DR Strings Sunbeam - Phosphor Bronze AcousticRound Core 12-54

For those who crave a comfortable, round core feel and a tone that isn't too harsh, DR Strings hit the spot. They offer smooth playability and a medium brightness that sits well in the mix, perfect for those seeking balance and comfort. While not the brightest out there, their warmth and responsiveness make them a solid choice for many players.I like these a lot. Sunbeams are a great value. I would highly recommend them if you want to try the round core experience. Otherwise, something like D'Addario XL16s are fine.

I've been playing guitar for around 7 years now, on and off (I still suck). All that time I've been using the same acoustic, an Epiphone AJ 220S dreadnought, with light strings. I've used a lot of different strings, Ernie Balls, D'addario, Elixirs, Gibsons, fifteen different types of Martins, Dean Markleys, John Pearse, probably more. Might just be my case but this is the first time I've tuned my guitar up and was just blown away. These things are bright and PUNCHY man! Like I had to do a double take because I've never had this nice and crisp of a tone on my guitar. I'm trying not to fanboy out over it too much because I haven't had them on long enough to say anything about the life span, but I'm thoroughly impressed. This jumbo dreadnought has always had a deep and sort of mellow sound even with new strings, and it legitimately sounds like a different guitar right now. I noticed another review that said these strings sounded too bright, and I could believe that they would be if put on a really shallow guitar. I'll have to come back and do an update on how long they keep this sound, but if you dig a really bright and crisp tone these seem like winners. Oh, and the playability is just fine, it doesn't suck to play haha.

These are my favorite by far. I've tried quite a few other strings, (Elixir, D'Addario, Martin, Cleartone, JP, etc), but always come back to these. They sound really really good, but do require a bit more care and feeding compared to hex core strings. It's important to crimp the ends prior to clipping the excess string, as the round core will slip if you don't. Once it slips, you've got a dead string. No bueno. However, with the proper care, these strings will reward you greatly. Tonally, they are very balanced, with neither excessive brightness nor mellowness. They start out fairly bright with lots and lots of overtones, but after a day or two will focus down to the fundamental while still readily producing overtones, but more as support. String feel is very good. The round cores seem to bend and fret easier than hex cores of the same gauge. They also hold pitch incredibly well. Once strung up and stretched correctly, they are rock solid. Only very hard playing will take them out of tune. I can't say much about corrosion resistance, as my hands are dry and generally friendly to string life. These are my favorite strings. If you're looking for something a little different than the standard hex cores, give these a shot.

Edited: I bought some more and really like them. But they really need to have the "Do NOT cut to length before installing" in big, bright red letters on the packaging. (See below for original review.) Almost all the negative reviews mention "dead strings." That is what happens if you cut them before they are under tension. These are round core, and have many of the same desirable traits that the silk core strings I have been using (I am a finger picker these days) : lower tension, softer feel. I have found I can go up a gauge and still get the feel, so now have brighter sound with more volume. Original Review Installed 2 strings before I figured it out. Apparently the round core does not attach strongly to the winding, so when I used the Taylor Guitar Method of installing strings, where you cut them to length first to get the appropriate number of windings around the tuning peg, they slipped and were "dead." Oops. I will probably try them again, I just went back to my previous string choice this time.

Bought these strings for my Gibson Hummingbird after reading positive reports from other Hummingbird players. I have a buddy who is good at swapping out strings. He reported that the G and B strings were dead on arrival, meaning they had no life in them. The other four strings were fine. So my friend pulled a couple of D'Addario strings from another package to complete the job. I would have returned the strings if it hadn't been so much trouble to remove the good strings and wind them back into the package. I was extremely disappointed all the way around. I guess the final sound -- the blend of Sunbeam and D'Addario -- is OK. But the experience doesn't inspire me to purchase Sunbeam strings again.

These and the Martin Marquis are about the same. Good not great. I feel the John Pearse are better strings than either. I've also switched to 80/20's recently (also John Pearse) and feel they give a more "woody" and natural sound than the PB's. You hear more wood, less metal overall.

I've gone through about a dozen different sets of strings to try to land on the one I love. Not on multiple guitars, but on one Taylor 414, I change strings every one or two weeks and keep the boxes with a few notes to try to keep track. Every guitar is different, every player is different, but for me on the guitar I'm playing right now, compared to all the coated strings and special gimmicks of different shapes and ways to add the winding to the core, as well as several different brands of more traditional hex core Bronze and Phosphor Bronze, I think I like these DR Round Core Strings the best. Tried them early in my comparisons, and now I've ordered a couple more sets of these to go back to them and make sure, but I think this is the string I will settle in on for awhile. I will say, I think they went dead fast with a lot of playing. Maybe that's compared to the coated strings that cost more and are made for longer life. But the sound at first was great, so I'm committing to changing strings more often and staying with the uncoated strings.

I have used DR Pure Nickels on my electrics for over 10 years and had few problems. So I thought of giving their acoustic strings a try. I recently purchased a 2014 Taylor Mini and the first thing that needed to be done was to change the strings. A professional setup had been done a few months prior by the previous owner and I was enjoying the play-ability of this little guitar. I have an old circa 60s Kay flattop acoustic 6-string and have used Phosphor-Bronze strings for years. They lend enough warmth to the Kay and are in the middle of the brightness range that I find acceptable. I wanted to see if the Sunbeam Lights would help brighten the Taylor and then I would have another tonal option for my music. I did not want the bright ringing sound one gets from pure Bronze strings so decided to stay with Phosphor-Bronze and try to maintain some warmth but up-tick the brightness a bit. I also needed to go lighter than the Medium acoustic strings already installed on the Mini; especially on the shorter neck. I like to bend strings and going lighter could be of service. So I settled on the DR Sunbeam Lights (12-54) roundcore strings which promised brightness in its blurb. Hexcore strings tend to be brighter than roundcore strings but lose their brightness rather quickly. Roundcore strings tend to hold their brightness longer, have a better tone and are easier to play than Hexcore strings. I will say that the warmth of the previous, fairly new, strings on the Taylor seemed muffled and more brightness did emerge with the Sunbeams roundcore strings. The amount of brightness you achieve certainly can be affected by the size of the guitar, how it is braced, woods used, etc, etc. All those I listed can affect the brightness in varying amounts. Other ways to gain more brightness is to replace the bridge with a harder material, ebony bridge pins and/or use a harder lighter gauge pick. The other reason I like DR is that I’ve heard customer service is excellent. I’ve interfaced with players for years on a guitar forum who use DR strings and when they had problems with a string they said customer service was very responsive to their complaints. Luckily strings are relatively inexpensive to try and even discard if one wishes to do so. So I took a chance and am generally pleased overall with the tone on the Taylor Mini. So based upon my experience with DR electric strings and The DR Sunbeams, so far, I’d say 5 stars at this point. I’d buy DRs Acoustic strings again but in a lighter gauge next time. I may go to the DR Custom Lights (11-50) next because bending the Sunbeam 12-54s are still a bit too stiff for my tastes.

Diese handgefertigten Saiten von SUNBEAM sind die besten Saiten die ich je auf der Martin D28 drauf hatte (gekauft habe ich SUNBEAM Round Core RCA 12). Ein sehr sauberes Klangbild, wunderbare Einzeltöne und beim strumming sehr warm und klar. Sehr schönes Sustain, es macht Spaß damit zu spielen. Kaum ein Nachstimmen erforderlich nach dem Neuaufziehen. Ich kann sie nur wärmstens empfehlen, sie sind ihr Geld absolut wert.

I love these strings; but this is a matter of preference. Great for old stool feel and sound. If you use DR strings on an electric then worth trying these on an acoustic. For me, they are the acoustic equivalent of the DR Pure Blues strings for electric guitars.

Good strings. Easy to play but with a slightly different feel than your typical phosphor bronze strings, smoother and softer to the touch. Less squeeky as a bonus. The sound on my Blueridge BLE-600 dreadnought is slightly less scooped and they shave some of the bass "thump" off, the highs are strong enough but with less presence. Because of this the mids *seem* to be slightly pushed forward: in reality they aren't, but the slight lack of both highs and lows has that effect. In general a very well balanced sound on my particular guitar. I will give them some time but as it stands they sound a little bit "dry", less lively and full on my dreadnought. I would also say that compared to your typical EJ16's and the likes they have less volume by about 5 to 10%. Great for fingerstyle, decent for flatpicking but a bit too polite for strumming.

Squeaky. Other brands such as Elixir sound similar, but the Sunbeam squeak is unacceptable...

Muy buenas cuerdas. Un pelín menos de tensión que las DR Rare (que ya eran un poco menos duras que las Daddario EJ16), lo que las hace muy agradables de tocar. Perfectas en afinación estandar. Sonido pleno y total en todas las frecuencias, muy cálido desde el principio, con mucho sustain. Para guitarras 0 y 00 son perfectas, en mi Guild M-20 he apreciado que son las que menos tiran del puente, dejando la tapa plana sin curva alguna (menor estrés para la guitarra). Muy recomendables. Delicadas de encordar.