• Ernie Ball
  • MusicMan
  • Sterling by MusicMan

Stubby The Bad

New member
Joined
Sep 5, 2023
Messages
1
Location
California
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

Moderator
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
11,868
Location
Toronto, Canada
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

New member
Joined
Nov 11, 2023
Messages
1
Location
US
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
 
Top Bottom