Put a set of these on earlier this week. They sound great, but I can't get the B string to intonate. Sharp no matter how I adjust it. Frustrated. Have a gig tonight and will likely have to get another string to replace it.
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DR Pure Blues Bass Strings...
- Thread starter dannster
- Start date
DJH
Supporting Member
- Dec 5, 2007
- 598
- 194
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Aguilar Amplification, DR Strings, Carvin Guitars, Fodera Guitars, Mono Cases
Not sure if you've done it already, but you should contact DR about that. They are very good at addressing and resolving those issues. DR's customer service is awesome and I'm sure they'll handle it for you.
I honestly can't rave enough about theses strings. As I've mentioned before, I've been strictly a Lo-Rider and High Beams guy for many years now, but these strings have honestly really impressed me and I'm most likely switching completely to these Pure Blues.
In a recent experience, I had been playing my Fodera with Hi-Beams for abit and then picked up my Carvin JB5 with Pure Blues for a session and it sounded so stinkin' good. It's like every time I play the Pure Blues I'm always taken back because I love the sound plugged in and not plugged in AND they've lasted me longer than the other strings. After a few weeks now of playing, they still sound fantastic.
If you haven't tried them, make sure you do!
For those who have pre-ordered from BassStringsOnline.com we are expecting our first shipment in this week. We expect all pre-orders to ship by Friday. We still have more sets available that are indicated on the website to ship by Friday April 3rd as well.
Just put a set on an Alien Audio Lunar 5 and I'm very happy with the tone and feel of these strings. Killer!
Just put a set of these on my Fender Tele and I like what I hear. Real nice pop on the D and G strings and the bottom is got a nice kick to it. So far so good.
Right. In which case, the industry will promptly hire a $10 million lobbying firm to create= some loopholes that it will then exploit in order to screw its customers, while blaming you know who for "destroying America".
MM
Went to GC to pick up a set of Sunbeams but it looks like they stopped carrying them in-store in favor of this new Pure Blues set. Tempted to try em, but can it top the perfection that is a set of Sunbeams? Sounds like they might have more tension which I'm not really after.
Just put some Pure Blues Med/Lite 100-80-65-45 on my J Bass. The last 6 months or so I've been using a custom set of Nickel Lo-Riders of 100-80-60-45 and I had to back off the truss rod very slightly for the Pure Blues.
They aren't quite as low tension as (I recall) the Sunbeams but they seem to have more punch, though not as much as the Lo-Riders. Sunbeams always sound wimpy and lack punch in my hands but some strings just require more finesse than I'm capable of (Thomastiks, Sunbeams).
The Pure Blues Med/Lite's are fairly balanced in both tone and tension. For comparison the .065" D string of the Lo-Riders Med/Lite's sticks out like a sore thumb and feels way heavier than the rest of the set. Still I'd prefer a .060" but it's not a glaring difference in tension.
So far I like them, they aren't quite as bright or aggressive as I thought/hoped they'd be but they sound good.
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Tried a medium 5 set on a gig last night and had a few observations to share for those who are curious about them. My take on the tension is about the same as what rmars mentioned.
In terms of surface smoothness, definitely smoother feeling than steels and close to sunbeams.
Less stiff feeling than LoRiders, but not as compliant as sunbeams.
The balance of lows/mids/highs is good and doesn't seem to be "peaky" or "scooped". For comparison: the sunbeams will give you more upper- midrange and the nickel loriders will give a little more low-mids.
Chords sound great- each pitch is discernible and rings in tune.
The press release for the PB's described them as having more "high-end clank". To me, that description makes me think of overly peaky high mids and annoying fret racket. I would describe the high end as being more "extended" but easy to tone down, if needed.
The only problem I had was related to my installation of the B string. I have a string through for the B only and somehow got a bit of a twist in it as I was stringing it up, causing the intonation to be a bit wonky down low. I had to take the string off the post and turn the ball end in the ferrule to get it aligned- it had twisted a full 90º. It is a little better now, but I think I caused the outer windings to separate when I flattened it out at the bridge saddle.
In terms of surface smoothness, definitely smoother feeling than steels and close to sunbeams.
Less stiff feeling than LoRiders, but not as compliant as sunbeams.
The balance of lows/mids/highs is good and doesn't seem to be "peaky" or "scooped". For comparison: the sunbeams will give you more upper- midrange and the nickel loriders will give a little more low-mids.
Chords sound great- each pitch is discernible and rings in tune.
The press release for the PB's described them as having more "high-end clank". To me, that description makes me think of overly peaky high mids and annoying fret racket. I would describe the high end as being more "extended" but easy to tone down, if needed.
The only problem I had was related to my installation of the B string. I have a string through for the B only and somehow got a bit of a twist in it as I was stringing it up, causing the intonation to be a bit wonky down low. I had to take the string off the post and turn the ball end in the ferrule to get it aligned- it had twisted a full 90º. It is a little better now, but I think I caused the outer windings to separate when I flattened it out at the bridge saddle.
Update; After a few weeks with the Pure Blues the E string is dead as a doornail and the A isn't much better. It wasn't very bright out of the package so I'm not shocked.
I've picked up a few gigs and been working up some extra material but not enough to kill the strings this quick. I may throw them in the denatured alcohol bath and give them another shot but for now it's back to Nickel Lo-Riders for me.
I've picked up a few gigs and been working up some extra material but not enough to kill the strings this quick. I may throw them in the denatured alcohol bath and give them another shot but for now it's back to Nickel Lo-Riders for me.
I noticed the same thing on my E string the other night at practice. The A sounded fine but the open E was gone.
What size E are you using? Mine was a .100", wondering if it was a bad batch of strings? My A string isn't great but it's not quite as bad as I was thought last night. Just installed a set of Lo-Rider for this weekends gigs.
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Ok last night I had no problem with the E string. The last two weekends I used my GB Streamliner 900 and the E was big and full. When I responded earlier that was after a practice session where I was using a TC BH800. I am not sure why that was the case. Could just be a matter of dialing it in. So I just wanted to say that after a few weeks I am happy with this strings. I am considering trying them on another one of my basses.
I just installed these on my exfactor. So far so good. This week's rehearsal should tell. I got these as something to compare with both the Kubicki and Slinky Hybrids. The guages are a match, string for string. I can tell right off that the blue's are smoother under the fingers and more compliant. I am a little concerned that the D & G are nice and snappy without a lot of clank while the E & A seem to be less bright but are nicely deep and have a lot of punch. Again, will see how this translates at rehearsal. I should note that I like my strings to have matured, as in I don't have a problem keeping them on for a year or more. The TI flats on my precision are over 3 years old and I still love them.
I put a 45-125 set on my Modulus Q5, and I am loving them so far. I've used Fat Beams on it for years, so that's my benchmark. The Pure Blues have a bit less tension and are a little smoother than the Fat Beams. With the blend and EQ flat, compared to the Fat Beams they have a bit warmer/bigger/fuller low end, slightly less snap/clank, and a nice growl to them. To me the are definitely more on the stainless side of the spectrum sound-wise; if it was a blind test I'd have guessed them to be stainless.
What really impressed me was when I started turning knobs on the bass. Roll on the bridge pickup and boost the highs a bit, they have basically the same amount of snap/rattle/clank and punch as the Fat Beams did. Roll the neck pickup on and boost the lows, the bass now sounds warmer/fuller than it ever has, but it still has that growl to it. I don't usually slap on this bass (usually use a 4 for that), but the slap tone of the strings is killer.
So essentially now the lows and low-mids sound bigger/warmer, but I still have the SS snap and punch that I'm used to. Think I've found my new favorite string for this bass.
What really impressed me was when I started turning knobs on the bass. Roll on the bridge pickup and boost the highs a bit, they have basically the same amount of snap/rattle/clank and punch as the Fat Beams did. Roll the neck pickup on and boost the lows, the bass now sounds warmer/fuller than it ever has, but it still has that growl to it. I don't usually slap on this bass (usually use a 4 for that), but the slap tone of the strings is killer.
So essentially now the lows and low-mids sound bigger/warmer, but I still have the SS snap and punch that I'm used to. Think I've found my new favorite string for this bass.
I feel like the tension is closer to Low Riders than Fat Beams or Hi Beams. YMMV. I'm really digging them so far. Warm and punchy with a sweet high end.
After taking the PB set out for a spin at a local jam, I felt like they were a good string that didn't quite work for me on the P5. IMO, these would be a better match for J or MM (more upper mids) for an all-purpose string.
The highs ended up being more tame than I was expecting; the lows and low mids were too much for my P with an NP5- too thick for me. If there were a bridge J pickup in the mix, the balance would have suited me more.
The highs ended up being more tame than I was expecting; the lows and low mids were too much for my P with an NP5- too thick for me. If there were a bridge J pickup in the mix, the balance would have suited me more.
