While most guitarists don’t exceed 11s, these guitarists do.
#1 Lefty Guitarist (12p-16p-24w-32w-44w-56w/12p-16p-24w-34w-48w-62w)
A new upcoming guitarist, Lefty Guitarist (who also goes by the name ME) started on lighter gauge strings, at one point even using 8s tuned down a half step to emulate Tony Iommi but typically sticking to either Ernie Ball’s Regular or Power Slinkys. However, i got fed up with how frequently they broke and decided to switch to Not Even Slinkys, replacing the 24p with a 24w. As seen with my most recent video, i might be making another upgrade to Mammoth Slinkys, which work surprisingly well in standard tuning.
#2 George Harrison (12p-16p-22w-33w-42w-52w)
While John and Paul used heavy strings at one point or another, George stuck on for much longer. While George wasn’t too picky regarding strings, it’s most likely he used Pyramid medium flatwounds until the white album where he started to use lighter strings, possibly Fender’s Rock And Roll Light Gauge which Eric Clapton was using at the time.
#3 Malcolm Young (12p-16p-25w-34w-44w-56w)
Angus may use typical gauges but since Malcolm doesn’t need to do the bendy leads his brother does, he uses Gibson Pure Nickel 12-56 guitar strings.
#4 George Benson (12p-15p-20w-28w-39w-53w)
As a jazz guitarist, George Benson likes to use thicker strings and even has a custom set with Thomastik.
#5 Stevie Ray Vaughan (13p-15p-19p-28w-38w-58w)
While he typically plays down a half step, he tuned to standard for his performance with Albert King, making him eligible for the list. His strings may just be 11 gauge GHS Nickel Rockers with a 13 on top but he plays them like their 8s.
#6 Pat Martino (15p-17p-24w-32w-42w-52w)
Another jazz guitarist but what’s interesting about these strings is that the high strings have much more tension then the lower ones.
#7 Dick Dale (16p-18p-20p-39w-49w-60w)
The king of surf not just played guitar with the high E closest to his face but also used ridiculously heavy guitar strings, even by 1960’s standards.
Lefty Guitarist Blogs 