Very unhappy with Ernie Ball Cobalt strings

[longtimefred]

like the title says really! I spent out £30 on a pack of these after hearing some good reports as i really like the standard slinkys. I am 2 dates into my band's autumn tour and they are dead! I have played them for no longer than 2 hours and they sound as dead as a very dead person.

These things sounded great out the pack, had a good amount of girth on them but that lasted 30 minutes. I do wipe clean my strings after playing as i do go through them rather quickly but nothing like this. Totally gutted as i have another 10 dates to do and very limited budget that i dont want to waste on rip off marketing crap stings.

Absolutely useless!!!!

[Musicman20]

I would contact EB in the UK and ask for an explanation. Something sounds wrong to me.

My Group III Flats sounded very bright for a few weeks at least.

[longtimefred]

cheers man i think i will. I have never had a pack die as quickly as these have.

[Roland Rock]

Sounds odd indeed. I've had a set on for about a month now (approx. 30 hours playing) and if anything, they have "settled in" really nicely and sound even better than when I put them on. It's possible that we have different definitions of 'dead' but I would describe the sound of my strings now as full, clear, bright (but not 'metallic') and a tad mid-heavy.

Send 'em back :-)

[shizznit]

I tried a set when they were first released into the market and the freshness dropped off quickly for me too. First impressions last and I will never use them again.

Edited September 14, 2012 by shizznit

[xilddx]

[quote name='longtimefred' timestamp='1347629175' post='1803279']
like the title says really! I spent out £30 on a pack of these after hearing some good reports as i really like the standard slinkys. I am 2 dates into my band's autumn tour and they are dead! I have played them for no longer than 2 hours and they sound as dead as a very dead person.

These things sounded great out the pack, had a good amount of girth on them but that lasted 30 minutes. I do wipe clean my strings after playing as i do go through them rather quickly but nothing like this. Totally gutted as i have another 10 dates to do and very limited budget that i dont want to waste on rip off marketing crap stings.

Absolutely useless!!!!
[/quote]

I changed from DRs to Warwick EMPs over 5 months ago, the same set are still almost as bright as when I bought them. I'm a total convert, they sound fantastic! Big, bright, throaty and they feel lovely to play. They are quite expensive but they've repaid the investment greatly. I've probably put about 50 hours on them in the studio, rehearsals and live. They've still got ages left in them.

If you want to hear what they sound like for slap and for warm tones, I have a couple of recordings here ..

[url="http://soundcloud.com/silddx/summat-weird-where-the-eyes"]http://soundcloud.com/silddx/summat-weird-where-the-eyes[/url]

[url="http://soundcloud.com/silddx/london-zulu-may-2012-umlhalho"]http://soundcloud.com/silddx/london-zulu-may-2012-umlhalho[/url]

[longtimefred]

cheers guys, i have sent a winging letter to EB, i would like to hear something back before i sod them off for good and change brands as i have used slinkys for years.

[Grand Wazoo]

I fitted mine on July 19th 2012 and they are still 90% fresh, you must have got a duff set or you are a very sweathy smelly person lol no offence, just kidding, send them back for a replacement / refund.

[longtimefred]

lol i do play rather hard but the standard slinkys usually lasted 3/5 months before going off so i know compared to a lot of you guys they dont last me very long but this was a joke! right pain in the arse when trying to tour on a budget!

[Graham]

Interesting, do post the reply from Ernie Ball if / when you get one

[yorks5stringer]

This isn't you is it?:http://basschat.co.uk/topic/186774-the-hardest-working-bass-in-rock/

[longtimefred]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1347635945' post='1803431']
This isn't you is it?:http://basschat.co.uk/topic/186774-the-hardest-working-bass-in-rock/
[/quote]

my word! that is ++++AWESOME+++++

haha i think i would be the biggest hypocryt going if that were me and i was complaining about my strings thats some good effort right there. makes my shiny 'berg look unused.

DIG IN SON!

[mart]

Is nobody going to suggest that you can go and post your experiences on the Ernie Ball forum?

[longtimefred]

they would come at me with pitchforks n torches wouldnt they

[Mudpup]

I had a set of DR Fat Beams die on me after 3 gigs the other week. Only about 7 or 8 hours playing time and the whole set sounded like rubber bands. Previous Hi Beams had been a bit better but i have just popped a set of Elixir Stainles Steels on to see if they last massively longer. I do like bright piano'ey strings i must admit.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='shizznit' timestamp='1347630155' post='1803303']
I tried a set when they were first released into the market and the freshness dropped off quickly for me too. First impressions last and I will never use them again.
[/quote]

Same here. Very bright when they went on, two gigs later they sound quite different.

In my case I don't dont sweat or play particularly hard, and it's not usual for my strings to loose their tone so quickly.

Saying that, I'm not really giving them a negative because of this, I felt tey were a bit too bright to start with so I was a bit relieved they lost some of that. For me it's just the fundamental tone I don't like and I've taken them off to keep as spares. For reference dive put some year old DR Black Beauies back on and I much prefer these, at least tone wise.

This is my second failed attempt at using EB stings so I think I'll give up trying now.

[LukeFRC]

I've had some DR fatbeams on my P for 2 years now, I switched some other strings on to test and they had a bit more zing- but the DR's still didn't sound dead!

[BottomE]

Could always swap you for my DR Hi Beams that still sound a bit too bright for my liking and thats after about 8 months of daily use! I am off to get another set just now. DRs have had a bit of a slagging on this site but to me they are the most reliable long lasting strings i have ever tried.

[visog]

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1347630561' post='1803312']
I changed from DRs to Warwick EMPs over 5 months ago, the same set are still almost as bright as when I bought them. I'm a total convert, they sound fantastic! Big, bright, throaty and they feel lovely to play. They are quite expensive but they've repaid the investment greatly. I've probably put about 50 hours on them in the studio, rehearsals and live. They've still got ages left in them.

If you want to hear what they sound like for slap and for warm tones, I have a couple of recordings here ..

[url="http://soundcloud.com/silddx/summat-weird-where-the-eyes"]http://soundcloud.co...-where-the-eyes[/url]

[url="http://soundcloud.com/silddx/london-zulu-may-2012-umlhalho"]http://soundcloud.co...y-2012-umlhalho[/url]
[/quote]

silddx,

Offtopic but I'm loving Umlhalho and Weird Chord. The latter sounds like a Holdsworth intro.

Re. strings I'd always use Rotosounds as a default. Bright with tons of life.

visog

[xilddx]

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1347735083' post='1804514'] silddx, Offtopic but I'm loving Umlhalho and Weird Chord. The latter sounds like a Holdsworth intro. Re. strings I'd always use Rotosounds as a default. Bright with tons of life. visog [/quote]

That's very kind of you mate, thank you!

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1347706666' post='1804167']
Could always swap you for my DR Hi Beams that still sound a bit too bright for my liking and thats after about 8 months of daily use! I am off to get another set just now. DRs have had a bit of a slagging on this site but to me they are the most reliable long lasting strings i have ever tried.
[/quote] try the sunbeams or whatever the nickels are called?

[longtimefred]

Just letting you all know that Strings and Things are sending me out a replacement pack and i am going to send my ones back to them for analysis. Lets hope this pack were just duff. Cant fault them for customer service as i told them i couldnt afford to have my bass with no strings so they are sending them out before they get the old ones back!

Cant argue at that!

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='longtimefred' timestamp='1347984051' post='1807678']
Just letting you all know that Strings and Things are sending me out a replacement pack and i am going to send my ones back to them for analysis. Lets hope this pack were just duff. Cant fault them for customer service as i told them i couldnt afford to have my bass with no strings so they are sending them out before they get the old ones back!

Cant argue at that!
[/quote]

They are a great company for customer service.

[longtimefred]

yeah they proper helped me out in the past when i had my Stingray that needed a few bits n bobs. canna fault em!