I love the low B! Even up and down and plenty tight. Really even sounding with the E string, too.
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New EB Cobalt Flats?
- Thread starter king_biscuit
- Start date
I love the low B! Even up and down and plenty tight. Really even sounding with the E string, too.
Anyone else have a little bit of trouble getting the higher notes to ring out with these strings? They seem to get lost in the mix no matter what I do.
I'd say above the octave on the A string, so a good chunk of my D string and almost all of my G string.
I had NYXL's on there before the new year and I don't recall having that problem. The amp just might not be EQ'd right for the room. So that's something I should probably check out, I'm just not thinking about it during sound check. It's also a different amp than I had been using as well. Could also be affected by be wearing earplugs. I just figured I'd ask and see if anyone had anything similar with the strings.
Well, you have mentioned a lot of potential other factors that could be effecting the issue. I don't remember this issues with the Cobalts. Like all flats, I thought the G string was stronger due to having more mids than rounds well. I had em on a Ray though, and that bass was aggressive as hell.
Does anyone know how the 45-105 Cobalt flats compare in tension to the Sadowsky Black Label 45-105's?
Thanks
Thanks
The cobalts in those gauges are a more flexible string. That black label set is possibly the stiffest I have played.
I'm not sure how that relates to tension. But the cobalts are much more comfortable for me.
Thanks. I ordered a set from Jason in 45-105. I will try them on a bright P, ash/maple. My hope is they are less stiff/less tension than the Black Label Flats, and less zingy than Sunbeams.
Thanks
I also have a new set en route from Jason. They are going on a fairly bright-sounding alder/maple LB-100 that has worn a .107-.045 set of D'Addario nickels for the last year.
I have been trying different flats on this bass but usually miss a bit of that mean grindy vibe I can get from the rounds when necessary. The cobalts still kinda get there, but they also sound better to me with palm muted picking (vs. the D'Adds.).
And I like the slightly grippy feel under my plucking fingertips more than glassy smooth flats (I really prefer rounds for this, esp. Sunbeams or Lo-Rider nickels). You probably read here already, but they start out kinda sticky. For me that went away after a week or so, and as with most strings I dig the broken-in tone more than fresh from the pack.
Before placing my new order, I tried an older .100-.045 cobalt flats set on the LB-100 (had been used on a 2+2 headstock, so could only try E, A, & D) and the tension seemed pretty close to the D'adds, but they aren't quite as flexible. I do think the .065 D has a bit higher tension than the .080 and .100 strings in that set, so I would guess the .105-.045 might feel more balanced.
Initially (when this thread was a bit younger), I tried a .105 set vs. the .100 set of cobalt flats on a (very) different bass. I opted for the .100 and .080 mostly due to the clearer presentation of chords and double stops played closer to the nut. I don't recall if there was a big jump in tension with the .105 E, but I do remember liking its presentation better than the .100 when played on its own.
But, yeah, these should be a bit more forgiving than the big Sadowsky black label set. I loved the way those sounded on the LB-100, but I want more flexibility. I feel like something that tight usually limits playing dynamics (and can wear-out my plucking hand).
I also tried the Sadowsky blue label flats in .100-.040. They were similarly lower tension, mid-focused, and slightly grippy (for a flat) like the .100 cobalt set. But the mid focus is higher, like middle-mids/high-mids (?), which makes me think tonally they are better to compare with the Fender 9050 set. Actually, if I were forced to refer to something as a middle ground between the cobalts and 9050 flats, it would be the blue labels--leaning more toward the 9050s. (FWIW, I never tried the blue labels or black labels in rehearsal or performance, only at home.)
Rambling over
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This thread didn't come up when I searched on 'fretless slapping' and I'm sorry to say I didn't read the entire thread but has anyone tried EB Cobalts for fretless slapping? I'm more inclined to try out TI jazz rounds for that but EB Cobalts would certain be a cheaper option so I'm decently curious about them too. But if the TI Jazz rounds were better for that I would certainly pay the price. I know in the bigger picture it's all about my own personal experience and opinion. Right now using EB Super Slinkys on my fretless. They are better than regular slinkys for both fretless slap and overall "jaco-tone" but I have this constant suspicion that maybe I can find something better. I'm playing an EBMM Stingray 5HH fretless BTW. If that makes any difference in anything.
I really like this old clip as a very good example of a bass being used for both Jaco tones and slap sounds in one instrument. I'm pretty sure Neil Jason used a fretless Fender Jazz on this.
I really like this old clip as a very good example of a bass being used for both Jaco tones and slap sounds in one instrument. I'm pretty sure Neil Jason used a fretless Fender Jazz on this.
I have the EBs on the fretless I previously had TI rounds on... Haven't tried to slap on it since the EBs went on, though. I may check back with comments in a few days.
I dobt have a fretless at the moment, but i have slapped with yhese strings and yhey sound great. Bright with thump, enough give to make them very playable. I also had cobalt rounds when i was in my funk band playing 70% slap on gigs and they sounded great as well. Definitely worth a shot.
Had a weird experience with the Cobalt Flats. Bought a set used here and put them on a '62 Jazz. Played them one Sunday and they sounded really, really good. So good I thought these might be "the" strings for this bass. Played them again in rehearsal (same place) and couldn't wait to get practice over with. Had a funky upper-mid (unpleasant to me) thing going on that wasn't noticeable a few days prior. It was so dissatisfying that I haven't taken that bass out to play again. I know sound dynamics can change, but from "this might be the string" to "I going to take these off as soon as I get home" is pretty drastic. I'm not sure if my looking forward to giving them a go again or what, but I've got to know, so I'm just going to have to make myself take that Jazz again soon.
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That is weird. Can you compensate with amp EQ?
They are THE modern flatwound string for me. (LaBella for old-school flats.)
I'm not sure what quality would make a string work for slap on a fretless bass more than a fretted, but I do like these strings for slap technique. They work much better for me than DR Legends, TIs, Fender 9050s, or Sadowsky Black Label flats (Blue Label was pretty good, though).
I actually like their slap sound/feel better than a lot of rounds sets, because they don't sound as harsh with aggressive plucking (favorite rounds are DR Sunbeams and Nickel Lo-Riders).
FWIW, I don't often slap in any performance/group setting, just at home or noodling with drummers, and I play fretted basses nearly 100% of the time (the fretless has been in a box waiting for new pickups and hardware for...a couple of years, I think). So....
I think @shrigg uses these on a fretless.
I possibly can. I think I was thrown off from going to great to "What just happened" to try to work on it. We did have a different guitar player that evening and I was also trying to get him lined out on what was going on. I'm just going to have to give it another go this week at rehearsal.
Got to try them again at rehearsal and was regretting leaving the strings on. It seemed to accentuate the nasally sound that Jazzes can tend to have in some settings/cabs. Going to try them on something else and think they will be a better fit than on a Jazz, for me anyway.
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