The Steel Guitar Forum

I hope all here are well..strings..I have always used Cobra Coil strings (God bless Bobbe).......I have used them because of the ..Bakersfield sound...that I get from
my Rus Ler De luxe....So I am thinking of changing up and trying the NYXL strings.
All feedback welcome and stay safe all.

Tell me more about Cobra Coils, please. I am ignorant. If it matters, I play a GFI S10....

Tell me more about Cobra Coils, please. I am ignorant.

I'm sold on Live steel strings.

I was told, by an employee of Bobbe's, that the Cobra coils were made by GHS and if I liked George L's (also made by GHS) I would like Cobra Coils.

I'm using SIT's on my GFI (and it can sound Fenderish). I have two knocks on the NYXL's, Price and color coding strings for identification. I was given some "promo" NYXL's, when I had the Franklin, and had a color code mix up installing the C6th set.

Jack Stoner wrote:. I have two knocks on the NYXL's, Price and color coding strings for identification. I was given some "promo" NYXL's, when I had the Franklin, and had a color code mix up installing the C6th set.

I've seen the objection about color coding several times, and I don't quite get it. On the C6th set (I just replaced some last week), green, black, red, and brass are duplicated. For the green, you have .017 plain versus .036 wound; for the black, .020p versus .042w; for the red, .024w versus .054w; and for the brass, .030w versus .070w. So it's pretty obvious if you think about which string you're replacing -- in the case of the red ones, for example, it would be like confusing a G string with a low E string.

--Al Evans

Al, you have it figured out, and I've seen others that do not have a problem with the colors, and others that do. For a first time user it was confusing. I was given two E9th and C6th sets, I didn't have a mix up on the second set.

Price is another issue. I didn't get any more longevity out of the strings than I did with George L's or now the much lower priced SIT's. String gauge consistency (size) is the same as the others (I don't find this a problem on most strings today compared to the inconsistency years ago).

I have used NYXL for a couple of years now. I am impressed with their sound and their extended life.

I play / practice for about 90 minutes, or more, per day. A set usually lasts for 6 weeks or so before they start to sound dull. On two occasions, they only lasted about two weeks. Curious! I would be interested to hear if anyone else had the same experience... of if it is just me.

Overall, I really like the NYXL strings.

I’ve been using them for a couple of years, and I get 20 or 30 gigs out of a set on my old Emmons. Never had a broken string yet.

NYXL's here and happy.... Been using them now about 2 years. Over 30 years with nickel wound Ernie Balls.

I have tried practically every single brand string out there & honestly I cannot tell the difference; they all sound the same to me.
So I buy the cheapest, which are GHS pedal guitar boomers.

Same with tubes,picks,cords,pedals,gasoline,motor oil,shampoo,beer,soap,cough syrup,etc....all the same.

I’m pretty much with Rich on usually getting the cheapest. Mostly I don’t buy the string hype but hear quite a difference in tonal richness with NYXL’s and have found far less G# breakage with Jagwire Strings. That’s my experience.

I don't know what alloy was used for Cobra Coils. Wish I did.

Like D'Addario's NYXLs, the GHS Americana strings for pedal steel are a nickel-iron alloy. They cost less, too.

https://www.steelguitarshopper.com/ghs- ... h-strings/

Nickel-iron is a bit brighter and (people say) louder than regular nickel wound strings. I haven't compared the two brands side-by-side because I prefer the mellower nickel sound. I do like the cryogenic plain strings in the GHS sets, and use them quite often on my D6th. They are are available as singles. I use regular GHS nickel (Boomers) for my wound strings.

https://www.steelguitarshopper.com/ghs- ... l-strings/

I don't like stainless wound. They're the brightest sound. A lot of people do prefer them, though. Buddy Emmons endorsed S.I.T. stainless. I think that nickel-iron alloys like the D'Addario NYXLs and GHS Americanas are a good trend for modern steel, a sort of middle ground tonally. Personally though, I'm set in my ways.

By PF and they can be purchased here on the Forum from B0b.
Nice licks too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7NAGOS9dtw

_________________

Live Steel Strings here. Tennessee Lee

b0b
I thought the COBRA name reflected a cobalt alloy.
I have a fairly good supply of Cobra Coils but running low on some gauges...
If GHS did make them for Bobbe I would buy them as i can't get a response from Michele who worked at SGN.

As far as I know, Ernie Ball is the only company that makes cobalt wound strings, and they don't make pedal steel sets. Maybe Bobbe Seymour had a special deal with them.

You can buy 6-packs of cobalt wound singles direct from Ernie Ball at
www.ernieball.com/guitar-strings/electr ... le-strings

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Lots of truth in all comments....Thanks!

I used Cobra Coils for over 20 years...switched to NYXL when B0b started selling them...similar tone but the Cobras had black spots (rust?) appear up and down the string after a few months, ..the NYXLs stay clean and last much longer...on a $4000 guitar the cost doesn’t matter