Best Dean Markley 2550 Blue Steel Electric XL Alternatives

Based on 41 reviews

Tired of killing your hands trying to reach those higher bends? Feel like there's something lacking in your bottom end? BUY THESE STRINGS! Best-kept secret of the 60's and '70s guitar gods. Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Chuck Berry... all these guys used 8's! Eddie Van Halen used 9's but tuned down a half step, the equivalent of 8's in standard tuning). Other light gauge string aficionados: Zappa, Toni Iommi, Brian May, B.B. King, Frampton, Malmsteen, Vai, Satriani, Billy Gibbons... the list goes on. Seriously, buy these strings.

Based on 4 reviews

Frankly, I never had the choice between nickel and stainless steel strings. Any strings containing nickel immediately results in intense blistering all over my fingertips, making playing the guitar mostly impossible. According to Daddario, these are completely nickel free. I have noticed immediately that it takes a lot of playing before blisters occur, mostly due to the fact I need to change my frets to something nickel-free also. It's unfortunate, but these strings are super awesome! They are very bright compared to my previous 9 guage nickel wound strings, but I don't necessarily hate the sound. Personally I prefer a warmer sound, but these are the best I can do. If you like something bright and quite twangy, these are definitely for you. The colour coding is phenomenal! Super handy...

Based on 10 reviews

I wanted to try something different than the usual brands, and thought to give the Pyramid a try. I thought I might as well go for their extra-light set, as I bend a lot. I expected ease of bending but so-so sound. Well, I was happily surprised! Obviously, the strings are a piece of cake to bend. They also seem to be strong enough to take the abuse (I haven't actually tried to break one, but with reasonable playing they seem sturdy). But what I didn't expect was the excellent sound quality – you really can't get much better than such a thin set, at this price tag. Great tonality, lots of sustain (again, considering the set and price tag), it's a no-brainer for the casual player. One minor issue I faced after installation was that the A string resonated on the 5th-6th fret. That...

Based on 14 reviews

I was just curious for the feel of another version of light top/heavy bottom set and gave it a try. Quite a change after Zakk Wilde boomers, ha, ha. YJM are very playable and allowed me different style of playing, light pressure, easy licks. They were keeping their sound for two years of not frequent playing, GHS Fast Fret was sufficient to revive them to life every session. CONS. 008 string has pulled itself out of the ball end. As I had no replacement at hand, I used crude repair: wound down the string, put on a ball on a low end, made a knot on string with thin pliers (don't pull too tight not to broke the string), then wound up the string again. It needs some force-bending of the string to properly set the knot, yet it will hold then. Cut the string short and cover the sharp end not...

Based on 4 reviews

Guitar strings are made of the highest quality 8% zinc steel for incredible tone -that lasts longer. Resulting in higher output and enhanced mid-range frequency response for more presence and crunch, an ideal combination of comfortable playability and electric tone. 008-011-014-022w-030w-038w. More mass makes a fuller tone; more windings give a smoother feel as well as a brighter, more resonant tone. This provides a smoothness and performance unrivaled by any conventional string. If you want strings that sound fantastic and last a super long time, I was recommended for the gig.