Interesting. I have only tried TI flats and they have been fine for me. I’m always curious to try new strings though so maybe I’ll try Cobalt flats at some point.
I love the feel of tapes but they haven’t stayed on anything so far except a Mustang.
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EBMM StingRay Special Club
- Thread starter MultiScaleMale
- Start date
Interesting. I have only tried TI flats and they have been fine for me. I’m always curious to try new strings though so maybe I’ll try Cobalt flats at some point.
I love the feel of tapes but they haven’t stayed on anything so far except a Mustang.
Yeah, I’m wondering the same thing. I love TI’s, both when new and worn in (for different reasons) and they do age in a nice mellow way. I’m hoping that the Cobalts age nicely, but don’t lose too much of that zing I like.
I have Cobalt flats on my Caprice. Once that sticky feeling wore off, they made me want to take the round Cobalts off my Bongo. Actually I just wanted a second Bongo for flats. Once I get my Special, I'm probably gonna put the flats on it.
Glad to see a discussion going on about flats. I just swapped on a fresh set of TIs and got my setup feeling right.
Curious as to what it is about the cobalt flats people like so much. I've tried them and they just don't give me the same tone I look for in flats. Maybe I didn't give them enough time.
Curious as to what it is about the cobalt flats people like so much. I've tried them and they just don't give me the same tone I look for in flats. Maybe I didn't give them enough time.
For me it’s the fact that they feel like a flat yet sound closer to a round. I play faster on a flat .But sometimes I want that extra brightness for Louis Johnson style playing. And if I want them to sound closer to a normal flat, I can palm mute.
It’s a bright flat.
Definitely sounds more like a round. That's probably why I wasn't super happy with them. They felt great to play though, especially after a few weeks of playing on them.
I must hear things quite differently. The EB Cobalt Flats are bright flatwound strings, indeed, but to me they are nothing close to “typical” hex-core, nickel-plated rounds. They just don’t have the harmonics that give roundwound strings the growl or purr. The Cobalt Flats are fuller range than many flats, but I think there’s a large gap between them and all but the most well-worn rounds. Of course, YMMV.
Joined the club yesterday and played my first gig with it this morning. Got to admit this bad boy had some serious sub bass I wasn’t expecting. That neck pickup can bring the thunder. Went with the charcoal sparkle HH 5er.
I took the LoRider Steels off in very short order, they sounded almost anemic. LoRider nickels, feel smoother and sound like I want.
How are they as far as tension and feel?
I'm getting good results with GHS Balanced Nickels.
For me I need the higher tension because my band tunes half a step down. I also have a heavier attack too.
Same. Quite stiff, but I attack with a pick, so the resistance is good. I have the Ray set up in D standard, and we drop to C. The have available top end if you need it or EQ for it, but their forte is thick bottom and low mids, with quite a bit of growl. They break in to a very slick fast feel, and last forever - my #1 bass is still my G&L L2K, I have a set on it that are very well used and almost a year old, they sound great for hard rock.
I used DR DDTs on my old 35” Cirrus and was very happy with them. That might be another to try down the road.
Not me. I play La Bella tapes. You could try the the round core Boomers too.
