It's worth mentioning that Ernie Ball does a good job making strings with accurate winding lengths. When strung through the bridge tail, the E string has just enough length of full outer wrap to carry past the nut. Then the string tapers in thickness. Only the core of the string gets wound around the tuner post. This is important on Fender type headstocks where there isn't much distance between the nut and the E string tuner post. It's also important with flatwounds, which can lose resonance and sustain when the full outer wrap of the string gets wound around the tuner post. There are a lot of other manufacturers that aren't able to execute this aspect of string making correctly.

3:05 - Cobalt rounds - Sandberg Jazz 4:25 - Cobalts rounds - Musicman P 5:16 - Cobalt flats - Sandberg Jazz 6:26 - Cobalt flats - Musicman P

5:14 - Sanberg Jazz Bass (Flatwounds - Cobalt) 7:46 - Sanberg Jazz Bass (Flatwounds - Group III) 6:25 - MM P Bass (Flatwounds - Cobalt) 8:31 - MM P Bass (Flatwounds - Group III)

It would be a Nice video about flatwound : slinky Flatwound vs Group Flatwound vs D'addario Chromes vs LaBella Flatwound.

Awesome video guys! About two years ago I put a set of the cobalt flats on my Schectet Stiletto Stealth 5 and was blown away by how bright they were for flat wounds but still maintained that warmth you get with flats once I rolled off the highs. I don't get to play out everyday but still..... two years later and they still sound great! I liked them so much I put another set on my Squire Classic Vibes 70's P- bass last year and they still sound like they did when I first put them on..... at least to my ears.

Fantastic comparison ! I've just bought a set of the slinky flats and I'm very eager to try them. Great job guys !

My favorite are their cobalt flats. Nice highs and long lifespan. I use them on my Reverend Decision bass.

I've been waiting for this review good job!!

Great job as usual. Love your videos.

I’m using the slinky flats myself. I’ve had them on for almost two months with minimal tone difference. One thing you missed is that all EBMM slinky flats are made using cobalt now, which is why they are so much closer to the roundwound sound.

Brilliant review. Very well done. Thank you.

Thanks for this! I've been wanting to try switching to flats, and was debating on which to try. I knew I was interested in Ernie Ball's based on reviews, but they don't have much for a demo video. Now I feel confident that the Slinky's are a good sound for my style.

Those Cobalt strings have a different sound to them for sure. I am going to buy a pack and try them out for myself and see how they sound with my rig. Just can't explain the sound but I really, really enjoy the samples you guys did.

Thank you for including the part at the end where you went through all the strings on a single bass at a time. I don't like or play J style sounding basses, so it was less distracting to just hear them on the P style MM one after another. Very good comparison.:)

The Cobalts are brighter, but I agree, I've never seen/felt/heard an output difference. They're incredibly durable though.

Excellent review, thanks a lot!!!

Hey bros, I’ve been using the Cobalt Flatwounds for years... They are on my 76 4001 Rickenbacker... They stay bright and punchy for at least four months or so....

I use Regular Slinky flats (50-105) on my Zons, and they RULE. Great punch, not too boomy, and not as slick as LaBellas (which are very nice, but feel a little weird during sweaty performances). I highly recommend them. I'm also experimenting with EB Group II flats, which so far are nice, but I prefer the "zing" of the Slinky flats.

Thanks that was very helpful. Your videos always are .

Ernie Ball Hybrids are very similar to GHS Bass Boomers round wound Nichols. At least for me, both of those are almost identical in sound and resonance. The Ernie Ball's however seem to have just a slight bit more "brilliance" but not harsh or sharp like their stainless steel slinky's. And for those looking for a better price point than the GHS, the Ernie Ball hybrids, at least in my area, are about $3 (USD) less expensive. I've used them on both my 4 and 5 strings. Good luck

I enjoyed this video!!! your t-shirt is fantastic too!!

I put some cobalt strings on my Yamaha jazz 2 years ago and apart from the very rough surface which goes after a week or two of playing , they have little top end now but the mid and bass growl is brilliant

Those Cobalts sounds amazing!!

Great comparison, thanks. It's really surprising how punchy and bright their flats are. Slapping my J bass strung with D'Adaddario Chrome flats never sounds that punchy.

Who knew that Elton John was good at bass guitar? :)

Lars that sounds really good sir , thank you for the nice videos

I've been playing bass over 40 years and I've never heard a flat-wound string sound like those Slinky flats.

Years ago when we used flat wound a lot, they were always too bright when they were first put on. As nobody did slap then, we were happy after a few weeks when the brightness wore off. Some players thought they got better with age and would never change them. They would have been all stainless steel.

Thanks for the post!

I like and recommend cobalt on p pickup with maple board. It sounds so damn good!

that ernie ball precision sounds very cool

Lars is a great great bass player! The best to you, man!

Thank you for the video. I've just fitted EB Slink flatwounds on my short scale bass. They come with long coloured lead traces which I've had to cut most off as otherwise would have had too much string around the tuner posts. Do RB make bass strings especially for short scale bass?

I've been trying out this Cobalt string set of which gauge is lighter than yours in the video. I liked them a lot. I don't absolutely agree with you about these strings are a bit hard to play. Having said that, they are easy on both the bass and fingers. Slapping comes more comfortable and sound is what I want to hear. Great video and topic on what every bass player is keen on seeing.

Great job; Thanks!!

Hybrid slinkys have been my go to forever recently tried the power slinky’s because I’ve been doing a lot of drop d..!!! Torn I love the lighter top strings but love that 110 bottom it’s a bit excessive buying the two sets 😂😂😂

Ah, nice to hear a German accent, living 90 km from Germany. Got two cheap Japanese P-basses. A Hondo (Fame Series 8300) now fretless, did a cyanat glue neck finish, because I messed up the fretboard a bit, removing the frets, lesson learned. The action is slightly higher than before, the fretboard could be flatter. But the neck is good enough for me. The other bass is an Avora bass, the guitar pedal brand Avora used to do instruments, too. A Dutch musical instruments company (Voerman in Amersfoort, still in business) imported guitars and basses from Japan, they started the Avora brand. That one I left original. Adjusted action and intonation, and I cleaned it. And I put Super Slinkies (45-100) on both of them. My music shop said try these, I'm a beginner, playing scales and practising my hands. And those strings sound very okay. Because both basses have the same strings, I can hear the differences. A fretless bass really has that singing sound. And the other one has a somewhat shorter neck and strings. I would not call it a bariton, in between a guitar and a bass, but perhaps it was designed to be tuned Fis-B-E-A. Perhaps they just wanted less string tension and the normal E-A-D-G... What do you think? I got no problems playing it in the normal tuning. Maybe I should try half a note, or two, higher. If it sounds brighter and the neck can have it, maybe it is a good idea. Sorry, long story.

I'm using the slinky flats for a long time now. The bright and punchy sound stays VERY long, for months ! These strings are really best of both worlds, i like them a lot. Fits perfect to a Precision Style Bass.

Have a set of EB Cobalt flats(45-130)on my Ibanez GB35 fretless and they have a really nice lively even tone still on all 5 strings(have had them on the bass for around 3 1/2-4 months, good choice (in my opinion) if you’re looking for a string that Has an ample amount of highs &high mids as well as maintaining low and low mids And still delivers enough presence& Tone to where you don’t have to overcompensate either by technique(plucking more aggressively) or volume/overdrive or maxing out your EQ on the amplifier.

That bass is beautiful!

Hey man! Stellar as always. By the way, where did you get this AWESOME shirt? I want it too !!! :)

Since Cobalt Flats came out I play them on my 1964 Precision Bass. Over all this time I now have the 2nd set, and these are now about 2 years old. The tone still is quite brilliant, all I do is rubbing them dry with a cloth after playing. I don't feel the need to change them. The first set was a .50 - 1.10 set, and I had huge problems with this first series set, because the G string broke twice while stringing - before the string was even in tune. Thanks to Thomann and Musik Meyer for sending me a new G string twice. I am sure it was not my fault, because the string broke "in the air" in the middle between nut and string retainer. It felt like the material was too hard or brittle and broke easy. It was not the matter of a too tight nut slot, there was a LaBella Jamerson set on the bass before, also with a .50 G-string. When the set was finally strung, I loved the strings - until the third G string broke. Next one was a .45 - 1.05 set that made no problems while stringing, and the set now is about 2 years old. Over time the tone lost some high end, but they still are bright. I played dozends of recording sessions with them, and not only when a vintage tone was needed. They give my P bass more high and low end, a nice cutting midrange - and lots of output. The feel of the strings is nice, not too much tension, but enough to tune down a full step. Some months ago I purchased a used MiM Precision 50's Classic, that had Elixir nickel strings on it. I use this strings a lot on my other basses, so they will stay on the bass for some time. If I feel the need for changing the strings, I'll get me another set of Cobalt Flats.

Have the slinky flats on my P bass. Gives you more of a modern to slight vintage sound.

Exactly what I am looking for. Do those flats remain bright or better go to rounds expecting them to mellow ? After breaking in, I want a vintage sounding slap sound from the late 70s to early 80s in my P bass that lasts for ages.

Super sinky flats do lose that brightness after a few months. They stay the same there after. They last for 18 months on my bass. I now wanna try the group 3 on my jazz bass next string change, they sound classic motown :-)

I wish I could learn Lars’ riff, it’s very nice! 👍🏻🙂

... and the next great video. I need some new strings for my new Sterling by Music Ray 35 and Yamaha BB 425. I love that Stingray sound :-)

The cobalts sound nice!

i just ordered Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky Nickel Wound Electric Bass Strings - 45-105 Gauge, hope they more comfortable to play than the original steel wound that come with guitar.

That riff through the video!..

Hahaha nice Joe Dart there in the Corner

Does Lars plays aggressively or is it the low set up of the basses that makes all the "noise"( string zing or whatever you call it ) come up when he digs into the strings ? It's louder on the p bass but it's also there on the Jazz . thanks

Which string is better for bending?

Nice video. Normally. You have to spend a lot of money any time to decide which seiten is the best for you

I can tell through every video I have seen that Cobalt have the best clarity for the lower octave sounds of the bass

Hi to everyone here. Can anyone tell me whether the Ernieball flats are a lot of softer when playing/pushing them on the frets???? I got to my Jazz Bass Ernieball roundwounds 40-95, and I can say they are pretty soft on playing but they have a thicker winding instead of the Fender roundwounds... thank you

1:05 3:04 to compare the sound just switch between the times

Ernie Ball flat's are amazing, im using them on my Jazz bass - they fit perfectly. Can someone recommend me some good flatwound's for EB3?

Which string is the right size for my bass? I have full size like the bass your playing

Thanks - Would the Ernie Ball flatwound slinky strings be ok on a hofner violin bass? The guages are slightly different though similar....

coooooool!

Its Good use Flatwound String ?

Almost all flats suck for slap. But not those group III's. sounded great all around on both basses.

Spiele die Hybrid Slinky sehr gerne auf meinem Fender Am Jazz Bass

God we must read my mind i was thinking about trying Ernie ball strings, great video

I always read on forums that you need trussrod adjustments when you use flats like D'Addario Chromes. Do you need to do the same thing with EB classic flats and cobalt flats? How's their tension ?

A little bit of Vaseline on a cloth wiped up and down the flats then wiped off thoroughly will tone down the brightness

I thought the first set (Slinky) were, far and away, the winner.

yay, Joe Dart bobblehead top left next to Gregor!

Slinky doesn't feel particularly smooth to me. These rounds that came with my lawsuit bass feel smooth but I have no idea what they are. They got coloured ball ends. Daddario maybe? Haven't tried Colbalt. Heard reports about them eating frets and causing hardware to rust.

Lars slaps so well that even the flats sing

Well i think flats sounds only good on P-bass-es due to their mid punch frequencies :)

Is that P bass combine by Sanberg VM4 body with Musicman neck ? , Great sound.

I like the Cobalt Strings.... they're punchy.

And playing with drop tunings ? my homie,nothing can be compared with the drop C with nicklel 50-120 size xDD sounds like ragnarok

I hope them broken in will sound like dead rounds but feel like flats, because that is actually exactly what i want

Slinky Flatwound is the winner

That TE shirt rules.

Gregor you have whiskers and no whisky

no more steel strings huh

What!!

Hi, Can you do reviews on-demand? If you do so, you must try this bass: MAGMA TRANSPOSITOR BASS www.magmastrings.com/eng/3_1_instrumentos.html Thanks! PD: Big fan of your channel!!

Because it is almost all slap, the demo of the Cobalt strings does not work. We need to hear them being played normally. Thank you for the video, however.

joe dart on the left 😳😳😳

I thought the cobalt strings were punchier :)

I think yellow slinky wins

My cobalts do not sound this nice by any means. Made me wanna throw on my old strings lol

Use a pick and fingers for reviews

Soy yo o el bajista se parece a Aleks Syntek?

I didn't know Elton John uses to play bass guitar

Dead mans party

Who knew David cross played the bass😂

The demo is really poor, can't hear any difference on each set...

all d i.... huh...

Too much talking between string differences makes it too hard to hear the differences.

Arnold: I sink it neetz a litl moar punsh

None are better than Elixir Strings Roundwounds. Longest life span, smooth feel but also the most expensive. I highly recommend staying away from Ernie Ball Strings though. They lost almost all highs after a few hours of recording. Cheers!

Flat wounds cobalt and flat wounds sound the same

Germanenglish :D

To much talk..and can't see defrent..😤