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Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky Review – Better Than Expected!

Hello there, and welcome back to yet another short and sweet article for you! We will check out the Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky guitar strings this time. As you may know, I’m pretty much addicted to trying as many guitar strings as possible and constantly adding different guitar strings to my cart while checking out at Thomann! 🙂

Although this costs me a lot, I can’t resist experiencing all these guitar strings and sharing my opinions with you. I had already restrung my lovely Ibanez AR300 after having modded it heavily and set it up for standard D (drop C) tunning so I could jam along with my favourite tunes. Last time, I preferred Elixir Nanoweb 12-52 (12152) heavy set and initially enjoyed it a lot!

However, it was definitely not the easiest gauge to play in standard D tuning. The bottom strings absolutely felt great for chunky distortion riffs but the top strings were a bit too tense for my hands.

Also, I was not used to having a wound G string. While experiencing this set, surprisingly I broke the high E string due to applying too much force to play and bend very frequently. So I took this opportunity to check out the Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky and share the results with you!

TL;DR

I think Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky is an excellent choice for standard D / Drop C tunings and allows you to play very comfortably at all registers.

Although Ernie Ball 2226 is not a coated string set and not so pricey, I was pretty surprised how it has been holding the initial spark and not getting rusty right after I started playing (especially on the top strings).

It’s a very popular guitar string set that has received 4.8/5 out of 185 user reviews and ranked in 14th position among hundreds of competitor models and brands in the 11 gauge string category!

cigilovic.com totally approves this product and confidently recommends anyone who is after an affordable yet durable with superb playability for standard D and drop C tunings!

About Ernie Ball

Here’s a quick introduction and a quick history for those who have never heard of this wonderful company.

Ernie Ball is a well-known and respected American manufacturer of guitars, basses, guitar strings, and other musical accessories. The company was established in the late 50s and has played a significant role in shaping the modern music industry, particularly in electric guitar and bass.

The Ernie Ball story begins in the late 1950s when Clarence Leonidas “Ernie” Ball, a talented musician and entrepreneur, founded the company in Tarzana, California, USA.

In the beginning, Ernie Ball focused on manufacturing custom-made steel guitar sets for country musicians and handling the demand that was started by the rise of the electrified instruments in rock’n roll music.


Best Tools For Guitars at Stewmac.com

Best Tools For Guitars at Stewmac.com

The company revolutionized the guitar industry by introducing Slinky guitar strings in the early 60s. These strings were made of high-quality materials and way ahead of their time and these attributes resulted in the company and the Slinky gaining a lot of popularity among guitar players who were seeking superior tones, durability, performance and playability.

The Slinky guitar strings became synonymous with Ernie Ball and remain one of the most iconic guitar string brands to this day!

Throughout the 70s and 80s, Ernie Ball committed to innovation and quality to achieve their ambitions. The company’s guitar string line became the choice of many legendary guitar players such as Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix, among others.

On top of this, Ernie Ball Instruments gained recognition for their exceptional craftsmanship and sound, further solidifying the company’s reputation within musician communities.

In the ’90s, the company started focusing on the expansion of its product lines and introducing bass guitar strings, accessories and other musical instrument-related products. Ernie Ball also acquired Music Man which became a legend and pioneer in guitar history.

Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky

Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky is a nickel wound string set, meaning that the strings are made from nickel-plated steel wire wrapped around tin-plated, hex-shaped steel core wire.

The plain strings are made of tempered, tin-plated, high-carbon steel that ensures a very well-balanced tone for your guitar.

Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky front
Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky!

Ernie Ball 2226 features the following gauges for the set 11 –  14 – 18 – 30 – 42 – 52.

Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky Review

As I mentioned in the beginning, I’m a big fan of trying new guitar strings and experiencing them with my guitars and my rig so I can have a solid idea about every one of them.

To be honest, I wasn’t really checking out the Ernie Ball brand for a long time as I have a huge stock of Elixirs and D’addarios. However, whenever I place an order on Thomann, I can’t resist adding a set of strings (almost like an impulsive buyer!) and just save it in my stash.

So when the opportunity arises (meaning when I break a string!), I randomly choose one and give it a go on one of my electric guitars.

The reason I wanted to try a set of Ernie Ball 2226 was that the Elixir 12152 I was using did not feel great in terms of playing lead style. The top strings were a bit too tense for me. But I must admit I was blown away by the tightness on the bottom strings and really enjoyed playing them.


Check out the best guitar pickup company, Seymour Duncan here!

Check out the best guitar pickup company, Seymour Duncan here!

This actually limited the use of my Ibanez AR300 as I don’t usually set up a guitar a certain way and just practice songs that this guitar would be aimed for. I also play without planning and thinking about it too much so I tend to play a lot of random lead style too.

Elixir Nanoweb 12152 was definitely not made of this! This is, of course, my personal opinion and it can vary from guitarist to guitarist.

Right after I restrung my guitar with Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky set and set it up roughly, I immediately started playing and really enjoyed it.

Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky with Ibanez AR300
Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky with Ibanez AR300

As you may have heard me say many times, I’m usually turned off by the plain strings getting rusty in a matter of minutes with most of the entry-level guitar strings. This includes even big brands like D’addario (even their coated strings get rusty in a couple of hours).

So initially, I was pretty stressed because I thought Ernie Ball 2226 Slinky strings would get rusty very quickly. However, it did not happen! Of course, eventually, the plain strings started changing colour in a week, but this wasn’t as quick as a D’addario set would.


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The overall balance of the strings was perfect for my hands, allowing me to play lead and rhythm on the same guitar without compromising anything.

In order to show you how these strings sound fresh out of the box, I recorded this video below. Excuse my random playing, nothing was planned in this video :).

I used my Ibanez AR300 with Marshall JVM401H, Redseven Amp Central and Boss SD-1 (as a clean boost). The only post-effect added is the Valhalla Room Reverb.

Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky Sound Demo & Test (no talking)

Verdict

I think Ernie Ball 2226 Burly Slinky is an excellent choice for standard D / Drop C tunings and allows you to play very comfortably at all registers.

Although Ernie Ball 2226 is not a coated string set and not so pricey, I was pretty surprised how it has been holding the initial spark and not getting rusty right after I started playing (especially on the top strings).


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It’s a very popular guitar string set that has received 4.8/5 out of 185 user reviews and ranked in 14th position among hundreds of competitor models and brands in the 11 gauge string category!

I really loved the playing experience and can confidently recommend anyone who is after an affordable yet durable set of strings with superb playability for standard D and drop C tunings!

Thanks for visiting my blog and supporting me so far! I will hopefully see you in the next review here!

Osman Cenan Çiğil – cigilovic.com


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