Dunlop Zakk Wylde String Lab (.010–.046): the standard-tuning gauge in his signature line, reviewed

Dunlop built the Zakk Wylde String Lab Electric Guitar Strings with Zakk Wylde, in four gauge options. This is the lightest: a nickel-wound, six-string electric set gauged .010, .013, .017, .026, .036, .046, SKU ZWEN1046.

Dunlop's own product page pitches the whole line the same way: strings "developed to withstand the punishment of the reigning Berzerker of Metal Guitar," built around Dunlop's True Balance technology for "optimal clarity and feel at any tuning." But the numbers tell a different story for this specific gauge. .010-.046 is a standard-tuning set, not a drop-tuning one, the same physical gauge as an Ernie Ball Regular Slinky.

The String Lab electric line also comes in three heavier gauges, 10-52, 10-56, and 10-60, plus three separate acoustic sets under the same String Lab name.

Here's the honest read on this set: it is not the gauge Zakk Wylde plays. Stringjoy's independent research on his working setup documents .010, .013, .017 on the high strings and .036, .052, .060 on the low strings, the numbers behind Dunlop's heavier ZWEN1060 set. The 10-46 doesn't appear in that research at all.

What it is, instead, is Dunlop's standard-tuning entry in the String Lab electric line, sold under Wylde's name for players who aren't tuning down to Drop D and lower. That's a normal move for a signature string line: shipping more than one gauge lets the product cover more of the market than the artist's own rig does. Dunlop's own copy backs that reading up, the same True Balance marketing language runs across all four String Lab electric gauges, not just the one Wylde is documented actually using.

None of that makes the 10-46 a bad set. It's a well-built, standard nickel-wound gauge with Wylde's branding and a light enough top end for normal bending and fretting. It just isn't the tuned-down, heavy-bottom set that defines his actual recorded tone. If you came here chasing Wylde's real working gauge, keep going to the ZWEN1060 review instead.

• E standard or Eb standard players who want Wylde's signature branding. Same physical gauge as a Regular Slinky-style set, dressed in Black Label Society colors.
• Players building toward Wylde's heavier sets. Start here to get used to his brand and True Balance construction before working up to the .060 low string.
• Anyone who already likes a .010-.046 nickel gauge. There's nothing unusual about the spec, just the name on the pack.

• Black Label Society-style Drop D rhythm work. Reach for the ZWEN1060 instead, that's Wylde's own documented working gauge.
• Players chasing a meaningfully different tone from a standard nickel set. The gauge numbers match a Regular Slinky exactly. This is a branding and construction-process choice, not a tonal reinvention.
• 7-string or 8-string guitars. This is a 6-string set. See Dunlop's Kerry King Artist-Selected Strings for another metal signature set built around a specific documented tuning.

ZWEN1046 is the honest entry point into Wylde's signature line: a standard .010-.046 gauge, the same numbers as a classic Regular Slinky, sold under his name and built with Dunlop's True Balance process. It is not the gauge Wylde documented playing himself, that's the heavier .060 set. If you play E standard or Eb standard and want his branding, or you're working toward his heavier sets and want to start light, this is the right pack. If you're chasing his actual working gauge or a Drop D tone, skip straight to the ZWEN1060.

Zakk Wylde Approved

Dunlop

Zakk Wylde String Lab (.010–.046)

.010 – .046

Price tier: $

View on AmazonFull review →