Ernie Ball Super Slinky Flatwound Electric Bass Strings - 45-100 Gauge

These strings are great for my '76 fretless Rickenbacker 4001 - fairly low tension, but with a bit more growl than other flatwounds. They complement the Rick nicely, bringing out the basses' tonal character.

Excellent strings. They manage to combine the snap, sustain and midrange growl of rounds with the feel, low finger noise and percussive fundamentals of traditional flats. If you want thud, these won't be your cup of tea. If you want the growl of rounds with more punch and less zing, you'll love them. Perfect for fretless as they give you plenty of 'mwah' without the wired overtones and fingerboard you tend to get from rounds. Cons? Not cheep. They have a very sticky feel at first, but they polish up relatively quickly. The silk end are concerningly thin and flimsy feeling and the have unusual installing instructions.

A very tight string, nice feel, plays well.

I love these strings! Here’s why: every set of round wound strings I’ve used have started way too bright, then mellowed to a useable level but died within 2 - 3 weeks. Every set of flat wounds have begun uneven and then become way too dark.These strings have a flat wound feel that I love and also have a lasting, even brightness with the mellowed round wound richness that usually doesn’t exist with flats. They’re a little expensive but considering I’ve put at least 2 hours on them every day over the last two months and they’re showing no sign of slowing down, I’d say they’re worth the investment.

The strings feel and sound incredible but there are clearly some quality control issues - G-string snapped while tuning. No issues with the other three strings and I'm very pleased with the performance of the surviving strings but it was very disappointing to have the final string pop before even reaching the correct tension.

I wanted a flateoukd that had similar characteristics to a round wound and this is the closest so far.

I found these strings to be very "bright" indeed. They don't have a massive amount of low end tone to them. I've given them 4 stars because they are a well made product that is value for money but I'm not a fan of their tone.

I gave these a rub down with 0000 to get the coating off prior to fitting as I can’t stand the grabby feeling , had to adjust my jazz pickups a bit to even out the string volume now it sounds great loads of sustain and a p like thump on m pickup with tone rolled off when needed

. . . these are excellent strings IF you like throaty, meaty, articulate in a good way bass tones -- which is also what TIs provide. These are what I think of when I think bass guitar sound. I play solid, up-tempo, catchy, riff-based, melodic, pop/rock/surf/punk. I am NOT nor will I ever be a slapper.These EB cobalt flats are soft to the touch but not too soft, residing in a Goldilocks zone for me. The TIs are a tad softer, maybe a tad smoother but honestly if you didn't have them side-by-side on identical basses, as I did, you might not be able to tell. Coming from a guitar player's perspective who never before played bass beyond casual noodling, who recently auditioned 14 different bass guitar brands, with mostly different strings on each, and who is 90% of the time using a pick (Dunlop Tortex .60 mm), I would be (and will be) happy to continue to use these as my mains on one of my basses. The TIs are on the other bass, and it was my first time using those too. There, instantly, I understood why most bassists regard TIs in such a high stature. They have a certain je ne sais quoi when playing them -- tone and feel. These EB cobalts are not worse, just different, but they ARE in the same category as the TIs, at $25 less. McLaren vs Ferrari. IDK, personally I think if you can swing it, it's worth it to have both. Knowing what I know now, why anyone would ever want to play the stock Fender rounds after playing these EBs or TIs is a complete and utter mystery to me. Yet that diversity is what makes life interesting.

would of gave them 5 star if it weren't for the price

Update: Ernie Ball's customer support is top notch and provided a new pack. Got the strings on my bass and I love the feel and sound of them. Definitely will be my standard strings moving forward.

I installed these strings and let them stretch for a couple of days before playing with the band. They held their tune through the night and had a great sound. The other thing that I like is they give a round-wound sound but since they're flatwound they don't rip my fingers up. Highly recommended.

Buen material, buen brillo, y buena durabilidad.