# Good Tuning For Metal?



## whitechapel (May 27, 2012)

We want evil sounding tremolo and pedal picking but still able to make it really heavy when we want, something like what black dahlia murder does, a little bit of what whitechapel does (the more fast blast riffs) we dont want breakdowns just slow heavy parts. ex. a vulgar picture by tbdm


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## MikeSweeney (May 27, 2012)

white chapple uses 7 string with drop A the bdm uses stander C# i think so best bet is go back and forth with a 7 and 6 string on diffient songs


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## CrownofWorms (May 27, 2012)

play in C or B


or get a 7


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## whitechapel (May 28, 2012)

CrownofWorms said:


> play in C or B
> 
> 
> or get a 7



Thanks!, will our music still sound similar if its just a full step difference?


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## rjnix_0329 (May 28, 2012)

For 6-string guitars, Drop C seems to be a popular heavy tuning. Obviously we will always condone the use of 7 strings...


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## Adrian-XI (May 28, 2012)

Drop open


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## berserker213 (May 28, 2012)

Adrian-XI said:


> Drop open



chug chug squee


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## AwakenNoMore (May 28, 2012)

GCGCGCE


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## Guitarman700 (May 28, 2012)

All of them.
Seriously. Is this even a real question? Cannibal Corpse's first few albums were in Eb. That's some of the heaviest stuff ever. Any tuning can sound good, it's about how you use it.


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## Harry (May 28, 2012)

Guitarman700 said:


> All of them.
> Seriously. Is this even a real question? Cannibal Corpse's first few albums were in Eb. That's some of the heaviest stuff ever. Any tuning can sound good, it's about how you use it.



This.
Also, I don't understand why someone needs a forum board to help them decide what tuning they should use.
How about make the decision yourself, pick a tuning/some tunings and roll with it? Really don't see what's hard about that


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## Winspear (May 28, 2012)

Bb Db E Bb Db E

This is an open tuning - Bb diminished. It means you can strum along to your favourite pop songs whilst drinking a can of beer and actually produce a series of blazing metal arpeggios. Once that gets boring, the low string is tuned just about low enough for some good old chugging. You wont need your left hand for that part, either. 
Don't need much else, really.


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## wrongnote85 (May 28, 2012)

1. acquire 6 and 7 string guitars
2. tune them down 1/2 step
3. ???
4. profit


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## lucasreis (May 28, 2012)

Any tuning is good for metal, as long as you make metal. 

But seriously, find some bands that you're heavily influenced with and see the tunings they use, play around with them a bit and find out what sounds best for you.

I'm a tuning whore and I use a lot of tunings, so I can't really pick just one! lol


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## Jazzamatazz (May 28, 2012)

Theres alot of bands that sound metal as fuck using standard tuning, just pick whatever tuning you want and make it sound good, simple as that.


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## makeitreign (May 28, 2012)

Try a few of them. See which ones work with your playing/writing style. See which ones work with your bandmates.


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## Mr. Big Noodles (May 28, 2012)

Tune down until your strings are floppy and make no definite pitch. When you have accomplished this, use your Boss MT-2 Metal Zone and dime all of the knobs. Then, run this setup to your Line 6 Spider II (15w) and put it on the "insane" setting. Turn up all of the knobs, then turn down mids all the way to zero. Good luck, and happy metal!


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## Ralyks (May 28, 2012)

EADGBE


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## kamello (May 28, 2012)

Drop 3,14159265..... 

in all seriusness, the one that seems for comfortable to you, you can Sound heavy in Standart or Drop Fu


personally I Like D Standart/Drop C for 6strings

and B standart/Drop A for 7evens


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## vampiregenocide (May 28, 2012)

It's dependant on how you play. Certain tunings will sound better to your own ear.

Personally, I've found that C tunings are very pleasing to the ear, which is probably why a lot of mainstream rock and metal bands use drop C. It's heavy, but there's something nice about it.


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## CrownofWorms (May 28, 2012)

In retrospect all tuning is good for metal. You just need to EQ rightfully. Megadeth (except Youthanasia ,thats not in standard) is awesome and there in standard. Slayer and early cannibal corpse is in Eb or D#. 

The guy from Sepultura told Dino Cazares this: "You don't have to tune low to be heavy"


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## revclay (May 28, 2012)

None of them. The Tuning Gods are just trying to control you. Resist their siren song and cast aside all of these "tunings" you speak of. Liberate yourself, untune your guitar and live in a world free of these ghastly tunings. But don't just untune your guitar, untune your soul!


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## Guitarman700 (May 28, 2012)

revclay said:


> None of them. The Tuning Gods are just trying to control you. Resist their siren song and cast aside all of these "tunings" you speak of. Liberate yourself, untune your guitar and live in a world free of these ghastly tunings. But don't just untune your guitar, untune your soul!



Amen brother! You have truly seen the light!


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## clopstyle (May 28, 2012)

drop C 1/2 flat


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## lucasreis (May 28, 2012)

CrownofWorms said:


> In retrospect all tuning is good for metal. You just need to EQ rightfully. Megadeth (except Youthanasia ,thats not in standard) is awesome and there in standard. Slayer and early cannibal corpse is in Eb or D#.
> 
> The guy from Sepultura told Dino Cazares this: "You don't have to tune low to be heavy"



I'm confused, since Roots, Sepultura tunes to Bb almost exclusively, and sometimes to D.


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## Xaios (May 28, 2012)

For the broots, tune to drop Q.


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## GuitaristOfHell (May 28, 2012)

I use Drop Db, Drop D, D, Drop C, C, B, E, Eb, Bb (Rarely), and even Open G.


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## ittoa666 (May 28, 2012)

I use drop B, but that's all preference. I'll go with the general answer of using all tunings, because it's not the tuning that makes the song heavy, it's you.


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## GuitaristOfHell (May 28, 2012)

ittoa666 said:


> I use drop B, but that's all preference. I'll go with the general answer of using all tunings, because it's not the tuning that makes the song heavy, it's you.


 For some Reason Drop B doesn't work for me. I think it is the strings or my amp. Even with my friends Bugera, Mesa, Genz- Benz and so on it drastically looses punch. These songs have tons of punch ( BTW Yes we had a bassist going along which was heavy in everything else)





I can only to to Drop C without losing punch ( even with 12 or 13 sets).


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## Osiris (May 28, 2012)

TBDM gets that sound from the harmonic minor scale. Just play that in D standard and drop C and there you go.


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## CrownofWorms (May 28, 2012)

lucasreis said:


> I'm confused, since Roots, Sepultura tunes to Bb almost exclusively, and sometimes to D.



It was before roots. Its on the 7th heaven video


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## gunch (May 28, 2012)

C# or Drop B

Also if you want down picked and tremolo riffing I'd suggest Listening to some Monstrocity, Nile or Suffocation.

 (C#)

 (D)

 (A)

And the fucking kings of tremolo, Shaune Kelly and Erik Rutan: (Both C#)


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## troyguitar (May 28, 2012)

BFBFBF for the most evil br00tz


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## Dayn (May 28, 2012)

Standard tuning. Pestilence, Atheist, Cynic, Nocturnus... all still blow my mind in standard tuning.

Or if you want to take _my_ approach... tune down so low until you're just above the threshold where you're forced to treat your bass frequencies with a slower respect.


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## ittoa666 (May 29, 2012)

GuitaristOfHell said:


> For some Reason Drop B doesn't work for me. I think it is the strings or my amp. Even with my friends Bugera, Mesa, Genz- Benz and so on it drastically looses punch. These songs have tons of punch ( BTW Yes we had a bassist going along which was heavy in everything else)
> 
> 
> I can only to to Drop C without losing punch ( even with 12 or 13 sets).



That's kind of odd. Sounds like you need bigger strings.


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## Odinvader (May 29, 2012)

whitechapel said:


> We want evil sounding tremolo and pedal picking but still able to make it really heavy when we want, something like what black dahlia murder does, a little bit of what whitechapel does (the more fast blast riffs) we dont want breakdowns just slow heavy parts. ex. a vulgar picture by tbdm


 
Tune six whole steps down, and use very light gauge strings.


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## CrownofWorms (May 29, 2012)

Odinvader said:


> Tune six whole steps down, and use very light gauge strings.



why light strings


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## Odinvader (May 29, 2012)

CrownofWorms said:


> why light strings



You took me seriously?


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## pink freud (May 29, 2012)

I'm a fan of ADADGAD (and any tuning of the same pattern). Because it's _that_ easy to make Kashmir into a metal song


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## Korbain (May 29, 2012)

Half a step seems a good fit, for my 7 string i tune half a step down, for my 6 string, Drop C#


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## lucasreis (May 29, 2012)

CrownofWorms said:


> It was before roots. Its on the 7th heaven video



Is it on Youtube? I want to see it.

Even though Sepultura later adopted lower tunings. I agree with the statement, it's possible to be heavy even using a capo on a six string. It just goes down to how the guitar player's feeling.


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## Konfyouzd (May 29, 2012)

Use a drop tuning. I mean you can be "heavy" in any tuning theoretically...


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## GuitaristOfHell (May 29, 2012)

ittoa666 said:


> That's kind of odd. Sounds like you need bigger strings.


 What do you recommend? I've tried 13-62 12-60 13-64 and the punch just isn't there such as it is in drop D per say. What set would you recommend? 

Oh I forgot those were with a JB and I have blackouts in a different guitar now. Haven't tried B yet.


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## Interloper (May 29, 2012)

Jazzamatazz said:


> Theres alot of bands that sound metal as fuck using standard tuning, just pick whatever tuning you want and make it sound good, simple as that.




What this guy said. Gojira tunes mostly to D standard and they are heavy as fuuuu. Tuning doesn't really matter that much, good song writing and tone/production is what makes for a heavy sound.


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## lucasreis (May 29, 2012)

Interloper said:


> What this guy said. Gojira tunes mostly to D standard and they are heavy as fuuuu. Tuning doesn't really matter that much, good song writing and tone/production is what makes for a heavy sound.



Gojira is really one of the heaviest bands I've ever heard. I was surprised when I realized they weren't that low.

Opeth has some heavy as fuck stuff in E standard and D as well.


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## USMarine75 (May 29, 2012)

To paraphrase Dave Mustaine... don't tune low just because you're "supposed" to. There's plenty of tunes written in drop/low tunings that sound like shit or just sound like chromatic piss when played in standard tuning. Likewise, there are some great rhythms that get completely lost when transposed down. So base your tuning on your riffage not the other way around IMO. 

Personally, I like fucking around in alternate tunings because it inspires me to be creative, think outside the box, and experiment... one of my favorites was using EVHs tuning from "Ballot or the Bullet" which is LOW A, A, E, A, E, G. Heavy as fuck! 

But in the end, if you have a particular band that you want to sound like then just use their tuning and call it a day...


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## I Voyager (May 29, 2012)

Drop Z


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## PortalNathrakh (May 29, 2012)

No one's said FAGBAG yet?

Well then. FAGBAG. Tune the bass to FADE.


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## Purelojik (May 29, 2012)

GGGGGGG


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## Interloper (May 29, 2012)

PortalNathrakh said:


> No one's said FAGBAG yet?
> 
> Well then. FAGBAG. Tune the bass to FADE.




I have tried that tuning but it only really works for Killswitch Engayged songs.


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## lucasreis (May 29, 2012)

Interloper said:


> I have tried that tuning but it only really works for Killswitch Engayged songs.



BAGDAD is also a cool tuning


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## Sikthness (May 29, 2012)

Its a widely known fact that C# standard is the most metal sounding tuning.


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## Humanoid (May 30, 2012)

Interloper said:


> What this guy said. Gojira tunes mostly to D standard and they are heavy as fuuuu. Tuning doesn't really matter that much, good song writing and tone/production is what makes for a heavy sound.



I thought they are using C nowadays.


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## Cynic (May 30, 2012)

drop z for maximum open chug trust me


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## CrownofWorms (May 30, 2012)

lucasreis said:


> Is it on Youtube? I want to see it.
> 
> Even though Sepultura later adopted lower tunings. I agree with the statement, it's possible to be heavy even using a capo on a six string. It just goes down to how the guitar player's feeling.



It's in parts, I'll show you parts 1 first


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## sojorel (May 30, 2012)




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## Varcolac (May 30, 2012)

pink freud said:


> I'm a fan of ADADGAD (and any tuning of the same pattern). Because it's _that_ easy to make Kashmir into a metal song





Plagiarism, hoooo!

Tune your guitar to whatever you want. Good music is good music, doesn't matter if you're tuned to E or Zb.


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## lucasreis (May 30, 2012)

Cynic said:


> drop z for maximum open chug trust me



Oh yeah, and the songs should all be like this:

0-0-0-0-0-0-1-1-1-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-1 and full of breakdowns and stuff like that.

Don't forget the eyeliner!!


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## JosephAOI (May 30, 2012)

LOL you guys










































Everyone knows Drop Open is the best tuning for metal

Relevant: I play in Drop G


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## Nicki (May 30, 2012)

I use 1/2 step down 
Drop C
Drop Ab
Open Db
Standard


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## Ralyks (May 31, 2012)

Along with my aformentioned EADGBE, I make use of Drop C on 6 strings and B standard and Drop A on 7 string. I'm currently also experimenting with ADADGBE and BDADF#BD


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## Stealthdjentstic (May 31, 2012)

This is a stupid fucking question


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## Azathoth43 (May 31, 2012)

EABOD is obviously the most metal tuning.


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## Don Vito (May 31, 2012)

I like EADGBE myself.


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## eventhetrees (Jun 1, 2012)

GuitaristOfHell said:


> What do you recommend? I've tried 13-62 12-60 13-64 and the punch just isn't there such as it is in drop D per say. What set would you recommend?
> 
> Oh I forgot those were with a JB and I have blackouts in a different guitar now. Haven't tried B yet.




I know exactly what you mean. Sounds like you need a baritone scale guitar to bring back that tight, twangy punch in the sound that you are after.

One time after playing really low for awhile I went up to standard/drop D and was amazed and how much "heavier" tuning up felt haha. 

It really is all in the playing/song writing. Unless you want SUPER Low deep growly guitars haha


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## -42- (Jun 2, 2012)

Any guitar tuning you could possibly think of.

Why is this even a question?


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## All_¥our_Bass (Jun 15, 2012)

Xaios said:


> For the broots, tune to drop Q.


If you get a Bohlen-Pierce guitar you can *actually* tune it to J.









lucasreis said:


> I agree with the statement, it's possible to be heavy even using a capo on a six string. It just goes down to how the guitar player's feeling.


This too.


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## Don Vito (Jun 15, 2012)




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## TankJon666 (Jun 16, 2012)

Really? Is this a serious question? You can tune to anything you want but if the riff isn't heavy then it just won't be heavy. Some awesome riffs have been written in Eb and drop D. It doesn't have to be in a sub sonic tuning to be heavy. I also think it depends on the type of metal your playing ... Anthrax in drop F would sound rubbish to me. Likewise, meshuggah would sound turd at standard E tuning.


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## Leuchty (Jun 16, 2012)

Op hasn't replied in a month, guess he found is answer. 

Helpful bunch...


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## MikeSweeney (Jun 16, 2012)

I find the best metal tuning ever is drop B not to low but not high its just right


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## Atomshipped (Jun 16, 2012)

I think Drop B is great, sounds much better than C to me. C# is nice as well. I'm not sure about anything much lower than that.


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## CyborgSlunk (Jun 16, 2012)

Well, Dethklok uses C# Standard, so it´s obvious that THAT is the most Metal sounding tuning.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jun 16, 2012)

CyborgSlunk said:


> Well, Dethklok uses *C* Standard, so it´s obvious that THAT is the most Metal sounding tuning.



Fixed. 

And being the huge Sabbath fan I am, C# standard = most metal tuning


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## Mprinsje (Jun 16, 2012)

i always thought downtuning was the key to heaviness. guess what? it's not.

tuned up to E standard for my new band, and it's heavy as balls man, just got to have the right gear/eq settings to actually make it sound heavy though.


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## Eric Christian (Jun 16, 2012)

Put nothing but .074 strings on your guitar and tune all of them to F#.


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## nickgray (Jun 16, 2012)

Nashville tuning is the best.


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## Floppystrings (Jun 16, 2012)

What is the average key of all music ever made?

Tell me oh mighty internet.


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## primitiverebelworld (Jun 17, 2012)

If I didnt play sevenstring I would definitely use a six in D standard. Much easier to record too and play fast riffs because B and A with these .60 and.70 strings tend to sound muddy no matter what I do. Just feels too low somehow. Harder to mix good.

Still playing a seven though


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## All_¥our_Bass (Jun 17, 2012)

primitiverebelworld said:


> If I didnt play sevenstring I would definitely use a six in D standard. Much easier to record too and play fast riffs because B and A with these .60 and.70 strings tend to sound muddy no matter what I do. Just feels too low somehow. Harder to mix good.
> 
> Still playing a seven though


Are you running a tubescreamer (or similar) in front of your amp?


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## Vinchester (Jun 18, 2012)

Tune one full step down and then put capo at 2nd fret


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## GSingleton (Jun 18, 2012)

Any tuning. 

/end thread


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## sahaal (Jun 18, 2012)

drop Z, just like Torche. (the biggest bass string tuned as low as it will register on the low E and everything else tuned to drop A)

or my personal preference, B standard on a 6, because None So Vile was on a 6 string.


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## MrPepperoniNipples (Jun 18, 2012)

why is this even a thread


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## Kodee_Kaos (Jun 18, 2012)

It's all about B# tuning.


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## All_¥our_Bass (Jun 18, 2012)

Ostrich


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