GHS Nickel Rockers 1300 Low Tune (.011–.058): the Stevie Ray Vaughan set, decoded

The GHS Nickel Rockers 1300 Low Tune is the production set GHS ties to Stevie Ray Vaughan. The gauge runs .011, .015, .019 plain, .028, .038, .058, built as a rollerwound pure nickel string. It is GHS's heavier, lower-tuned Nickel Rockers configuration, designed to be played a half step down in Eb standard the way Vaughan did.

The headline detail is the plain .019 third string. Most sets this heavy ship with a wound third, but Vaughan ran a plain one, and the 1300 keeps it. A plain third bends cleaner and rings with more single-coil clarity than a wound third at the same gauge, and it is a defining piece of the Number One Stratocaster sound.

Start with tension. A .011 set in Eb sits at roughly the tension a .010 set hits in straight E, so the half-step drop is what makes the heavier strings playable. That is the whole logic of the set: heavier mass for tone, then a tuning drop to bring the feel back into range.

The extra mass earns its keep three ways. It moves more air and drives single-coil pickups harder, which is where the saturated Texas-blues attack comes from. It resists detuning under a heavy pick attack, and Vaughan attacked the strings about as hard as anyone on record. And on a bright Stratocaster bridge pickup, the heavier strings add low-mid weight that keeps the tone from going thin under high-volume tube saturation.

The plain .019 third is the secret detail. A wound third at that gauge would feel stiffer under a bend and read slightly duller through a single-coil. The plain third bends like a top string and rings clear, which is why Vaughan's double-stops and held bends sit so high and bright in the mix.

Be clear on what this set is and is not. Vaughan's documented playing gauges, per his tech Rene Martinez, were a custom heavy set with a .013 high E: roughly .013, .015, .019 plain, .028, .038, .058. Late in his life, after finger injuries, he moved the high E down toward .011 or .012 to ease the strain.

The Nickel Rockers 1300 Low Tune is the .011 to .058 version GHS hand-selected from those lighter late-career gauges, and it was released after his death in 1990. So this is best understood as verified use plus a posthumous signature set, not a lifetime endorsement deal. If you want his earlier, heavier feel, order a custom .013 to .058 Nickel Rockers set. If you want the documented production set with his name on it, this is it.

The closest thing to the 1300 is Vaughan's own earlier custom set, which is the same configuration with a heavier .013 top. If you want a lighter, brighter, cheaper everyday string, the GHS Boomers GBL is the standard-tuning nickel-plated option from the same maker. The Boomers are brighter and more modern; the Nickel Rockers are warmer and more vintage. For the SRV sound specifically, the pure nickel rollerwound wrap and the heavy bottom matter, so the 1300 is the authentic pick.

Texas-blues and blues-rock players who tune to Eb and want the documented Stevie Ray Vaughan sound from a boxed set. Hard pickers who detune lighter strings and need the mass to stay in tune. Anyone chasing a warm, vintage pure-nickel voice with the signature plain .019 third.

Straight E-standard players, who will find the set stiff at concert pitch. Beginners and light-touch players, since heavy gauges and a plain .019 third demand finger strength and clean technique. Players who want a bright, modern, cutting tone, who are better served by a nickel-plated steel set.

The Nickel Rockers 1300 Low Tune is the honest production version of the Stevie Ray Vaughan string. It is not his exact .013 set, it is the lighter .011 to .058 he moved to late in life, hand-selected by GHS and released after his death. The pure nickel rollerwound wrap and the plain .019 third are the parts that matter, and both are here. Tune to Eb, pick hard, and it delivers the warm, saturated Texas-blues voice the set was built for. For straight E or a modern bright tone, look elsewhere.