The expanded range includes three new gauges, so the pure nickel strings now come in the full spread of Slinky tensions.
The Classic Rock N’ Roll line has been a favourite since Ernie Ball brought it back in the ’90s. Fit with a pure nickel wrap over a tin-plated hex-shaped steel core, the strings come with the warm vintage tone of ’60s and ’70s records. Pure nickel rolls a little off the top end, so you get smooth highs, punchy mids and rich, vintage-leaning lows, perfect for classic rock, blues and jazz.
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The three additions are Turbo Slinky (9.5–46), Ultra Slinky (10–48) and Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Slinky (10–52), joining the existing Extra, Super, Hybrid, Regular and Power Slinky gauges. Skinny Top Heavy Bottom is the one a lot of players reach for when they want light top strings for leads and bends but a thicker bottom end for riffing and lower tunings, and having it in pure nickel gives that setup a warmer voice. Between them, the new gauges bring the full run of Slinky tensions to the Classic Rock N’ Roll formulation.
Wound to the usual Slinky recipe, they keep the flexibility Ernie Ball is known for, so bends and vibrato stay easy. Pure nickel also reacts more gently with your pickups than steel does, giving a dynamic response that cleans up nicely when you back off the guitar’s volume.
The new gauges are out now through CMC Music, and for anyone after a warmer, more vintage voice than bright nickel-plated steel, they round out one of Ernie Ball’s most traditional-sounding sets.
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