Jim Root's guitar strings: the Slipknot + Stone Sour rig, sourced

Documented string gauges, brands, and tunings Jim Root uses with Slipknot and Stone Sour. Dunlop signature strings (.011 to .056 for Drop B, .012 to .064 for Drop A), Fender Jim Root signature Telecaster / Stratocaster / Jazzmaster with EMG humbuckers, Orange Rockerverb 100 amps. With citations.

Slipknot · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team · 2026-05-01

Jim Root plays Dunlop signature electric guitar strings: .011 to .056 for Drop B tracks and .012 to .064 for Drop A material. He is a Fender signature artist with three production signatures: the Jim Root Telecaster (mahogany body, EMG 81/60), Jim Root Stratocaster, and Jim Root Jazzmaster (sandblasted ash, EMG JH Het Set humbuckers). His live rig runs guitar straight into Orange Rockerverb 100 heads with no external distortion. He is the rhythm and lead guitarist of Slipknot (since 1999, replacing Josh Brainard) and a founding member of Stone Sour.

At a glance

Role

Guitarist

Active

1992–present

Based

Des Moines, Iowa

Genres

Affiliations

Slipknot (rhythm + lead guitarist, 1999–present)
Stone Sour (founding guitarist, 1992–present)
Fender (Jim Root Telecaster, Stratocaster, Jazzmaster signature artist)
EMG (JH Het Set + 81/60 humbucker user)
Orange Amps (Rockerverb 100 live rig)
Dunlop (string + pick artist)

Notable credits

Slipknot: Iowa (2001)
Slipknot: Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) (2004)
Slipknot: All Hope Is Gone (2008)
.5: The Gray Chapter (2014)
We Are Not Your Kind (2019)
The End, So Far (2022)
Stone Sour: Stone Sour (2002)
Stone Sour: Come What(ever) May (2006)

Sourcing8 citations · reviewed 2026-05-01· by Change Your Strings editorial team

Who Jim Root is

James Donald "Jim" Root, born October 2, 1971 in Las Vegas, raised in Des Moines, Iowa, is the rhythm and lead guitarist of Slipknot (since 1999, replacing Josh Brainard) and a founding member of Stone Sour (since 1992, with Corey Taylor). Across Slipknot's catalog from the self-titled major-label debut (1999) through The End, So Far (2022), and Stone Sour's run from the self-titled (2002) through Hydrograd (2017), Root's down-tuned rhythm guitar is the rhythmic foundation under Corey Taylor's vocals and Joey Jordison / Eloy Casagrande's drum work.

A documented Fender signature artist with three production signatures (Telecaster 2007, Stratocaster 2010, Jazzmaster 2016), he is also one of the most-cited modern users of the Telecaster body shape in metal contexts. The Premier Guitar Slipknot Rig Rundown filmed in Cedar Rapids on Mother's Day 2015 is the canonical primary source for the Slipknot-era touring rig; Guitar World's 2018 Telecaster-in-metal feature is the canonical interview source for his guitar-philosophy reasoning.

Electric guitars

Primary signature · Mahogany Tele with EMGs

Fender Jim Root Telecaster

Mahogany body (not ash or alder), string-through hardtail bridge, EMG 81 bridge humbucker, EMG 60 neck humbucker, three-way selector, single volume knob (no tone knob). Available in flat black and flat white finishes with a maple or ebony fingerboard. One of the longest-running metal-spec Fender signatures.

Source: Fender Jim Root Telecaster product page; Wikipedia, Jim Root Telecaster.

Strat-shape signature · Unveiled January 2010

Fender Jim Root Stratocaster

Mahogany body in Strat outline, string-through hardtail bridge, EMG 81/60 humbucker pairing matching the Telecaster signature, single volume knob. The Strat-shape companion to the Tele signature.

Source: Fender Jim Root Stratocaster product page.

Jazzmaster signature · The melodic-era live guitar

Fender Jim Root Jazzmaster

Jim Root signature Jazzmaster with EMG humbuckers loaded into a Jazzmaster body. A sandblasted version with red-and-black grain was shown by Root in his 2015 Premier Guitar Rig Rundown as a Fender-built prototype. The production Jim Root Jazzmaster is currently listed on Fender's signature roster.

Source: Fender Jim Root Jazzmaster product page; Premier Guitar Slipknot Rig Rundown.

Amps

Live primary · Pair of Rockerverbs into an iso cab

Orange Rockerverb 100

Two-channel 100-watt tube head. In the 2015 Premier Guitar Slipknot Rig Rundown, Root's main live rig was a pair of Rockerverbs running into an isolated Orange 4x12 cabinet loaded with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. He has also been documented as the namesake of an Orange Jim Root Terror signature head.

Source: Premier Guitar Slipknot Rig Rundown (Cedar Rapids, 2015).

Effects

Stage-utility pedalboard · Minimal by design

Sparse effects chain

Root's effects setup is documented as minimal, with most of the gain coming from the Rockerverb 100 preamps rather than stacked overdrive pedals. The 2015 Premier Guitar Rig Rundown is the canonical primary source for the Slipknot-era pedalboard.

Source: Premier Guitar Slipknot Rig Rundown.

Strings

Drop B signature set · Hand-curated by Root in the Dunlop String Lab

Dunlop Jim Root JRN1156DB .011 to .056

.011, .015, .020, .036, .042, .056. The Drop B configuration of the Jim Root String Lab signature, with each gauge personally spec'd by Root for Slipknot's downtuned material. Designed to maintain high-end clarity and tuning stability under his picking attack.

Source: Dunlop Jim Root Drop B product page; Guitar World, Jim Root partners with Dunlop.

Drop A signature set · The heavier sub-tuning configuration

Dunlop Jim Root .012 to .064

.012, .016, .020, .038, .048, .064. The Drop A companion to the Drop B signature set, with a heavier .064 low E for clarity under palm-muting at that pitch. Same Dunlop String Lab program: gauges hand-picked by Root.

Source: Dunlop Jim Root Drop A product page; Guitar.com, Jim Root teams up with Dunlop.

Endorsed vs verified use

Jim Root is a documented Fender, EMG, Orange, Dunlop, and Mesa/Boogie endorsed artist. Across all categories the endorsement and verified use align: Premier Guitar Rig Rundown footage, Slipknot live performance documentation, and Guitar World tech interviews consistently show the same brands his endorsement deals reference. The Telecaster, Stratocaster, and Jazzmaster signatures are all production-line guitars he plays in studio and on tour, not display-only artist-relations vehicles. The Rockerverb 100 amp commitment has run from the early 2000s through the current touring era.

Why a Telecaster for metal

Per Root's Guitar World interview, he is one of the few players who took the Telecaster body shape into metal contexts (alongside John 5). The Jim Root signature is a Telecaster in body shape only. Mahogany replaces ash. EMG humbuckers replace single coils. String-through hardtail replaces the bent-steel ashtray bridge. Single volume, no tone. The result is a guitar that carries the Tele body ergonomics with metal-spec hardware that delivers Slipknot's down-tuned rhythm tone.

Joey Jordison, Slipknot's original drummer (1995-2013). Dunlop strings family. Drop A tuning guide. Artists index for more documented rigs.

Frequently asked questions

What strings does Jim Root use?

Dunlop Jim Root String Lab signature electric guitar strings, hand-curated by Root in two sets. The Drop B set is .011 to .056 (.011, .015, .020, .036, .042, .056). The Drop A set is .012 to .064 (.012, .016, .020, .038, .048, .064). Both sets were spec'd by Root in the Dunlop String Lab specifically for Slipknot's down-tuned material.

What guitars does Jim Root play?

Fender Jim Root signature models. The Jim Root Telecaster is the primary live and studio guitar: mahogany body, string-through hardtail bridge, EMG 81 bridge humbucker + EMG 60 neck humbucker, single volume knob, three-way selector. The Jim Root Stratocaster (unveiled January 2010) follows the same hardware loadout in a Strat body. The Jim Root Jazzmaster signature is loaded with EMG humbuckers in a Jazzmaster body.

What amps does Jim Root use?

Orange Rockerverb 100 heads. In the 2015 Premier Guitar Slipknot Rig Rundown his main live rig was a pair of Rockerverbs running into an isolated Orange 4x12 cabinet loaded with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. Most of the gain comes from the amp preamps rather than stacked overdrive pedals.

Why a Telecaster for metal?

Per Root's Guitar World interview, he is one of the few players who took the Telecaster body shape into metal contexts (alongside John 5). The Jim Root signature Telecaster is reworked from the country original: mahogany body (not ash or alder), EMG humbuckers (not single coils), string-through hardtail bridge, single volume knob. The Telecaster body ergonomics carry forward; the hardware is metal-spec.

What pickups are in his Fender signatures?

The Jim Root Telecaster and Stratocaster signatures both ship with EMG 81 (bridge) and EMG 60 (neck) active humbuckers, the canonical metal-rhythm pairing. The Jim Root Jazzmaster signature is also loaded with EMG humbuckers.

What pedals does Jim Root use?

Minimal effects. The 2015 Premier Guitar Slipknot Rig Rundown documents that most of Root's gain comes from the Rockerverb 100 preamps, with stage-utility pedals (tuner, wah) on the floor rather than stacked overdrives.

When did Jim Root join Slipknot?

1999, replacing original guitarist Josh Brainard during the recording of Slipknot's self-titled major-label debut. He joined Stone Sour with Corey Taylor in 1992 (predating Slipknot), and continues to play in both bands.