R. Cocco Guitar String lover's thread...

[J.T. Guitar]

I just dig these strings. I used them way back before a lawsuit banned their sale in the USA. Now R. Cocco's are back in the US, and they are as great as ever... smooth, even toned, and long-lasting.

[turtleheadblues]

Where can you buy them?

[circusinthesky]

I just dig these strings. I used them way back before a lawsuit banned their sale in the USA.

You're just going to leave that hanging out there?

[Jahn]

http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/rcohaelgust.html

I've bought from this internet store before, Good folks. What's interesting to me is that the USA HQ is on the upper west side, I wonder if I could just pop over there and score a few...

[J.T. Guitar]

Yeah here the direct link... http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/r-cocco-strings.html

As far as the lawsuit... My understanding is when Richard Cocco Sr. passed on, he left the business to his partner (not Richard Jr.). Richard Jr. had a problem with the new "owner" using "his" name and filed suit. There was a court order placed that said no sales were to be allowed in the US until the suit was settled.

I was getting them from a Canadian retailer for a while there, then they were banned too.

Everything seems to be fine now... I hope! :) They are a great feeling and toneful strings.

[Grenville]

I have been working my way through a number of brands, and these were very, very nice. Still prefer the SOB's but these are as good as it gets otherwise.

Loved the tone and durability, had to watch the tuning a bit though.

[Jim S]

Sadowsky strings are made by those guys, I believe.

[Tonebender]

Do they make 11-48 sets?? They're not listed in the website above.

[Mayo5]

Their website says they make an 11-50 set, but I can't find it for sale anywhere.

[...rock...]

I saw these guys booth at the Musikmesse earlier this year, there was a great jazz player showing off his skills but with actually no info on their products...

[J.T. Guitar]

Their website says they make an 11-50 set, but I can't find it for sale anywhere.

I have some extra 11-50 sets... PM me if you are interested in getting some.

I saw these guys booth at the Musikmesse earlier this year, there was a great jazz player showing off his skills but with actually no info on their products...

Sounds like the understated Europeans for you.

[madvek]

Can anyone confirm if these are pure nickel?

[J.T. Guitar]

I would guess a nickel blend from the tone... but there ain't none better IMHO.

[landru64]

Sadowsky strings are made by those guys, I believe.

to be clear, some of the sadowsky strings are manufactured by richard cocco jr.'s company la bella. but i am fairly sure none are made by r. cocco.

[J.T. Guitar]

to be clear, some of the sadowsky strings are manufactured by richard cocco jr.'s company la bella. but i am fairly sure none are made by r. cocco.

My understanding is; Richard Sr. unfortunately passed on. His partner (not a Cocco) became the sole owner of R. Cocco strings. Richard Jr, who owns La Bella, filed a lawsuit to keep the new owner from using the name R. Cocco. The strings were banned in the US during the lawsuit. Luckily, the partner prevailed and we get the wonderful strings that RC Sr made.

La Bella's are not even close to the same quality as the originals. YMMV

[TDJMB]

I posted this on the SOB thread, too: I put a set of R. Coco's on a 335 last night / I can't report long-term. They were too bright for me on the top end - but a nice bright, not harsh like other brands - and the 4th & 5th strings are a bit dull. The brightness is tolerable on the 335 because it's a thick-sounding guitar but I wouldn't try these on a solidbody or single coil. They're also sticky. I'll need to play them some more before making a final decision.

[SuperReverb2]

LOVE the SOB strings (Original Nickel 10 - 46) on my Haar Tele and my Haar Strat. Still have 10 sets squirreled away. Been slowly searching for a viable alternative though should the current SOB delivery - business problems become long term or permanent again. Kept seeing the name R.Cocco pop up in quite a few threads. Thought I would give them a try. Ordered 4 sets of 10 - 46 from Strings and Beyond.com. FAST delivery! I've had them on my Haar Tele for about a week now. GREAT tone and feel. Set up and intonated well and seem to stay in tune nicely. I find the G, B and E strings to be VERY similar in tone and vibe to the SOB strings albeit slightly brighter. The slightly brighter is a good thing as they seem to sound a little more alive, open, and articulate (less dull) than the SOB strings. The biggest difference IMHO is in the lower E, A, and D strings. MUCH better tone and definition than the SOB strings. Defintely more of an "alive" tone happening on the lower strings. If I had one pause regarding the SOB strings it would be how the E, A, and D strings can sound a little "dark" (dull) on some guitars. My Haar Tele has a swamp ash body with a Brazillian fretboard, and while I have LOVED the tone of the SOB strings on the top three strings, the tone and vibe on the lower three strings has always been borderline. The R. Cocco strings seem to have alleviatd this problem for me.
So far I REALLY like these strings. I have played them 2 - 3 hours a day for the past week and the tone has remained consistant. If they last anywhere near as long as the SOB strings they will certainly become the front runner to replace the SOB strings I have used pretty much exclusively for the past 7 years. Just thought I would share.

:)

[J.T. Guitar]

LOVE the SOB strings (Original Nickel 10 - 46) on my Haar Tele and my Haar Strat. Still have 10 sets squirreled away. Been slowly searching for a viable alternative though should the current SOB delivery - business problems become long term or permanent again. Kept seeing the name R.Cocco pop up in quite a few threads. Thought I would give them a try. Ordered 4 sets of 10 - 46 from Strings and Beyond.com. FAST delivery! I've had them on my Haar Tele for about a week now. GREAT tone and feel. Set up and intonated well and seem to stay in tune nicely. I find the G, B and E strings to be VERY similar in tone and vibe to the SOB strings albeit slightly brighter. The slightly brighter is a good thing as they seem to sound a little more alive, open, and articulate (less dull) than the SOB strings. The biggest difference IMHO is in the lower E, A, and D strings. MUCH better tone and definition than the SOB strings. Defintely more of an "alive" tone happening on the lower strings. If I had one pause regarding the SOB strings it would be how the E, A, and D strings can sound a little "dark" (dull) on some guitars. My Haar Tele has a swamp ash body with a Brazillian fretboard, and while I have LOVED the tone of the SOB strings on the top three strings, the tone and vibe on the lower three strings has always been borderline. The R. Cocco strings seem to have alleviatd this problem for me.
So far I REALLY like these strings. I have played them 2 - 3 hours a day for the past week and the tone has remained consistant. If they last anywhere near as long as the SOB strings they will certainly become the front runner to replace the SOB strings I have used pretty much exclusively for the past 7 years. Just thought I would share.

:)

Glad you are digging them!

[rwijaya]

so is this strings has a hex core or round core? any more details about how the strings feels? any pure nickel or only nickel wound?

[J.T. Guitar]

so is this strings has a hex core or round core? any more details about how the strings feels? any pure nickel or only nickel wound?

I believe they are nickel wound, round core... That's what they feel like to me, but I could be wrong. They feel perfect to me.

[SuperReverb2]

Seems the same to me as well. :)

Just put the SOB's back on for a quick A/B and the SOB's sounded "flat" (as in tone) to me after having the R.Cocco strings on for a week. Now have the R.Cocco's on and they feel and sound great!! Very "alive" strings!! Like them!!

:)

I believe they are nickel wound, round core... That's what they feel like to me, but I could be wrong. They feel perfect to me.

[lemmiwinks]

What are these strings made of? I can't find the information anywhere. Are they round core? Hex core? are they nickel? nickel plated steel?

Anyone?

[J.T. Guitar]

Round core, nickel alloy... a tad brighter than a pure nickel string. Perfect IMHO. Some guys that are used to bending hex core strings are going to notice the RCs to be slinkier.

[throbert]

I finally tried a set of R. Coccos and they are nice. However, they're really zingy and bright. They're not even close to SOB or any pure nickel string that I've used over the years. They have to be some sort of nickel plated steel and although they aren't necessarily stiff, they aren't the most slinky feeling strings either. They feel more like hex core to me but I don't know that for a fact. At almost $10.00 per pack, I can't hear any appreciable difference from D'Addario. Good product though.

[J.T. Guitar]

I finally tried a set of R. Coccos and they are nice. However, they're really zingy and bright. They're not even close to SOB or any pure nickel string that I've used over the years. They have to be some sort of nickel plated steel and although they aren't necessarily stiff, they aren't the most slinky feeling strings either. They feel more like hex core to me but I don't know that for a fact. At almost $10.00 per pack, I can't hear any appreciable difference from D'Addario. Good product though.

They are round core strings and not pure nickel... They are alloy and closer to SOB's Rock formula. Yes, if you are looking for a softer top end a nickel string would suit you better. They feel better and last longer than D'Addarios... YMMV

[lemmiwinks]

I like the r. coccos on my acoustic, but not so much on my strat. Way too much piercing zing, at least with my set up. I've come to like pyramid classic nickels.