Ernie Ball Cobalt Strings

[Infinite Ego]

Just bought a set....will compare with the others

[aliensporebomb]

Put the third set on the Heartfield. Was really curious to see what they would do with EMGs.

Under clean - it seems to warm up the EMGs even further so those of you who think EMGs are sterile or harsh this totally warms them up. That's a nice feature. With the fat boost I can get convincing faux archtop jazz type tones on the neck single coil. That wasn't expected.

But.....under overdrive with the EMG 89? So much output it's not only insane, it's ludicrous - long even sustain that if you don't vibrato it it just seems to sit there sustaining endlessly.

I might have to lower the pickups but it's kind of fun sitting there holding a note that's not feeding back, just sustaining for 40 seconds or so without decaying. And that's without the boost. With the boost and cranked up to the edge of feedback, gosh I don't know if this should be legal or not.

Another thing about these - if you have a guitar with a Floyd type trem they are totally for you: tune to pitch, stretch once or twice and once fine tuned it stays in tune even after blatantly abusive whammying. No more 20 minutes of "okay, almost there, tune a little - perfect, whammy, crap! okay, almost there, etc."

[mirth]

So, Todd, are you still using these? I'm intrigued.

[aliensporebomb]

Yep. Being that they are ten bucks a pack I am not in a hurry to remove them - I want to get my moneys worth.

They do seem to sound newer longer, that dullness you get with time isn't nearly as pronounced.

I've read some users of these strings saying the texture of the outer coating is rougher to the touch than other brand strings but for me it's not enough to hurt. I've got calluses of doom so...

Also, Steve Vai actually talks about these strings in his recent Premiere Guitar interview - he wasn't convinced initially and told his guitar tech to take them off his guitars but the tech decided not to and then Steve sort of warmed to them. Interesting segment of that interview.

[mirth]

Well, recording in a couple days, so why not change things up the last second. I decided to try these, and actually switched to 9-46s as opposed to 11s. This forced a set up and decided to redo intonation.

So my opinion after putting them on yesterday. So far I'm pretty happy with them. They are rougher, but I kind of like that about them. They do seem pretty loud, and I didn't lose any tone really from thinner strings, actually.I think it sounds better.

Don't know why I.was so reluctant to go to 9s, they have a lot of character on a strat.

[Infinite Ego]

I finally gave these a spin through the old Inspector Detector setup: Legacy and the StuPre

Pretty damn good strings. The tuning stability is way above average, nice sounding, not too stiff, and a good feel.

[mirth]

I may have to try these out. I'm not the biggest string changer, so having a longer lasting abuseable striungwould be nice.

[aliensporebomb]

Agreed. They last a hell of a long time. I'm waiting for the strings on the new guitar to die out so I can switch over to them.

[mirth]

Whoa, I just realized I did try these out...haha. They were pretty nice actually. I think they broke kind of quick when i used it, but I did my PSI recordings session with them. I'm hesitant to buy more since they broke.

[aliensporebomb]

Wow, you break strings? I almost never break strings unless I throw knives at the guitar or something.

[Infinite Ego]

I can't remember the last time I broke a string.

[chrissh]

Me neither. It's been years.

[aliensporebomb]

And I don't just bend little tiny bends. I put some heft into it. I suppose there's always the off change he got a bad set. So far, so good for me though.

[mirth]

Actually I hardly ever break strings. It's been years.

2 cobalts broke on me though. Weird, right?

[Infinite Ego]

cobalts on sale now at strings and beyond

I just bought another shitload of strings....got a free Martin strap for buying a year's worth of strings for my daughter.