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Fender Flats VS EB Cobalt Flats

sonojono

sonojono

Supporting Member
Feb 13, 2013
5,142
9,027
California
linktr.ee
#1
I remember vaguely years back I tried out the Fender Stainless Steel but never the Flatwounds so I decided to pick them up to see if they're going to permanently stay on my 4 String Dean Edge Bass.

I did some recordings of the two strings for everyone to gather opinions and thoughts as I would like to hear feedback from anyone in the community. I added no compression or anything fancy in the mix, all recordings are dry to capture that nuance of the two strings :)



 
#2
Comparing the two, my personal preference would be the Fender. For some reason, I haven't been able to get on with the recent hype about this "strings that play like flats and sound like rounds" idea. But that's just me.

A couple of questions...
Are these both brand new out of the package? Have you had a chance to play them in a live mix?
 
#3
I'm looking at the packages for the strings and the EB set doesn't say anything about Cobalt on it? Are you sure they are the Cobalts and not the standard EB flats or is that just a generic picture of some strings you found online? I know when I got my Cobalts it said cobalts in big bold letters on the package. And I love Fender flats! Sorry can't listen to your test right now as sound is not available where I am at.
 
#6
michael_t said:
It actually does say "World's First And Only Cobalt Flat" right at the bottom:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...
Well there you go, I couldn't see the tiny little writing! I could have sworn my package had larger lettering on it! I think they are a great sounding string. My issue is I broke 2 out of the same set, first time ever breaking bass strings. EB is sending me a new set to try. I guess they had some issues some of the sets that went out and have since resolved the issue. I have had a set of Fender flats for about Five years and used them on a couple different basses with great results. They got a nice growl when used on a Rickenbacker, but didn't care for the cobalts on a ric. The cobalts were incredible on my Jack Casady bass however.
 
#7
1stnamebassist said:
I'm looking at the packages for the strings and the EB set doesn't say anything about Cobalt on it? Are you sure they are the Cobalts and not the standard EB flats or is that just a generic picture of some strings you found online? I know when I got my Cobalts it said cobalts in big bold letters on the package. And I love Fender flats! Sorry can't listen to your test right now as sound is not available where I am at.
Click to expand...

Those are actual pictures of the packaging I still have laying around lol
 
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#11
SirMjac28 said:
To my ears they sound close enough to where I would buy whichever one was the cheapest.
Click to expand...

IMHO for budget purposes, you cant go wrong with the Fender flats. What I miss about the EB Is the thick sound I get from em. What I don't miss is having to polish string cleaner throughly with EB when with Fenders I don't need to hassle with the string cleaner. Personal preference.
 
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#13
michael_t said:
A couple of questions...
Are these both brand new out of the package? Have you had a chance to play them in a live mix?
Click to expand...

The EB's are about two weeks old, they honestly took me a day to have those break in cause at first the EB's felt very hard and stiff to play to where I had to apply string cleaner twice to get rid of the grippy texture.

This wasnt the case with the Fenders which is a big plus for me nor did I have to adjust the truss rod on my bass. All around good news from the fender flatwounds :)

As far as a live setting I'll have to find out in my ensemble class.
 
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#16
I'd go with Fender flats. They are the only flat strings I've felt completely comfortable with. I have them on my Gretsch 5440LS and the sound is very old-school vintage with a hint of upright tone. Those EB strings sound a tad brighter to me so I guess it's just personal preference on the way you want to sound.
 
#19
I've had a set of the Fender's on my Jazz bass for two years. They broke in quick. Fat, warm, mellow tone.
I did pick up a set of the EB Flats, but have yet to put them on a P-Bass. From the sound clip, they do have a different top end.
Very interesting string.
 

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