DR Strings Electric Guitar Strings, Black Beauties - Black Coated, 10-46

I ordered this set of 10-52 DR Black Beauties because I needed a quick replacement set, and they appeared to be on sale for half of what I usually pay for strings. I'd used DR High Beam and DR Legend flatwound strings in the past, and had been very satisfied, but had not tried the Black Beauties. I was a little hesitant about the Black Beauties at first because some of the reviews mentioned the black coating flaking off, but the price was too good to pass up without giving them a try. I am pleasantly surprised! I saw no flaking of the coating at the machine tuners where I expected it to come off. I was also concerned how the black strings would look on the blonde maple neck of my Squier Afinity tele, but they look really good in my opinion. And, the strings sound really good! I ordered another set to put on my OE-30. Time will tell if the coating lasts at the frets and picking fingers.

I just put these on a Les Paul I have. First of all the strings look great although I am sure after time they will fade or the coating will come off. The looks are a bonus. They sound great. I played some old school rock for about an hour and I must say that they have a good sound to them. i was worried that the coating would take away some of the vibration on the strings on the longer notes but it doesnt. Thay sound good and I would say that they are well worth the money.

I've been playing with flatwound strings for over twenty years. On a whim I chose to try Black Beauties. I usually play 7-string guitar but I do have one 6-string Hofner with custom pickups that I consider my secret weapon. I first purchased a pack for the six-string. I was very pleasantly surprised. They weren't as smooth as what I've gotten used to, but the are smooth enough. "String-Noise" is negligible and everything about them is perfectly balanced. The tone is perfect, not too harsh, not too dull. The most impressive thing I've found is that the tone itself across all six strings is just right. Other brands, the bass strings can be too bassy, and the trebles can be too shrill. I next purchased a pack for my Carvin seven-string. I'm sticking with Black Beauties on all my guitars. I really, really like them.P.S. My original review was written March 7. This update is on the 12th. I just read a bunch of other reviews on these strings and I just don't understand. People are saying that the coating is coming off and the strings are breaking, and I just don't get it because I've not had any problems at all. I am very rough on strings. I pull on them, tug on them, and basically kick the crap out of them because if you don't do that, they constantly go out of tune. My picking style may not be as aggressive, but I torture my strings and make sure they hold up. Once again, in my experience, these strings are very good. They've been on my Carvin just a little less than a month, and they've been on my Hofner for just a little over. I do play everyday, but each guitar goes through about a week of action before I switch off again. I personally have not had any problems.

I actually really like the sound of these strings, and I actually really like the feel of the coating. They hold their tune, they have a nice, sweet tone, and by all rights are a really high quality string. However, the coating chips off very easily and very readily. With even light use, little lines form over where the frets are on the neck, and if you use a pick, the coating is scraped off only after a couple uses. It doesn't affect the feel or the sound of the strings, but given such a stark contrast of black coating against bright silver of the metal, the places where it rubs off are very obvious. I think having brightly colored strings is a novelty to begin with, so I'm not going to bemoan that too terribly much. Overall though I think I am a fan of DR if their normal strings sound as good as these do.

First off let me start by saying I have a lot of guitars and of course strings go with the territory, I have tried many. Let's be fair, I play Metal and Hard Rock mostly, but I also play Classic Rock and some Blues. I have played a lot different strings, some I liked for different reasons, if I am playing a guitar with a 25.5 scale I like GHS LXL strings. I just recently started playing Les Paul guitars and needed a string that would accommodate the new 24.75 scale because the scale is shorter the strings need to be larger to help with tension and tuning stability. I have tried Elixirs in the past they are ok, they sound a little dull and they do degrade or lose the coating fast at the picking area. I decided to try these as I had been told they hold up well. Man they were right! You do have to be careful when you string them up as you can wear off or peel off the coating anywhere there is friction at the metal, i.e. string trees, bridges and the ferrules where the string may come from the top on some guitars where the strings are loaded from the back. Once they are on, and tuned, they are incredible! I have been playing on this one set for about two weeks (about 2 hours a day) and the other set about a week ago at (about 2 hours a day) as well. They have help up well and they really sound great. I love to play heavy and use a lot of harmonics, these strings do not disappoint. All strings wear out, this is just a fact. These look great, sound great and last longer than most. Any way you look at it they are a fine investment. CJWII