Dunlop Zakk Wylde String Lab (.010–.056): the second-heaviest 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 second-heaviest: a nickel-wound, six-string electric set gauged .010, .013, .017, .032, .048, .056, SKU ZWEN1056, confirmed live on Dunlop's own artist roster page alongside the other three electric gauges.

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," with "extensive engineering and critical road testing by Zakk himself" behind the formula, built around Dunlop's True Balance technology for "optimal clarity and feel at any tuning." The gauge numbers place this set in a specific spot: heavier than the 10-52, lighter than the 10-60, his own documented working gauge.

The String Lab electric line also comes in two lighter gauges, 10-46 and 10-52, plus three separate acoustic sets under the same String Lab name.

Here's what makes the 10-56 different from its two lighter siblings: it doesn't borrow another manufacturer's well-known gauge. The 10-46 matches a classic Regular Slinky-style set exactly. The 10-52 matches Ernie Ball's Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Slinky, string for string. The 10-56's wound progression, .032, .048, .056, didn't turn up a widely-known named match from another major manufacturer in this review.

What it clearly is, is the middle child of the family. Line up the three wound strings across the three heaviest String Lab gauges and the 10-56 sits between the 10-52 and the 10-60 on all three: D string .030 / .032 / .036, A string .042 / .048 / .052, low E .052 / .056 / .060. The low E lands exactly at the arithmetic midpoint; the D and A strings land between the two without being perfectly centered. Either way, it's a real middle step, not a marketing gap filled with a random number.

There's no source tying Wylde himself to this specific combination. Stringjoy's independent research on his working gauges documents .036, .052, .060 on the wound strings, the numbers behind the ZWEN1060, not this set. The honest read: it's a real, currently-sold Dunlop catalog SKU, carried by Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Fret Nation, and Amazon under Wylde's name, built to sit between his documented rig and the lighter end of his catalog line, without a documented story of its own.

• Drop D players who want most of the .060's heft without the full tension jump. The .056 low string carries real mass, a genuine middle step rather than a token gauge between the family's two better-documented sets.
• Players stepping up from the 10-52 who aren't ready for Wylde's own .060. The progression is gradual across all three wound strings, landing dead center on the low E.
• Anyone who wants Wylde's signature branding at a gauge one notch under his real rig. No equivalent set to fall back on if you want this exact combination; it is what it is.

• Standard E tuning players. Reach for the lighter String Lab 10-46 or the Eb-to-Drop-D String Lab 10-52 instead.
• Players chasing Wylde's own documented rig. That's the String Lab 10-60, independently corroborated by Stringjoy's research, 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.

ZWEN1056 is the family member without its own headline. It isn't Wylde's documented working gauge (that's the 10-60), and it doesn't share its numbers with a famous rival set the way the 10-46 and 10-52 do. What it is: a real middle step between his real rig and his lighter catalog gauges, .032/.048/.056 sitting between .030/.042/.052 and .036/.052/.060, dead center only on the low E. If you want more low-end mass than the 10-52 but aren't ready to commit to the full .060, this is the honest in-between option, no more, no less.