Ernie Ball Burly Slinky Cobalt (.011–.052) review: the uniformly-heavy Drop D Cobalt set
Reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
Ernie Ball Burly Slinky Cobalt (2716) is the .011–.052 set built for Drop D and D standard: Power Slinky's .011 top three plus a heavier .030–.042–.052 bottom, one step past Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Cobalt's mixed gauge. The cobalt-iron wrap drives passive pickups louder and brighter than nickel at the same gauge. It sits between Power Slinky Cobalt (.011–.048) and Beefy Slinky Cobalt (.011–.054) in the Cobalt range.
Anatomy
- SKU
- Ernie Ball 2716
- MPN
- P02716
- Gauge
- .011 – .052 (Burly Slinky)
- Gauge set
- .011, .014, .018, .030, .042, .052
- Core wire
- Tin-plated hex steel
- Wrap wire
- Cobalt-iron alloy (the whole point of the line)
- Plain strings
- Tin-plated hex-core steel (.011, .014, .018 plain)
- Coating
- None, uncoated
- Winding
- Standard roundwound
- Intended scale
- 25.5" (Strat/superstrat) primary; a 24.75" Gibson scale runs looser at the same tuning, roughly 6% less tension, see the FAQ below
- Intended tunings
- Drop D, D standard, Eb standard for heavy-hand players
- Position in the Cobalt line
- One step heavier than Power Slinky Cobalt (.011–.048); one step lighter than Beefy Slinky Cobalt (.011–.054)
- Total tension (25.5", E standard, reference only)
- ~109 lbs (Phil's cross-gauge estimate from the sitewide Cobalt tension table; not published by Ernie Ball, and nobody tunes this set to E standard, this is a reference point only)
- Collection
- Ships under Ernie Ball's own "Cobalt Expanded Gauges" line, alongside Primo, Ultra, and Mammoth Slinky Cobalt, not the original 2012 core launch
- Package
- Single pack
Burly Slinky Cobalt (.011–.052)
Tone
Same cobalt-iron wrap as the rest of the line, carried by a uniformly heavier gauge than Power Slinky Cobalt across all six strings.
Voicing through a passive pickup
- Output
- About 2–3 dB louder than a same-gauge nickel set through the same passive pickup, the same delta the rest of the Cobalt line shows.
- Low end
- Firm palm-mute attack at Drop D and D standard. The .052 low string holds definition without the flap Power Slinky Cobalt's .048 shows at the same pitch.
- Top end
- The .011, .014, .018 plain strings read crisp and articulate, consistent with every other Cobalt gauge, just with a slightly firmer starting point than Power Slinky's .011 top paired with a lighter bottom.
- Bend feel
- Firmer than Power Slinky Cobalt, since every string moved up a step. Still bends normally for rhythm-forward playing; not the pick for wide, fast bends on the wound strings.
For the full measured Cobalt-vs-nickel breakdown (output dB curves, brightness over a tracking week, bend feel, pickup compatibility), see Cobalt vs nickel Slinky: the voicing difference, measured.
Where this set sits in the Cobalt range
Burly Slinky Cobalt is the "uniformly heavier" answer for Drop D and D standard, the counterpart to Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Cobalt's mixed-gauge approach at the same low-string weight:
- E standard / Eb standard: Regular Slinky Cobalt (.010–.046) is the default; Power Slinky Cobalt (.011–.048) for a heavier hand.
- Eb standard / Drop D (uniformly heavier): Power Slinky Cobalt (.011–.048).
- Drop D / D standard, matched top and bottom: This set, Burly Slinky Cobalt (.011–.052).
- Drop D with a lighter top for leads: Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Cobalt (.010–.052), same .052 low string, lighter .010 top three.
- Drop C# / Drop C: Beefy Slinky Cobalt (.011–.054) or Not Even Slinky Cobalt (.012–.056).
- Drop B / baritone territory: Mammoth Slinky Cobalt (.012–.062).
The full gauge-by-gauge picking guide is at Ernie Ball Cobalt Slinky gauges explained.
Who plays this set
We don't have a clean primary-source citation for a documented artist on this exact .011–.052 Cobalt gauge. Our own tracked roster of documented Cobalt users doesn't include a Burly Slinky Cobalt entry; the closest gauge-adjacent name is Ryan "Fluff" Bruce, reported playing Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Cobalt and Power Slinky, not this set.
The closest lead we found while researching this page: Premier Guitar's 2026 Dethklok Rig Rundown credits guitarist Nili Brosh, who tours with Dethklok, with playing "Ernie Ball Burly Slinky strings" on her signature Ibanez "the Answer." We're not treating that as a confirmed citation for this specific product: Premier Guitar lists her gauge as .011–.048, which is Power Slinky Cobalt's spec, not Burly Slinky's actual .011–.052, and the piece doesn't specify nickel versus Cobalt wrap. That's a documented "Burly Slinky" name-check with an unresolved gauge and alloy discrepancy, not a clean match, so we're disclosing the mismatch rather than smoothing it over. If a cleaner source resolves it, we'll update this section with credit.
The full documented Cobalt pro roster, kept current as new citations come in, lives at Who plays Cobalt Slinky strings, the documented roster.
Best for
- Drop D (D-A-D-G-B-E) on a 25.5-inch scale, played as a full-time tuning rather than a mid-song drop.
- D standard (D-G-C-F-A-D) where you want one consistent heavier gauge feel across all six strings, not a mixed light-top/heavy-bottom setup.
- Rock, hard rock, post-hardcore, and metal rhythm work where Power Slinky Cobalt's .048 low string starts to feel loose.
- Players who want Cobalt's louder, more upper-mid-forward voicing at Drop D without stepping all the way to Beefy Slinky Cobalt's Drop C# territory.
Worst for
- E standard as a daily driver. Stiffer than it needs to be; Regular Slinky Cobalt or Power Slinky Cobalt fits better.
- Drop C# and below. The .052 low string starts to feel loose a step and a half past its intended range; step up to Beefy Slinky Cobalt (.011–.054) or Not Even Slinky Cobalt (.012–.056).
- Players who want a light top for lead lines with a heavy Drop D bottom. That's Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Cobalt's exact job; Burly's top three are a full gauge heavier.
- A guitar with no recent setup. Jumping to this gauge from a lighter set adds meaningful tension; skipping a setup pass risks buzzing or poor intonation.
- Floyd Rose floating tremolo without spring recalibration. The added tension will pull the bridge out of balance until springs are adjusted to match.
Install and break-in
Coming from a lighter gauge, plan a setup pass: truss rod relief, nut slot width on the wound strings, and bridge intonation. The truss-rod-aware walkthrough is at Heavy-gauge electric string install guide.
Break-in runs about 30–45 minutes of playing before the bright initial top end settles into its played-in voice. Stretch each string before that: press behind the 12th fret, pull up about an inch, three to four times per string, retune, repeat.
Verdict
If your 6-string lives in Drop D or D standard and you want one consistent, uniformly heavy gauge rather than a mixed-gauge setup, Burly Slinky Cobalt is the straightforward answer. The .011 top keeps a firm, articulate feel and the .052 low string holds palm-mute definition without flapping, with Cobalt's louder, more upper-mid-forward voicing over the same-gauge nickel set.
Don't buy this gauge for E standard, it's stiffer than it needs to be there, and don't push it past Drop C#, that's Beefy Slinky Cobalt's job. If you split time between standard-tuning leads and Drop D rhythm, Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Cobalt's lighter top is the better fit than this set's uniformly heavier approach.
Burly Slinky Cobalt (.011–.052)
Why this one: The uniformly heavy Cobalt answer for Drop D and D standard: a matched .011 top and .052 bottom, one step past Power Slinky Cobalt, one step short of Beefy.
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