Ernie Ball Extra Slinky Cobalt Electric Guitar Strings - 8-38 Gauge

Been playing about 4 years, used all sorts of strings from Elixir coated to EB standards and other premium strings. Coated were my favorite originally until I realised the coat actually does more damage than good as the strings begin to age. I was kind of lost till I ordered these. The only patented cobalt strings so you can't get these under any other brand name. The material genuinely does make a difference in terms of sound and response from the pickups. Playing feels easier, the strings feel a lot nicer, probably more so than any coated strings I have tried, great for slides/bends. They hold their tuning great after very little stretching and they seem to be a lot tougher than usual strings despite seeing the odd review claiming to have snapped the e string but I'm more inclined to believe that is down to being too eager when tuning. Overall amazing strings and worth every penny just for the sound and the playability aspect. I'll never be going back to non cobalt guitar strings after the experience.

I've tried every brand of string, known to man and settled on Ernie Ball Slinkys for years. I tried some Cobalt strings a year ago and haven't used anything else since. They're even better than Slinkys. I prefer the feel of the wound strings. The wound strings sound a bit fuller and whilst marginal, they seem to last a bit longer. The unwound strings are the same as you get in Slinkys. Well worth the extra £2 or so.

These are robust strings with the usual sound quality expected of Ernie Ball. I would buy again.

Love these strings, I find they have a bit more clarity still and durability than standard super slinky’s. Extra cost is the only negative I guess as I do prefer to change strings between gigs

The Cobalt strings suits some instruments/styles more than others; there's more crunch & grind than regular nickel, but not quite as much as stainless steel, which are arguably the best choice for bright metal tones. I loved the sound of the Cobalt strings installed on a T-style guitar, using clean tones and especially using mild to moderate crunch sounds. There's a noticeable difference as compared to, let's say, EB Regular Slinky. However, I tried them on a 335-style guitar (which I use for jazzier and more r'n'b styles), and the Cobalts were perhaps a bit too edgy sounding, although of course you could turn down the tone control on the guitar on the fly if desired. Kind of the same using an S-type guitar (with a Zero-Load Tone pot), the edginess was perhaps a little too aggressive sounding, but if edgy aggression is what you want, then Cobalts are ideal. In summary, I use Cobalts on one of my S-type guitars (not used in the accompanying video) which benefits from the extra edginess and the slightly increased output, but I use EB Paradigm on my 335-style guitar and also on my already bright sounding other S-type guitar (which had D'Addario NYXL 9–42 strings installed for the accompanying video demo, but I much prefer 10–46, which is my usual choice, and like I say, EB Paradigm is my preferred choice for that instrument). Cobalts are cool!

I’ve not tried this particular one before, usually opting for the Ernie ball 9’s ( pink pack) but I wanted to try the 8’s , they are pretty good to be fair , not broken one ( yet , and I do tend to dig in a bit) stay in tune very well, ( after a good stretch) good sound and a decent price, will buy again, not had them long enough to rust yet, but I play every day so that’ll keep it down

Perfect value for money Very good quality

1. These strings do what Ernie Ball claim. You get more output and a brighter sound. They are amazing for rock and metal; any level of distortion from a bluesy clip to full chug. They give more bite and bright clarity to a clean sound, think 'modern' clean sounds. 2. They are sufficiently different sounding that - having several guitars - I need to change amp/pedal settings a bit. That may or may not be am issue for you. ...also, I wouldn't personally choose them for warmer, more mellow styles of music, like, for example, jazz. If these sound like (forgive the pun) the vibe you're after, you may well love them. Otherwise, re point 2, they may give something you find a tonal detractor.

弦が錆びていたので買いました！ 音の響きが変わってとっても楽しいです！

I find these strings to be great on my Ibanez in c#. I can never remember what gauge of strings I use for what tuning I was shooting for C this time around, but I was in D before and C# is still a bit lower and sounds great. Don't listen to anyone saying negative things about These strings. You get used to the feel really fast And the g string is a bit thick but you don't notice it. I'll be using these strings from here out. Oh and about them breaking easy, I don't get how anyone's breaking these. I have been abusing my Floyd Steve Vai style and my strings are still intact. The high strings are extremely smooth and slick for great speed, and the low strings feel a bit gritty, but still as fast as normal strings, I just find that to help with accuracy and grip with chords. Definitely worth the extra. Been playing for 12 years and after taking the chance on these strings, I won't be going back. Don't hesitate just give em a shot. I bet you anything you will adjust within seconds and you will appreciate the feel and sound more so than any other strings out there. The shipper also got the strings to me within 3 days with fewer shipping.

For a long time, I swore by pure nickel-wrapped strings. I've always enjoyed the tone of nickel over steel-- not to mention steel-wrap strings eat through frets like crazy. I was intrigued by the hype around cobalt wrap and decided I would try a pack on a whim. I'm glad I did. Everything I love about nickel is there, and more: They're smooth under the fingers, easy on frets, full of rich and balanced tone, and are very durable. Granted, all of these are somewhat subjective values, and your preferences may vary, but there is one empirical quality about these strings that is clear-- intonation. With nickel, I always accepted some deviation in tuning as a trade-off for the tone they produced. When I put the cobalt-wrap strings on, the intonation improved substantially. While I wouldn't consider myself an "aggressive" player in terms of picking/fingering technique, I was pleased that these strings didn't vary their pitch in response to my picking strength as much as the strings I was using before. Chords ring truer, sustain is enhanced, and the tone cuts through a mix better without being harsh. These are my new go-to strings.

Eu gostei muito do timbre que essas cordas tem, é bem mais brilhante e tem um sustain maior do que a corda que estava usando antes. Com certeza vou comprar esse de novo.

Writing a review as I have 13 guitars here in my camper and 6 or so back home. So I am a bit impressed. My situation- I got these thinking the extra magnet and extra slinky attributes would help out my Harley (Fender Sonic Mustang wanna be) as it is a 24 scale and my wife already has the later one and this was cheaper - for basically if and when I take lessons because of the shorter scale length b/c the teacher can put me thru some runs, hammer ons with my pinky etc... You know Harley Benton has a tendency to sound muddy, so thought the extra magnetic drive wouldnt hurt. So... The strings as I was installing them stuck to the pickups b/c the magnetic pull was that strong, and are very slinky AND a bit beefyer fatter to the touch and I liked that too! Sound very good! Most likely from the magnetic quality.