Rash of bad strings

[Stubby The Bad]

I've used Ernie Ball exclusively for decades. A few years ago I switched to the Cobalt strings because they give me a more mellow sound. The last four sets I've used have all had the .009 unwind at the ball. The string doesn't break, it very clearly unwinds. This happens within an hour of putting the string on. I get it tuned up and let it rest, and invariably the string will fail as soon as I start to play. No other gauge has this issue, only the 9's.

I keep a stash of 9's - since it's the most common to break. These are the standard Slinkys, not Cobalt. Once changed - the string is as normal, never had one unwind.

A couple of disclaimers - I bought the Cobalts on sale as a case, so I got them all at the same time. I do fairly heavy bends, but that's why I play slinkys.

I like the sound of the Cobalts, but I'm concerned about buying any more given the pretty much 100% failure rate. Did I just get a bad batch, or are the Cobalts not reliable?

The guitar in question is a 1986 Gibson Les Paul Standard. But I've had the same experience on my Fender Professional II Strat. Given that they use wildly different bridge and saddles, It seems to be an issue with the strings.

 

[beej]

If this happened with different types of strings, I'd think it was a burr on your saddle or tailpiece. But if it's just the Cobalts, perhaps something is up. I would contact EB customer service and let them know. (Link is in my signature.)

 

[sysdoc]

I have the same thing with a 3-set package of 8's, and two of the 8 strings unwound within minutes of stringing them up... Little afraid to try and bust out the last one... Any suggestions on how to reinforce the string before I'm stuck with 3 buggered sets? lol

 

[Desert Rat]

I've had issues with Slinky Cobalt flatwound bass strings on the G-strings. On two sets in a row, I got bad ones, and they were purchased five months apart from two different places. After intonation of the first one, it was extremely sharp on the 1st fret, gradually getting closer to pitch as I went up the neck. At the 12th fret, it was on as expected, having been intonated there. Above the 12th fret, it went flat. I tried another brand new one from another set I had in my inventory. It wouldn't even intonate. I took it to my trusted luthier, thinking it had to be the bass. He confirmed it was the strings. I switched an old one from another bass onto this bass, and it's fine. But with these new strings on the bass, it was unplayable. The price jumped about 25% a month or so ago, and 25% of the strings I got were bad.

 

[beej]

I would definitely reach out to EB customer support and let them know.

 

[Desert Rat]

I would definitely reach out to EB customer support and let them know.

This was good advice. I reached out to them and they're sending me a couple .045s. Hopefully they're fine. In spite of their fine customer service, I'm still gun shy of buying more of the Slinky Cobalt flats. I hate that because these are my favorite flatwound bass strings, but I guess for a while I'll settle for my 2nd favorites.

 

[DrKev]

Ernie Ball will always replace strings that are clearly defective. Please reach out to customer service directly so they can archive the issue...

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