Dunlop Jim Root Signature Guitar Strings, Drop B (.011–.056): the Slipknot String Lab set, reviewed

Dunlop built the Jim Root Signature Guitar Strings directly with the Slipknot guitarist through its in-house String Lab research process, releasing two sets together in 2022: a Drop A set (.012 to .064) and this Drop B set (.011 to .056), nickel wound, six strings, gauged .011, .015, .020, .036, .042, .056. Per Guitar World's report on the partnership, Root chose both the gauge and the core size himself, with an eye toward keeping high-end clarity and tuning stability under his low-tuned, hard-picking rhythm attack.

This isn't a name licensed onto an existing off-the-shelf gauge. Root plays Drop B in Slipknot, and the .011-.056 range here is built specifically for that tuning, not rounded down from a heavier signature or up from a lighter one. The Drop A companion set exists for players who tune a further step down.

Root's own rig makes the case for why he needed a purpose-built set in the first place. His documented gear, a mahogany-bodied Fender Jim Root Telecaster loaded with EMG 81/60 active humbuckers, straight into a pair of Orange Rockerverb 100 heads with minimal pedals, pushes most of its gain from the amp preamp rather than stacked overdrives. That signal chain rewards a string that stays articulate under a hard-picking, high-gain attack instead of one that turns to mush, the same clarity-under-gain problem Dunlop's String Lab process was built to solve for him.

Slipknot's own catalog backs up why that down-tuned rhythm role matters. Across the band's run from the self-titled 1999 debut through 2022's The End, So Far, Root's rhythm guitar work under Corey Taylor's vocals has included Drop B among Slipknot's several down-tuned configurations, per his own CYS profile's sourced rig history. A set built around one of those specific tunings didn't need to guess at how it would be used.

Root has spoken publicly about what he wanted from a signature set, not just what gauge it landed on.

That endorsement is worth flagging plainly: Root is a documented Dunlop artist, and this quote comes from the announcement of his own signature product. It doesn't make the gauge choice less real, Dunlop built these sets to his own specification rather than just licensing his name, but it is a paid relationship, not a neutral third-party review.

Drop B is two and a half steps below standard, with the low string dropped to a power-chord B. It's the tuning most associated with Slipknot, and it's exactly why this set doesn't start at a standard .010: a lighter gauge loses tension and clarity fast once you tune this low, especially under palm-muted rhythm playing.

Tension drops every time you lower pitch, and a low B on a standard 25.5-inch scale is a long way down from standard E. Run a .046 that low and it goes slack and flubby under a pick attack; the string flaps instead of snapping back with definition. Root's .056 low string, and the .036 and .042 wound strings above it, are heavy enough to hold real tension at Drop B, which is the whole reason a gauge this specific exists instead of just detuning a standard set further. The top three plain strings (.011, .015, .020) stay light enough that lead lines and pinch harmonics up high don't feel like they're fighting the setup.

The gauge numbers look similar across all three, but the tuning each one is built for is not. D'Addario's NYXL1156 uses a hybrid Medium Top / Extra Heavy Bottom design aimed at D standard and Drop D, a full step or more higher than Drop B. Ernie Ball's Beefy Slinky Cobalt tops out slightly lighter and targets Drop C# through Drop D. Root's set is the one actually built and marketed around Drop B specifically, matching the tuning most CYS readers researching this exact SKU are chasing.

• Drop B rhythm players who want Root's own hand-picked gauge rather than a rounded-off approximation of a signature artist's rig
• Nu-metal and alternative-metal riffing that leans on palm-muted low-string chugging and needs the string to stay clear and in tune under it
• Players who already own the Drop A companion set and want the lighter half of the same two-set line for a higher drop tuning

• Standard-tuning players. A .011-.056 set is heavy and unbalanced-feeling in E standard. A regular .010-.046 or .009-.042 set tracks better up there.
• Root's own Drop A tuning specifically. Buy the .012-.064 companion set instead, this Drop B pack tops out lighter than that tuning wants.
• 7-string or extended-range players. This is a 6-string set. See Ernie Ball's Cobalt line for heavier extended-range options.

JRN1156DB is a rare case of a signature string set that is exactly what it claims to be: Jim Root's own working Drop B gauge, hand-picked with Dunlop rather than backed into from a marketing brief. If you play Drop B, especially anything in Slipknot's rhythm-heavy nu-metal and alternative-metal lane, this is a direct, well-documented match, not a rough approximation of a bigger artist rig. If you're chasing his Drop A tuning instead, buy that companion set specifically rather than expecting this one to cover both. And if you're not sure Drop B is even the tuning you want yet, read the tuning guide first; the gauge only makes sense once the tuning target is locked in.

Jim Root Approved

Dunlop

Jim Root Signature Guitar Strings, Drop B (.011–.056)

.011 – .056

Price tier: $

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