Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky Flatwound Bass Guitar Strings, 45-105 Gauge (P02813)

MY HUSBAND PLAYS BASS FOR OUR CHURCH. THESE STRINGS MADE IT SO MUCH EASIER ON HIS FINGERS.

Very good product

Recently installed these on my cv70 Jazz Bass. Easy enough to use and they seem like they'll be pretty rust resistant. These feel so much better than typical roundwound strings however I'm still getting used to the feel as I for the most part play on nylon wrapped strings. Great playability and seemingly great quality. Silks are purple. So breaking in the tension.

. . . these are excellent strings IF you like throaty, meaty, articulate in a good way bass tones -- which is also what TIs provide. These are what I think of when I think bass guitar sound. I play solid, up-tempo, catchy, riff-based, melodic, pop/rock/surf/punk. I am NOT nor will I ever be a slapper.These EB cobalt flats are soft to the touch but not too soft, residing in a Goldilocks zone for me. The TIs are a tad softer, maybe a tad smoother but honestly if you didn't have them side-by-side on identical basses, as I did, you might not be able to tell. Coming from a guitar player's perspective who never before played bass beyond casual noodling, who recently auditioned 14 different bass guitar brands, with mostly different strings on each, and who is 90% of the time using a pick (Dunlop Tortex .60 mm), I would be (and will be) happy to continue to use these as my mains on one of my basses. The TIs are on the other bass, and it was my first time using those too. There, instantly, I understood why most bassists regard TIs in such a high stature. They have a certain je ne sais quoi when playing them -- tone and feel. These EB cobalts are not worse, just different, but they ARE in the same category as the TIs, at $25 less. McLaren vs Ferrari. IDK, personally I think if you can swing it, it's worth it to have both. Knowing what I know now, why anyone would ever want to play the stock Fender rounds after playing these EBs or TIs is a complete and utter mystery to me. Yet that diversity is what makes life interesting.

I replaced more expensive LaBella Deep Talking' Flats with these on my fretless bass. The LaBellas are dull, thuddy and lifeless. These strings did exactly what I hoped for, they feel and play like flats, sound warm, lively and keep enough of the high frequency to provide a slight bite to the sound, (but not as much as you get with roundwounds). The only reason I gave 4 not 5 stars is because they stupidly come coated in something that feels like WD40 and leaves your fingers feeling oily after playing. Also I don't want oil (or whatever it is) on my bass's fingerboard. I didn't notice until I had installed the strings, so now I need to take them off and clean them and the fingerboard with denatured alcohol or something. Other than that these are exactly what I was hoping to find sonically.

I've seen few reviews of this string. So, as a bassist with decades of experience and having newly installed a set of Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt Flats (product number 2816), I would like to share my impressions. I used to play flatwounds years ago but have been a roundwound player for about ten years.First off, these are not your father's flatwounds. Now, granted, I am an old-school player, preferring finger style over most other approaches to bass playing. I have to admit I wouldn't pay to hear myself slap but these are the first flatwounds I have played in which, IMHO, a bright slap sound is easily attainable. The strings harmonics are surprisingly good too, especially for a flatwound.I prefer Fender Jazz basses and own a few but I have been particularly frustrated with trying to get the sound I want out of a 2009 Fender American Deluxe Jazz V. This bass's active circuitry is quite strong, especially the treble and bass controls. If you look at the frequency response pattern for the new Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats you will see a bell curve with mids at the high point. This curve allows me to push the bass and treble controls, harnessing the power of this Jazz bass's 18 volt circuitry.Mids. We all know that herein lies the frequency range that will allow a bassist to cut through the mix and be heard. The problem I have had with this lovely bass is that, with nearly every roundwound string set I have tried, and I have tried many, the mids take on almost a nasal quality. Not good. And I don't think I have the technical knowledge to explain why these new strings respond in this manner but the mids sound, to my ear, like bass mids should. I can now use the full range of the mid control on this Jazz bass. This allows me to both be heard in the mix and to hear myself better on stage, but if I want a sound sans mids, I just roll the mid control off.The range of sounds I am getting with these strings is really nice, all the way from a Santana-like chest-thumping bass to an articulate Jaco-esque sound. For your reference, I play in a band that covers classic rock, blues, boogie, alternative, some pop and some southern rock. I play Markbass heads into Ampeg 10” bottoms.I cannot yet say how they will sound after months but I change strings a lot anyway. I look forward to using them in the studio. So, in summary, if you have experienced similar tone challenges with one of your basses, I would recommend you give these strings a shot. Again IMHO, Ernie Ball has redefined the flatwound bass string with this new product.

I love these strings. I have tried many many flatwound sets and have always been disappointed. For me, flatwounds are always too thumpy and lacking in definition. I miss the upper level harmonics. I've always used roundwounds because I've never found flats I liked. No more. These flats are amazing. Warm with a strong fundamental, but they also have upper register harmonics akin to a roundwound string. Maybe because of the cobalt used in the construction, which is unique.They are truly a modern hybrid flatwound string, not a traditional flat sound. If you are a fan of the traditional flatwound sound you probably will not like these. But if you are like me and are looking for the flatwound sound, but with more definition, these are worth a try. They are reasonably priced and the quality is consistent Ernie Ball. I have never had a bad or defective string in any sets of these I have bought, which is something that I cannot say about other manufacturers.I love them and they have become my go-to string on almost all of my basses. They are even great for slapping/thumbing!