Cobalt Magnetism

[Adam_D]

Ok, so the new cobalts are said to have increased magnetic coupling with pickups, which leads to higher output across the board. This is great!

But...

The stronger the magnetic field between strings/pickups, the more pull there is on the strings, resulting in a decrease of natural sustain from the strings. Surely the cobalts will then result in a decreased (although probably slight) amount of sustain when compared to their nickel counterparts?

Also, I'm wondering how the life of the cobalt alloy will be compared to traditional slinky's! In the UK, so far they seem to be around 3x the price of regular slinks (£5/average for slinky's £14 for cobalts) so hopefully they'll have a slightly longer play time?

Anyone shed any light on this? I'm just thinking out loud, really interested to try the cobalts!

[Big Poppa]

you are thinking out loud....without all the facts...the sustain is significantly greater.

[Adam_D]

I'm genuinely glad to hear that! Care to enlighten me on the facts? I assumed it would be working along the same principle that the higher you have your pickups set, the greater the pull on the strings.

[Brian]

I'm genuinely glad to hear that! Care to enlighten me on the facts? I assumed it would be working along the same principle that the higher you have your pickups set, the greater the pull on the strings.

Hey Adam, all valid questions!

The new cobalt design proved to have multiple benefits for guitarists including output, sustain, and longevity which may sound counter-intuitive, as output and sustain have an inverse relationship....I can't really divulge the full details on how we increased sustain as thats part of the secret sauce.

I can tell you that the improved mechanical properties play a big role in not only the tonality (output, sustain), but the increased mechanical properties of the cobalt alloy have also yielded a stronger wrap wire that maintains its shape longer than other alloys which increases the life of the string.

hope this helps!

[KevinM]

I can't wait to try 'em. My GC order should be filled any time now.