Images of Guitar Legends such as Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn instantly come to mind when you hear Dunlop Artist Eric Gales rip on the electric guitar as if it’s an extension of his hands. It’s easy to be inspired by his effortless playing which is sure to please all rock and blues fans alike.

In honor of Eric Gales’ new CD release Transformation, we’re giving away the following Dunlop Products that he utilizes to achieve his tone:

- 3 sets of Dunlop Electric Giutar Strings, .10-.46

- 3 player’s packs of Genuine Celluloid Picks

- Lucky 13 Americana Strap

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with who you think will be remembered as the Guitar Legend of our current generation. Winners are selected at random, one entry per person. Remember to check jimdunlop.com every Friday for new giveaways. Please adhere to the official rules of our site.

Be sure to sign up for our Facebook, Twitter, and Email Newsletter for the scoop on all Dunlop news and giveaways.

Dunlop Senior String Designer Les O’Connor

Dunlop Strings are no exception. Veteran string builder Les O’Connor helms our Dunlop Strings facility. “We built a string factory from the ground up so that we would have complete control over every detail,” says O’Connor. With state-of-the-art string machines, O’Connor spent years analyzing and experimenting with different formulas, discovering what worked and what could work better, developing new processes and techniques along the way.

Even with state of the art equipment, however, O’Connor felt limited. “We took cutting-edge machines and hot-rodded them,” says O’Connor. “This allowed us to create unique formulas that deliver high performance strings every time we wind.”

Doug Aldrich

“The first thing I noticed is that they’re really consistent,” says Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich.

We tested our newly-designed strings with countless guitars and rigs and sent them on the road with top artists, fine-tuning as we got feedback, leading to the formulas we use today. “The formulas that we developed give the string a much more natural feel and tone. It allows the guitar player to really connect with his guitar,” says O’Connor.

With production going forward, we implemented strict storage and handling regulations to ensure that our raw materials are in the best possible condition when they go into our machines.

“We built a climate-controlled facility to store material and build our strings in,” says Vice President Jasmin Dunlop Powell. “We pay extra special attention to the quality of the materials and if anything doesn’t meet our expectations, we reject them. That means nothing of inferior quality gets into our strings.”

“We test at the wire,” says String Production Manager Bryan Hartley. “Before a wire even sees a machine it’s inspected and tested. We test at the ball end level, we test at the winding level, we test at the packaging level.”

Our string packaging provides three layers of moisture protection while each protective envelope also reduces metal-on-metal contact. “Each set of Dunlop strings is going to be as fresh as when they were manufactured,” says O’Connor.

The result is a family of vibrant strings that play comfortably and last a long time, with consistent quality, tone, feel, and tension from string to string and set to set, whether electric or acoustic, whether guitar, bass, mandolin, or banjo. In different settings, with different instruments, Dunlop strings nevertheless have a sound and feel all their own.

“When I switched to Dunlop Strings…it was like, these things feel great,” says Doug Aldrich. “The tension feels great, the gauging…But you never know until you keep buying them.”

Zakk Wylde

“They gotta be slammin or I won’t play em,” says Black Label Society vocalist/lead guitarist Zakk Wylde. “[Jimmy Dunlop] sent me a couple different sets of strings. I said, ‘Jim, these are the ones.’ They’re kickass—I use all of them: the acoustics, the classical, the electrics. They all sound killer. They take a beating and I don’t go around breaking strings.”

Jimmy Dunlop

“We can’t control where the music goes; we can’t control where the music is going to take us all,” says Vice President Jimmy Dunlop. “It’s the artists…it’s not going to be my products that hold them back. If they want to take it a little further, we’re going to be there so they can reach their potential.”

Hey all you Black Label Society fans out there, this Friday’s Giveaway is for you because you have the chance to win:

• - 3 Sets each of our Zakk Wylde Signature Icon Series Electric Guitar Strings (.10~.46 gauge & .10~.60 gauge)
• - 3 Sets of our Zakk Wylde Signature Icon Series Acoustic Guitar Strings (.12~.54 gauge)
• - Zakk Wylde Overdrive Flex Fit Cap
• - Zakk Wylde Signature Icon Series Strings T-Shirt
• - Player’s Packs of the same picks Zakk Wylde uses: Ultex Sharp 1.0mm

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with who your favorite Dunlop Artist is and why. Winners are selected at random, one entry per person. Remember to check jimdunlop.com every Friday for new giveaways. Please adhere to the official rules of our site.

Be sure to check out our even bigger bass contest going on right now on our contest page, where you can win a HUGE slew of bass gear.

Be sure to sign up for our Facebook, Twitter, and Email Newsletter for the scoop on all Dunlop news and giveaways.