Rusty Cobalt Flats

[Ped]

Hi there.

ped here - owner of Basschat.co.uk

I posted on my forum about this but thought I’d ask here too.

I bought some Cobalt Flats in March and they appeared very rusty by mid June. No gigs, just minimal playing at home.

I emailed Stringsandthings (UK distributor) and they sent me a new set. Great. But the new set were rusty in appearance right out of the pack. Both sets sound OK but look rather odd.

So I suppose my question is - is this normal? It’s very disappointing as I like the sound of the strings.

I was under the impression that Cobalt isn’t ferrous but I’ve also read Mr.Ball mention a protective layer on the strings. So which is it? And why are mine rusty?

 

[beej]

I'd go to the source- email the customer service folks at EB directly and ask them about it. (Link in my signature.)

 

[danny-79]

Customer service was incredibly helpful when I had a problem with them. Never seen or heard of them rusting though

 

[Ped]

Thanks. The distributor said I’ve just been unlucky and have opened another pack and inspected them before sending them in to me. Third time lucky I hope. I’m still interested to know how this can physically happen but doubt I’d get any joy from EB on that front. Maybe they can reply here - as I say I saw Mr Ball mention a coating here which sounds weird.

 

[beej]

In my experience, the EB folks have been very diligent about following up on QA issues like rust, breakage, etc.

I would contact them directly and let them help you.

 

[Ped]

Thanks, I'll do that if the new set go rusty for sure!

 

[Daniel]

Thanks, I'll do that if the new set go rusty for sure!

Hi Ped,
Happy to hear your local distributor took care of you. If you're still having issues, please shoot me an email at [email protected] and I'll help you out.

 

[Ped]

Thanks Daniel. You know what though, I’ve since seen several people on my website who have had rusty cobalt strings. So it’s not just me! I can provide links if you like, as there certainly seems to be an issue and that it’s not just me!

 

[Daniel]

Thanks Daniel. You know what though, I’ve since seen several people on my website who have had rusty cobalt strings. So it’s not just me! I can provide links if you like, as there certainly seems to be an issue and that it’s not just me!

Hi Ped,
Thanks for letting me know. I will forward this to our QC team. If you could email me those links to [email protected], it would be appreciated.