to wear off with the newer sets. The only issue I've had with these strings is when feeding them through the bridge on an initial stringing. You'll want to feed them carefully so they don't scrape too much on the bridge as you pull them thru the holes and over the saddles (assuming you don't have a top load bridge) otherwise you will scrape some of the coating off.

 

[GBassNorth]

DR Black Beauties on one of my Stingrays...

 

[alexofc69]

I love DR Strings, but not a fan of their coated stings. Just dont feel or sound right to me. Try Aurora coated strings - I like them alot better and am starting to string all of my basses with them.

 

[mmbongo]

I love DR Strings, but not a fan of their coated stings. Just dont feel or sound right to me. Try Aurora coated strings - I like them alot better and am starting to string all of my basses with them.

You need to try DR K3 coated strings. I know you haven't, because you've been saying this same exact thing for close to a year now:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f16/dr-black-beauties-dr-neons-vs-rotosound-nexus-736717/#post12185840

K3's are much better than their old coated strings...which were basically just like Aurora's since DR bought the colored string wire from them. DR now makes their own which sound better and does not flake like the Aurora wire. The new DR's kill Aurora's.
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[alexofc69]

You need to try DR K3 coated strings. I know you haven't, because you've been saying this same exact thing for close to a year now:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f16/dr-black-beauties-dr-neons-vs-rotosound-nexus-736717/#post12185840

K3's are much better than their old coated strings...which were basically just like Aurora's since DR bought the colored string wire from them. DR now makes their own which sound better and does not flake like the Aurora wire. The new DR's kill Aurora's.
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Ah, no I have not! I'm going to have to try a set then! Yeah, i dint like DR coated strings because they felt like plastic. vs Elixrs and the Auroras. I love DRs, but just not these.

 

[Errol]

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.

I got that rope burn too, it startled me, it was the first time it ever happened on my first finger doing a fast slide up the entire neck, hurt like a b*tch for a second, I LOVE the Low B, E and A strings tone with these strings, but the D and G lacked the brightness and punch that I like in the Warwick Strings that I normally use. Plus the black color is unique and can upgrade your basses bada** points by about 10.

 

[jeff ward]

I love the DR color strings they have great tone and the new coating seems to last longer than the old design and I use a pick. I had a set of the black ones on a bass and a set of Red Devils on my black spector. When I record I always use an uncoated string but live the colors look awesome and sound great so they do the job.

 

[RandalPinkFloyd]

Been using them for about 2 months now and I really dig them.

 

[japhy4529]

I just put a set of DR black beauties on my Warwick Thumb NT 5. All I can say is "wow!" Now, this is my first experience with coated strings, so perhaps it's just the novelty of how they feel on my fingers, but I'm really impressed with how much easier it is to play with coated strings and how great they sound on my bass. Next step for me is to see how it sounds now on a recording.

 

[PunkKitty]

I realize that I'm necroposting. But are these roundwound, flatwound, or what? I'd like to get a set for a black Schecter.

 

[GBassNorth]

I realize that I'm necroposting. But are these roundwound, flatwound, or what? I'd like to get a set for a black Schecter.

Round wound for sure, Nickel I believe. They really do sound, feel and look great!
Just note two things about black beauties:
1) follow the stringing directions that come with them. Its important to kink before you cut, otherwise you run the risk of the string unwinding a bit and going dead.
2) when stringing through non top loaded bridges, be careful to pull them through the string holes slowly without raking them across any metal edges, otherwise you might scrape the coating.

 

[PunkKitty]

Great. Thanks.

 

[mmbongo]

I realize that I'm necroposting. But are these roundwound, flatwound, or what? I'd like to get a set for a black Schecter.

They are coated Sunbeams, so nickel roundwound. Same with all DR colored & Neon strings.

 

[seytonyah]

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.

These are excellent strings for a reggae tone....

 

[GwenOnBass]

DR's site states Black Beauties are steel on a round core
https://www.drstrings.com/coated-bass-black-beauties
which would make them coated Hi-Beams

and Neons are nickel plated steel on a round core
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which would make them coated Sunbeams

Black Beauties are on my Stingray at the moment. Neons preceded the BBs on the Ray and may well go on again.

 

[michael_t]

DR's site states Black Beauties are steel on a round core
https://www.drstrings.com/coated-bass-black-beauties
which would make them coated Hi-Beams

Interesting...
How come some online dealers, including Fret Nation, describe them as "nickel-plated" then? Has DR changed their specs recently?

Something else interesting...
Black Beauties GUITAR strings are nickel-plated steel on a HEX core.

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[GwenOnBass]

Interesting...
How come some online dealers, including Fret Nation, describe them as "nickel-plated" then? Has DR changed their specs recently?

Something else interesting...
Black Beauties GUITAR strings are nickel-plated steel on a HEX core.

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Quite possible the DR specs changed. DR now lists its winding length as 37 3/4.

 

[Eli78]

I've been using DR Black Beauties on my Modulus Quantum bass for almost a year now and they are the first string I've been happy with. I've tried D'Addario nickel wound (nickel-plated), DR Hi-Beams and DR Lo-Riders (both stainless steel strings) and never felt any of these strings gave the right sound for this particular bass. There was too much high end sizzle and not enough midrange brightness/tone, which resulted in a dullish sound. After switching to the Black Beauties, I'm absolutely loving the tone, clarity and grit (and probably more upper mids) but less unwanted trebles. And they feel better for finger style. I can control the tone by how much fingernail is used on the string. More fingernail = more bite and crunch. There has also been no perceptible change in tone after a year of fairly light use (probably about 30 practice sessions/gigs).

I might try the DR Pure Blues next. As a bronze-alloy string it might also suit my bass by taming the high trebles and bringing out the warmer tones perhaps.

 

[michael_t]

I might try the DR Pure Blues next. As a bronze-alloy string it might also suit my bass by taming the high trebles and bringing out the warmer tones perhaps.

Just for clarification...
Pure Blues are a nickel alloy, not bronze. But you're right about them being warmer with tamed highs than the three stainless steel strings mentioned.

 

[camerondye]

I have these on a bass right now and wanted to throw out my opinion. The positives are they look cool and have a cool zingy growl in the mids which I like. The negatives are mainly due to extra friction seemingly from the coating. I feel like I can't play as consistently fast as usual but couldn't really put my finger on why until I slid down the neck quickly and was surprised that it felt like a rope burn on my finger. I can't comment on how long they last because they aren't staying on my bass. To each his own but that's my specific experience with these. I've played for 31 years and have used DR Sunbeams for a really long time and will most likely keep using them.