What Guitar Strings Does Slash Use
Apr 4th 2024
About Slash
Over the last four decades, Slash (née Saul Hudson) has distinguished himself as one of the best guitarists who ever lived. He burst onto the scene as a member of Guns N’ Roses, as a driving musical force behind the “Appetite for Destruction” and Use Your Illusion albums. Of course, fame brought drama and tension, which led to Slash leaving the band. But his later supergroup success, first with Slash’s Snakepit and later Velvet Revolver, showed he was no one-trick pony.
Many people don’t know that Slash was born in London; his family emigrated to Los Angeles when he was five. This worldliness has shown in his session work, playing on albums for Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Rihanna, Paulina Rubio and countless others. Nearing the age of 60, Slash is still going strong, reuniting with Guns N’ Roses in 2016 and releasing a new blues album in 2024.
Slash Guitar Strings
For all those legendary riffs and searing solos, Slash swears by Ernie Ball strings. He primarily uses Ernie Ball Regular Slinkies, nickel-wound guitar strings with 10-13-17-26-36-46 gauges. Sometimes he switches to a custom set of 11-14-18p-28-38-48 Ernie Balls, which are most famously played on a 1959 Gibson Les Paul replica.
Slash is also known for putting his strings into the bridge holes the wrong way — going away from the neck — and then wrapping them around before slotting. In an interview, Slash said he and others (including Jimmy Page) do this to lower the string tension, allowing for easier bends with medium and heavy gauges. It also gives the strings more sustain.
Follow Slash
