Kirk Windstein: Crowbar and Down's C# standard sludge metal architect
Kirk Windstein is the sole constant member of Crowbar and a founding guitarist of Down. A 2007 rig diagram documents his C# standard and drop B tuning; Solar Guitars released his signature model in 2024.
Down · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
Kirk Windstein is the sole constant member of sludge metal band Crowbar (since 1991) and a founding guitarist of Down, rejoining that band's lineup in 2020. A 2007 Guitar.com rig diagram documents him playing ESP Viper guitars strung with Dean Markley LTHB (.010-.052), tuned to C# standard or drop B. Solar Guitars released his EFR1.6KW signature model in November 2024. His current touring string gauge is not confirmed.
Kirk Windstein is a guitarist and vocalist from New Orleans who has spent four decades at the center of sludge metal, first as the sole constant member of Crowbar since the band's 1991 formation, then as a founding guitarist of the supergroup Down alongside childhood friend Phil Anselmo. He played guitar with Down from 1991 to 2013, left to focus on Crowbar's 25th anniversary, and rejoined in 2020. In 2005 he formed Kingdom of Sorrow with Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta, and he has released two solo albums, most recently Ethereal Waves in October 2025.
The documented tuning: C# standard and drop B
A Guitar.com rig diagram from 2007, part of its "Artist Rigs" archive series, documents Windstein's touring setup for Down in detail. He played two ESP Vipers, a stock LTD Viper-400 in black and a custom-painted purple Viper, both loaded with EMG 81 (bridge) and EMG 85 (neck) pickups and strung with Dean Markley LTHB (.010-.052). The diagram lists two tunings: standard tuning down a step and a half, C#-F#-B-E-G#-C#, and what it labels "drop B," the same tuning with the sixth string dropped a further step to B-F#-B-E-G#-C#. Both are exactly the C# standard and drop B tunings CYS documents as foundational to doom and sludge metal, the same territory Tony Iommi opened with Black Sabbath.
Notably, Windstein's documented .010-.052 gauge is on the lighter side for tuning this low, closer to the loose, easy-fretting approach than the heavy-gauge advice most modern players follow. It echoes, in miniature, the same tradeoff Tony Iommi made with Black Sabbath: light strings and a slacker feel instead of heavy strings and tight articulation.
The 2024 Solar signature model
In November 2024, Solar Guitars released the EFR1.6KW, designed together with Windstein. It carries a 24.75-inch scale, a set-thru mahogany neck and body, an ebony fingerboard with 22 super-jumbo stainless frets, a fixed Tonepros locking Tune-o-matic bridge, and EMG 85/81 active pickups, the same pairing documented on his 2007 ESP rig. It ships in a Tobacco Burst gloss finish for $1,199, sold directly through Solar's own site with no Amazon listing.
Designed together with Kirk Windstein of Crowbar and Down, this revolutionary, feature-loaded and top of the line Solar Type EFR1 range guitar was created with a radical passion for design and an expert attention to detail.
Product announcement
Strings for the tuning today
Neither the 2007 rig diagram nor Solar's 2024 announcement documents Windstein's current personal string gauge. What CYS can say honestly: for a player tuning to C# standard or drop B today, a heavier modern set holds pitch and articulation better than his 2007-documented light gauge.
Not Even Slinky Cobalt (.012-.056)
Why this one: CYS's recommended set for both C# standard and drop B, the tunings Windstein's 2007 rig diagram documents. Heavier than his period gauge, built for a tighter, more modern low end.
This is a starter profile. Documented rig detail will expand as sourced specs are confirmed.