I’ve been on a bit of a string journey with my Gibson Les Paul lately. I’m always on the lookout for something that offers that perfect balance of feel, tension, and tonal clarity, and of course when you’re talking about a Les Paul you’re also be paying special attention to that famously finicky G string. Enter the Ernie Ball Silver Slinky designed for John Mayer.
The gauges Mayer and Ernie Ball have selected here are pretty unusual. From high to low, the set goes:
10.5
13.5
17.5
27
37
47
I guess you can kind of think of these as being a little more than a 10-46 set, or not quite a 10-52 set. The feel of these is obviously going to change depending on your guitar’s scale length, but I’m here to tell you that these strings are ideal for the Les Paul, a guitar they weren’t even designed for. Here’s why.
First, the balance of playability and tension is spot-on. I’ve tried countless sets of strings on my Les Paul over the years – Elixirs, D’Addarios of every type, Rotosounds, Ernie Balls, GHS, Dean Markley, JVB and probably a bunch more I’ve forgotten about. But these feel just right. The tension feels firm but not unbendable, and when I really wallop an A power chord I can feel the whole guitar vibrating. It doesn’t do that with the 9-42 strings I was recently using, and it feels a little more vibrant than when using 10-46.
Sonically they’ve got that smooth, balanced sound that works beautifully with the Les Paul’s naturally warm, thick tone without muffling the high-end snarl of this particular guitar. The low-end is punchy and full, making power chords sound beefy without ever getting muddy. And if you’re someone who drops into lower tunings, like I often do in Drop C#, these strings maintain their definition and clarity, even when you really dig in. I’ve used a few different string sets for my Drop C# experiments, and a lot of them either feel too slack or too stiff. The Silver Slinkys have just the right amount of tension in that low range, offering a solid grip without feeling like you’re fighting the strings to get a clean note. I don’t know if I’d tune them any lower than Drop C# because they might then start to feel a bit loose. Ernie Ball makes plenty of other sets specifically for lower tunings though.
Crucially, they stay in tune, even the G string. It seems like 17.5 is exactly where this particular guitar wants that string to be.
I can confidently say that these will be my go-to strings for the Les Paul from now on. TIf you’re looking for a versatile set that handles standard and alternative tunings with ease while delivering that signature Les Paul warmth, the Ernie Ball Silver Slinkys are my top recommendation. These will definitely be my standard gauge from now on, and I highly recommend them to anyone rocking a Les Paul or any guitar that needs a balance of responsiveness and firm tension.
Ernie Ball John Mayer Signature Silver Slinky strings are available in 1, 3 and 10 pack varieties.