Dunlop Zakk Wylde String Lab (.010–.052): the middle 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 middle option: a nickel-wound, six-string electric set gauged .010, .013, .017, .030, .042, .052, SKU ZWEN1052.

Dunlop's own product page runs the same pitch across the whole line: 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." The gauge numbers tell a more specific story here. .010-.052 isn't Wylde's own documented rig, and it isn't Dunlop's lightest option either. It's the exact same six numbers as Ernie Ball's Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Slinky, a well-known hybrid gauge built for extra low-end weight without giving up bend feel on top.

The String Lab electric line also comes in three other gauges, 10-46, 10-56, and 10-60, plus three separate acoustic sets under the same String Lab name.

Wylde's signature line has two well-documented ends. The 10-46 is Dunlop's plain standard-tuning entry. The 10-60 is his own working gauge, independently corroborated by Stringjoy's research. The 10-52 sits between them, and it doesn't inherit either story.

Its wound strings run .030, .042, .052, a completely different progression from both the 10-46's .026/.036/.046 and the 10-60's .036/.052/.060. There's no evidence Wylde plays this specific combination. What it does share, gauge for gauge, is Ernie Ball's Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Slinky, a set built around the same idea: keep the top three strings light and bendable, add real mass to the wound strings for tuned-down rhythm work without a uniformly heavy set's stiff top end.

That makes the honest read on this set straightforward. It's a real, currently-sold Dunlop catalog SKU carried by Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Fret Nation, and Amazon under Wylde's name, built on a gauge combination another manufacturer already proved out under a different signature artist. It's just not a page out of Wylde's own rig.

• Eb standard or Drop D players who want extra low-end heft. Same numbers as a well-established hybrid gauge, just under different branding.
• Players stepping up from the 10-46 who aren't ready for a .060 low string. The .052 low E is a real middle step, not a marketing gap.
• Anyone who already likes Ernie Ball's Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Slinky. Identical gauge, Wylde's name and True Balance construction instead.

• Standard E tuning players who don't need the extra heft. The lighter String Lab 10-46 fits standard tuning better.
• Players chasing Wylde's own documented rig. That's the String Lab 10-60, not this one.
• 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.

ZWEN1052 is Dunlop's middle option in Wylde's signature line, and it's really Ernie Ball's well-known Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Slinky gauge wearing Black Label Society branding: .010 on top, .052 on the bottom, built for Eb standard or Drop D without the full weight of Wylde's real .060 rig. It's not the gauge he's documented playing, and it's not the standard-tuning entry either. It's the in-between option for players who want more low end than a Regular Slinky-style set without committing to his heaviest signature gauge.

Zakk Wylde Approved

Dunlop

Zakk Wylde String Lab (.010–.052)

.010 – .052

Price tier: $

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