dmccombe7

Ordered the Cobalts flats from Amazon will be here tomorrow. Appreciate everyone getting involved again considering we've talked strings so many times before. Thanks again everyone Dave

I'm trying to get away from course strings mainly because i dig in and my fingers get really quite painful after first set. The flats oddly enough make me play lighter so its all in my head plus the fact they last for years. I've never been a fan of that treble zing of new stainless strings. I used to hate new Rotosounds (that was only choice we had back in the day ) I much preferred after about 2-3 weeks of playing but they were so rough on my fingers i actually burst my the skin on my plucking hand and had blood running down the bass during a heavy metal gig i was depping in back in early 80's. Adrenilin was running and i never even noticed it. Mate was at front of stage and shouted out to me. Was like a Gene Simmons scene That was because i hadn't gigged for couple of yrs and had to do the gig with 2 weeks notice. I could do that back then when i was young. Dave

I won't be doing any slap for 2 reasons 1. its a 70's Glam Rock covers band 2. i'm rubbish at it All sorted then. To be honest some of the reviews mentioned the cobalts were louder than other strings but the test showed they were same volume as others. It was just people's perception of them. I have to admit when i heard them in that particular review with various others i definitely thought they were louder. Think it was a test of about 4-5 string packs Dave

The stickiness has been mentioned a lot on the review vids i've seen so far. I'd never judge a string over first few weeks. It usually takes a few months before i can really judge whether they are suited to me. Even better at gigs but that's not happening at moment so rehearsals def show the faults with strings. I love the Labella Low tension flats at home but at gigs and rehearsals they just don't quite do it on the growl or edge side. From what i've seen and heard the cobalts do. Think Amazon looks like best bet at moment. Will either order tonight or tomorrow morning. Dave

I watched the Fodera official Vid and shows the 3 people making them. Yep just 3 people handmade strings. The vid showing Anthony Jackson with his Fodera and dead strings sounded ok to me but the new nickels they fitted did bring it to life a bit but wasn't too keen on the steel strings they do. Dave

100% agree it makes some difference to the overall sound of the band.

Just watched a couple of clips on the TI rounds and they sound OK but not different enough to warrantt a change from D'Addario nickel rounds for me. Not a lot of clips on Youtube. I keep going back to the Cobalt flats to be honest and i think they might be what i'm looking for this time around. Just the price that's making me hesitate. Cheapest i can find around £46 or Amazon at £41 Dave

I'll check them out on Youtube @Cuzzie as your advice over past year or more as been pretty sound. Dave

I was sticking with flats mainly because they last longer and cut down on strings i need to buy. If i remain with nickel rounds i'll probably return to my old trusted Daddario nickels. Had a listen to the Fodero strings but they don't sound too much different to other nickels but they aren't that much more expensive than some i've tried.

Wasn't aware of Fodera nickels. I'll also have a wee look at them but so far the Cobalts seem to tick the boxes on this occasion. Dave

Think he only hears his own vocals but not sure TBH. Dave

No comment that could have been me when i tried it. I've not sand since 70's and altho i've tried in recent years i just can't get the hang of it. Dave

That's an odd one as our singer actually sings better with his IEM. He reaches notes he struggled with before. I've never tried them so have no direct experience with them. Dave

This was taken on that day. Can't remember what he was saying to me but it was funny.

I'm lucky that my current drummer plays at a decent level and we can actually talk (loudly) over his drumming. It does mean that we generally have to mic up drums on occasions where other drummers would not but that's no big deal. He's been a pro drummer over the years and played world stadium type tours in 90's incl Wembley Arena. I have heard him play harder and louder but its not something he does instinctively. I've played with drummers in past too where i had to use earplugs. Agree that drummer sets the level on stage and current band being "more mature" we are all happy with a lower stage volume. Dave

I had completely forgotten all about that song being on Face Value. Saw Genesis on that tour and met them at both Edinburgh and Glasgow where Phil actually bought us lunch and had a lng chat with us in the hotel they were all staying in. He also told us that because he was sitting with us and paid for the lunch the staff thought we were with the band support team and didn't ask us to leave. Always had a great respect for Phil Collins because of that day. A truly genuine nice guy. Happy times Rob. Thanks for bringing that one back from my favoured memories. Dave

The D'addarios have been my favoured strings for quite a few years. Did try the DR's and they lasted about same time as the D'addarios so being more expensive it seemed pointless sticking with them and when i went back to the D'addarios i found them to be smoother than i first thought. Part of the reason for sticking with the flats was they will last a lot longer. Dave

I've had a set on my Warwick Thumb bass for god knows how long but i don't play it very often these days. I do find the tension a little bit on the tight side for me but they will be my fallback if the flats thing doesn't work. I should have mentioned that at the start and it is a bit surprising no-one mentioned them but then again i did ask for mainly flats with more zing. Good choice tho Dave

I thought i would try the flats to capture the studio sound from the hit singles of the 70's Pete. I made a huge difference on my fingers over a 3 hr set and i like them for most of the songs but some where bass is on its own with the drums i find it needs a bit more oomph or growl. Normally i would be using D'addarios nickel rounds but because i tend to dig in a lot my fingers were suffering a lot. The flats helped in that respect. If i need to go back i will and just play lighter but the flats last a lot longer. I was going thru a set of nickel rounds every 2 months. 70's Glam Rock covers band using Mesa Mpulse 600 into Mesa Powerhouse 212 cab with mainly my Sandberg VM4. Dave

That's quite a few good string suggestions so far and i'll take a note of them all and listen to some youtube clips tomorrow and see what comes out of that. Even tho its a topic we've covered before it was a good response to a repeated question and many thanks for replying rather than shooting it down from the outset. Enough to go on now. Dave

I tried that. Its a tube preamp and i run it on the verge of distortion so that when i dig in it triggers that tube sound. Loading the hi mids and treble does help a bit but its more a fret rattle than a tone i hear.. I've tried it thru different types of amp and i get the same result so i'm pretty sure its down to the strings themselves. I am quite an aggressive player with rounds but i found that the flats made me play lighter which i liked. The EQ was the first thing i tried at rehearsals as its difficult to gauge it at home unless amp is cranked a bit and the wall pictures start vibrating Dave

So its possible either of these might work for me. Time to youtube again Thanks Dave

Found it on a Google search when looking for Cobalt Flats. And its from our very own @mcnach