Ernie Ball Paradigm Not Even Slinky 12-56

I'm a fervent, avid user of the original brand of coated strings for electric guitars. Used only those since they appeared, and I'm still using almost only those to these days.

But every now and then someone comes out with what seems like an alternative, and it's worth a try, which is the spirit by which I bought this set, tipped off in my uncertainty by the fact that its manufacturer has a widely renowned for its quality products.

I might have just been the unlucky buyer, but the plain E-string is matted by corrosion, right out of the (sealed, and supposedly air-tight) wrap; not the B, not the G, plain too as they are, but the E; it's not yet rust, I concede, but it soon will be, and rubbing it vigourously with a soft cloth dipped in the ubiquitous oily cleaner/preservative/anti-rust spray failed to remove the black pockmarks.

The feel to the touch isn't as silky and slippery as the original ones I've come to rely on; I have a very delicate touch, use no pick anyhow, and this extra friction I'm feeling isn't welcome, though I can't say they resemble abrasive cord at all.

Soundwise, the set may be alright to most, though I miss that touch of smooth elegance that I associate to the subtly rolled-off highs of the main competitor's strings: they're bright, which is what most want, though I'm used to not being among them most, and I'd like them a tad less bright then they are.

G-string, then, has quite an unbalanced response between open and fingered, but I find this is not unusual, at such extreme gauge, and I would rather have a wound one anyway, in a set this heavy... but this lack of balance obviously doesn't speak good, soundwise.

Can't yet say how long they'll keep their fresh zing, as I've just installed them, but given how my experience with these failed to err on the positive side of things, I honestly don't care much about how long they'll last; given how ruined is the E-1st, the shortest the rest of the set will last, the best it is for me, all things considered.

Pity, at this price I thought it reasonable to expect they would outrank the real thing on more than one aspect... probably the greatest achievement, in my view, is just that they might not flake-out like the original ones do with heavy pickers.
Which I'm not, so even if this is just a supposed benefit, it isn't enough to compensate how they failed on my expectations.