New string choice for Gibsons

[uwe]

I now have the newish fancy pants Ernie Ball Cobalt strings





on my BFG LP Bass, just for the heck of it, will play it tonight at a rehearsal. Last I heard the term cobalt, it was in connection with a cobalt bomb and these guys were praying to it: "Glory to the Bomb and the Holy Fallout ...". It can't be healthy playing them then.

[fur85]

I now have the newish fancy pants Ernie Ball Cobalt strings

At 1:55 he says "I mean these speak probably better than any string on the market, I think" while he's shaking his head "no". It's gotta be tough to be an endorser.

What do you think of them Uwe?

[uwe]

Let me play them at the rehearsal first, I'll then report. They have a nice midrange, bit like pressure wounds, but more comfortable in feel.

It probably wasn't the smartest thing to put them on the BFG LP Bass. That bass is such a large chunk of maho, it's a bit dark and sluggish in tone, you're most aggressive mid-devoid stainless steel strings would likely do well there.

[drbassman]

Yeah, I'm waiting for an unbiased review!  Especially how they feel to play.  The tone sounded nice enough to me in the video.  Again, I'm slowly moving toward more treble in my output, just not too much.

[lowend1]

Not to change the subject, but has anyone tried the DR Sunbeams???

I'm in the process of switching all my roundwound equipped basses to Sunbeams. Somebody gave me a set almost two years ago which I installed on my "go-to" bass - a Frankenstein P-style bass with a TB+ at the bridge. I just replaced them with another set, as the tone and top end had finally started to wane. I can't think of a bad thing to say about 'em - they obviously held up well, the tone is exactly what I wanted and they were sufficiently pliable to satisfy a bender/hammer-er like myself. One thing I did not expect is that they seemed to be much easier on the fingers than any other string I've played - ever. DR is also located - literally - just down the road from me here in NJ, so that's a plus as well. I'm amazed i hadn't tried them sooner.

[drbassman]

I'm in the process of switching all my roundwound equipped basses to Sunbeams. Somebody gave me a set almost two years ago which I installed on my "go-to" bass - a Frankenstein P-style bass with a TB+ at the bridge. I just replaced them with another set, as the tone and top end had finally started to wane. I can't think of a bad thing to say about 'em - they obviously held up well, the tone is exactly what I wanted and they were sufficiently pliable to satisfy a bender/hammer-er like myself. One thing I did not expect is that they seemed to be much easier on the fingers than any other string I've played - ever. DR is also located - literally - just down the road from me here in NJ, so that's a plus as well. I'm amazed i hadn't tried them sooner.

Cool, I'm looking forward to trying them.  Thanks for the report.

[Dave W]

Cobalt Slinkys: because some people will believe anything.

And I say that as an Ernie Ball fan. String companies are always looking for the next big thing to hype. But that's what it is: hype. Find the sound that works for you. It's not magic.

[gearHed289]

Cobalt Slinkys: because some people will believe anything.

And I say that as an Ernie Ball fan. String companies are always looking for the next big thing to hype. But that's what it is: hype. Find the sound that works for you. It's not magic.

That goes for everything, and is the reason I really hate marketing companies. "Hey look, 87 flavors of vodka!" 

[drbassman]

Buyer beware..........and smart about your choices.

[uwe]

Cobalt Slinkys: because some people will believe anything.

And I say that as an Ernie Ball fan. String companies are always looking for the next big thing to hype. But that's what it is: hype. Find the sound that works for you. It's not magic.

Any brand of strings I see I give a try unless they look totally fishy. I'm rarely disappointed. All strings sound in a certain way and don't sound in another, sometimes it fits the bass, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes you like it, sometimes you don't.

[Dave W]

Any brand of strings I see I give a try unless they look totally fishy. I'm rarely disappointed. All strings sound in a certain way and don't sound in another, sometimes it fits the bass, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes you like it, sometimes you don't.

There are only a few sets of guitar or bass strings I've tried that sound bad to me. OTOH because a certain set works with a certain bass it's not because the strings are better and certainly not because of the manufacturer's hype. It just happens to sound better with that bass.

[uwe]

The Cobalts sound ... even! There, I said it. Everything is there, but everything is a little subdued. Depending on your nature you either like that or find it boring. There is focused bass, focused mids and focused presence, but no mud, no grinding mids and no sizzzzzzzzzling treble. And they feel nice. Probably the right string for you if you don't want to (or need to) pull your bass into one direction. If anything they have richer mids than most strings, but of the type that never get in the way with the music or sound "honky". Don't use them for your Motörhead tribute, ok?!

That is probably an anticlimatic surmising of mine (and not too far away from what Herr Jackson found): Strings that don't change the world, but make it a nicer place!  

[drbassman]

Thanks Uwe.  A little less biased than Herr Jackson's review.

[exiledarchangel]

I wonder how uranium strings would sound....

[uwe]

I'm sure they would have amazing half-life periods. Like a couple of thousand years? Eat your heart out Elixir!

Of course the industry will never make them because they could only sell one set for one bass and never have a repeat customer.