Dean Markley 2556 Blue Steel Electric Guitar Strings - .010-.046 Regular Reviews

I started using these back in like 1990/92 can't remember for sure, I saw them in a Guitar Magazine and thought it sounded really neat. Me being a kind tech type person in the 80's and 90's I jumped right on it. I had used all the other typical brands as well, and they are ALL okay, but these seem to last longer, and I mean a lot longer.

They have a clarity about them the others do not have. I have tested my theory many times. The blue steel can last me about 2 years before I change them. I have owned at times anywhere from 2 to 10 guitars at one time, currently using 4 guitars. 1 guitar (My Main One) RG2550Z have the Blue Steel strings for a year right now. The other have Slinkys for much less time, and lot less playing all need changed. Why am using Slinkys? I was down to 2 sets of Blue Steel. and did not want to be without them on my main guitar.

However I got my 15 sets of Blue Steel this weekend. So I am set for a good long while. I have 17 sets as of this day. My last case lasted me like 10+ years on multiple guitars, and still have 2 sets left from it.

I still have no idea if the "Cryo" thing is a gimmick, and really don't care as long as the strings keep acting the way they do, I'm going to keep buying them.

I read some reviews saying they don't stay in tune, I have no idea why they have those problems, I never have. Maybe they are not stretching them enough. I go heavy with the trem, all my guitars are Floyd Rose Pro, Edge Zero, Edge Zero II, etc.. never any tuning or intonation issues.

Pictured are my new set of strings, and my previous set of strings the old packaging. Would be nice to see the case packs again.

I started playing in the guitar in 1970. I used Super Slinkys because that was what was available. Between frequent tuning and breaking, I was never satisfied. I switched to Dean Markley's Blue Steel when they first came available. I'm probably one of their very first customers. I have never bothered to try anything else over the years. They stay in tune and I never break them even though I leave them on my guitars way too long. The 2552s are my go-to string. They have worked on every guitar I have ever put them on.

I put them on my teles, my strat, my customized Epi Dot, my old guild T100d, and my SG. Prefer these over all the brands I have used, stay in tune, don't break. 20-52 Blue Steel Baby!

These are great strings - excellent tone and longevity. They were recommended to me 30+ years ago. I played rock and blues professionally and never had any issues. I recently read an article on the gear used by Gary Moore on to record "Still Got The Blues", and he used Dean Markley .10-.52 strings.

In comparison,all other guitar strings are garbage

I went through on the string journey, tried abouy 8-10 different brands(EB, GHS, Fender, Daddario etc.) But the Blue Steels are where I landed. I've been using Blue Steels for almost 4 years now. They last long, stay in tune even with lots of whammy bar tricks, feel good, don't get corroded easily, and nothing sounds better. I just switched from 9's to 10's and it sounds and feels even better. Highly recommend. Can't go wrong. I will use Blue steels forever.

I am amazed at how much life I get from these strings. I play 12-15 shows a month and used to have to change my strings every 5 or 6 shows. Blue Steel dont rust, don't lose their tone from the 1st to the 15th show. The only reason I changed the first set I had was because I thought I HAD to. Maybe my ears are going dead, they cant have lasted this long......

I am at the point now where I will change them when one breaks. And after 25+ shows they are still going....

I have used them before. I was very impressed with how long the brightness, and the bass tones stay with them. They're especially good for THUMPIN'

I've been using Blue Steel 10's for over 6 years now and I'm very pleased with the performance. They give me great tone on my 71 LP Deluxe, stay in tune great, and last a long time. I tend to gig twice a month, with weekly rehearsals and our band plays a mix of classic rock, southern rock, and country. Everything from Billy Idol to Lynryd Skynyrd to Johnny Cash and Luke Bryant. I do most of the lead work so these strings get a workout. Sweetwater has been my "go to" equipment provider for over 6 years now and they are the best!

Having played for 40+ years, I've tried practically every string out there. Gibson, Fender, D'Addario, Ernie Ball, etc. The Blue Steel are without a doubt my new "go to" strings. They deliver great tone on my 71 LP and on my Schecter Tempest. They last forever and stay in tune very well.
As mentioned, I have tried many other and more expensive brands and they haven't pushed the Blue Steels out of the picture. They don't get much attention with all the "new" "high tech" (and MUCH higher priced!) strings. It's enough to make any guitarist go mad, even though we're all GAS'ers at heart.
I use the tens and they work great for me. Don't see any reason to stop using them and I recommend giving them a try.

I'm blown away by these strings, they are lasting longer than any other strings I've used. They stay in tune longer as well, even with solid bending. I've used them for weeks now and there's no visible wear or deterioration.

People's opinions about guitar strings are like so many things in life; there seem to be 2 sets of opinions: # 1. Some people tend to stay loyal to different brands for different reasons because they have tried so many & value trial & error

# 2: . There are people like my brother in law, a loyall chevy lover & Ford hater. I asked him one day what was his bad experience with a Ford. "None" he replied, "I've nver owned one".

Well, my guitar string experience is like # 1 listed above. I have tried many strings over my 30+ years of playing. I was loyal to Ernie Ball for a while, then to GHS & then D'Addario. all the while trying other brands in between. My conclusion is that these Dean markley Blue Steel strings are the best strings I've ever used. They sound great, last long, & I've never had one break (come to think of it the only string I ever had brerak on me during a gig was D'Addario. I broke several of those on different occassions). I teach guitar now & I use these strings (electric & acoustic) because of the value. they don't break the bank & I don't have to change them very often. I really like these strings, they are the best value I have ever found.

I am blown away by how long these strings last. I play between 1-6 hours a day and the only reason I changed them after 2 months, that's right, 2 months, was because I changed some electronics to include a blend pot and put in an SH-13 Seymour Duncan. Jobs like that are a lot easier without strings on. I kept the old set in case I break a string. I haven't broken a string yet from either set and I do a LOT of bends. I can honestly say I will probably stay with these on my Omen-6 for the life of the guitar.

I have been a professional musician for over 40 years, and have used just about every brand of string out there. Dean Markley Blue Steel strings are always very consistant out of the package, and seem to last quite a bit longer than most other brands. I change my strings very often, but with the Blue Steels I can often get 5 or 6 shows before they start to loose that crisp tight sound. Other brands I have tried start going dead 1/2 way through a show. It also matters who you get your strings from. Some companies buy in such a huge quantity so they can get a price break. Nothing wrong with that per se, but if they don't sell those strings fast enough, they can start to go bad in the package. I have recieved "brand new" strings from a company that claims to be my "friend" that were so old they were tarnished right out of the package. Never had that problem with Sweetwater!

I tried a LOT of strings on my 2005 American Strat and finally settled on Dean Markley 1973s (Yellow package) simply because of tone. Over a course of six months I relocated and didn't play much, so the first thing I did in my new home was change strings. I had five sets of Narkleys yellow packs to choose from, but each one was corroded! So, off to our local, small Guitar Center but all they had were Blue Steels. I bought a pack, put them on and liked them a lot, but not as much as the older strings. Apparently the older strings are no longer being made; too bad. They were, IMHO, a GREAT string. The Blue Steel's are a little more "chimey" than the old strings, but I really don't want to redo my years-long string hunt. So Blue Steel it is. The older Markleys didn't work at all on my LP Studio; maybe the Blue Steels will.

I wanted to like these because of the gushing reviews and interesting description but I just couldn"t. There were some visual imperfections, like they were dropped and stepped on, but I thought it was in my mind whether or not that would affect their performance. I gave them time to settle and break in but still every time I picked up my guitar it would be out of tune and while playing it would go out of tune very quickly. Every now and then I try something different to see if I"m missing anything, lately it"s been strings, but I think I"m going to stick to Ernie Ball"s and D"Addario. I cut these off after a week of struggling with them.

In my 11 years of playing, I've never had a "bad" pack of strings, except for these. And when I say "bad", not because I didn't like them, but because they were genuinely bad. D string would not intonate properly. Have the tuning spot on, hit a simple power chord and..yeah, completely out of tune. Swapped the D to a Dunlop and wallah, it's in tune. Also these sounded totally dead right out of the package.

I've had this happen twice now with this brand/set. Never had this issue with any other brand. I know many people like them, but...yeah. Not for me.