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Ernie Ball 2228 Mighty Slinky Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings - .0085-.040

.0085-.040 Electric Guitar Strings, Mighty Slinky
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Ernie Ball 2228 Mighty Slinky Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings - .0085-.040
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Ernie Ball Strings!

Ernie Ball strings have been a top choice for players of all types since the early 1960s, when guitarists came into Ernie Ball's music store, customizing their string gauges to make their axes easier to play. After fruitless attempts to interest major guitar manufacturers in a lighter set of strings, Ernie Ball decided to start making his own. When you open a pack of his strings today, you know you're getting a quality set of strings designed to give you great tone, reliable performance, and long life. You can't go wrong when you string up with Ernie Ball strings!

Ernie Ball's Slinky electric guitar strings are made from nickel-plated steel wire wrapped around a tin-plated hex-shaped steel core wire. The plain strings use a patented winding of bronze wire tightly wrapped around the lock twist of ball end for reduced slippage and breakage, making them slightly bright. They're popular with artists ranging from Keith Richards to John Petrucci. These Mighty Slinky strings sit between Super Slinky and Extra Slinky strings in terms of feel, offering light tension across all strings.

Ernie Ball 2228 Mighty Slinky Electric Guitar Strings Features:

  • Type: Electric, 6-string
  • .0085–.040
  • Tin-plated hex steel core
  • Nickel-plated steel wrap
  • Plain strings use a patented winding of bronze wire tightly wrapped around the lock twist of ball end for reduced slippage and breakage
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Tech Specs

  • Guitar Type: Electric Guitar
  • Number of Strings: 6
  • Coated: No
  • Gauges: .0085, .011, .015p, .022w, .030, .040
  • Core Material: Tin-plated Hex Steel
  • Winding Material: Nickel Plated Steel
  • Winding Type: Round Wound
  • Manufacturer Part Number: P02228

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

Really great

For the last couple years, I've been using EB extra slinky (8-38) and hyper slinky (8-42) for E tuning. I had been using hybrid slinky (9-46) for Eb Tuning. Great strings, but too much tension for what I like. I really wanted to get the same feel of my 8s in E on the 3 high strings. Enter the mighty slinky (8.5-40). They give me the same feel of my E guitars, but in Eb.

Some people buy into the hype of lighter strings breaking easier or having less "tone," but it's simply not the case. I do wild 2 whole step bends & whammy bar tricks with no breaks, tone loss or stability issues. Legato and tapping runs are a breeze too. And for the Low strings, the low end is tight & articulate with a touch more attack. Go to youtube and check out Rick Beato's video on string gauges. It'll open your eyes and ears.

Don't be afraid of the 8 and 8.5 gauges. If you're heavy handed, you may have to adjust a touch, but the rewards are worth it. Stop working so hard. ;)
Music background: Rock and metal
Rated 5/5

Strong and durable

I played 10-gauge electric strings for most of my career, then started scaling down to smaller gauges as I got older. When I was playing 5-6 nights a week, 10s or even 11s were no problem as my fingers - calluses and muscles - stayed heavily conditioned. Now I'm in a band that plays 6-8 gigs per month, and even though I play at home pretty much every day, it's not the same as gigging heavily, and I find my fingers feeling pretty ragged by the end of two or three sets. I played D'Addario 10s and liked them a lot. When I scaled down to D'Addario 9s to save finger wear I started breaking a lot of high E strings. Pretty much every other gig or every three gigs. I just accepted it and always brought spare strings to gigs. But I got bored missing the band breaks between sets because I was busy in the green room stringing up a new high E.

I chalked it up to the fact that the strings were lighter so they were easier to break. Plus I use heavy 2mm picks. Once when I was ready for a whole new set - I change every three or four gigs - my local music shop was out of D'Addario 9s so I picked up a couple sets of Ernies. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they stabilized a lot quicker than the D'Addarios I'd been using for over a decade - less extreme string pulling was needed to get them in tune, plus they just stayed in tune a lot better on the first night after a string change. And I didn't break any high Es with the Ernies.

Just for fun I dropped further down to 8.5s in the Ernie Ball line. I figured for sure that I'd be busting high Es and Bs since they were really thin strings. So far I've been through three sets of 8.5s with no breakage. And the faster tuning stabilization is really noticeable, even the other guitarist in the band noticed it. They also just feel better under my fingers, which might just be because I feel more confident about tuning and non-breakage.

I always though D'Addarios were great 'adult' strings and that somehow Ernie Balls were for teenagers. Anyway, I'm sticking with EB for now.
Music background: Pro
Rated 5/5

Mighty Slinky’s

Amazing feel and control from this set. I highly recommend them if you're working on easing fret-hand tension. Before putting the Mighty Slinky's on my Tele, I used Regular Slinky's for 6 years and it was hard to stay relaxed while playing Smashing Pumpkins riffs/solos. Less effort now!