# Standard vs. Drop Tuning... which is better?!



## Mawnsterr (Jul 27, 2014)

Hey guys,

I really love to play heavy metal, but I've only been playing for around one year and I am nowhere near amazing... not yet!

Anyways, once I will have learned a couple more complex songs and take more guitar lessons, I want to start composing my own songs. 

Now here is the question: (Other than the fact that you can strike power chords with one finger in drop tunings), is drop tuning better than standard or is standard better than drop tuning? or does it even really matter?

Anyways, for now, I seem to be mainly playing in C or C# standard.

Even though I cannot play songs of many of these bands, these are the type of bands i enjoy listening to:

Lamb of god
Misery index
Decapitated
All that remains
Children of bodom
Suicide silence
Origin
Gorguts
Immolation
Kreator
Havok
Killswitch Engage
Whitechapel
Behemoth
Etc etc etc....

Thanks in advance for all the help, I look forward to your responses!!


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## ShawnFjellstad (Jul 27, 2014)

No tuning is better than any other tuning. Find what you prefer, and play.


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## MoshJosh (Jul 27, 2014)

^^^ this

No tuning is better, you may find it easier to play certain things in certain tuning i.e. I prefer to play "the metals" in a drop tuning but there are plenty of metal bands who play in standard tunings


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## ncfiala (Jul 27, 2014)

I personally don't like either of those options. I tune in fourths.

I don't really understand the appeal of drop tunings myself. You can play a power chord (in root position) with one finger if you drop. I can play a power chord (inverted) with one finger without dropping. Drop tunings seem to make playing root position voicings of chords easier but make playing inversions harder.

I don't see the appeal of standard tunings either. As far as I can tell, the only benefit is that if you are playing a root position voicing of a chord, the root and the fifth are both doubled on the same fret as the root so you can double them both by barring across a single fret.


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## rockskate4x (Jul 28, 2014)

Use drop tuning if you want big intervals, and use standard tuning if you want small intervals. That's all it comes down to. 

For drop tuning:
I don't fall for the "drop tuning is just for one finger powerchord shit" sort of dick wagging, because the larger interval between the bottom strings allows you to grab 6th and even 7th intervals at the bottom of a larger chord. Having this at your disposal is great for forming the bottom of major and minor chords in first inversion. Oh, and those one finger power chords are in fact, quite useful and not stupid, because you are enabled to use three other fingers to add major or minor qualities and other colors and extensions. Try that in standard! I dare you, ............! 

For standard tuning:
Standard is great, because of the smaller intervals. Root position major and minor chords in the lower register have lots of beating (12 tone equal temperament blah blah blah), which results in a really thick sound with less purity than a power chord. Also, one finger can give you a fourth interval which can sound like the upper harmonics of a much deeper fundamental. For example, palm muting the E and A strings in standard tuning almost sounds like an open drop A chug, but without the lower frequency mud. Gojira uses this method to get loads of clear but thick sounding faux drop G riffs on their D standard guitars. 

Love both! Use both!


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## Devyn Eclipse Nav (Jul 28, 2014)

I agree with RockSkate - use what you want!

On my 8 string, it's F standard, and my 7, it's Drop A, my 6 is Open B, which has lots of 5ths in it, great for playing wide-voicing chords

I also have 2 other guitars in Drop D and D standard, but even then, they both go back and forth between standard and Drop C as well. Just experiment, see what you like. Different tunings give you different things.


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## TRENCHLORD (Jul 28, 2014)

Standard preferred here, out of habit (D and C#), though I still like keeping one guitar at dropped C just for variety sake.


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## OmegaSlayer (Jul 28, 2014)

I don't see the point of drop tuning.
If you want a lower sound get a new string 

I think that overall the cons of drop tuning are much more than the pro, but that's just me.

Also this is so very true one million times



ncfiala said:


> You can play a power chord (in root position) with one finger if you drop. *I can play a power chord (inverted) with one finger without dropping*. Drop tunings seem to make playing root position voicings of chords easier but make playing inversions harder.



And the part I bolded is something that very few metal guitarists unfortunately take into consideration.

Not to mention if you want to play a root and a third in root position.


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## Orzech (Jul 28, 2014)

^ Not exactly, adding an extra string doesn't allow you to play some music that was composed on drop tunning. 

IMO it's a matter of creativity: one's more creative on standard, the other on dropped tuning. Just choose what you feel you are more creative with


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## OmegaSlayer (Jul 28, 2014)

Orzech said:


> ^ Not exactly, adding an extra string doesn't allow you to play some music that was composed on drop tunning.
> 
> IMO it's a matter of creativity: one's more creative on standard, the other on dropped tuning. Just choose what you feel you are more creative with



It doesn't indeed but gives you loads more possibilities.


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## Mawnsterr (Jul 28, 2014)

rockskate4x said:


> Use drop tuning if you want big intervals, and use standard tuning if you want small intervals. That's all it comes down to.
> 
> For drop tuning:
> I don't fall for the "drop tuning is just for one finger powerchord shit" sort of dick wagging, because the larger interval between the bottom strings allows you to grab 6th and even 7th intervals at the bottom of a larger chord. Having this at your disposal is great for forming the bottom of major and minor chords in first inversion. Oh, and those one finger power chords are in fact, quite useful and not stupid, because you are enabled to use three other fingers to add major or minor qualities and other colors and extensions. Try that in standard! I dare you, ............!
> ...




I guess in this case I should give drop tuning another shot. It just sucks that I will have to relearn some scales (basically everything on the 6th sting will be pushed down 2 frets). 

However that is one thing that appeals me about drop tuning: the 6th string is really good for groove-driven riffs and the the higher strings can be used for more melodic and harmonious sections of a song... is anyone following me or am I completely wrong?!

Anyways, thanks for your help guys!


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## Matthew (Jul 28, 2014)

It's already been said, but this really is something you can only answer for yourself. Experiment with tunings and play the ones you like. This is why I like a 7 in drop a so much - I've got a 6 in standard and the extra a for the drop tuned stuff I like to do. Best of both worlds. On the other hand, my 6 is in drop c all the time. I tend to use it for clean stuff because I like the intervals and lower tuning.

Alternate tunings are a great reason to own more guitars!


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## t_rod (Jul 28, 2014)

I use standard on my 6 (D standard) and 7 (B standard).
Inverted power chords are just so ....ing metal on both


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## ZeroTolerance94 (Jul 28, 2014)

I play in Standard A on 7 and Standard D on 6.

I play in standard tunings because I think traditional power chords look cooler. ....ing sue me.


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## DudeManBrother (Jul 28, 2014)

I definitely prefer drop tunings for metal. The ability to play certain melody lines under a barre and stretch voicings just can't be done without the drop IMO. Plus I can get great mileage from tapped arpeggios since I can get through an octive without changing position, only string skipping, making 3 octive arpeggios a breeze.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jul 28, 2014)

It's mainly about what sounds and feels best to you. Also, it generally helps to use the tuning for the song you're learning, but you can change the tuning if you think it sounds better to you.

Basically, it's about preference.


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## Baelzebeard (Jul 28, 2014)

Playing in drop on guitar is horrible for me. I'm just too used to the chord shapes and interval positions in standard tuning. But for some reason playing drop on a bass is not an issue for me. What a weirdo.


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## tastehbacon (Jul 30, 2014)

It takes about half a second to change between the two, just use both


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## frahmans (Jul 30, 2014)

> On my 8 string, it's F standard, and my 7, it's Drop A, my 6 is Open B, which has lots of 5ths in it, great for playing wide-voicing chords
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## frahmans (Jul 30, 2014)

Double post


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## noUser01 (Jul 31, 2014)

OmegaSlayer said:


> I don't see the point of drop tuning.
> If you want a lower sound get a new string
> 
> I think that overall the cons of drop tuning are much more than the pro, but that's just me.



I strongly disagree with this, personally. The only cons I can see are having to position shift for your scale shapes on the lower string. And even then it really doesn't get in the way of speed or anything (once you wrap your head around it), it's a minor inconvenience at worst. Drop tunings add range, allow for bigger intervals, and don't require you to buy a whole new guitar just to go lower. That being said, drop tuning isn't just about grabbing lower notes, it's about seeing the instrument in a different way. Many people tune to drop B or drop A on 6 strings and some people say "Just get a 7 string", but those people clearly do not understand the distinction between wanting lower notes and wanting a different approach to guitar. 

The cons that most people reference are made redundant by the advantages. Things like "It's harder to play this chord" can easily be countered by "But it's easier to play_ this_ chord". "I have to learn new shapes" can be countered by "I can explore so many new shapes". If anything I would say drop tuning would still have an advantage in a 1:1 comparison like these examples, because the chords that it facilitates are ones that have been typically much less used and abused throughout the years, at least in our contemporary guitar driven music.

Honestly it comes down to style. If it doesn't help you get the music in your head out into the real world then it's not worth using it, but I'd hate for anyone to just not understand just how great it can be - or not "see the point", as you said.

In all fairness though I use an 8 string with the top 6 in standard and the bottom two dropped a whole step, so I'm just weird.


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## Stick (Aug 7, 2014)

I play in standard and have gravitated toward it for reasons driven by personal preference only. 

Early in my playing I liked playing in dropped tunings because it was 'easier' to sound 'heavy,' so I decided to play in standard to put myself in a different mindset, and start playing and expanding my understanding outside of my comfort zone.

Now I know that you can sound pretty damn heavy in a standard tuning if you know what you're doing, and I prefer to write in standard as opposed to dropped.

Again, my experience has shaped my opinion on this, thus tuning is a largely subjective matter. Play in the tuning that you feel brings out the best in your playing/writing.


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## Riger (Aug 10, 2014)

i've tried many variations of tunings on my 7 string

and my favorites is
BEADGBE and A#FA#D#G#CF


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## mdeeRocks (Aug 10, 2014)

I like drop A on 7 and drop E on 8th. Brings the whole thing to more guitar friendly keys


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## Zalbu (Aug 10, 2014)

I play in both but one of the best things about drop tunings is that it's way easier to play kickass chord voicings. Just look at Mark Holcomb uses drop C.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-SEAvxqoXI


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## wheresthefbomb (Aug 10, 2014)

neither, tuning is for posers


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## Fear (Aug 11, 2014)

I have been experimenting with alternate tuning for over 15 years and have gone back to standard tuning on my newest sevenstring. It's all preference and taste really. I keep my current six string in drop C, but that guitar is not being played nearly as much as my seven and will be sold for an 8 string soon. I plan to keep the 8 string in standard as well. I think you will find you will continue to change tunings over the span of your playing and through that you will find what you like best. Tastes change, just never limit yourself musically and you will always grow. The bands you listed all use a diverse mix of tunings, both seven and six string. Some down tuned, some drop tuned and some in standard. The real answer here is to have multiple guitars (down the road) so you can have multiple tunings and keep your main axe in your preferred setup


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## wat (Aug 11, 2014)

OmegaSlayer said:


> I don't see the point of drop tuning.
> If you want a lower sound get a new string
> 
> I think that overall the cons of drop tuning are much more than the pro, but that's just me.
> ...




The point of drop tuning a 6 _and a seven_, for me is that it adds a new set of options and opens up a new approach to chords that's totally different than what standard tuning has to offer...remember those 3 fingers can still do alot while the index finger is handling a root, 5th and octave. That's a lot of available voicings.


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## Sephael (Aug 11, 2014)

Besides chordal options the difference the pro/com between standard and a drop can be as little as wanting a D for an open low note instead of an E for ease.


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## metalgary (Aug 12, 2014)

Drop A on the 7 string free up ya fingers for lead work whilst you chugggg chugg with ya index finger.


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