Ernie Ball Power Slinky?

[dirtychinchilla]

Morning guys,

I've never even heard of these power slinkies, but I was going to buy some super slinkys and saw these. Are they any good? I'd love to know what they sound like but can't even find a description.

Even after playing bass for 15 years, I haven't settled on any strings. Ernie Ball has generally been my go to as they were always accessible and Tim Commerford used them, but I also tried the Rotosound Swing strings and they were great.

I'm looking for some recommendations as well really. I play a lot of rock, probably 50/50 pick to string ratio. I go for quite a mid-heavy tone, so the Ernie Balls and Rotosounds have been pretty to me...

Thanks in advance,

dirtychinchilla

 

[michael_t]

I've never even heard of these power slinkies, but I was going to buy some super slinkys and saw these. Are they any good? I'd love to know what they sound like but can't even find a description.

Terms such as "Power Slinky", "Super Slinky", "Regular Slinky" and "Hybrid Slinky" simply refer to different sets of gauges, ie "55-110", "40-95", "45-100" and "45-105". No difference in the strings themseves. Just Ernie Ball's way of confusing us.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

Terms such as "Power Slinky", "Super Slinky", "Regular Slinky" and "Hybrid Slinky" simply refer to different sets of gauges, ie "55-110", "40-95", "45-100" and "45-105". No difference in the strings themseves. Just Ernie Ball's way of confusing us.

That is very confusing. Thanks though!

 

[thisheregiraffe]

I think you can more or less consider the various Slinky sets like this:

- Extra Slinky (40-95) - Extra Light
- Super Slinky (45-100) - Light
- Hybrid Slinky (45-105) - Light Top / Med. Bottom
- Regular Slinky (50-105) - Medium
- Power Slinky (55-110) - Heavy

I'm assuming you already have experience with the Super Slinky's..? How do you like the feel / stiffness of them? If they feel right, then you might as well stick with that set. If you would prefer a stiffer feeling string, then maybe trying moving up the Regular Slinky set. Power Slinky might be too big of a jump, depending on your preference of course.

I've come to prefer lighter, more flexible strings. I currently have Extra Slinky's on two of my basses and I'm quite happy with them. That's just me though

 

[dirtychinchilla]

I think you can more or less consider the various Slinky sets like this:

- Extra Slinky (40-95) - Extra Light
- Super Slinky (45-100) - Light
- Hybrid Slinky (45-105) - Light Top / Med. Bottom
- Regular Slinky (50-105) - Medium
- Power Slinky (55-110) - Heavy

I'm assuming you already have experience with the Super Slinky's..? How do you like the feel / stiffness of them? If they feel right, then you might as well stick with that set. If you would prefer a stiffer feeling string, then maybe trying moving up the Regular Slinky set. Power Slinky might be too big of a jump, depending on your preference of course.

I've come to prefer lighter, more flexible strings. I currently have Extra Slinky's on two of my basses and I'm quite happy with them. That's just me though

I think I'm in the same boat as you. Why work harder than you need to?! It's very hard to A/B bass strings as well, unless you're a multi-millionaire...

 

[Geri O]

I used Power Slinkies for years and got on very well with them. They are a fairly heavy-gauge set of strings. They suited my playing style nicely, which was a little heavy-handed by some folks’ standards, but I liked it fine for a long time.

But a year ago, at 62 (63 now), I decided I better start playing lighter and use lighter strings. And I did both. Took some doing, but I do play lighter and I’m using medium-gauge strings not. Funny enough, I didn’t have very good luck with the Super Slinkies, so I switched to D’addario EXL170s and I’m perfectly happy with those.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

I used Power Slinkies for years and got on very well with them. They are a fairly heavy-gauge set of strings. They suited my playing style nicely, which was a little heavy-handed by some folks’ standards, but I liked it fine for a long time.

But a year ago, at 62 (63 now), I decided I better start playing lighter and use lighter strings. And I did both. Took some doing, but I do play lighter and I’m using medium-gauge strings not. Funny enough, I didn’t have very good luck with the Super Slinkies, so I switched to D’addario EXL170s and I’m perfectly happy with those.

Very nice. I'd love to know what the power slinkies feel like just out of interest, but I would imagine I'd probably not prefer the heavier strings. One of my friends works at Andertons, so he's hooking me up with some D'Addario NYXL strings, 0.45 - 0.125.

 

[Geri O]

Very nice. I'd love to know what the power slinkies feel like just out of interest, but I would imagine I'd probably not prefer the heavier strings. One of my friends works at Andertons, so he's hooking me up with some D'Addario NYXL strings, 0.45 - 0.125.

I tried the NYXLs and really liked them! Great tone, good feel. The first set lasted the usual 4-5 weeks. They were fine. But I had consistency problems with the next two sets. So I wish you better luck than I had. I could have come across a bad run. But if they are consistent, I think you’ll like them a lot.

 

[darren1970]

I recently put a set of Power Slinky's on my Thunderbird ( first time using Ernie Ball ) I find the tension really positive, actually not as firm as I'd expected and easy on the fingers.
The additional bit of tension seems to have given the lower register notes a touch more "clarity" ( if that makes sense ).
I play quite hard-ish with fingers & with a pick on some songs.

 

[Swerve]

I recently experimented with Power Slinky's for a drop tuned bass. They were still too floppy for that purpose but I found I loved them in regular tuning. For "heavy" gauge strings they are very flexible and smooth to the touch.

Coming from 105 gauge flats, these 110's feel similar in comparison. I find 105 rounds usually to be too thin for my tastes. Add in the low price and these are a pleasant surprise.

 

[Green Knight]

I just put some on my Pangborn. I love the tension but for the G string, which sounds great but holy cow I’m gonna need more pinky strength. I think finger style sounds better with them; each note has more authority. I was shocked tuning up at how tight they got; I hope graphite really IS stable, cuz no truss rod.