Power Slinky (2220) vs. Classic Power Slinky (2250)

[SurfWhammy]

As a bit of background, I have been using Ernie Ball Power Slinky guitar strings for a long time (decades), and sometime last year I started to get the curious feeling that something was a bit different about Power Slinky strings, although it was a bit fuzzy, except that I noticed some of the outside graphic designs looked a bit different, which I presumed was just a matter of "old artwork" being replaced by "new artwork" . . .

Yet, this week as I was ordering a new supply of Power Slinky strings, I discovered that there are two flavors of the ones with purple artwork, so I did a bit more research . . .

Apparently, one style refers to "nickel-plated steel wire" (2220 Nickel Power Slinky Purple) while the other style refers to "pure nickel" (2250 Classic Power Slinky) . . .

So, although it took me a bit longer to discover all this stuff, now that I know about it, I need more information so that I can decide which type is best for the way I play and the type of TONE I like . . .

And although the low-pitch strings ("E", "A", "D") are important, my focus is more on the high-pitch strings ("G", "b", "e"), since the high-pitch strings are plain rather than wound, and I do a LOT of string bending and whammying, as is easy to hear in these two instrumental versions of songs done over the past year or so, which are expressly mixed for listening with iPod earbuds or headphones, since there is a lot of spatial stuff:

"Dreamwalk" (The Surf Whammys) -- Instrumental Version, MP3

"Starlight" (The Surf Whammys) -- Instrumental Version, MP3

For reference, "Dreamwalk" started as a way to demonstrate a wide range of different types of whammying, with some of it involving very intense (if not manic) whammying where the whammy bar (or "lever", if you prefer) was going back and forth as rapidly as a kick drum pedal on a song where the kick drum sounds like an M61 "Vulcan" Gatling Gun (approximately 6,000 rounds per minute), which is a bit more whammying than I usually do, but so what . . .

So what!

The lead guitar for "Starlight" is a bit more representative of the blend of playing notes directly, doing string bending, and whammying, although there is a lot of whammying (just not so much for it to be at the extreme range), which is spanky, for sure . . .

For sure!

The guitar is a highly modified Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster that has two separate and independent output signals (through a stereo output jack), Seymour Duncan pickups, and Rothstein TONE controls, along with a Stewart-MacDonald "Black Ice Overdrive" passive control on one of the circuits . . .

The Fabulous Fifty Million Dollar Trinaural Stratocaster™

The whammy bar system is finely adjusted and balanced so that the guitar stays in tune no matter how much string bending and whammying I do, at least for 10 to 30 minutes at a time, with it being on the longer side if I am focusing more on string bending and whammying than on playing notes directly, since when I am string bending and whammying I simply bend or whammy the notes until they are right . . .

SO . . .

QUESTION: I wonder which of the two types of Power Slinky strings (2220 vs. 2250) are stronger and better suited for string bending and whammying, specifically with respect to the high-pitch plain strings ("G", "b", "e"), since the plain strings are the ones that break more frequently, although the record so far is a set that lasted for well over a year and a full album of recording stuff, since I always clean the plain strings gently with a tiny piece of steel wool every so often . . .

QUESTION: Are the plain strings ("G", "b", "e") nickel-plated steel for the 2220 Power Slinky set but pure nickel for the 2250 Power Slinky set?

Intuitively, I tend to think that the pure nickel Power Slinky strings are stronger and better suited for string bending and whammying, but this is mostly a matter of not really noticing any particular problems with high-pitch (plain) strings breaking until about a year ago, which since I still have the packs of strings are nearly all 2220 Power Slinky sets, but missing the three high-pitch strings, more so the high-pitch "e" string, which is the one that breaks most often these days . . .

And for reference, I have very strong hands and fingers, and from years of playing bass guitar, I tend to play the guitar hard with a Herco "Flex50" bronze guitar pick . . .

No "light" playing here in the sound isolation studio, for sure . . .

For sure!

And if there are any metallurgists, I am intrigued by reading that nickel is negative magnetostrictive, which apparently maps to its tendency to shorten in length in the presence of a magnetic field, although this no doubt is a minuscule factor with respect to the magnetic fields around guitar pickups, which might not map to a cent (a logarithmic unit where there are 1,200 cents in an octave), but perhaps not . . .

Basically, I need more information about the metals used in 2220 Power Slinky and 2250 Power Slinky strings, with particular focus on the high-pitch plain strings ("G", "b", "e"), which among other things is the reason I provided so much background information, because at this point, I am focusing intensely on all the minutiae, since I think that all of it is important in one way or another, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous!

 

[TNT]

Wow, now that's a looooooooooooooooooong thread!!!!

Since the first 3 strings are plain you only need to be concerned with the "wound"..; I like the "pure" nickel myself, because of the slightly fatter, warmer tone.

The nickel wrap are a tad more bright and edgier and can cut thru a mix a little better, so you might prefer those.

Oh yeah, too bad that guitar wasn't a MM Silo Special then you really would have a $50,000,000 baby!!

 

[SurfWhammy]

Wow, now that's a looooooooooooooooooong thread!!!!

Since the first 3 strings are plain you only need to be concerned with the "wound"..; I like the "pure" nickel myself, because of the slightly fatter, warmer tone.

The nickel wrap are a tad more bright and edgier and can cut thru a mix a little better, so you might prefer those.

Oh yeah, too bad that guitar wasn't a MM Silo Special then you really would have a $50,000,000 baby!!

I tend to be a bit wordy at times (as in nearly all the time) . . .

QUESTION: Do you have any specific information on the plain strings for both of these sets (2220 and 2250)?

QUESTION: Are the plain strings nickel-plated steel for the 2220 Power Slinky set but pure nickel for the 2250 Power Slinky set?

NOTE: If I understand everything correctly, the nickel-plated steel 2220 Power Slinky set will be a bit brighter for the three low-pitch strings, which is great, so my focus is on determining how the three high-pitch (plain) strings differ in the two sets (2220 vs. 2250), if there actually are differences . . .

This is primarily for lead guitar, where there will be at least one rhythm guitar part, so the brighter stuff is a better fit, as you noted . . .

Thanks!

 

[SurfWhammy]

I did a bit more research, which included a lot of reading, and I found the answer to my question regarding the three high-pitch plain strings ("G", "b", "e") in the 2220 Power Slinky set:

The plain strings are made of specially tempered tin plated high carbon steel; producing a well balanced tone for your guitar.

And, in the "Duh!" department, I found the quoted information at the Ernie Ball website in the pop-up details for the 2220 Power Slinky set, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous!

So, the only missing information at this point is the specification for the three high-pitch plain strings in the 2250 Classic Power Slinky set . . .

However, in doing a bit more reading, I found this information regarding the three high-pitch plain strings in the 3120 Coated Electric Titanium RPS Power Slinky set--also in the pop-up details for this string set at Ernie Ball website--which is very intriguing:

. . . each plain string is reinforced with a patented winding of titanium wire.

And from doing a bit work over the years in the aerospace industry, there are two particularly outstanding characteristics of titanium alloys, generally:

(1) light weight

(2) incredible strength

And yet another important characteristic of titanium is that it is corrosion-resistant, especially with respect to sea water, which pretty much maps to human sweat, more or less, which is spanky, for sure . . .

For sure!

SO . . .

I think it makes a bit of sense to do some experiments, which should be a bit of FUN . . .

One pair of the experiments is to get two sets of 3120 Coated Electric Titanium RPS Power Slinky strings, primarily for the three high-pitch plain strings, which I will use with the low-pitch strings from the 2220 Power Slinky set in one experiment but with the low-pitch strings from the 2250 Classic Power Slinky set in another experiment . . .

It also makes a bit of sense to do the most obvious experiment, which simply is to try a set of 3120 Coated Electric Titanium RPS Power Slinky strings, based on what appears to be a reasonable presumption--specifically that the folks at Ernie Ball know a lot about strings . . .

And while I do not have any special metallurgical test equipment, there are other ways to do a bit of scientific testing, with perhaps the most simple but completely subjective strategy being to use my intuition regarding the way the strings play and sound, based on using Ernie Ball strings for at least three decades, with most of the strings being the gauges and types found in the 2250 Classic Power Slinky set, although for a while I used a heavier set of gauges, mapping more to 2627 Beefy Slinky Electric Strings or perhaps 2626 Not Even Slinky Electric Strings, which for the most part was when the strings were sold individually rather than in prepackaged sets . . .

And with an additional bit of scouting around, I found this information about the individual high-pitch "e" string which is sold in sets of six (.011 Electric/ Acoustic 6 pack [ P01011]), where the individual string number or code is 1011:

. . . made of specially tempered tin plated high carbon steel.

And while at present I do not have the paper sleeve or packet for the individual high-pitch "e" string which comes in the 2250 Classic Power Slinky set, I do have one for the high-pitch "b" string, and its number or code is 1014 . . .

So, I think it is reasonable to infer that the high-pitch "e" string number or code probably is 1011 for the 2250 Classic Power Slinky set, which looks to answer the second question, with the general result that the three high-pitch plain strings probably are the same in the 2220 Power Slinky and 2250 Classic Power Slinky sets, which I can verify easily by ordering a set of 2250 Classic Power Slinky strings and checking the individual high-pitch string numbers or codes . . .

And it also is good to know that I can get six-packs of individual strings at the Ernie Ball Store, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous!

Once I do the titanium string experiments, I will post the results . . .

And I might do some stainless steel experiments, as well, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous!

P. S. WHY go into this much detail about strings?

Great question!

The reason is that I like to bend strings and whammy a LOT, and the fact of the matter is that intense string bending and whammying is brutal on strings, so as I do even more string bending and whammying it becomes very important at least to find a set of strings that will not break during 5 to 7 minutes of intense string bending and whammying, which generally is sufficient for a complete song, which then provides a solution, since one can have a set of identical guitars and switch from one to another between songs to have a new set of strings for each song, which might be a bit strange, but so what . . .

So what!

Listen to the instrumental version of "Dreamwalk" (The Surf Whammys)--the MP3 link in the first post--with focus on the amount of string bending and whammying, which is not anywhere near so much string bending and whammying as is possible, although at present it is all that is practical for me to do, since even though the song is only approximately three and one-half minutes in length, the high-pitch "G" string snapped toward the end of the song during the lead guitar part, so although I want to do more string bending and whammying I have to keep it under control, otherwise I am replacing one string or another every five minutes or so, which is a bit of hassle, really . . .

Really!

And to be very specific, this is a combination of up-whammying and down-whammying, since the whammy bar system is what I call a "fully floated" synchronized tremolo system, so you can whammy-up and whammy-down, which obviously puts a lot of stress on the strings and everything else, although by not using an outrageously heavy set of string gauges--the primary reason for selecting Power Slinky strings rather than one of the heavier sets--the various stresses on the guitar body, neck, and tuning pegs are buffered or reduced a bit by the synchronized tremolo springs, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous!

P. P. S. I use several DigiTech Whammy pedals and one of a set of wah-wah pedals, so some of the low-to-high "octave" or "double-octave" whammying actually is done with the DigiTech Whammy pedals, but the really rapid whammying is done with the whammy bar on the guitar, for sure . . .

For sure!

 

[TNT]

Wow!!!!!!!!


I had to take a nap in between reading your thread!!! LOL

Now, can you just get the strings and start playing the guitar!!!