Search for the Ultimate Tuning of Metal

[STINNETT]

Just lately I'm playing just about everything in either E standard concert pitch or drop D, and having more fun with it. Coming up with heavy tunes in higher tunings is more of a challenge IMO.

Word.
And when I need a fucking ominous sounding chord - I just put the fifth on the bottom.

E standard is where it's at.

 

[CatharsisStudios]

Drop A drop A# drop G#,

nuff said. 12's-56

 

[Sloan]

I like to take all the low E strings from 6 packs and put them on the guitar so they're all the same gauge, then i tune to open g. OBEY THY UNCLEANSED RIFF.

 

[Torniojaws]

Standard tuning with a 7-string guitar You get the badass B string love AND normal E tuning PLUS tight strings in the highest octaves. It's a win-win-win situtation

 

[migreeni]

We play only A# drop nowadays. On our first album we got C drop and A# drop pretty much fifty-fifty. But A# drop has "it" It's demonic.

 

[korpse pop]

C standard is my shit - I really doubt anyone could give objective reasons as to why one tuning is better or worse than another (unless you go beneath B flat, at which point I agree it's too low), I just like C-standard cuz it's the Gothenberg tuning

I always thought B was the standard swedish DM tuning

 

[Metaltastic]

In Flames and Arch Enemy are C-standard, that's about as definitive as it gets for me!

 

[bibz]

But soilwork and darkane are B

I blocked my floyd on my low tuned guitar and switch between them

 

[Torniojaws]

Plus Arch Enemy's Burning Japan Live was played in B tuning And Bloodbath is mostly in B too, except for a song here and there in A tuning. And In Flames is pretty much an even division between C standard and drop-A# (drop ass!). I think most of Dark Tranquillity is in C#, though I think they've done stuff in D too.

 

[korpse pop]

Aren't all Liiva era Arch Enemy albums in B? Best 3 albums by Arch Enemy I think

 

[Torniojaws]

Aren't all Liiva era Arch Enemy albums in B? Best 3 albums by Arch Enemy I think

Burning Bridges is in C, but Black Earth and Stigmata are in B. And yeah, they're their best works

 

[drew_drummer]

CGCFAD here, I'll sometimes go to DADGBE though.

Gotta say though... I'd hope that a singer would try and improve their range rather than down-tune the guitars just for ease.

 

[Force666]

Eflat Standard.

I've been stuck for a while. God forbid i've gotta re-setup all my guitars.

 

[ACEvilmuffin]

E standard


strings going from 9 -42 to 10 - 52

 

[iamandy]

Who the hell writes metal in C Major?

don't SYL tune the guitars to Open C Major? like C-G-C-G-C-E

 

[CatharsisStudios]

Burning Bridges is in C, but Black Earth and Stigmata are in B. And yeah, they're their best works

burning bridges is in B,

 

[Metaltastic]

don't SYL tune the guitars to Open C Major? like C-G-C-G-C-E

Well it's only open C-major if the top string is played, and Matt's point was that not much metal music is written in a major key (if it is, it's usually lydian/mixolydian), as it should be

 

[paladin shredder]

i usually tune in drop c, or d standard.

isn't at the gates in c standard or is it drop?

 

[JBroll]

Standard. Video looked like standard and a couple of things would have been very silly to play dropped.

Jeff

 

[K Odell]

Drop A on my 7 string and standard on my 6 string