EB cobalt flats vs roundwounds

[GIBrat51]

what up guys. i hope I'm not beating a dead horse too bad here but whats the big deal with Ernie Ball's cobalt flat-wounds? i get that cobalt is super bright so using it gives the strings a more round-wound like sound and they give the benefit of flat-wound comfort. what i don't get is they're twice the price of a regular set of Slinky's but sound pretty much the same (thank to the cobalt). do they offer something less conspicuous over standard roundwounds? am i missing something big here or what?

Well, the main thing they offer over regular (round wound) Slinkys is that they won't go stone dead in a week (or a month; or however soon Slinkys go dead on you). After they break in, they will last for a long, long time. Yeah, the initial cost may be twice the initial price of round wound Slinkys; but, if you look at it from a cost-per-hour-of-playing point of view? They're actually waay, waay cheaper than round wound Slinkys. Same with any flats, in general...

 

[Novarocker]

I've yet to break mine in, but I love em.

I'm a dedicated hybrid Slinky user. Not sure I've used another brand/kind of strings in at least a decade. Loved how the rounds sounded and even liked them when they started to die, plus they were cheap and they lasted a while for me.

Was curious how the flats were and I'm massively impressed. First flats on a bass I've owned, though I've played flats plenty before.

I bought the same gauge (45-105) as my rounds and I would say they're a little bit higher tension. But not to where you'd want to go to a different gauge if you're particular about it, IMO. Also the sound before being broken in is impressive.

Honestly besides having a little more flatwound thump, they do sound close to the rounds to me. The highs are where they're different. I'd say harsher, but not more intense. Not bad, just noticably different than the rounds that were a little worn in. Very bright, to the point that I didn't even change the high setting on my amp and I like bright highs.

 

[Sumaru]

As far as flats go, and i'm not particularly a fan due to really digging a more growly/piano tone, these things are pretty fantastic. Great fundamental and surprising amount of overtones, with a wonderful (flats!) feel. Truly best of both worlds. I'm guessing they'll mellow considerably in time. At that point, maybe i'll try learning some classic lines.