Check out these string brands from the following artists… Billy Gibbons (blues), Angus Young (rock), Albert Lee (country), Mick Thomson (metal) and Al Di Meola (jazz). You can use this as a guide for choosing your own pair of electric guitar strings. Note the modifications to the sets some artists have made.
Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
Billy Gibbons uses a gauge .007 – .038, which goes to show that string gauge does not determine your tone. This string brand is made by Jim Dunlop and also sells at a very competitive price.
Angus Young (ACDC)
Angus Young uses a pair of the ever popular EB Super Slinky’s. The gauge (9’s) that he uses makes playing effortless.
Albert Lee
“For strings, I like Ernie Ball’s Regular Slinky set, gauged a .010 to .046, but with a custom third string. For quite a few years I used a .016 instead of the stock .017, but these days I’ve been using a .015 and I don’t notice a significant difference in tone. Music Man still sends me guitars with a .016 third. Maybe I should tell them what I’m doing.”
Mick Thomson (Slipknot)
Al Di Meola
“The D’Addario strings were working out best for me sound wise, so I’ve been having a lot of success with them over the years. I don’t think we’ve had a bad set.”
What’s your string brand of choice? Let us know in the comments below.
