Ernie Ball Cobalt string comparison clips!

[Clark Kent]

I'm all about Ernie Ball strings. I did a huge comparison years ago and they worked best for me. Other strings went black in a few days and didn't ever really ring out well with my picking.

This comparison isn't 100% scientific since guitars are a bit different with different wood material and bolt-on vs glue neck but other than that it's all the same. Custom 24 strings are two weeks old and cobalts are brand new.

Cobalt:


Regular:


My conclusion is that there's really not much of a difference play-wise and I'm surprised that the cobalts didn't sound like ass like every clip that I've ever heard of them do. Maybe the cobalts are a bit more clear sounding where as the regular ones sound ballsier but that might as well be glued neck vs bolt on.

I'll have to give them some time and wear.

 

[UncleBob]

I always figured for a person to worry too much about string brands and picks and what batteries they put in their stomp boxes and whether a vinyl strap or leather strap effects the "tone" too much they must first have the most god-like sound and skill, it seems like such a tiny thing to be wasting any time on if it's anything otherwise, it's like searching and worrying about that "last 1%" when you're only 50% of the way there.

(Just a thought really)


I didn't notice any real difference, different pickups.............or even a different string hight will probably make a more noticeable difference, or moving the mic a ball-hair etc

I'm all for Ernie Ball anyway, always a bit cheaper and seem to last a bit longer before they snap.

 

[Clark Kent]

Yeah I agree with you. Player + guitar + amp + cab + mic = guitar tone and a small thing like strings is like 5% of guitar tone and when you think about the full signal chain... it doesn't matter. One centimeter on the mic will have a bigger difference than that.

 

[aviel]

i think it will be more easy to hear a difference (if there is any) in clean and not distorted tone though

 

[TheWinterSnow]

I think the difference is pretty noticeable unlike everyone else's opinion. I had the same experience myself, the cobalts were bright, almost too bright and there was a 4-6K peak that could get a little harsh. Got rid of them due to their lack of QC, I had a set where the winding on the strings came loose from the core and was slipping. Had that happen twice in the middle of two shows. I said fuck EB all together and am now using D'addario. Will have to order Stainless Steel as my local music stores do not carry any SS strings.

The one thing I did like was how long the Cobalts lasted, they stayed bright and crunchy for days.

 

[ChrisTanakaCanwell]

I tried some a few weeks ago and it really was night and day (ymmv). I would have ditched the Dean Markleys for them already but they're not selling singles yet and I like heavier gauges

 

[drew_drummer]

I've been going through strings a fuck load recently, two or three practices and they're done. I've been trying these Cobalts and they've lasted about 6 practices now. I've also started using FastFret instead of being lazy and not cleaning the strings, so I'm gonna go back to my regular gauge and figure it out from there. The cobalts aren't sonically worth twice the price, but if they last twice as long, then that works for me.