Anyone tried the m-steel yet?

[Astrofreq]

I've totally migrated to the Cobalts and love them. Has anyone tried the M-steel and can give me some critiques or praises for one over the other? Thanks

 

[Rockero44]

I've totally migrated to the Cobalts and love them. Has anyone tried the M-steel and can give me some critiques or praises for one over the other? Thanks

I have m-steels on my BFR JP6 Koa...had Cobalt 10's prior, but wanted to try the m-steels. They sound great, lots of punch and clarity. The only downside is that, to me, they feel like a heavier gauge than regular 10's. Or maybe it's the fretboard (Ebony) because I have the same strings on a Rosewood board Gibson and they feel softer there. I could say this, however..the M-Steels do last quite a bit, even longer than the Cobalts. M-Steels also have more Cobalt than regular Cobalts, which I think adds to greater punch and clarity...the marraging steel probably adds to greater tuning stability and durability. Worth the price if you consider you will be changing the strings less often,,,and they can take some abuse too.

 

[Exodus5]

How big a difference is it when going from Slinkys to cobalts?

 

[KEOKI]

The biggest difference I noticed was the texture of the wound strings. Cobalts being a bit 'rougher' when moving vertically. Still holding tone and intonation after 3weeks, 16 2-3hr gigs, and pretty much constant noodling.

 

[Exodus5]

Maybe it is just the guitars I have or I've just been lucky with strings, but I have never noticed one brand of string going out of tune more often then another. I have definitely noticed differences in brightness and longevity.
I did recently pick up a EBMM JPX that had been hanging in a Guitar Center in Ocean NJ for a few years and the plain strings were heavily blackened. I bet they had never been changed.

 

[t_rod]

I have m-steels on my BFR JP6 Koa...had Cobalt 10's prior, but wanted to try the m-steels. They sound great, lots of punch and clarity. The only downside is that, to me, they feel like a heavier gauge than regular 10's. Or maybe it's the fretboard (Ebony) because I have the same strings on a Rosewood board Gibson and they feel softer there. I could say this, however..the M-Steels do last quite a bit, even longer than the Cobalts. M-Steels also have more Cobalt than regular Cobalts, which I think adds to greater punch and clarity...the marraging steel probably adds to greater tuning stability and durability. Worth the price if you consider you will be changing the strings less often,,,and they can take some abuse too.

I would think the shorter scale length of the Gibson is the reason the same gauge strings feel softer.

 

[Rich5150]

I put a set on my jpxi when I bought it, I've been quite impressed with them. They hold tuning great and have not gotten the corroded feeling of my other strings, I'm probably gonna pick up a sthb set for my jackson PC-1 and see how they feel on that.

 

[MajtasticVoyage]

I threw a set of 9s on my JPXI; I think they sound great. I've never heard a bad string from Ernie Ball so it's hard to really tell the difference. In some of the video reviews, they do seem to add a bit more bite: Ernie Ball M-Steel Strings vs Regular Slinky Strings - YouTube

Petrucci seems to love them: John Petrucci and M-Steel Guitar Strings [Official] - YouTube

Hope that help!

 

[Rich5150]

I bought some 10-52's and put them on my Jackson, I'm really diggin the M-Steel strings pricey yes but they seem to last. I do believe I found my new strings. The ones I've had on my jpxi are still in good shape and they have been on there for at least 2 months.