Dodgy string delivery from Amazon? Does DR make Sunbeams with black silks?

[Paolo85]

Right, so I have received today a set of DR Sunbeams 45-100 from Amazon. Seller Amazon.

There are a few things that baffled me:
- They looked a very different colour than the oldish DR Sunbeams 45-105 I had already on the bass. They did not have that shiny, almost white/orange taint that I normally notice on nickel strings
- there are some quite dark shades/marks on them. Very very hard to photograph but looks a bit like what you would get on very old strings
- they have black silks. Don't Sunbeams come without silks?
- the silks were wrapped around the string. It did not look as messy as when I take strings off and wrap them together, but still, when I unravelled the strings the silks were curly, and bent at the edge! I am the least visual person i  the world so I do not remember but.  Is this normal? Wouldn't the silks on new strings look straight?
-I moved from DR sunbeams 45-105 to these 45-100 and I swear I had to tighten the truss rod a bit. Still, they do not feel high tension so maybe my truss rod went mad, or I am going mad
-All that being said, compared to my old DR 45-105 they sund brighter and more snappy, which could make sense in terms of a new set strings. I feel they lack "body", don't dig them so far. But that could be the gauge or just that they need to break in

...still, I can't help but feeling that maybe Amazon sold me an old set of random strings in a DR Sunbeam box...
What do you think?

Edited April 27, 2023 by Paolo85

[fleabag]

I dont know, things could have changed at the DR strings factory, but  the only DR strings that have silk wraps were the flats.

 

Sunbeams should not have a wrap, and have brass ball ends

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by fleabag

[fleabag]

I'm right - found this from  Strings Direct.  Advert for Sunbeams and spec says no silk

 

https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/strings-c1/string-sets-c865/bass-guitar-c34/dr-strings-sunbeams-nickel-wound-45-100-bass-guitar-strings-4-string-long-scale-p945

[Clarky]

100% definitely not Sunbeams. As said above, brass ends and no silks. Might have been a returned set whereby the original buyer wilfully or accidentally put the wrong strings back in DR box? Either way, I would return them

[Paolo85]

Thanks both. I have returned them as defective so all good this time. I wonder though if signs of use had been less obvious and I wasn't at all familiar with those strings... would I have just gone "uhm, I don't like DR Sunbeams!"

Edited April 30, 2023 by Paolo85

[Supernaut]

Who dispatched the item - Amazon or a third party selling on Amazon?

[Paolo85]

It was Amazon itself

[Supernaut]

Dispatched and sold? 

[Paolo85]

Yes, Amazon everything!

[Supernaut]

Huh. Ordered Sunbeams from Amazon when on sale and never had an issue. 

[TheGreek]

I ordered some Tapewounds from Amazon which they say were delivered - handed to me apparently. Complete bollox!!

 

Probably left in the foyer which they do regularly, somebody swiped them thinking they might be valuable before finding they weren't to them. Took Amazon ages to make good on my order...it's like I was the criminal.

[Supernaut]

Thanks for that. 

[Beer of the Bass]

I've had some guitar strings from Amazon that were extremely low quality and I suspect they may not have been the brand on the box. Returning them for a refund was easy enough, but I'm starting to feel like it's a bit of a gamble and that I should probably stick to an actual music shop.

[lee650]

Yeah, some Twonk has bought sunbeams put them on a bass and returned the box to amazon with a set of Knacky old strings,I'll bet they don't even check just resell 🙄