DR Sunbeams. Totally sold on them for my acoustics.

[Westerly Wood]

Seriously. I put a set on my F30r a couple months ago. They still sound great. Feel great. Liked them so much, put a set on the BR. Even better on an all hog dread to my ears. YMMV.

$7.99 on Amazon. Thanks Plaid and a couple others for suggesting them out loud on LTG. I eventually got it.

Brighter than Rares which is nice. Kind of a perfect mix between phosphor bronze and 80/20. Not sure how they did it. Easy on fingers too. .12-.54.

 

[GAD]

Moving to Acoustics

 

[General Dreedle]

I loved these on my Southern Jumbo and Nick Lucas, prefer Rares on my JF 30, these and the Martin authentics and retros are my favorites

 

[Westerly Wood]

 

[Guildedagain]

I need to try some more of these.

 

[plaidseason]

Seriously. I put a set on my F30r a couple months ago. They still sound great. Feel great. Liked them so much, put a set on the BR. Even better on an all hog dread to my ears. YMMV.

$7.99 on Amazon. Thanks Plaid and a couple others for suggesting them out loud on LTG. I eventually got it.

Brighter than Rares which is nice. Kind of a perfect mix between phosphor bronze and 80/20. Not sure how they did it. Easy on fingers too. .12-.54.

Is the F30r short or long scale?

I lean toward Rares on my long scale F44 and DCE1

There is nothing I love more than Sunbeams on my short-scale LG-ish Simon & Patrick and my Art & Lutherie parlor.

But, for some reason, I've never tried Sunbeams on my F44 or DCE1.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Is the F30r short or long scale?

I lean toward Rares on my long scale F44 and DCE1

There is nothing I love more than Sunbeams on my short-scale LG-ish Simon & Patrick and my Art & Lutherie parlor.

But, for some reason, I've never tried Sunbeams on my F44 or DCE1.

my F30r is short scale, and the depth is 4 inches. it's abnormal vs a normal F30. Either way, I have the "beams" on both my Guild acoustics. They sound super rich on the D25Br. I guess I like the brightness of the beams vs the rares.

 

[deejayen]

I've used DR's on my electrics for years. When I bought my first acoustic earlier this year (Gibson LG) I went through a few different types of strings from different brands, and settled on the Sunbeams. I know they're not meant to be, but to my ears, and on my guitar, the Rares sounded a bit brighter/thinner than the Sunbeams!

Do you think they'd work okay on an F-55 Maple? I haven't played an F-55 Maple, but have been thinking about buying one...

 

[General Dreedle]

I've used DR's on my electrics for years. When I bought my first acoustic earlier this year (Gibson LG) I went through a few different types of strings from different brands, and settled on the Sunbeams. I know they're not meant to be, but to my ears, and on my guitar, the Rares sounded a bit brighter/thinner than the Sunbeams!

Do you think they'd work okay on an F-55 Maple? I haven't played an F-55 Maple, but have been thinking about buying one...

I like rares bluegrass gauge on my JF 30 maple for whatever that’s worth

 

[Westerly Wood]

Do you think they'd work okay on an F-55 Maple? I haven't played an F-55 Maple, but have been thinking about buying one...

I do. Especially if you let them wear in.

 

[deejayen]

I do. Especially if you let them wear in.

Thanks! Yes, I prefer my strings to be worn in, too.

 

[plaidseason]

I've used DR's on my electrics for years. When I bought my first acoustic earlier this year (Gibson LG) I went through a few different types of strings from different brands, and settled on the Sunbeams. I know they're not meant to be, but to my ears, and on my guitar, the Rares sounded a bit brighter/thinner than the Sunbeams!

Do you think they'd work okay on an F-55 Maple? I haven't played an F-55 Maple, but have been thinking about buying one...

My take for years has been that I like Rares on long-scale acoustics and Sunbeams on short-scale. I love the Sunbeams on my Simon & Folk, which is my budget LG-2 .

Sidebar: I love LG-2. I spend a lot of time looking for deals on LG-2s and 90s Westerly F30s. Short scale mahogany back and sides!

Humorous anecdote: I played a show with Nathanial Rateliff a few years back and he loved my Guild F44. Later when his signature LG-2, maybe we like all the same guitars?

 

[deejayen]

My take for years has been that I like Rares on long-scale acoustics and Sunbeams on short-scale. I love the Sunbeams on my Simon & Folk, which is my budget LG-2 .

Sidebar: I love LG-2. I spend a lot of time looking for deals on LG-2s and 90s Westerly F30s. Short scale mahogany back and sides!

Humorous anecdote: I played a show with Nathanial Rateliff a few years back and he loved my Guild F44. Later when his signature LG-2, maybe we like all the same guitars?

That's interesting to know about the match of strings with different scale lengths.

Mine is an LG-2 American Eagle from around 2013 - the earlier version with no pick guard. I bought it used, and had it set up so that it plays well. I don't think the previous owner had played it. The spruce top is beautiful, and I've grown to really like the sound of the guitar, which I think has changed for the better since I bought it.

 

[plaidseason]

That's interesting to know about the match of strings with different scale lengths.

Mine is an LG-2 American Eagle from around 2013 - the earlier version with no pick guard. I bought it used, and had it set up so that it plays well. I don't think the previous owner had played it. The spruce top is beautiful, and I've grown to really like the sound of the guitar, which I think has changed for the better since I bought it.

That's exactly the model I'm stalking. One of those, or the 90s F30.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Thanks! Yes, I prefer my strings to be worn in, too.

I used to change strings too frequently, and never really got to the point of the strings breaking in. Sunbeams break in super well, and I have been purposely leaving them on my Guilds for months. 2-3 in most cases, and for the F30r, I am going to let them play for 6 months. Will see.

 

[deejayen]

I used to change strings too frequently, and never really got to the point of the strings breaking in. Sunbeams break in super well, and I have been purposely leaving them on my Guilds for months. 2-3 in most cases, and for the F30r, I am going to let them play for 6 months. Will see.

I often prefer to keep my strings on for years. I installed the Sunbeams in February this year, and was really liking them - there's a smooth but biting intensity to the treble which is similar to the DR TiteFits on my electric, and the duller bass strings can boogie.

However, I recently bought another guitar (a more upmarket LG-2) and hated the strings it came with, so decided to change them out to Sunbeams, and also to put a new set on my existing guitar so that I could compare the two guitars with the same age of strings. The new Sunbeams were quite a bit different from the old ones, but still nice in a brighter way. However, as they play in a bit they tend to go through a phase where I like them less, but then I'm hoping as they age further they get to where I like them. Of course, some of this could be due to different temperatures\humidity levels etc etc!

 

[Westerly Wood]

However, I recently bought another guitar (a more upmarket LG-2) and hated the strings it came with, so decided to change them out to Sunbeams, and also to put a new set on my existing guitar so that I could compare the two guitars with the same age of strings. The new Sunbeams were quite a bit different from the old ones, but still nice in a brighter way. However, as they play in a bit they tend to go through a phase where I like them less, but then I'm hoping as they age further they get to where I like them. Of course, some of this could be due to different temperatures\humidity levels etc etc!

I see posts from other DR fans who go with either Rares or Sunbeams depending on the guitar and tonewoods. I prefer the Beams across the board vs Rares, so I don't mind waiting till the brightness settles. And net...net...I think that is what I like about the Beams. They have a bit of an 80/20 vibe to them, as well as the PB alloy. It's a good mix.