Dunlop Billy Gibbons Custom Rev Willy's (.007–.038): the lightest signature set on the market

Dunlop built the Rev Willy's line directly with ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, and the .007-.038 version, SKU RWN0738, is the gauge Gibbons plays himself. It is nickel wound over a super fine steel core, a six-string electric set, and by Dunlop's own numbering, one of the lightest production guitar string sets any major manufacturer sells.

Dunlop's own product page describes the goal plainly: match Gibbons's "big fat Texas tone" with "a real punch that remains clear and articulate" through his leads and pinch harmonics. The gauge is the whole story here. Nickel-over-steel construction is common; a .007 high E, sold off the shelf under a real brand, is not.

The Rev Willy's family comes in four gauges: 07-38, 08-40, 09-42, and 10-46, per Dunlop's own product listings. All four share the same nickel-over-steel construction and the same signature relationship with Gibbons. Only 07-38 is the gauge Gibbons is documented playing himself; the other three exist for players who want the Rev Willy's voicing with more steel under their fingers. Check the gauge number in the listing title before you buy: all four share the Rev Willy's name, so the SKU (RWN0738 for this one) is the reliable way to confirm which gauge you are ordering.

Gibbons has told the same story in more than one interview: B.B. King picked up his heavily-strung guitar backstage, strummed it, and asked him, plainly, why he was working so hard. King's own trick, from an era when only one gauge of string existed, was to throw away the heaviest string, shift everything down a position, and borrow a thin banjo string for the top. Gibbons took the advice and kept going lighter for the rest of his career.

That quote is also the honest caveat for anyone trying this gauge: Gibbons's own right-hand touch is famously light. A heavier pick attack on a .007 high E tends to push the note sharp, since there is so little steel resisting the pick. The gauge rewards a feathered touch more than it forgives an aggressive one.

Nickel wound wrap wire is the same material Dunlop uses across its standard electric line, so the tonal signature here comes almost entirely from the gauge, not an exotic alloy. That is worth knowing if you are comparing this set on paper against a nickel-plated steel set like the D'Addario EXL120: the wrap chemistry is close enough that the practical difference you will feel is tension and string flex, not brightness or warmth.

• Players chasing Gibbons's exact feel: bend-heavy blues-rock and classic-rock leads, played with a light picking touch rather than a heavy attack
• Eb standard players: Gibbons's own tuning with ZZ Top, which loosens an already-light gauge even further and suits players who want strings to move with minimal finger pressure
• Anyone stepping down from a .009 set: an inexpensive way to feel what extreme-light tension does to bends and vibrato before committing to a full setup and intonation change

• Aggressive pick attack: a hard-picking rhythm player will fight pitch instability on the .007 high E far more than on a D'Addario EXL120 or Ernie Ball Super Slinky
• Drop tunings: this set is built for E or Eb standard; anything lower needs a heavier gauge to keep tension usable
• Players who break strings often: less steel means less margin, though Gibbons himself has said in interviews that he rarely breaks these

The Rev Willy's 07-38 is not a set to buy because it is objectively better than a .009 or .010; it is a set to buy because Billy Gibbons's exact feel is the whole appeal. If your picking hand is already light and your bends already reach for more, it is a legitimate, inexpensive way to test that territory without a full setup overhaul. If you play hard, start at .009 with the D'Addario EXL120 and work down.

Dunlop

Billy Gibbons Custom Rev Willy's (.007–.038)

.007 – .038

Price tier: $

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