Are Dunlop guitar strings good? Do Dunlop guitar strings improve guitar sound? Are Dunlop guitar strings only available for electric guitars? What materials are used in making Dunlop guitar strings? Where are Dunlop guitar strings made? Are there any famous guitar players known for using Dunlop guitar strings? Dunlop is one of the most famous guitar string brands in the market, but are they really worth the hype?
To know the answer, we have to check everything about the brand and how good their products are.
But first, how did Dunlop start to become one of the most famous guitar strings in the history of the industry? It all began when Scottish immigrant Jim Dunlop established the Jim Dunlop Company in 1965. This was though a part-time business at the time as he was also a chemical engineer at Barr and Straud in Glasgow.
As an apprentice to the creator of the first hip replacement, William Wallace, his first product was called the Vibra-Tuner, which was a small device that was attached to a guitar using a suction cup and displayed whether the guitar was in tune or not using the vibration of a small reed.
When he started visiting music stores to sell his Vibra-Tuner, someone said to him that many musicians need to have a good capo, stressing that anyone who can make a great capo could handle a 12-string guitar would possibly make a lot of money out of it. Being an engineer himself, Dunlop made the toggle capo, which led to becoming one of the most popular capo product lines in history, the 1100 series capo.
After he started making capos in his living room, he then moved his construction area to his garage and subsequently to a location outside his house. On March 19, 1972, he started making guitar picks as he read in every issue of the Guitar Player magazine that many musicians hated their guitar picks. This gives him the idea to make his guitar picks using nylon as their primary material. As of today, he still uses this method in making guitar picks.
Within the same year, Jim left his job at Dymo Industries to focus on his own company. He then moved to Benicia, California, with his family and started to set up a shop in Benicia Industrial Park. After a few years and with the growth that his company was experiencing, he had to move to Industrial Way to cope with the demand of the industry.
As of today, Dunlop has become one of the most famous makers of capos, slides, picks, fret wires, strap retainers, guitar strings, and many more guitar accessories. Aside from their own guitar pedals, they also have acquired brands that focus on making guitar pedals, such as Cry Baby, MXR, and Way Huge.
Dunlop Guitar Strings
Dunlop Heavy Core
If you are a guitar player who likes to play with a drop tune rather than the standard tune, then maybe you should use a set of guitar strings specifically made to cope with the demand of playing in a lowered tune while still being able to give a tonal quality that you would love. The Dunlop Heavy Core Series is all that.
In making these heavily-designed guitar strings, Dunlop uses specially-picked wires and the company’s wrap ratios, resulting in a set of nickel-plated strings that can retain an impressively tight low-end, a focused midrange, and a smooth high-frequency response, which is perfect for playing in distorted and clean guitar tone setups.
Dunlop Heavy Core Strings are made so that the players can still dig in while being able to retain a fundamentally sound guitar tone. All the guitar strings under the series are made in its factory in Benicia, California, so you can be sure that they are manufactured using the best materials with the best equipment to deliver guitar strings that have a great sense of balance and feel.
When choosing a set of Dunlop Heavy Core strings, there are four options that you can have: a 10-48, which is named Heavy; an 11-50, which is named Heavier; a 10-60, which is called Heavierest; and a 12-54, which is called the Heaviest. When buying a Dunlop Heavy Core, they also come with three levels of moisture protection that are sealed in a Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor bag.
Dunlop Icon Signature
One of the most famous American rock guitarists of all time and also the primary vocalist of ZZ Top, Billy Gibbons, has been one of the most influential guitar players when it comes to playing classic blues and rock, and there is no wonder why he has one of the most sought-after signature guitar strings in the market.
Dunlop has developed in its famous laboratory with the help and input of Bill Gibbons, one of the most iconic signature strings in the market. These strings are manufactured to get that sound that Billy is widely known for; the punchy and crystal clear guitar tone when he executes his signature guitar leads and pinch harmonics.
The Billy Gibbons Custom Rev Willy signature strings have a rich, smooth, and soulful guitar tone, just like the ol’ Rev. This set of guitar strings has always been described by many to have the hot, blue, and righteous tone, just like Billy’s fat big fat Texas guitar tone, but I personally think there is more to that.
This signature guitar string set has a core material of steel and comes with nickel-plated steel as its winding material. When choosing a Billy Gibbons string set that would be perfect for your playing style, you have four-gauge options: a 07-38, an 08-40, a 09-42, and a 10-46. Every set of Bill Gibbons’s signature string set comes in a Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor bag, giving them three levels of moisture protection so that they are still as fresh as the day they were made.
Dunlop Performance Plus
If you are a professional guitar player who frequently plays in gigs or studios, you might need a set of solid guitar strings to take your playing to the next level, and Dunlop might have the best solution for you. The Dunlop Performance Plus is purposely made for every musician. They have the perfect balance of flexibility and tension and are still able to get the balanced tone that would be perfect for playing in any genre.
Made in Benicia, California, Dunlop Performance Plus guitar strings are nickel-plated steel strings designed to give you a top-notch guitar tone with a balance of crisp highs, aggressive mids, and a focused low end. Whether you are playing guitar lead or chords, there will be no problem as these guitar string sets are specifically made for performing. Clean or heavy distortion, any Performance Plus set will never let you down.
So, are Dunlop strings good? Not only that they are good, but they are very great strings to have on your electric guitar. Dunlop is a very trusted guitar string band by many famous guitar players, so there is no doubt that they really make great guitar strings. Only that they are of high quality, but they also improve the sound produced by your electric guitar.
