What strings do you use, Ronny Jordan?

© Lionel Fluisn/Kipa/Corbis

From the Guitar Techniques archive, we ask a great guitarist all those little questions you really do want the answers to. Here's jazz virtuoso Ronny Jordan…

GT: Do you have a type of pick that you can't live without?

RJ: I absolutely love the black Dunlop medium gauge plectrums. What I love most about them is that they don't snap!

GT: If you had to give up all your pedals but three, what would they be?

RJ: Chorus, digital delay and wah-wah pedal, for reasons too numerous to mention.

GT: Do you play another instrument well enough to be in a band?

RJ: I have to say the bass guitar. I'd love to do a tour one day just playing bass guitar.

GT: If a music chart were put in front of you, could you read it?

RJ: Hell no!

GT: Do guitar cables really make a difference? What make are yours?

RJ: They really do make a difference in that you really get what you pay for. I use Monster Cable.

GT: Is there anyone's playing (past or present) that you're slightly jealous of?

RJ: Believe it or not, I've never been jealous of anyone's playing. If anything, it's pure admiration.

GT: Your house/studio is burning down: which guitar do you salvage and why?

RJ: My Gibson ES 175 mainly for sentimental reasons.

GT: What's your favourite amp and how do you set it?

RJ: My favourite amp right now is the Henricksen Jazz Amp. My setup is for me to know and for you to find out!

GT: What kind of action do you have on your guitars?

RJ: I have low, fast action on all of my guitars.

GT: What guitar strings do you use?

RJ: I use D'Addarios. I use several gauges. For instance, on my 175, I'll use the darker sounding flatwound 12s whereas on my Gibson L-5, I'll use the more brighter sounding roundwound 12s. For both my custom Strat and custom Tele, it has to be 10s.