Strings made by Ernie Ball - the proverbial icing on the cake for a powerful sound with plenty of sustain. Since the early 1960s, the US company has been making strings for almost every stringed instrument. This vast wealth of experience is clearly demonstrated in every product, and it is not by chance that Ernie Ball remains one of the market's leading manufacturers to this day. The product range has expanded immensely over the course of several decades and now includes many accessories such as effect pedals, cables, straps, and high-quality picks alongside the company's extensive selection of strings. However, Ernie Ball's core business is and remains the production of all manner of strings, which set standards in terms of sound, tuning stability, and durability - and the company is still based in Indio, California.
The 2217 Zippy Slinky strings are the lightest in Ernie Ball's product range. The wound strings feature a hexagonal steel core beneath nickel-plated steel windings. The plain strings, on the other hand, are made from a specially hardened and tin-plated high-tensile carbon steel. With gauges of .007, .009, .013, .020, .026, and .036, the 2217 Zippy Slinky set offers top performance for lead guitarists in particular and makes string-bending extremely easy as well as opening the door for players to experiment with alternate tunings, such as standard G.
Thanks to its long playing life, loud and well-balanced sound, precise intonation, and high tuning stability from the moment the strings are put on, the 2217 Zippy Slinky string set is particularly recommended as a reliable companion for ambitious guitarists who want great playability, for example when playing solos, but also want to go easy on their fingertips and minimise the amount of force they need to apply in gripping the strings. The combined power of over 50 years of experience in string development at Ernie Ball also makes the 2217 Zippy Slinky strings the first choice for electric guitarists looking to make their string-bending extra expressive and try out higher tunings - and at a very fair price.
The Ernie Ball company was named after its founder and has its headquarters in San Luis Opisbo, California. Being a guitarist himself, Ernie Ball knew their needs very well. A major problem for him in the 1950s and 1960s was the lack of high-quality guitar and bass strings. In 1962, Ernie Ball invented the “Slinky”, a very flexible and therefore much more comfortable string, which also sounded better and was more durable. He specifically brought individual string gauges onto the market for a young clientele and touring musicians. The company’s success was unstoppable, and today Ernie Ball is the world's largest manufacturer of guitar and bass strings. Over the years, the range has expanded and now includes accessories such as cables, picks, straps, etc. Ernie Ball is also known in connection with the instrument manufacturer Music Man, which the company bought in 1984, but which continues to operate as an independent brand.
The Ernie Ball 2217 Zippy Slinky string set offers a rich, balanced sound that brings out the best in your electric guitar. The strings' precise intonation means that chords, riffs, and solos will always sound bright and clear anywhere on the fingerboard, though a light touch with both the left and right hand - as well as a thin-gauge plectrum - are recommended due to the strings' extremely low tension. Whether you are playing riffs, crystal-clear clean parts in high alternate tunings, or expressive solos with extremely wide pitch-bends, the 2217 Zippy Slinky strings offer the perfect balance between playing feel, durability, and a full sound. Those who wish to try out the aforementioned "standard G" tuning should incidentally tune the strings (low to high) to G - C - F - A# - d - g, which is the equivalent of playing with a capo on the third fret in standard tuning.