Tuning Down

[JüiceXIII]

i have been playing bass for a couple of months now and some songs i play i have noticed say, 'tune down a half-step', and i was just wondering if anybody could please tell me what it means and how you do this. thanks.

[Mark Latimour]

It means that you lower the tuning of all four (or five) strings down "one half" a step (ie one semitone) so your E become Eb etc.

[DigMe]

And the more you tune down the more metal you are.

brad cook

[Mon Rominee]

Originally Posted by DigMe

And the more you tune down the more metal you are.

brad cook

Yup. Fieldy plays low A. Totally metal.

[The Golden Boy]

I always thought lower meant angrier.

[Mon Rominee]

No, Lower means cookie monster.

[Tyler Hole]

Originally Posted by Mon Rominee

No, Lower means cookie monster.

You called?

[Mon Rominee]

Originally Posted by Tyler Hole

You called?

[tucker]

why does lower have to be metal, angry, hardcore. Can't it just be music. Listen to Davis schools, greatr bassistwith good low end, and lel calypool, although he use alot high and mids. but regarless nice low end on their songs. It makes the music have a foundation. tuning lower is good but problem with most people, 'specially kids, they believe the lower the music the harder it is. low end music is good, think of the bass its bass clef, think of alto or treble clef.....lower music can be flatted to make a more dissonant, outside feel.

[CJK84]

Originally, tuning down may have been intiated by guitarists.

For instance, I've heard that Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath liked the fat distorted tone he could achieve when tuning his electric guitar lower.

So Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler may have tuned down in response to Iommi.

[bste9]

lower isnt always metal, check out Interpol. They tune in drop-D and are far from metal.

[dubstyle5000]

So if you tune downa half-step, do you play an A on the 6th fret of the E string?

[SirPoonga]

Weezer - My Name is Jonas is down a half step. Not really metal now, is it.

[Dincrest]

Originally Posted by CJK84

For instance, I've heard that Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath liked the fat distorted tone he could achieve when tuning his electric guitar lower.

I'm not sure if that's quite true. I was always under the impression that he downtuned for the following reason: The day before he was to quit his factory job and roll with Sabbath full time, two of his fingertips got mauled in a machine and in order for him to play guitar comfortably, he had to downtune so that the strings would be floppier/lower tension so he could play more comfortably with his mauled fingers.

So it was a blessing in disguise that Iommi's fingers got mauled, because that drop tuning gave Black Sabbath that doomy, heavy sound. The intro to Iron Man still sounds like a lumbering elephant or something to me.

And I don't buy the whole "drop tuning= OMG METAL!" thing. After all, many musicians in all genres of music play 5-string basses which have drop tunings (i.e. drop-D) pretty much built in. Many folks here on TalkBass play praise and gospel music and utilize their low B strings quite a bit.

[lowphatbass]

Originally Posted by DigMe

And the more you tune down the more metal you are.

brad cook

I wonder what the guys and girls on the DB side would say about this?

[metalguy2]

The Mudvayne bassplayer tunes G and the guitar player tunes D.

[KekChoz]

Some bands tune down because it's tough for the singer to sing high. When a band tune a 1/2 step down, it doesn't make a big difference in heaviness between standard tuning and this... but it makes a difference for the singer. For example in my band, the signer sometimes asks us to tune down a little bit, for that.
And the dropped-D tuning is for the guitarists, to make power-chords easier by simply putting one finger on the last three strings, so they can make power-chords melodies with more speed... and the bass follows.
But i do think the metal bands who drop themselves a lot (slayer, slipknot, etc.) is for a heavier sound. It's true, a lowest sound is more intense.