Are Ernie Ball strings this bad?

[Hounddog409]

D'addario and Ernie ball are the worse string companies I've come across for sure

Forgot to add "IMO". Not like you are stating a fact or anything

 

[Matt R.]

Hm, odd. I use those exclusively now. I used them for years, went to sunbeams, and came back to the EBs. They’ve always worked great for me. Sorry you’re having issues with them!

 

[Benj-jammin]

Used to be a long time DA XL 170 user, for some reason, started getting dead low E strings (maybe just my bad luck), switched over to the Dunlop Nickel Medium/Brights - love em! Excellent punch, no deadsies, stays in tune, etc. JMO.

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

I have only had good experiences with EB strings.

 

[Five String]

Another thumbs up for cobalt flats if you like a really bright sound. I like low tension strings and i found cobalts to be light and springy. Lots of sustain. Not as smooth as say, tapes, but better than rounds.
They’re not for me but if you want a bright even aggressive sound cobalt flats are great.

 

[Lava]

Yes they are.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Another thumbs up for cobalt flats if you like a really bright sound. I like low tension strings and i found cobalts to be light and springy. Lots of sustain. Not as smooth as say, tapes, but better than rounds.
They’re not for me but if you want a bright even aggressive sound cobalt flats are great.

I just put a set on a 5 string but it's too early to tell. I've never used EB strings before but I heard good things about the Cobalt Flats.

Riis

 

[selowitch]

they had about as much zing as a slab of tofu.

LOL. which type of tofu gives the best tone? Silken, Extra Firm, Tempeh, et al.

 

[swarfrat]

That's been my experience with EB guitar strings. About a week on guitar

 

[707GK]

EB Cobalt rounds won’t die that fast. They’re my go-to zing-string. So zingy you may hate them for the first few weeks because you really can’t dial out the clank. They sing once broken in, though.

 

[60bass]

I am only familiar with EB flat .

But, panga panga fretboard are absolutely soft, something like rosewood finger board on low quality bass get too much moisture after few months sat in a high humid store room.

Try give it a moderate press with you finger nail or guitar pick to see how ......

If one goes to the wood database and looks up Janka hardness, they'll find out Rosewood is harder than Maple. Now I'll have to go there and check panga panga

 

[OptimalOptimus]

I use EB or D’addario strings. They are perfectly fine to me.

it happens to got a dull or put them wrong.

also if the strings weren’t sealed then … no wonder they are already dead

 

[KevinDBassist]

Yes … yes they are .

 

[ToneMonkey]

EB stainless steel is all I use. They sound great to me and usually last around three months. Never noticed any damage to fingerboard.

 

[Geri O]

Of all the topics that get discussed here that exhibit the greatest disparity between people, it's gotta be people's experience with strings. This thread is only the latest examples.

And of course, I have my experiences that, why not, I'll share here.

For there longest time, I used the Ernie Ball Power Slinkies (50, 70, 85, 105, 135). I had a fairly moderate stroke to my playing style and I liked how the larger strings felt. The Power Slinkies always seem to last 4-5 weeks before they got a little dull and hard to intonate.

Last summer, while I had a good bit of time, right?, I decided that I should train myself to play lighter and use lighter strings. I turned 62 at that time (63 now) and while I wasn't having tendon and joint problems yet, I wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. I switched to the Ernie Ball Super Slinkies (45, 65, 80, 100, 130) and set about practicing playing lighter ("Let the amp or in-ears do the work" as it's commonly put). But even playing lighter, I was getting only around 2 weeks from the Super Slinkies before they began to sound dull and weird. Hmm, I thought... After 3 or 4 sets, that was wearing thin. So I tried the D'addario EXL 170s, which are the D'addario equivalent of the Super Slinkies. These strings lasted the 4-54 weeks that I was used to getting from the Power Slinkies.

How weird is that! Same string company, but the lighter gauge version of what I was using wasn't holding up. That makes no sense, but it was happening. So the EXLs are my new favorite strings right now.

I did later try the D'addario NYXLs and while they sounded really good, I had troubles after the first set I used. The first set sounded great and lasted a good time. The second set came with totally dead and useless B and E strings (100 and 130). D'addario, to their credit, did replace those strings, but I pulled out those B and E strings from the second pack and dang it if the E string didn't simply break at the loop of the ball! That was enough of a sign for me. Stay with the EXLs.

I tried various flavors of stainless strings and while they are bright, they are missing something in the midrange to my ear. So I stay away from stainless strings. I've also tried the various DR, Dunlop, Rotos, and other, and I just can't get happy with those strings. So it's the EXL 170s for me for the foreseeable future.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I had a set of 45-65-80-100 EB round wounds that was laying around, I think they came gratis with something else, and put them on my Ibanez SRF700. At first I'm getting a fabulous growl from the E and A strings, but within a week the low E sounds like it is muted, even when played open.

Also they are scratching the (panga panga) fingerboard pretty badly, but it is just looks at this point. I never used to worry about this as it did not affect the sound at all, but the scratching from just a few weeks of playing is worse than 10 years of playing on my Peavey T20/rosewood fretless with rotosounds. I thought Panga Panga was supposed to be very hard ... this has nothing to do with the "muted" sound of the new strings BTW I'm just mentioning it.

Yes, ernie ball strings are that bad. There's a reason why they give them out for free. And if you were to buy them, they're like the cheapest strings on the market.

 

[2F/2F]

They are nickel roundwounds. Sounds normal to me. I hate that first week on ‘em, then they sound perfect to me (for rounds).

 

[Dan_reeves]

I like EB Slinkies. I have used them on and off for years and never got a dead string and never had them die in an untimely manner on me as is being described. I just found out that they are making medium scale strings now, so I may try them on my Beatle Bass. My Beatle Bass and 5 string Jazz are my pickiest basses when it comes to strings.

I have 3 string companies on my “hate them” list, and EB is definitely not one of them.

 

[Dan B]

Personally I dislike Slinkies (this is to say, not the Cobalt or the steel strings) as they have gone dead way too quickly for my own liking, even compared to the equivalent D'Addario nickel strings. Sure they're cheap, but so are the D'Addarios and I would rather get those.

 

[Lenny JG]

Forgot to add "IMO". Not like you are stating a fact or anything

Fair enough, thought that people would get that's it's my opinion since most don't think I'm the string authority or anything, I see where you're coming from though. Thanks.