Fender Super 250R Nickel Plated Steel (.010–.046): the factory-stock electric set

Fender Super 250R is the company's Regular gauge electric set, .010 to .046, nickel-plated steel wrap wire over a hex steel core. It isn't a signature product or a specialty alloy. It's the string Fender itself reaches for. Fender's own retailer-distributed product copy calls the Super 250 line, of which this is the Regular gauge, its best-selling guitar strings, and states plainly that Super 250s are installed on Fender electric guitars before they leave the factory.

That default status is the whole reason to know this set exists. If you own a Fender-made electric and have never changed the strings, there's a good chance you're already playing Super 250R or one of its Super 250 siblings. Fender's own spec sheet for the Jack White Triplecaster Telecaster names Super 250R by part number, PN 0730250406, as the guitar's factory strings, and independent retailer listings for the standalone pack corroborate the same part number and gauge set.

Construction is straightforward: a hexagonally-shaped steel core wrapped in nickel-plated steel wire, uncoated, roundwound, made in the USA. Fender's own copy credits the hex core with extra brightness and a faster pick attack, and the nickel plating with a smoother feel under the fingers without losing steel's output.

A .010-.046 nickel-plated steel roundwound on a hex steel core is close to the default electric guitar gauge across the whole industry, not just at Fender. D'Addario's EXL110, Ernie Ball's Regular Slinky, and Fender's own Super 250R all describe the same gauge family: light enough on the .010 high E for bends and vibrato, heavy enough on the .046 low E to hold E standard tuning without going slack.

What separates Super 250R from its D'Addario and Ernie Ball equivalents isn't the gauge, it's the provenance. Where EXL110 and Regular Slinky are aftermarket sets a player chooses, Super 250R is frequently the string a Fender owner is already playing without having picked it. That makes it less a "better" or "worse" choice and more a known quantity: the same tension and feel your Fender guitar was originally set up around at the factory, whether that's a Stratocaster's tremolo spring balance or a Telecaster's neck relief.

If your Fender guitar's setup, intonation, and tremolo balance were dialed in at the factory around Super 250R, restringing with the identical set keeps that setup intact. Swapping to a different brand at the same nominal gauge rarely causes real problems, the .010-.046 spread is close to universal, but if you've chased a buzz or an intonation issue after a string change, going back to the exact factory set is a fast way to rule out the strings as the variable.

Jack White strings his 2024 signature Fender Triplecaster Telecaster with Super 250R, confirmed directly on Fender's own product page for the guitar, which lists "Strings: Fender USA 250R Nickel Plated Steel (.010-.046 Gauges), PN 0730250406" among its factory specs.

The Triplecaster carries a Bigsby B5 vibrato and a Hipshot Xtender for quick Drop D tuning, both of which put extra demand on string stability compared to a fixed-bridge Telecaster. White's setup keeps the standard .010-.046 Regular gauge anyway, managing that extra movement through hardware rather than a heavier string, which keeps his bends and vibrato feeling like a standard Regular set even with the Bigsby in play.

See White's full rig breakdown for how the Triplecaster's factory strings fit alongside his other two main guitars and their different documented gauges.

• Fender owners restringing to the exact factory spec, matching the tension and feel a Fender-built neck and tremolo were set up around
• Straightforward rock, blues, and classic rock rhythm and lead playing in E standard where you don't need a specialty alloy or hybrid gauge
• Players who want a brand-neutral baseline for comparing coated, hybrid, or heavier sets against

• Drop tunings below Drop D: step up to a heavier gauge like Fender's own 250RH (.010-.052) or a hybrid set built for it
• Players chasing maximum string life: Fender doesn't currently sell a coated version of Super 250; D'Addario NYXL1046 or an XS Coated set is the closer reviewed equivalent
• Anyone with a strong existing brand preference: EXL110 and Regular Slinky are functionally the same gauge, so there's no tonal reason to switch brands just for this set

Super 250R doesn't try to be a specialty set, and that's the point. It's the Regular gauge in the Super 250 line Fender itself trusts on guitars leaving its own factory, and by Fender's own account, its best-selling electric string family. If you play a Fender-made guitar and want the exact set it likely shipped with, or you just want the plainest possible .010-.046 nickel-wound baseline to measure other strings against, this is it. Jack White's Triplecaster Telecaster is the clearest documented example: factory Super 250R, unchanged, on a guitar built around a Bigsby and a Drop D tuner.

Jack White Approved

Fender

Super 250R Nickel Plated Steel (.010–.046)

.010 – .046

Price tier: $

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