String reviews: John Pearse PB & Dean Markley BlueSteel

[sitka_spruce]

This is a review of the John Pearse Phosphor Bronze Light (henceforth abrieviated as JP) and the Dean Markley BlueSteel Light (cryogenic phosphor bronze) (abrieviated as DMS).
Testbed for carrying out this review upon was my Willy Porter Signature. I will try and maintain objectivity through-out the test and any personal preference will be clearly stated.

I choose these two strings for this review of two different reasons; the JP for its status as more or less a 'reference string' with a versatile and neutral sound with a broad response, the off-beat DMS for its clean and dynamic properties - that by the way don't go well with most makes of guitars in my experience. For instance take my word and never string a Gibson with these as you'll find they won't drive the top in frequencies below the higher mids.

John Pearse Phosphor Bronze Light:
The JP PB Lt could be said to be a reference string in many ways. It's detailed without being excessively bright or dark, but rather linear and with a slightly delicate top end. It has a broad response, much like JP himself describes it, and has a great deal of character. It has a nice zing in the upper mids, though not overpowering like the 80/20 variety might do on maple.

It will pretty much produce the tone the instrument manufacturer/ maker had in mind when the instrument was designed, without colouring the tone much or over-pronouncing or under-pronouncing any particular frequency band. This of course said with the natural limitations of any string in mind. "Limitations" may sound as a negative to you, but why else do we like vinyl records and alnico magnets in pickups and speakers so much?

Listening more closely one could say the mids are reproduced as a bit of a plateu on the Guild and the drop in the high end occurs rather abruptly which makes me wish for a smidget more to happen there. Although providing me with lots of detail and character the woody flavour of the JP can take on a slightly fuzzy attitude - but then the Guild Contemporaries does have an indistinct tonality about them (could be the UST adding to this too)

Dean Markley BlueSteel Light:
It's with some hesitation I string this instrument with these strings. I remember what they did to my Gibson J-100 Xtra, that luckily now is history, a one inch wider instrument of essentially the same tonewoods. All definition and absolutely no body what so ever was what I got. With one string replaced I knew my worries were unfounded, though, and I thank my lucky star Guild appears to have amongst the highest resonant tops out there.

The DMS sound big, powerfull, 3D and a touch dark - this played at moderate levels. They're also quite touch-sensitive and may start to sympathetically resonate if not dampened manually. Digging into the strings (just beware you don't break them!) you unbridle the true nature of these strings. The body grows into a very complex affair and the trebles assume a more crystaline thing, without sounding piercing. It's like they were made to play loud.

Somebody on this forum once compared Guild to a grand piano. I wasn't ready to go quite that far but these strings certainly make my mind ramble in the direction of a Steinway and Sons with the sustain pedal down. They're like an invite to playing acoustic blues and rock but their soulfullness lends itself to ballads and more emotionally envolving pieces too.

Where the JP had a plateu in the mids the DMS has more of a rounded hump, but then the DMS extends further into the highs and a grain more bass. The EQ signature has a smooth glassyness about it, whilst still having more character than e.g. the JP. I can't make this work out for me as the two ough to be eachother's opposites.

Conclusion:
The JP is a middle-of-the-road string EQ-wise that will do most styles and genres and will put out what you expect of it under any circumstance. It's therefore a safe choice most days of the week. The sound of it is as vintage as phosphor bronze can be and I'm not surprised about the raving popularity this string has got.

The DMS comparatively is a soulfull, far louder and more expressive string that's gagging to be played hard - as long as it's on a Guild or a Larrivee or similar. With other brands it can sound as if you were playing an unamplified electric. Not so here, infact I'm sure a Guild with these can overvoice more well known and fancier brands in terms of volume easily, so keep your hearing-protection handy.

 

[sitka_spruce]

Any reaction at all? I thought I'd be slaughtered by now...

There is one more thing I'd like to address pertaining the reviews above. I had originally intended it to be a comparative review, in which I would replace one string at a time, so I could back reference to other strings on the instrument. That didn't quite work out so well for me. The text would get long and hard to deschiffre and the one-string-at-a-time thing would only be valid for the first three strings.

The review being intended as a comparative review is perhaps the reason I didn't put a lot of effort on listening in on the JP, since it was the difference between the two I was after. That's why the JP could be read as if made out as plain or ordinary and that is not the case here - though it is a do-it-all string with its roots in tradition.

JP - Fat and rich, woody, zingy and defined.
DMS - Rich and complex, woodier, transparent and detailed (hm... well, and loud)

Personally I can't resist the increase of thrust the DMS puts out. Also my friend in my previous thread never reacted much on my WP strung with the JP (a different set) as he did with the DMS.

 

[Graham]

Great review Jonas. I'm not at the level of distinguishing too much between strings yet, although I really like the feel and sound I get from my Guilds with the JPs. And my LuthierBabe even commented on how good those strings and these guitars work together.

 

[GardMan]

Thanks, Jonas. Have you compared the Blue Steel to DM's phosphor bronze strings (DM2064)? I wonder how much of the difference in the cryogenic treatment and how much is just a JP vs DM winding difference... Wonder what would happen if I froze my JPs in LN2 (liquid nitrogen) for a couple hours (gotta get a bigger dewer flask... those dreads bodies are big! :wink: )?

I'd be curious to know if anyone has tried Blue Steel on a Guild dread, yet?

 

[chazzan]

yes the reviews are helpful! nice to hear you opinion about the JP's
I'd like to hear more about other string comparisons, I've tried lots of strings but none that I'm in love with.................

personally I like the lighter core wire strings (I think JP's are) vs the heavy strings like GHS

I'd like to read everyone's 2 cents

 

[sitka_spruce]

yes the reviews are helpful! nice to hear you opinion about the JP's
I'd like to hear more about other string comparisons, I've tried lots of strings but none that I'm in love with.................

personally I like the lighter core wire strings (I think JP's are) vs the heavy strings like GHS

I'd like to read everyone's 2 cents

Is it the tone or feel you prefer with lighter core strings? My experience tells me the lighter the core the heavier the gauge for the same drive of the top.

BTW: The DMS BlueSteel being cryo-hardened is a stiff thing that isn't the bender's dream exactly. Before I've mentioned they're like going up a gauge but keeping the tension of the lower gauge.

 

[Ross]

I'd like to read everyone's 2 cents

On my D-25 I use Martin Marquis PB, .012" - .054"

cheers
R

 

[sitka_spruce]

Thanks, Jonas. Have you compared the Blue Steel to DM's phosphor bronze strings (DM2064)? I wonder how much of the difference in the cryogenic treatment and how much is just a JP vs DM winding difference... Wonder what would happen if I froze my JPs in LN2 (liquid nitrogen) for a couple hours (gotta get a bigger dewer flask... those dreads bodies are big! :wink: )?

I'd be curious to know if anyone has tried Blue Steel on a Guild dread, yet?

Not the plain, untreated variety, though I used to go with DMS Alchemy strings which are basically shellac coated standard strings. These are far warmer in character, lots of warm, silky overtones but no actual top end to speak about. Lower headroom too. The 80/20 variety of this string was a smidget brighter but less defined.

I'm using the BS .010s on my D212 dread 12'er, as can be heard on the song posted in another thread on this forum and I can only imagine what .012s or .013s would do to a 6-string dread. My D212 screams "wrooom" with those .010 on it - a lot of warm cut in the tone. I also use the .012 (Lt.) on my S6+ cedar over cherry laminate Seagull Dreadnought, that resonates like something between a Larrivee and a Guild, and it packs a lot of depth and power, bearing the cedar top in mind.

I can only venture a hypothesis on how a cryo JP would turn out. Could be worth a try if you know what you're doing. The JP being a broader and more defined string to begin with I would guess it would have an even thicker and more detailed tone with more purr to it.

 

[sitka_spruce]

Great review Jonas. I'm not at the level of distinguishing too much between strings yet, although I really like the feel and sound I get from my Guilds with the JPs. And my LuthierBabe even commented on how good those strings and these guitars work together.

Oh, thanx Gramster! I'm sure you could if you just gave it a chance. You could go about it like I did and replace one string at a time so you can reference what you're getting with what you had. As in this case the two being of such different natures it's not so much if you will notice anything but what you will notice and then decide whether you like the change or not.

Yep, the JPs are great strings. As you may have deduced by now I'm going to leave them on the shelf for a while, me. Your luthier, as all of us, is entitled to his (her?) oppinion, but in some strange sense I feel the JPs take away from the slightly dark and mellow vibe in herent in Guilds. I think JPs and DMSs have about the same feel of the strings in terms of the windings, but obviously the cryo-process makes this DMS string so much harder to play. Of this reason you may not like the DMS or other cryo-strings, but on the other hand you may appreciate the increase in drive and headroom you get with a cryo-string. If only as a joke, you could put a set of these on next time it's time for an overhaul of one of your instruments and see what your luthier's response would be.

 

[dreadnut]

My string comparison is not quite as in-depth, but I tried JP strings on my DV-52 recently. They hadn't been on long when I pulled the guitar out of the case and the wound strings went "thud" when I plucked them. Never had a set of strings die like that before. I immediately re-strung with D'Addario phosphor bronze mediums, and the piano like tone and sustain were back.

 

[chazzan]

SS-

lighter core wire on the wound strings means the core gauge the windings are wrapped on is lighter i.e. using say an .015 as a core to make a .042 wound string vs using a core of .020 for the same gauge-yes you have more wrap windings with the lighter core, but the string does not feel stiffer, just the opposite.

it's the philosophy that Martin has behind it's FX series of strings

for me even though the gauge is the same it vibrates differently- it's more flexable easier to bend and sounds more crisp and brighter- vs heavy core strings that give a solid fundimental but less overtones

 

[sitka_spruce]

SS-

lighter core wire on the wound strings means the core gauge the windings are wrapped on is lighter i.e. using say an .015 as a core to make a .042 wound string vs using a core of .020 for the same gauge-yes you have more wrap windings with the lighter core, but the string does not feel stiffer, just the opposite.

it's the philosophy that Martin has behind it's FX series of strings

for me even though the gauge is the same it vibrates differently- it's more flexable easier to bend and sounds more crisp and brighter- vs heavy core strings that give a solid fundimental but less overtones

Yep, this is correct - but you will decrease some of the tension of the string as well, not much perhaps, but less tension all the same. I used the Martin Fingerpicking 80/20 for a while that also had a lighter core and I would say you're right in your observations.

 

[sitka_spruce]

My string comparison is not quite as in-depth, but I tried JP strings on my DV-52 recently. They hadn't been on long when I pulled the guitar out of the case and the wound strings went "thud" when I plucked them. Never had a set of strings die like that before. I immediately re-strung with D'Addario phosphor bronze mediums, and the piano like tone and sustain were back.

I agree on the short life-span of the JP. For instance the complex shimmer of the 80/20 fade into something reminicient of a pretty new set of phosphor-bronze. Reminds me a bit about the CF Martin strings that also die at an early age.

 

[kitniyatran]

SS-

lighter core wire on the wound strings means the core gauge the windings are wrapped on is lighter i.e. using say an .015 as a core to make a .042 wound string vs using a core of .020 for the same gauge-yes you have more wrap windings with the lighter core, but the string does not feel stiffer, just the opposite.

it's the philosophy that Martin has behind it's FX series of strings

for me even though the gauge is the same it vibrates differently- it's more flexable easier to bend and sounds more crisp and brighter- vs heavy core strings that give a solid fundimental but less overtones

BUT, some people find more breakage with the lighter core wire.

 

[sitka_spruce]

SS-

lighter core wire on the wound strings means the core gauge the windings are wrapped on is lighter i.e. using say an .015 as a core to make a .042 wound string vs using a core of .020 for the same gauge-yes you have more wrap windings with the lighter core, but the string does not feel stiffer, just the opposite.

it's the philosophy that Martin has behind it's FX series of strings

for me even though the gauge is the same it vibrates differently- it's more flexable easier to bend and sounds more crisp and brighter- vs heavy core strings that give a solid fundimental but less overtones

BUT, some people find more breakage with the lighter core wire.

I'm sure this is true too, but then a lighter core string is usually not as tens for a certain pitch. The core has more bronze to carry the tension for though, so that might be the answer to this predicament.

Cryos, btw, are also more frequently subject for breakage, being stiffer.