Dunlop Jim Root Signature Guitar Strings, Drop A (.012–.064): the Slipknot String Lab set's heavier half, 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: this Drop A set (.012 to .064) and a lighter Drop B set (.011 to .056), nickel wound, six strings, gauged .012, .016, .020, .038, .048, .064. 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 this tuning, a whole step below his other Slipknot tuning Drop B, in Slipknot, and the .012-.064 range here is built specifically for his lowest material, not rounded up from the Drop B set or borrowed from 7-string djent gauging. The Drop B companion set exists for players who tune one step higher.

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 at his lowest tuning, 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 this lowest tuning among Slipknot's several down-tuned configurations, per his own CYS profile's sourced rig history. A set built around one specific tuning 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 A on a 6-string guitar (A-E-A-D-F#-B low to high) sits a whole step below Root's other Slipknot tuning, Drop B (B-F#-B-E-G#-C#). Worth flagging: "Drop A" more often refers to a 7-string djent tuning in modern metal, with its own heavier, baritone-leaning gauge recommendations, see the Drop A tuning guide for that more common application. Root's version is the less common 6-string case, played on standard-scale (25.5-inch) Fender guitars rather than a baritone, which is why Dunlop built this exact gauge for him instead of just reusing 7-string advice or rounding up from the Drop B set.

Tension drops every time you lower pitch, and a low A on a standard 25.5-inch scale is a long way down from standard E, further still than Drop B. Run a .056 that low (Root's own Drop B gauge) and it goes slack under a pick attack at this pitch; the string flaps instead of snapping back with definition. Root's .064 low string, and the .038 and .048 wound strings above it, are heavy enough to hold real tension a whole step below Drop B, which is the whole reason a gauge this specific exists instead of just detuning the Drop B set further. The top three plain strings (.012, .016, .020) stay light enough that lead lines and pinch harmonics up high don't feel like they're fighting the setup.

The gauge numbers land close together, but the tuning each one targets is not. Ernie Ball's Mammoth Slinky Cobalt tops out at .062, a half-step lighter, and Ernie Ball positions it for Drop B through baritone B standard rather than Drop A specifically. D'Addario's NYXL1156 uses a hybrid Medium Top / Extra Heavy Bottom design aimed at D standard and Drop D, more than a full step higher than Drop A. Root's set is the one actually built and marketed around Drop A, matching the tuning most CYS readers researching this exact SKU are chasing.

• 6-string Drop A players who want Root's own hand-picked gauge rather than a rounded-off approximation of his rig
• Nu-metal and alternative-metal riffing that goes a full step lower than Drop B and needs the low string to stay clear under palm-muted chugging
• Players who already own the Drop B companion set and want the heavier half of the same two-set line for Root's lowest material

• Standard-tuning players. A .012-.064 set is very heavy and unbalanced-feeling in E standard. A regular .010-.046 or .009-.042 set tracks better up there.
• Root's own Drop B tuning specifically. Buy the .011-.056 companion set instead, this Drop A pack tunes a full step lower than that tuning wants.
• 7-string players chasing the common djent Drop A. This is a 6-string set built for a 6-string application. See our Drop A tuning guide and its 7-string-specific gauge recommendations instead.

JRN1264DA is a rare case of a signature string set that is exactly what it claims to be: Jim Root's own working Drop A gauge, hand-picked with Dunlop rather than backed into from a marketing brief. If you play 6-string Drop A, 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 B tuning instead, buy that companion set specifically rather than expecting this one to cover both. And if the "Drop A" you actually want is the 7-string djent version, read that tuning guide first, this 6-string set won't get you there.

Jim Root Approved

Dunlop

Jim Root Signature Guitar Strings, Drop A (.012–.064)

.012 – .064

Price tier: $

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