Why do you use the tuning that you use?

[joates2384]

I use E, for a few reasons

1. Its the standard tuning, and 99% of lessons and such are in E, and im too lazy to retune my guitar.

2. Im a guy who learns by ear, with no theory, so Ive come to associate tones with certain places on the fretboard when the guitar is in E.

And...actually thats all I can think of lol.

 

[DeathMetal4tw]

I got a seven string, and went into Eb tuning like cannibal corpse (Bb,Eb, Ab, Db Gb, Bb, Eb). Right now though I'm in D standard, making me A, D, G, C, A, D. I hover around those two tunings. Why?

A)It's brutal as fuck
B) If I tire of the 7th string I'm still in D standard which is brutal as fuck
C)While I maintain this brutality, I can play the instrument in an (almost) traditional way when I feel like it and switch over to full on death metal in a heartbeat.

 

[genocide roach]

kastigation plays in D, and i have no idea why. but thats what they tuned to when i joined the band.

that being said, at home i use a variety of tunings:

i have my hollow body tuned to open D minor for a couple of reasons. the initial reason was to use my slide and play chords. i also enjoy the ability to play a full minor chord anywhere on the neck.

my 8 string bass is tuned to 5ths. originally i tuned it that way to play cello music, but ive found all sorts of great uses for that way. being able to play barred power chords anywhere on the neck, and discovering new chords with easy fingerings.

most everything else in my house is tuned to B standard because theyre all 5+ string basses. my 7 string guitar is also tuned to B.

in the future, i want to restring my warwick 5 with some picc strings and maybe tune it in either 4ths or 5ths, and then use the low string to add bass harmonies. though i havnt figured out the best tuning for that string yet.
~gR~

 

[Orion Crystal Ice]

Well..


Firstly I don't use standard tuning.. either in method or key. I'm in D and all strings are tuned from the 5th fret, not just the bottom 4. 11 years ago when I started, I never had any kind of lessons or anyone who knew anything at all or anything to ever teach me a single thing, I just sort of knew you did the 5th fret thing and it made sense to me to do it all the way so I did. It would be a total pain in the ass for me to re-learn whatever so it is the way it is. I usually don't go into it any more than that though because I don't like dealing with the snobby guitarists turning their noses up at something different which happens to work perfectly fine for me and for my band and music.

 

[ParsonsMatt]

I use D standard, largely out of habit. Everything I've ever written has been in D standard, and I like the tone of it more than any other tuning I've tried.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

I just sort of knew you did the 5th fret thing and it made sense to me to do it all the way so I did.

I did the same thing when I first got a guitar, but I knew that one of the higher strings was tuned to the fourth fret, but I kept doing it to the wrong string. Later, my brother and I began tuning to dropped C, because we listened to bands like Killswitch Engage, Static-X, and System of a Down. Actually, my brother still plays in dropped C, because he's too lazy to play power chords the standard way and has no interest in learning scales, keys, or even major and minor chords, so all of the music that he comes up with is usually just a sequence of parallel fifths on the two low strings.

I tired of dropped C around my sophomore year of college though, but couldn't bring myself to use standard, because the open E just sounds too high to me, so D standard was the obvious choice, because it only required me to retune one string. I later found out that Children of Bodom used D standard which encouraged me to stick with the tuning, and even later still I was introduced to Necrophagist and was excited that they use D standard as well. Then Kalmah dropped from Eb to D on Swampsong and this made me very happy as well.

I still write music in many different keys and occasionally write in different tunings, but if I want to play along, I'll transpose the tab rather than retuning my guitar.

 

[Eligos]

Well..

Firstly I don't use standard tuning.. either in method or key. I'm in D and all strings are tuned from the 5th fret, not just the bottom 4.

You play in perfect fourths, in other words. It's how 6+ string basses are tuned, typically. Makes things easier I agree.

Which brings me to why I play in B standard. I have a 5 string, and B standard is the standard tuning for five strings. When I write music in my head, and visualize playing it on my bass, it's always tuned in perfect fourths. So it's easier for me to play it the way I see it in my head.

I wish I had as large of a collection as gR. One day I will. It'll build over the next couple years.

 

[Orion Crystal Ice]

I'll pretend I am in full understanding and will also write that down for the next time I have to answer the question.

 

[viewerfromnihil]

B because it's awesome

 

[waif]

I use D standard, largely out of habit. Everything I've ever written has been in D standard, and I like the tone of it more than any other tuning I've tried.

.
Although I've never gone to C with heavy strings...planning on trying it, actually...just no idea how to adjust the thing.

all of the music that he comes up with is usually just a sequence of parallel fifths on the two low strings.

Yum.

 

[tagradh]

7 string down 1/2 step
Telecaster in C#
Ibanez in open Dmin

No real reason for each of them, it's just been that way for ages.

 

[Gold]

I use C# standard, I think it's the most brutal and most colorful,I can bleed out alot of emotions with it. I hate B and anything below it for the muddy sound it gives off, and C is way to overused

 

[Angel's Punishment]

I just use standard E. I don't only play metal (I play some rock too) so the majority of what I play is in standard E. I'm also too lazy to tune down to the lower regions. I'll tune to drop D, but if it goes lower, then I make keyboard arrangements for it.

 

[genocide roach]

You play in perfect fourths, in other words. It's how 6+ string basses are tuned, typically. Makes things easier I agree.

that being said, i tune my 7 string bass like my 7 string guitar
~gR~

 

[wandering_taco]

I have not been playing long but I tuned my guitar to
B E A D F B
I think thats what it is, cause it sounds badass. I have a shitty little practice amp and a rather cheap guitar, I had it tuned to A like Nile but it sounds sooo fucking muddy like that. Tuned to B is almost as deep and brutal and nowhere near as messy sounding.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

I have not been playing long but I tuned my guitar to
B E A D F B
I think thats what it is, cause it sounds badass. I have a shitty little practice amp and a rather cheap guitar, I had it tuned to A like Nile but it sounds sooo fucking muddy like that. Tuned to B is almost as deep and brutal and nowhere near as messy sounding.

That natural F would confuse the hell out of me every time I played it.

 

[wandering_taco]

It might be a G or something, I cant remember off the top of my head. I use a tuner and I dont think it actually has F, but I seem to recall that like the sharp of one note is the same as the minor of the next or some shit. I know basically nothing of theory lol, but whatever. It sounds cool.

 

[Frost Giant]

Both of my bands play in E flat or drop C sharp, which is basically the whole standard tuning one-half step down, and sometimes we drop the low string.

We use E-flat because Slayer uses it. Gives the standard variation a darker edge to it.

The drop tuning opens up some possibilities and heaviness without detuning ridiculously low. You don't need to be in B to be heavy, and we find that we get a nice balance between heaviness and sonic clarity from these tunings.

 

[Extacide]

D standard, and for two reasons really:

1) Sounds heavier than E.

2) In combination with 9/10 gauge strings, I get the perfect tension for doing my wide vibratos and 4-5 note bends in combination with wide vibratos. In 9 gauge, it makes it stupidly easy to do all of that so I don't have to focus as hard which makes transitioning from bends to picked notes easier. In 10 gauge, the strings are a little less loose and give me a more solid grasp for shredding.

 

[Black_Sheep]

I have two guitars.

One (my main) is on D. I like this tuning, it's low, but not too low. I can use not-so heavy strings, and this helps me play solos and sweeps better.

My other guitar is in E, but i'll probably tune it to C soon since i might join a band that plays from that tuning. Even though i don't really like it (the tuning i mean)

I've also used a lot of E flat since one of my all time favorite bands, Iced Earth, uses this tuning and i have been playing a lot of their songs.