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EB Cobalt Flats - Play Great, too mid rangy.

#21
catcauphonic said:
The cobalt flats aren't flat???
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Oh, they're definitely flat, but there's a teensy-tiny gap between the outer ribbon's coil, so there's a greater tactile sensation to them. I suspect it's to maintain the "slinkiness" Ernie Ball prides itself upon. For me personally, it's not so bad. After a little bit of playing time, I hardly notice it.

One thing for sure, they are definitely the brightest flats I've ever sampled.
 
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#22
Interesting. I have EB Cobalt Flats (flatwound) on my Stingray and I love them. Easy on the fingers and frets, and I like the sound very much. Could be that if they are mid-forward that they actually help/ improve the typical Ray sound. Anyhow, I'd love to try them on my other basses, but I have not been able to find them at the local stores.
 
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#23
Fencing Fan said:
Interesting. I have EB Cobalt Flats (flatwound) on my Stingray and I love them. Easy on the fingers and frets, and I like the sound very much. Could be that if they are mid-forward that they actually help/ improve the typical Ray sound. Anyhow, I'd love to try them on my other basses, but I have not been able to find them at the local stores.
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They don't seem to do well on my stock American Standard P bass.
I think it may be there stock pickups.
I love the way the Cobalts feel and play but can't get past the sound on this bass.
 
#25
Fencing Fan said:
Interesting. I have EB Cobalt Flats (flatwound) on my Stingray and I love them. Easy on the fingers and frets, and I like the sound very much. Could be that if they are mid-forward that they actually help/ improve the typical Ray sound. Anyhow, I'd love to try them on my other basses, but I have not been able to find them at the local stores.
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I also have EB Cobalt Flats on my Stingray (fretless) and think theyre the perfect string for that bass. I didnt care for them on my 90s Hamer Cruise Fretless however,i liked Chromes better on that bass
 
#29
If you are a fan of the DR Pure Blues I'd recommend trying the Dunlop Flats on your P. Pure Blues is my go to round for a P and have a lot in common with the Dunlops. Tone, tension, feel. They are a great choice when you're after something in between old school thump and up top zing. Dunlops hit that sweet spot in the middle but still have that vintage vibe. Just recently ran through a bunch of flats and they all just confirmed how good and how versatile the Dunlop Flats are IMO. Specifically on a P.
 
#30
As someone earlier mentioned, it depends on the bass you put them on. I have them on my TRBX605 and they really sound great. I tried putting them on my Ibanez BTB675 and it lost its character. I haven't tried them on my jazz basses yet.

Killed_by_Death said:
They are?
Cobalt flats mid-range is why I love them!
The Cobalt rounds were actually too bright at first, but they've broken-in nicely.
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So, once broken in, what in your opinion is the difference in sound between the Cobalt flats and rounds? Would you be able make a comparison and find any similarity of the rounds with any other brand/models (i.e. DR or GHS)?
 
#31
vindibona1 said:
As someone earlier mentioned, it depends on the bass you put them on. I have them on my TRBX605 and they really sound great. I tried putting them on my Ibanez BTB675 and it lost its character. I haven't tried them on my jazz basses yet.



So, once broken in, what in your opinion is the difference in sound between the Cobalt flats and rounds? Would you be able make a comparison and find any similarity of the rounds with any other brand/models (i.e. DR or GHS)?
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If you're asking me I have not tried the Cobalt Rounds. I am not opposed to it but I am running with these DR Blues for a while. I will make the Cobalt Rounds on my radar when life gets back to some semblance of normal.
 
#32
FWIW... Just to see if my taste changed, I tried a set of the EBCF's on my Ibanez BTB675 (again). They stayed on about 1/2 hour... then back to NYXL's.

BTW... I just put a NYXL tapercore low B on my Jazz5 that has DR Sunbeams on it. A little brighter than the other 4 strings, but better balanced in terms of volume. the Sunbeam low B was obnoxiously loud compared to the other strings, and I tend to be very gentle playing the low B.
 
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#33
MynameisMe said:
Well I tried. Three months later I’m back putting rounds back on.
The Cobalts are so mid rangy I have trouble EQ-ing any lower end out of it.
My bass, a stock(nearly) 96 American Standard P that will just not accept flats. I also tried LaBella Low Tension Flats on this bass and it was lackluster.
As soon as the rounds went on, back came the low end I was wanting.
Anyone else have this experience?
The rounds I installed are ones I pulled off the same bass earlier, DR Pure Blues. I guess their the ones that belong on #1.
BTW, kudos to Ernie Ball for sending me a replacement string when I got a bad one in the package.
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MVC-014S.JPG Nope; never have. But, EB Cobalts are about the last flats I'd put on my '78 P-Bass, anyway. It's my Motown, '50s-'60s Thump Monster. It wears GHS Precision Flats (until I think they aren't funky enough), and there's a mute in that bridge cover, too... I have a set of Cobalt Flats to try on something; but it for sure won't be this bass...:cool:
 
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#35
BLDavis said:
I tried them and liked the tension but they were rough like playing 80 grit sandpaper. And they had a nasal type of mids that I just couldn't deal with. Back to Chromes and all is well. Although I'm really digging the Dunlop Flats too.
B.
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I have found that rounds are rather rough on the fingers. I have three basses with Cobalt flats and after a week or two, the "flat friction" is gone with great tone and smooth gliss for days.
 
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#36
bassrique said:
I have found that rounds are rather rough on the fingers. I have three basses with Cobalt flats and after a week or two, the "flat friction" is gone with great tone and smooth gliss for days.
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Try wiping them down with alcohol before installing them and you won't have to wait for the friction to be gone. Also, Finger-Ease can really help. I use it periodically and don't spray it on, but spray it onto an applicator and wipe it on so there is a minimum amount used- which works just as well as spraying. It's also excellent, maybe even better on roundwounds as it helps the fingers glide better over the strings.
 
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#37
I ordered a set of Cobalt flats out of curiosity(boredom?) since I've never owned or had a set on one of my basses. Only played them momentarily on others instruments. Plenty of time on my hands. Mostly curious to see how they react on my Moollon P. Might throw them on my Sadowsky and Ric as well to test once I've broke them in a bit. Supposed to be here Friday.
 
#38
uwrossl said:
I ordered a set of Cobalt flats out of curiosity(boredom?) since I've never owned or had a set on one of my basses. Only played them momentarily on others instruments. Plenty of time on my hands. Mostly curious to see how they react on my Moollon P. Might throw them on my Sadowsky and Ric as well to test once I've broke them in a bit. Supposed to be here Friday.
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FWIW, I have found that EBCF's need more than just a couple of days to settle in to their sound. Again, do yourself a favor and clean them with alcohol before putting them on. I have no idea why they have so much "stiction" when new out of the package, but they do, and a simple alcohol rub-down with a clean cloth takes care of that before they even go on.

I don't know if this is related, but I've been listening to videos with Ken Smith guitars and the one thing that I noticed about his guitars is the "clarity". The EBCF's, while not the deepest sounding strings do have a clarity to them that other stings lack. I guess that's the midrange that the OP mentioned.
 
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#39
vindibona1 said:
FWIW, I have found that EBCF's need more than just a couple of days to settle in to their sound.
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Haven't met a set of flats...or for that matter any strings that only take a couple hours to settle in! I'm not particular bothered usually by strings that people refer to as grabby but by the sounds of it these are a little extra so I'll be sure to give a wipe as suggested before putting them on. Looking forward to comparing with the 3 sets of broken in flats I tested this past weekend. Dunlop/LaBella LTF's/TI JF's. I'll give em a good few days of heavy use before I make any initial assumptions and keep em on for a couple weeks + as long as I don't totally dislike them. Certainly don't have any gigs or rehearsals coming up anytime soon so it'll give me plenty of time to let them settle down.
 
#40
uwrossl said:
Looking forward to comparing with the 3 sets of broken in flats I tested this past weekend. Dunlop/LaBella LTF's/TI JF's. ...Certainly don't have any gigs or rehearsals coming up anytime soon so it'll give me plenty of time to let them settle down.
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Gigs :)?... The world is canceled right now. Plenty of time to do a lot of things without time constraints.
 

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