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New EB Cobalt Flats?
- Thread starter king_biscuit
- Start date
I had some relatively new Sadowsky Black Label flats installed and they were basically lifeless in comparison. These really some of the best strings I've ever used. For my tonal goals, anyway. I'm planning a fretless Warmoth Jazz build, but with soap bars instead of the usual Jazz single coils, and I'm looking forward to finding out how they sound with that kind of set up.
I had taken my older Cobalt flats off because I ordered a set of TI Flats and wanted to try them out to see what all the fuss was about. Well the first gig I played with the TI's and could tell the first few songs that they just wasn't for me. At intermission I took my bass to the back and put the Cobalt's back on and finished the night with them. The sound guy came up to me afterwards and commented on how much better the sound was. I sold the TI's the next day. 'm a believer in these strings.
I put the cobalt flats on my MIM Jazz a little bit ago. First impressions are quite positive, I like the tone though I won't get a really good chance to hear them though my amp until tomorrow, for tonight I just used my Korg PXB3 Pandora.
Quite a bit of string noise out of the gate, and despite wiping the strings down with a Bass Brites wipe before installing, the strings were very grabby. I wiped them down again before setting it down, both wipes were very dirty. String tension is on par with what I've heard, more than TI and less than Chromes. I would guess they are just a bit tighter than Rotosound RS66s, and have a little bit more tension than Optima flats.
Quite a bit of string noise out of the gate, and despite wiping the strings down with a Bass Brites wipe before installing, the strings were very grabby. I wiped them down again before setting it down, both wipes were very dirty. String tension is on par with what I've heard, more than TI and less than Chromes. I would guess they are just a bit tighter than Rotosound RS66s, and have a little bit more tension than Optima flats.
That's what's odd about the Cobalts for me. First set I almost didn't give a chance because of the stickiness and the way they grabbed. After about 3-4 hours playing it went away completely. I've never had any string noise but that may be the setup I do e afterwards. The new set I out on my other bass last night had no stickiness that the first set had. It's just odd how it varied from pack to pack. One thing stays true though and that's the super smooth and punchy sound I get out of these bad boys.
Thanks for that, but there's no need, no bunk strings and they installed with no issues, using the enclosed instructions.
Played a bit more on them today, this time through my Rumble 500 combo. Really liking the tone now, lots of growl, punchy, notes are clear all around. Hopefully the feel the the strings will get a bit better as they break in, they are still very grabby. And, I'm still getting black stuff coming off the strings, I used 5 bass brites cloths on the strings in between playing and it was amazing how dirty each one was, though the last one wasn't as bad as the first. And, a weird observation: I can actually smell the metal in the strings. I'm not talking about sticking my nose up close to the string (though it is quite noticeable if I do that), but every now and then I get a whiff of a metallic smell while I'm playing. Not an issue, but it is weird. Maybe that will disappear as they break in.
I've had them on a bass for a few weeks now and I can honestly say I really like 'em. The sound and feel are not for everyone but they feel good to me and the sound is nice and punchy/growly without too much zing. I haven't tried 'em on my fretless and honestly I think I won't as they are a bit bright for me in that application.
I've asked if these were similar to TIs and it was a massive no. I usually play Sunbeams but am interested in these strings; how are they compared to Sunbeams?
From my current comparison the Cobalt Flats are just not as lively, even when both are broken in. Lively, just not as. Like turning the lively factor fro an 8 for the Sunbeam (where a Hi Beam would be a 10) to a 5 or 6 if that makes sense. And, to my ear, the Sunbeams will maintain a certain 'life' or bounce for a long time, mellower than a Hi Beam, but that's by design. The Cobalt Flats are still an enigma to me. They are a very good sounding string. 'Meaty' and complex on my Lakland P style 5. They have a charachter unlike any other string I've played. But the differences are more subtle than the usual round vs. flat worlds. I am not 100% sure that I love them, but I do know that I do not hate them. They are fun and interesting though.
That said, the ever increasing stories we are seeing here of strings breaking at the peg on installation are disturbing. I had no such issues but enough folks are to be wary.
I can't compare them to DRs of any kind, but I agree that they have a character that is unlike any string I've played before, and I have difficulties comparing them to either flats or rounds. Granted, I've only had mine on for a week, so I'm a long way from where they might be called broken in. They don't seem to be as grabby as they were when I first put them on. The smell I mentioned in my earlier post is still there, and it comes off onto my hands. I really don't know what that is, I'm not concerned about it but at the same time I find it odd.
Im finding that while that grabbiness will improve ity does not to seem to completely go away. I'm think it's just a byproduct of the strings construction and one of my least favorite attributed. I rarely notice it in full band practice or live situations, but it's odd for sure. Not noticed the smell yet.
