# Metal bands using Drop low tunings on 6-string baritones



## alvaro (Mar 14, 2015)

I listen and play a lot of Sybreed, Neurotech and such "futuristic metal" stuff (even some SS.org members amazing tunes). 

Lately I have become more interested in even lower tunings, but I am reluctant to use 7 or 8 string guitars. I was also catched by "Drop" type tunings, I found them fun and armonically super cool.

So... any metal bands out there using growly Drop tunings on 6-string baritone guitars??


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## Seybsnilksz (Mar 14, 2015)

On the Porcupine Tree song "Circle of manias" a six string is tuned down an octave from E-standard. Not drop tuned, but low for a six string.


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## Dan_Vacant (Mar 14, 2015)

That with Tusks
This guy is a local dude, he uses telebirds he builds from parts. he tunes to drop F#
It may be different then what your looking for cause It's just him with two very high wattage amps and an effects board, but live it's very powerful.


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## alvaro (Mar 14, 2015)

Seybsnilksz said:


> On the Porcupine Tree song "Circle of manias" a six string is tuned down an octave from E-standard. Not drop tuned, but low for a six string.



good stuff!!


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## Bloody_Inferno (Mar 14, 2015)

Some of my favorites:


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## The Omega Cluster (Mar 14, 2015)

That's drop A on a bass guitar.

https://vodmusic.bandcamp.com/track/--2


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## MoshJosh (Mar 14, 2015)

Joe from Within the Ruins played in Drop G for their 6 string song, though not always on a baritone


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## Ed_Ibanez_Shred (Mar 14, 2015)

This. Most of this album is in F, some in E, 2 tracks are in C#1 I believe


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## alvaro (Mar 14, 2015)

Ed_Ibanez_Shred said:


> This. Most of this album is in F, some in E, 2 tracks are in C#1 I believe




wow. WOW... this is poetry!!!! are you sure they used 6 string guitars + drop tunings? anyway, it sounds so inspiring.. thanks!
EDIT: BOUGHT THE WHOLE ALBUM ON BANDCAMP..... SERIOUSLY LOVE IT!!!

and thanks very much everyone for all suggestions. they are all in the cue list.


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## Abaddon9112 (Mar 14, 2015)

Baritone 6s aren't as common as they deserve to be. But...There are plenty of metal bands that tune in the 7-string range on normal, non-baritone six strings. You can get a 25.5" scale down to A standard/Drop G without too much of a problem with intonation. It's doable on a 24.75" even with heavier strings.

Bongripper I know use Gibsons and tune to some sort of Drop F tuning. I've set up 24.75" and 25.5" in F# or F before but the tone is kind of muddy vs. a 26.5" or longer.

Scale length isn't really as critical as people think it is. Some genres like doom or nu-metal a shorter scale can even help get a thicker, "sludgier" tone.


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## ZeroTolerance94 (Mar 14, 2015)

I'm pretty sure Cannibal Corpse has quite a bit of tunes in A# Standard on 6 strings. But I'm also pretty sure they use 25.5 scale guitars.


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## The Omega Cluster (Mar 14, 2015)




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## TheWarAgainstTime (Mar 14, 2015)

Architects' latest album is all on 6 strings tuned down three half steps (C# standard) then the 6th string is further dropped to G# or F# depending on the song. 



Also, it's not _that_ low, but most of The Safety Fire's songs are tuned to standard with a low A (A, A, D, G, B, E)


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## Abaddon9112 (Mar 14, 2015)

Ah, that reminds me... 

If you're familiar with the song Prison Sex by Tool, that's in E standard with the low E dropped to B. 

You can do a variation on this with any other tuning on a 6. Mastodon uses D standard with a low A, Architects as mentioned is using C# standard with a low G#. 

And my favorite is B standard with a low F#. 

You can get that extra low chuggy string without losing range in the highs. And on the lowest string, the regular two-note power chord shape becomes an octave. Which sounds great in the real low registers where normal 5th chords start to get muddy. Long as the bottom string is heavy enough for good tension it works great.


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## col (Mar 14, 2015)

Nile is drop-A on 24.75" scale.


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## JD27 (Mar 14, 2015)

TheWarAgainstTime said:


> Architects' latest album is all on 6 strings tuned down three half steps (C# standard) then the 6th string is further dropped to G# or F# depending on the song.



I liked that album quite a bit.


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## alvaro (Mar 15, 2015)

Abaddon9112 said:


> Ah, that reminds me...
> 
> If you're familiar with the song Prison Sex by Tool, that's in E standard with the low E dropped to B.
> 
> ...



I have recently bought and customized a 6 string baritone (28.625''), and I plan to tune it Drop F# (B standard with a low F# as you do). Just need to renew my repertory for this new axe.... I am searching music like Meshuggah, but with less "acoustic / organic" vibe and more with a touch of "techno / machine" stuff. I like a lot the dubstep snare drum on those LHB that Ed_Ibanez_Shred posted. Samplers, synths with ultra detuned guitars.... I like that mixture.


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## Necris (Mar 15, 2015)

I'm pretty sure Conan tune to Drop F# with 24.75" scale Gibsons.


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## vilk (Mar 16, 2015)

I thought dude in Conan uses some kind of custom guitar. At least in the video I saw it definitely wasn't gibson. I have no idea what the scale is, but I remember reading him saying that his custom guitar made to his specs is how he gets his unique tone.


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## Necris (Mar 16, 2015)

I've seen some older videos of them live with him using what at least appeared to be a cherry burst Les Paul. He may use a new guitar now though, I don't really keep up with the band.


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## Leuka (Mar 16, 2015)

vilk said:


> I thought dude in Conan uses some kind of custom guitar. At least in the video I saw it definitely wasn't gibson. I have no idea what the scale is, but I remember reading him saying that his custom guitar made to his specs is how he gets his unique tone.



he uses a Electrical Guitar Company custom V with 24.75" or 25.5" scale, not sure which. he has actually built his whole rig to resonate with F# and it sounds ....ing massive especially live.


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## Chokey Chicken (Mar 16, 2015)

Destiny Potato is tuned to some form of Ab on a six string. I forget the tuning beyond Ab, Eb, Ab, Eb though.


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## Alice AKW (Mar 17, 2015)

Chokey Chicken said:


> Destiny Potato is tuned to some form of Ab on a six string. I forget the tuning beyond Ab, Eb, Ab, Eb though.



It's Ab Eb Ab Eb Ab Bb I believe.


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## DLG (Mar 17, 2015)

Leprous recorded their last album on baritone 6s, even though they use 8s live because they stay in tune better.


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## vilk (Mar 17, 2015)

I had heard it was that the album was written on 8s because that's they play most of the time, but they only used baritone guitars for the studio because it was yielding better tones than the 8ers.


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## right_to_rage (Mar 18, 2015)

I'm pretty sure most of Car_Bomb's music is tuned around low A'ish


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## indreku (Mar 18, 2015)

Horror dance Squad



don't want to be a self promoting guy, but we do use, baritone guitars and Drop G.


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## sessionswan (Mar 19, 2015)

Shameless self promo here! While I'm not a metal band I did this on an RG470XL in drop F#

[SC]https://soundcloud.com/theinator/other-barrytone-03-05-14[/SC]


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## InfinityCollision (Mar 19, 2015)

Semi-OT, but have you given any thought to fifths tuning or a variant thereof?

You could tune F# C# G# D# A# F low to high, or take it down a half or full step.


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## Korbain (Mar 19, 2015)

Staind's guitarist mike mushok uses baritone guitars, he tunes it down pretty down low. I think he tuned as low as G# on their break the cycle album. From about that album onwards he's used baritones.

They have a few recent albums which probably don't show that sound off as much, break the cycle really does though  pretty sure he used 7 strings for their last album though...or atleast some of the songs


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## alvaro (Mar 19, 2015)

sessionswan said:


> Shameless self promo here! While I'm not a metal band I did this on an RG470XL in drop F#
> 
> [SC]https://soundcloud.com/theinator/other-barrytone-03-05-14[/SC]



that's pretty much the new setup I look for: 6-string baritone, drop F#... what strings are you using? sounds nice!!


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## Ed_Ibanez_Shred (Mar 19, 2015)

alvaro said:


> wow. WOW... this is poetry!!!! are you sure they used 6 string guitars + drop tunings? anyway, it sounds so inspiring.. thanks!
> EDIT: BOUGHT THE WHOLE ALBUM ON BANDCAMP..... SERIOUSLY LOVE IT!!!
> 
> and thanks very much everyone for all suggestions. they are all in the cue list.



Yep definitely a 6 string, there's a few clips of it on his instagram can't remember the scale though but it has to be at least 28 inches.


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## sessionswan (Mar 19, 2015)

alvaro said:


> that's pretty much the new setup I look for: 6-string baritone, drop F#... what strings are you using? sounds nice!!



Thanks man! I'm using Kalium strings and here's the breakdown of gauges I used:

1 - G# - 15 
2 - D# - 22
3 - B - 30
4 - F# - 42
5 - C# - 54	
6 - F# - 70

They're certainly on the heavier side and I'd like to tweak them a bit to see if I can bring the gauge down without making them too floppy. Tone wise, it was that RG470XL with a Crunchlab in the bridge and my now-departed Axe-FX Ultra.


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## alvaro (Mar 19, 2015)

Ed_Ibanez_Shred said:


> Yep definitely a 6 string, there's a few clips of it on his instagram can't remember the scale though but it has to be at least 28 inches.



found that: Etherial Guitars | ...of Unearthly Artistry


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## alvaro (Mar 19, 2015)

sessionswan said:


> Thanks man! I'm using Kalium strings and here's the breakdown of gauges I used:
> 
> 1 - G# - 15
> 2 - D# - 22
> ...



This may sound weird or kinda dumb... I have found that picking closer to the bridge makes it feel that strings are stiffer/less floppy. I guess it will work better with players that show an aggressive picking hand.


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## sessionswan (Mar 19, 2015)

alvaro said:


> This may sound weird or kinda dumb... I have found that picking closer to the bridge makes it feel that strings are stiffer/less floppy. I guess it will work better with players that show an aggressive picking hand.



Doesn't sound weird at all! I am guilty of a heavy picking hand and have been trying to learn how to play with lighter strings, since they'll give you a little more brightness and top end which comes in handy when you're tuned down this low (at least I think it does). But, I'll certainly try picking closer to the bridge with the lighter strings, cheers!


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## bhakan (Mar 19, 2015)

So out of curiosity, why do you want bands that use a 6 for low tunings? 7 string guitars aren't any better equipped to handle low tuning than 6 strings are, other than the stock setup. There are plenty of super low tuned songs on 7's and 8's that use only the lower strings, which can 100% be done on 6 strings as well.

I see a couple comments in this thread like "wow, can't believe that was a 6 string" which doesn't make sense to me, because 6 and 7 strings don't sound any different, just more or less range.


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## alvaro (Mar 20, 2015)

bhakan said:


> So out of curiosity, why do you want bands that use a 6 for low tunings?



Just wanna make sure that the riffs I want to learn are 100% compatible with my guitar setup. In the past I was sevener to keep the tonal range, but in the end I realized that rhythmic is what I enjoyed the most to play, so I got rid of those extra strings and searched for bands with same philosophy. I mean, I used to love Fear Factory music which is all about rhythm on the guitar department.... but you can't play much of their repertory without a 7 string tonal range.


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## ben_hurt (Apr 1, 2015)

I'm playing in Drop G on a 30" baritone. Vid below of my EGC demo. Working on a high-gain demo, but got delayed by going into the studio with the band (Snow Burial)


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