DR Strings RPMH-13 RARE Phosphor-Bronze Acoustic Guitar Med 13-56

I have been using DR strings for 20yrs, and have never found better steel strings from any other brand. Their rare phosphor bronze acoustic strings are exactly as described - full sounding, tons of volume, and very rich tone. They play extremely well, and if thats not enough they happen to look really good too. These are absolutely worth the price, and you likely wont ever use another acoustic sting once you try these.

These strings are a medium gauge but have a softer feel with lower tension than usual. It’s a great balance of having enough mass to move the top of a big dreadnought while still being easy to play. I put these on a J-35 and love them.

I love DR Sunbeams on my SCGC OM Custom. I was hoping these might have a similar tone without the hassle of dealing with round core strings but the Rare is a very different animal. Tone is okay but I find these lack the sustain of my favorite strings, with a fairly quick die-off. This is a brilliant guitar that will sing forever with the right strings. Perhaps 13-56 (my preferred) is just too stiff for this formulation; maybe light gauge Rare would perform better. Or maybe that's how they're designed— to be used for a punchy rhythm guitar with "fatter, louder sound, with a deeper bottom." Just not a good fit for finger-style on my instrument.