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D'Addario Half-Rounds v.s. Ernie Ball Cobalt Flatwound strings

HazyMan

HazyMan

Feb 21, 2018
284
46
#1
Both of these strings have the flatwound sort of texture yet they have more of that roundwound brightness, but i'm not sure which one i want to buy.

1. Do D'Addario Half-Rounds keep their initial brightness for a long time or do they lose their sound quickly?

2. Which one is overall brighter?

If the Half-Rounds keep their brightness for a decent amount of time (like almost a year) then i'm totally going to get them. If they lose their sound after a week or two or even after a month, then i'll go for the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats.
 
#2
yes, the halfrounds have texture, but they are no where close to the smoothness of flatwounds. OTOH, the cobalt flats might not be the smoothest flatwounds, but they are very far from being called to have texture like halfrounds.

IME with D'Addario HalfRounds, the brightness gone away quite fast. Even faster than any of my experiences with D'Addario Chromes. You should never aim for the halfrounds if you want brightness out of less rough textured strings. Go straight and get the cobalt flats instead. You'll get quite long brightness as well as smooth textured strings.
 
#3
Aidil said:
yes, the halfrounds have texture, but they are no where close to the smoothness of flatwounds.
Click to expand...

I can attest to this. I just had my first experience with half-rounds (GHS Brite Flats) a couple of months ago and their initial tackiness did catch me off guard. It did go away after a couple of weeks of good workout, though.

Aidil said:
IME with D'Addario HalfRounds, the brightness gone away quite fast.
Click to expand...

This is also true.

I loved the tone of the Brite Flats when they were new fresh out of the pack. Unfortunately, by the third week, they had mellowed to the point of sounding almost like the Fender 9050 flats. No go.
 
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#4
I took off (most of*) a set of D'Addario HalfRounds to put EB Cobalt flats on my fretless.
They are smoother and better-sounding to my ears, and have surprising mwah for a flat.
I like the change, not going back.
_________
*I had to keep the 0.030" D'Addario HalfRound C, because for no reason I can understand, Ernie Ball can't figure out how to make a 6-string set, except in one line of rounds... It's an OK match, tonally, and I don't get up to the C very often anyway....
 
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#5
ArtechnikA said:
*I had to keep the 0.030" D'Addario HalfRound C, because for no reason I can understand, Ernie Ball can't figure out how to make a 6-string set, except in one line of rounds... It's an OK match, tonally, and I don't get up to the C very often anyway....
Click to expand...
You've just given me the right reason for all this time I still keep the HalfRounds that I had taken off like two or three years ago.
 
#7
Just one question: How long do the cobalt flats keep their bright sound? Also it looks that i might not get these either. They are nearly the same price as the coated Elixir strings so i'm not sure if they are worth it. Are the cobalt flats better than coated elixirs or not really? I don't mind the roundwound texture at all, just looking to experiment with something interesting that will also last me well.
 
#9
HazyMan said:
Just one question: How long do the cobalt flats keep their bright sound? Also it looks that i might not get these either. They are nearly the same price as the coated Elixir strings so i'm not sure if they are worth it. Are the cobalt flats better than coated elixirs or not really? I don't mind the roundwound texture at all, just looking to experiment with something interesting that will also last me well.
Click to expand...
My default strings have always been Elixir (NPS Nanoweb Coating) too... currently have 3 basses strung with Elixirs. I do experiment and I like other string as well. On my other basses, I have La Bellas, Dunlops, D'Addarios (there used to be at least one bass with GHS [Pressurewound], but currently none). There was time it went down to only 1 bass with Elixirs, but then the 2 went back home to the Elixirs.

So, since you said wanting to experiment, why seem hesitant to try the cobalt flats?
 
#11
Aidil said:
My default strings have always been Elixir (NPS Nanoweb Coating) too... currently have 3 basses strung with Elixirs. I do experiment and I like other string as well. On my other basses, I have La Bellas, Dunlops, D'Addarios (there used to be at least one bass with GHS [Pressurewound], but currently none). There was time it went down to only 1 bass with Elixirs, but then the 2 went back home to the Elixirs.

So, since you said wanting to experiment, why seem hesitant to try the cobalt flats?
Click to expand...
well i am scared to experiment because both strings are in the same price and i'm not sure which one is better. flatwound strings with a bright sound isn't something THAT interesting to me. i mainly have interest because they're UNCOATED. also not to mention that i am between these cobalt flats, elixirs AND la bella gold white tapewounds. not sure which of these 3 i want to get.
 
#14
HazyMan said:
Both of these strings have the flatwound sort of texture yet they have more of that roundwound brightness, but i'm not sure which one i want to buy.

1. Do D'Addario Half-Rounds keep their initial brightness for a long time or do they lose their sound quickly?

2. Which one is overall brighter?

If the Half-Rounds keep their brightness for a decent amount of time (like almost a year) then i'm totally going to get them. If they lose their sound after a week or two or even after a month, then i'll go for the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats.
Click to expand...


I’ve tried the cobalt flats and love them, both 4 and 5 string. 👍
 

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