Drop Tuning
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Other music related lounges
Forum Name: Music and Musicians Exchange
Forum Description: Talk with and get feedback from other musicians on the site
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=17769
Printed Date: November 22 2024 at 06:12
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Topic: Drop Tuning
Posted By: WillieThePimp
Subject: Drop Tuning
Date Posted: January 21 2006 at 21:35
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Which do you prefer when playing heavy material? Half step down, Drop D, A, etc? What is your preference. Being a bass player I really do not enjoy tuning down lower than D. ------------- You can't possibly hear the last movement of Beethoven's Seventh and go slow. ~Oscar Levant, explaining his way out of a speeding ticket |
Replies:
Posted By: stonebeard
Date Posted: January 21 2006 at 22:57
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No low tuning at all. ------------- http://soundcloud.com/drewagler" rel="nofollow - My soundcloud. Please give feedback if you want! |
Posted By: WillieThePimp
Date Posted: January 22 2006 at 00:49
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Haha, I am pretty much the same way, except for dropping down to D in
some instances. I am usually coaxed into doing it because many of the
local groups that i've played with tune their guitars to D. I think that standard tuning can be just as heavy without having to tune down. Bands like Opeth have composed most of their songs (albeit their latest album), in standard tuning and are not any less heavier for doing so. This and the fact that every instrument is contributing to their heaviness and they do not have to rely on tuning down their guitars to achieve it. So this thread really should have been do you think it is necessary to tune guitars down in order to achieve a certain heaviness, or can it be down with standard tuning? ------------- You can't possibly hear the last movement of Beethoven's Seventh and go slow. ~Oscar Levant, explaining his way out of a speeding ticket |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: January 22 2006 at 04:40
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I play in standard tuning only. If I had a 7 string guitar, I would probably play it in "drop-A" - tuning ... that would be really cool. I really like the sound of downtuned guitars, but I wouldn't want to mess with the tuning - I like to know where notes are on the fretboard, no need to make it any more complicated. Having said that, maybe a massively downtuned baritone guitar would be nice ... but I figure that that would be a bass. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to: 
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: January 22 2006 at 04:44
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In response to WillieThePimp: I think that playing massively downtuned guitars can make sense ... but it becomes difficult to write guitar riffs which don't conflict with the bass lines. Of course you can also downtune the bass, but then you get the problem that you reach frequencies which are barely audible, and damage speakers - IF the hifi system can amplify them at all. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: JayDee
Date Posted: January 22 2006 at 09:20
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Standard EADGBE tuning! ------------- 
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Posted By: stan the man
Date Posted: January 26 2006 at 17:52
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i like standard also the standerd tuning. Occasionally i do drop to D to play some slide. it has a really cool sound playing chords with drop D with a slide. ------------- true as a lobster in a pteredaktyl's underpants. 
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Posted By: sbrushfan
Date Posted: January 26 2006 at 18:17
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Standard tuning all the way, though I find I like some drop-tuned stuff, and the songs I write are tuned down one-half step. That said, though, I don't see the point in C# F B E G# C#, or C G C F A D or stuff like that. Doing that just muddies up the sound, IMO. Which is why I don't like a lot of modern pop and LOATHED "grunge" like Nirvana or Pearl Jam. ------------- Some world views are spacious, and some are merely spaced... |
Posted By: Sammus_the_hutt
Date Posted: January 26 2006 at 21:08
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i was all aginst drop tuning, and origionaly considered it the easy way out (a single finger for powerchords? get outa here!) but, of late have come to accept this is not so. i am now not bothered. I thought, hey! if it sounds good, whats the problem?
------------- Goodnight, Tonight, Im burning star 4 |
Posted By: goose
Date Posted: January 27 2006 at 00:11
I don't mind tuning down (apart from it being irritating going from piece to piece), but actual drop tuning upsets the whole relationship of fourths between strings, and I don't think well enough to work properly using it 
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Posted By: conjunktionman
Date Posted: January 27 2006 at 05:15
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I use drop D in all our music. I just like that lower couple of notes on the bass. When learning anything, I use standard tuning and transpose it later. Playin a six string bass with the lower B is great fun too. I dont own one personally but get use of it. ------------- http://www.sloganizer.net/en/"> 
www.spacejunk.org |
Posted By: sbrushfan
Date Posted: January 27 2006 at 15:02
I know that in Drop-D (DADGBE) tuning, it becomes easier to play power-chords. Is there a way to play drop-d power chords in regular tuning (EADGBE)?
------------- Some world views are spacious, and some are merely spaced... |
conjunktionman wrote:Posted By: goose
Date Posted: January 28 2006 at 10:52
Playing Drop D power chords in standard tuning? That doesn't mean anything! 
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: January 28 2006 at 11:15
sure: --- becomes --- where's the problem?
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: sbrushfan
Date Posted: January 28 2006 at 15:35
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I'm asking because I know nothing about guitar...though I'm wanting one. I guess I worded the question wrong: I MEANT...is there any way to play in standard tuning and still give your power chords the drop-d feel? ------------- Some world views are spacious, and some are merely spaced... |
Posted By: Moatilliatta
Date Posted: January 29 2006 at 01:44
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Agreed, I prefer standard tuning. I occasionally like to tune down to standard Eb or D. I would never use it for my own music, but I would like to try one of those 8-string guitars Meshuggah uses. ------------- www.last.fm/user/ThisCenotaph  
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Posted By: Oxygen Waster
Date Posted: January 29 2006 at 02:12
I like to play in CGCF so yes i love low tuning also.Thats the the tuning the Bassist from Mudvayne uses. |
Posted By: darren
Date Posted: January 31 2006 at 12:21
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For a twelve string, I prefer the strings tuned down a
tone to ease the tension on the neck. I like playing alternate tunings once in a while. It seems to stimulate creativity. I like DADGAD, Open G and Open D. Drop D and Double Drop D are great if you're playing Neil Young songs. There's a tuning, I forget exactly what it is but it's something like EEEEBE. Steven Stills uses it for "Suite Judy Blue Eyes". It's interesting because of all the droning sounds you get. Maybe if I just stuck to standard tuning I'd be a better player. ------------- "they locked up a man who wanted to rule the world. the fools they locked up the wrong man." - Leonard Cohen |
Posted By: Lindsay Lohan
Date Posted: February 02 2006 at 06:28
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AADGBE...is the only way to tune yer guitiar ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Fjuffe/?chartstyle=sideRed - [IMG - http://imagegen.last.fm/sideRed/recenttracks/Fjuffe.gif - |
Posted By: Eetu Pellonpaa
Date Posted: February 02 2006 at 09:11
| I drop tuned my 4-string bass to D many years ago and got hooked to it! It's easier to play chords and lower D is a nice option to have when playing stuff from E or A. |
Posted By: Cygnus X-1
Date Posted: February 02 2006 at 13:13
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down tuning is sometimes cool for heavy songs, but i mostly stick with standard ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Bodins/?chartstyle=DarkSide5Big"> 
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Posted By: King of Loss
Date Posted: February 02 2006 at 13:43
| Drop D or C usually. Unless I want to play some Death Metal, drop tuning to B is required. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: February 02 2006 at 13:44
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With Jazz strings? ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Lindsay Lohan
Date Posted: February 02 2006 at 14:54
as said before Adrian Smith of iron maiden sometimes brings up the AADGBE tuning to normal guitar...i think he used a bass string for this tuning ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Fjuffe/?chartstyle=sideRed - [IMG - http://imagegen.last.fm/sideRed/recenttracks/Fjuffe.gif - |
Posted By: Andrew Vernon
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 18:31
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My guitar is mostly in DADGBE or CGCFAD. My bass I experiment with a lot. I've tried standard, DADG, CGCF, BEDG, and BADG. The notes move around, and you can find some really good riffs by using non-standard tunings. I don't find tuning down on my bass to be difficult or that it causes any problems. ------------- over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind. feed my will to feel this moment, urging me to cross the line. reaching out to embrace whatever may come. |
Posted By: Syzygy
Date Posted: February 04 2006 at 06:48
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Alternative tunings really come into their own for solo acoustic guitar - the DADGAD tuning popularised by Davy Graham in the 1960s opens up a lot of possibilities and isn't that difficult to get used to. Guitarists like Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, John Renbourn Richard Thompson and John Martyn all use it (with variations) to great effect. Jimmy Page was heavily influenced by that generation of UK folk guitarists and the acoustic Zeppelin tracks frequently use similar tunings. Open G/D tunings are good for slide, and were pretty much standard among old school blues players. Nick Drake, David Crosby and Joni Mitchell have used all kinds of odd tunings to create unfamiliar, usually jazzy chord patterns for their highly individual songwriting. ------------- 'Like so many of you I've got my doubts about how much to contribute to the already rich among us...' Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom |
Posted By: KoS
Date Posted: February 04 2006 at 23:54
| not a fan, since i have cheap guitars, though DADGAD tuning on acoustic is cool |
Posted By: arcer
Date Posted: February 05 2006 at 05:57
Yup I'm a big fan of DADGAD and open G on acoustic. My dobro is permanently tuned to open G and sounds great either finger picked or with slide but on electric guitars it's almost always standard tuning. Maybe it's because I'm a crap player 
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Posted By: novella
Date Posted: February 07 2006 at 20:02
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I tend to use D standard down one whole step or drop C ------------- If you ever reach the moon before I do wave goodbye. |
Posted By: Goldenavatar
Date Posted: February 09 2006 at 02:14
| I find drop tunings to be mostly unneeded. I mean what's the point of dropping to D unless you're actually playing a tune in D? Dropping to D doesn't help much if the tune's in B or Eb for example. I do like exploring open tunings though. You can get a lot of resonance from your guitar with an open tuning, plus you get the bonus of some very interesting chord voicings. |
Posted By: chromaticism
Date Posted: February 12 2006 at 11:31
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Whole step down (D, G, C, F, A, D) for the heavier stuff I write on the key of D minor; it's standard E otherwise and nothing else. ------------- http://www.sterilium.tk - Challenging music for the thinking and inquisitive mind |
Posted By: BePinkTheater
Date Posted: February 13 2006 at 12:10
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I dont tihnk theres any problem wiht drop tuning at all. YOu guys sound pretty snobish by saying "Oh no drop tuning! thats stupid becuase im a real musician and i play my instrument how everyone else does"
If you hear a song in your head, that should have a low D chord, tune it down. You shouldnt confine yourself to preset limits of your intsrtments . Thats kinda what prog is about. The freedom to do what you want even tohguh thats not the norm.
Also i enjoy doing alternate tunings. One of my favourites for acoustic guitar is Daddad. its sexy. ------------- I can strangle a canary in a tin can and it would be really original, but that wouldn't save it from sounding like utter sh*t. -Stone Beard |