James "Jim" Root (born October 2, 1971) is a guitarist and member #4 for the band Slipknot. He shares lead guitarist duties with fellow bandmate Mick Thomson. He is also the lead guitarist for Stone Sour.

James Root joined Slipknot after their previous guitarist, Josh Brainard, left the band during the recording of the self-titled album. Singer Corey Taylor invited James to join Slipknot because he knew him from their previous effort together, the first incarnation of Stone Sour. The only track on the self-titled album on which James can be heard is Purity, but this song was removed from the album due to a lawsuit and subsequent copies of the album do not feature any of James' playing.

At 6'6", he is the tallest member of the band. He worked as a screen printer, waiter, and busboy before joining Slipknot. James has played in previous bands such as Deadfront, Anal Blast, and Atomic Opera. James is also the lead guitarist for Stone Sour, which he and Taylor reformed during the break between the Slipknot albums Iowa and Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). He released a Signature Fender Telecaster Guitar in July 2007. The guitar has an EMG 81 pickup at the bridge and an EMG 60 pickup at the neck.

James has been dating Lacuna Coil singer Cristina Scabbia since 2004. They met on the 2004 Ozzfest tour.

When Jim first joined Slipknot, he adopted ex-guitarist Josh Brainard's mask. It was a black bondage mask that covered most of his head. He had pink hair at the time and used to pull parts of it up through a hole in the top of the mask. After a couple of shows and one photo shoot, he decided to change masks, as the bondage mask was too uncomfortable to allow him to concentrate on playing. He adopted a jester's mask, said to represent that side of his personality. His most recent variation of this mask is still a jester's mask, but this one has red diamond detailing around the eyes and a zipper in between the lips.