DR Pure Blues on a Stingray

[Tubehed]

So, my longtime go-to strings for my Stingray 4 HH have been DR Fat Beams. I've been really happy with these strings in terms of tone, feel and longevity. Recently, though, I was curious to try a set of nickel strings and installed a set of Pure Blues 45-105 (same gauge as the Fat Beams). Being round core, they feel similar in tension to the FB's, but just a tad stiffer. I actually like the bit of extra tension. The E string, in particular, feels and sounds tighter compared to the FB's. They still feel more flexible than hex core rounds in the same gauge, though. The Pure Blues actually feel, to me, a little bit rougher than the FB's. Kind of a surprise considering they are nickel and the FB's are SS. Not really sure what "quantum nickel" is, but maybe that could be a factor in the difference in feel. They are a bit zingy, as they were just recently installed. Even so, they have plenty of lows and a nice prominent midrange (upper midrange?) that I don't hear as much with the FB's. Once these settle in, they might be just the ticket for this bass. If not, I'm happy to go back to the Fat's. Has anyone else installed Pure Blues on your Ray? What have been your impressions?

 

[keatz]

I'm due for a new set for my L2500(My stingray has freshies on it already). I'm tossing up between pure blues and NYXL. Currently got steel lo-riders on which are fantastic in stability. I have a lighter guage on than I normally go for but you would never know, I actually think I could lower my action even more if wanted. However I think I would like some more high mids. Your description of pure blues sounds like the tone I'm after.

 

[jmlee]

I've enjoyed the sound of Pure Blues on both an HH Stingray and on my G&L L-2500. I do agree that the surface roughness is annoying, *and* it translates into more finger noise on the strings than I like. Still, they're my go-to round because the tone is focussed and rich in the mids while still maintaining a full bottom.

 

[Tubehed]

I'm due for a new set for my L2500(My stingray has freshies on it already). I'm tossing up between pure blues and NYXL. Currently got steel lo-riders on which are fantastic in stability. I have a lighter guage on than I normally go for but you would never know, I actually think I could lower my action even more if wanted. However I think I would like some more high mids. Your description of pure blues sounds like the tone I'm after.

I think they would be worth a try. I hear lower mids in the Low Riders, which I really like. The Pure Blues sound to me like they have more going on in the upper mids. So far they are a good match for my Ray. But as I said, I really like the tone of the Fat Beams, too. Haven't tried the NYXL's.

 

[PeaveyPlayer]

 

[Tubehed]

Great demo! Wish I could play like that! I can hear those mids on the Pure Blues clips. They all sound great, actually.

 

[armybass]

I've recently switched from FB to PB and I love them on my L2000. Nice bottom and plenty of sparkle. Been a long tome since I was this excited about a round wound string.

 

[eriky4003]

Uh oh! For all you Pure Blues converts better get your orders in now. Based on a picture Armybass posted a few years ago with him and his Fat Beams, he orders his strings by the container! All kidding aside, PB is a string I'm interested in trying.

 

[CElton]

I've recently switched from FB to PB and I love them on my L2000. Nice bottom and plenty of sparkle. Been a long tome since I was this excited about a round wound string.

Can anyone comment on string life? I tried the PB when they first hit the streets. Liked everything about them, but they died a horrible death all of the sudden on a gig. Might give them another shot although there is nothing lacking from the Hi Beams I usually use.

 

[Bassman Spiff]

Hi CElton...

I play my bass about an hour a day and I get at least 6 months to a year out of my PBs. You could push them even longer, but I like to put fresh on at least once per year.

If it's been hot and sweaty or if I've been sloppy about not washing burger and fries gunk off of my hands, then I'll change them out sooner or as-needed. But, I find this is true for any string.

 

[600 Ohms]

My two roundwounds are Nickel Lo-Riders (for Js) and Pure Blues (for Ps). My instinct was to put PBs on a recently-acquired Stingray fretless and they might be the perfect string. Stingrays have enough of an opinion on their own, so something as smooth as Pure Blues sound and feel perfect.

Pure Blues are also the softest RW string I know of. I'm surprised to hear people in this thread talk about roughness. I find them the most agreeable string these days. I also find they last longer than any RW string I've used, I guess because they're already a little mellow and sound pre-broken-in, so you don't experience the disappointment as a string quickly loses its lustre.

 

[bassist4dalord]

I've got a set of Pure Blues on my SBMM Ray5 and I'm very happy with them. I just ordered two more sets from FretNation's Black Friday sale to stock up. They give an excellent tone with a broken-in feel right out of the box. I previously had a set on my now-gone Ibanez Roadstar II RB630.

Very happy with Pure Blues!

 

[tindrum]

I recently put a set of PB's on my Sterling SB14. A match made in heaven for sure. Absolutely perfect strings for a Musicman style bass.

 

[songwriter21]

So, my longtime go-to strings for my Stingray 4 HH have been DR Fat Beams. I've been really happy with these strings in terms of tone, feel and longevity. Recently, though, I was curious to try a set of nickel strings and installed a set of Pure Blues 45-105 (same gauge as the Fat Beams). Being round core, they feel similar in tension to the FB's, but just a tad stiffer. I actually like the bit of extra tension. The E string, in particular, feels and sounds tighter compared to the FB's. They still feel more flexible than hex core rounds in the same gauge, though. The Pure Blues actually feel, to me, a little bit rougher than the FB's. Kind of a surprise considering they are nickel and the FB's are SS. Not really sure what "quantum nickel" is, but maybe that could be a factor in the difference in feel. They are a bit zingy, as they were just recently installed. Even so, they have plenty of lows and a nice prominent midrange (upper midrange?) that I don't hear as much with the FB's. Once these settle in, they might be just the ticket for this bass. If not, I'm happy to go back to the Fat's. Has anyone else installed Pure Blues on your Ray? What have been your impressions?

I'm due for a new set for my L2500(My stingray has freshies on it already). I'm tossing up between pure blues and NYXL. Currently got steel lo-riders on which are fantastic in stability. I have a lighter guage on than I normally go for but you would never know, I actually think I could lower my action even more if wanted. However I think I would like some more high mids. Your description of pure blues sounds like the tone I'm after.

I think they would be worth a try. I hear lower mids in the Low Riders, which I really like. The Pure Blues sound to me like they have more going on in the upper mids. So far they are a good match for my Ray. But as I said, I really like the tone of the Fat Beams, too. Haven't tried the NYXL's.

Interestingly, I thinks the high-mids are fairly tamed a bit, conpared to something like Elixir, EB Slinky, or DR Lo-Riders (all the nps kind). The latter is crazy-good with definition, imo, but certainly stiffer than Pure Blues.