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DR Pure Blues Compared to Sun Beams?

Jason Bonilla

Jason Bonilla

Supporting Member
Mar 15, 2021
1,021
3,012
#1
I used to be a DR Hi-Beams guy, but since lots of the basses I've come to own have very strong treble boosts, I began to gravitate towards Sun Beams, and they're my current favorite string, they feel very nice on my fingers, and have a nice warmth that mellows out the strong treble response of basses like Spectors, but still ring with lots of brightness when you want it.

then there's the Pure Blues with their "Quantum Nickle". Has anyone tried both sets and come to any conclusions? Are Pure Blues just brighter than Sun Beams? Is it more of a feel thing? I'm about to buy two sets of strings, one for my 4 string and one for a 5, not sure if I want to experiment with both, buy Pure Blues for one and Sun Beams for the other, or just stick to what i know and get Sun Beams for both.
 
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#7
Jason Bonilla said:
I used to be a DR Hi-Beams guy, but since lots of the basses I've come to own have very strong treble boosts, I began to gravitate towards Sun Beams, and they're my current favorite string, they feel very nice on my fingers, and have a nice warmth that mellows out the strong treble response of basses like Spectors, but still ring with lots of brightness when you want it.

then there's the Pure Blues with their "Quantum Nickle". Has anyone tried both sets and come to any conclusions? Are Pure Blues just brighter than Sun Beams? Is it more of a feel thing? I'm about to buy two sets of strings, one for my 4 string and one for a 5, not sure if I want to experiment with both, buy Pure Blues for one and Sun Beams for the other, or just stick to what i know and get Sun Beams for both.
Click to expand...
I went through a similar process with the same strings.
J (pickups-JV52) got DR Pure Blues
P (pickups-GZR) got DR Sunbeams
After about six months I swapped them and preferred the result.
To my ears, sunbeams have more sparkle and pure blues have more growl.
To my fingers, I didn’t find much difference in flexibility. Both seem equally smooth as rounds go but, it seemed the Sunbeams had more texture out of the box. Over (approx 6mo) time, I didn’t feel much difference in texture.
Both sets remained on the bass’s for well over a year. I prefer broken in/aged strings. They both had plenty of life left in them but ultimately, I ended up with flats on both.
Hope this helps…
 
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#8
BOOG said:
I went through a similar process with the same strings.
J (pickups-JV52) got DR Pure Blues
P (pickups-GZR) got DR Sunbeams
After about six months I swapped them and preferred the result.
To my ears, sunbeams have more sparkle and pure blues have more growl.
To my fingers, I didn’t find much difference in flexibility. Both seem equally smooth as rounds go but, it seemed the Sunbeams had more texture out of the box. Over (approx 6mo) time, I didn’t feel much difference in texture.
Both sets remained on the bass’s for well over a year. I prefer broken in/aged strings. They both had plenty of life left in them but ultimately, I ended up with flats on both.
Hope this helps…
Click to expand...

Agree on sparkle/growl assessment. I also think of the blues as having more low-mid content, which probably correlates with the growl. I converted from sunbeams to blues some time ago, but dig them both.
 
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#9
Jason Bonilla said:
I used to be a DR Hi-Beams guy, but since lots of the basses I've come to own have very strong treble boosts, I began to gravitate towards Sun Beams, and they're my current favorite string, they feel very nice on my fingers, and have a nice warmth that mellows out the strong treble response of basses like Spectors, but still ring with lots of brightness when you want it.

then there's the Pure Blues with their "Quantum Nickle". Has anyone tried both sets and come to any conclusions? Are Pure Blues just brighter than Sun Beams? Is it more of a feel thing? I'm about to buy two sets of strings, one for my 4 string and one for a 5, not sure if I want to experiment with both, buy Pure Blues for one and Sun Beams for the other, or just stick to what i know and get Sun Beams for both.
Click to expand...
Here's an old favorite. Should hopefully give an idea of what is possible with these strings. I love these strings and still use em today.
DR Pure Blues!!!
 
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#14
I was a Sunbeam user for years, loved the quick break in time and long life once they settled. Great finger feel too, round core meant more flexibility.

I tried pure blues and hated them. Felt about the same as Sunbeams but "died" within a couple of hours of playtime and ended up much darker than Sunbeams. I had several sets that all did this.

I have since moved on to Daddario XL, which have a higher tension hex core and are much brighter than Sunbeams, cheaper and last about as long.

I can see liking Pure Blues if you want a darker tone or a very quick "broken in" sound. I've gravitated to preferring as much high end and high mid response as I can get so I can dial back to get a good balance instead of trying to EQ in the cutting frequencies that just aren't there due to a dead sounding string.

If I were to go back to DR I'd be using low riders or possibly a nickel Hi-beam (if they make them?)
 
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#18
I have tried both. The Sunbeams are a fine string but I did not see a huge amount of difference compared with a Fender 7050 or Ernie Ball Slinky round.

The Pure Blues are something different, they offer a lot of punch and articulation. They stand out in the mix in a really nice way. I also like the texture under the fingers, they offer stability without being too harsh. There's been a lot of hype and publicity around this string and it certainly does not hurt to have Victor Wooten endorsing that string but they are really an interesting product. Good string and a must try.
 
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