Steve Harris's bass strings: the Iron Maiden signature rig, sourced
Documented bass-string gauges, brands, and tunings Steve Harris uses with Iron Maiden. Rotosound SH77 Steve Harris Signature Monel flatwound (.050–.110). With citations.
Iron Maiden · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
Steve Harris plays Rotosound SH77 Steve Harris Signature Monel flatwound bass strings (.050 to .110) on his fleet of Fender Precision Basses with Iron Maiden. He's the founding bassist of Iron Maiden since 1975, the band's primary songwriter, and a continuous Rotosound endorsement artist with the SH77 production signature SKU built around his Iron Maiden gauge specification. Bass Player Magazine has named SH77 their favorite flatwound.
Strings Steve Harris plays
Documented use · last verified 2026-04-29 · Affiliate links
SH77 Steve Harris Signature Monel Flatwound (.050–.110)
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At a glance
Role
Active
Based
Affiliations
Notable credits
- Iron Maiden, Iron Maiden (1980)
- The Number of the Beast (1982)
- Powerslave (1984)
- Somewhere in Time (1986)
- Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
- Brave New World (2000)
- Senjutsu (2021)
Who Steve Harris is
Steve Harris is the founding bassist and primary songwriter of Iron Maiden, the East London heavy-metal band he formed in 1975. Across Maiden's 17 studio albums from Iron Maiden (1980) through Senjutsu (2021), Harris's gallop-pattern picked-eighth-note bass lines are one of the most-imitated bass voices in heavy metal, the rhythmic engine underneath Iron Maiden's twin-guitar harmonies. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee, the most enduring frontman-by-songwriting role in metal history, and a continuous Rotosound endorsement artist with a production signature pack.
What he plays
Rotosound SH77 Steve Harris Signature Monel flatwound bass strings (.050, .075, .095, .110). Heavy gauge, polished Monel 400 wrap on hex steel core, long-scale, the SH77 signature SKU built around his exact gauge specification.
His main rig is a fleet of vintage Fender Precision Basses, and his current signature is the Fender Steve Harris Precision Bass with mirror pickguard, vintage chrome hardware, and the SH77 strings spec'd from the factory.
Why this fits the rig
Iron Maiden's mix is dense: twin-guitar harmonies layered with vocal-forward mastering, drums sitting forward in the rhythm-section pocket. The bass needs to occupy the low-mid frequency band below the guitars and above the kick drum, with enough definition to be heard but enough compression that it doesn't compete with the harmonic layer. Monel flatwound at heavy gauge does exactly that: dark, compressed, mid-forward, no harsh top-end to fight the guitars.
Harris's pick-played sixteenth notes at Maiden's gallop tempos need the heavier .050 to .110 gauge for definition under fast attack. Lighter gauge sets (.045 to .105) lose articulation; the heavier .110 low-E carries the transient even at the speed of The Trooper or Aces High. The SH77 set is the only heavy-gauge Monel flatwound in standard production; it exists because Harris specified it.
If you want this rig
SH77 Steve Harris Signature Monel Flatwound (.050–.110)
Why this one: Steve Harris's signature SKU. Heavy-gauge Monel flatwound, the only set in production at .050 to .110 in this alloy. The exact strings on his Iron Maiden rig and his signature Fender Precision Bass.