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Why is it most modern metal bands use drop tunings?


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I thought it was used on some of the black album, like sad but true?


Im just going by what my GP tabs say here though....could easily be wrong.

 

 

I think they tuned to D for Sad But True, and I'm not sure about the other ones, but I know that everything after Load was E flat.

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That's just dumb though. It's like not using an amp because instead of "Volume" its labeled "Gain"

 

 

yeah. I don't agree with it. I was just saying I can see where people are coming from when they say things like that because a lot of drop tuning players have given it a bad name

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In most metal, be it in standard or drop tuning there will always be chugging on the lowest string. That's how it is. From old Iron Maiden to Hatebreed the low string chug is what makes metal, metal. Oh yeah and no mids, no smiling, and hair. Lots and lots of hair. Even if it's not on your head.

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It's just notes. I guarantee you couldn't tell the difference between some one in drop B or standard B. If the riffs are stale, its the composer not the tuning.

 

 

+1

 

i'm a pretty attentive listener, i can't tell you what tuning a band is using most of the time

 

you can do cool stuff with any tuning, just like you can do lame stuff

 

i like drop tunings because it lets me hold a power chord shape with one finger, and do something cool with the other 3

 

playing this in standard would be a NIGHTMARE, and playing in drop Db isn't easy: http://disvisioned.net/clips/cobrahead_5150thrash.mp3

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in what way other than there being less tension?

 

 

i don't really know how to describe it, it's kinda like how two guitar picks can be identical on paper...but for some reason you like one better than the other, in addition to the tension you've got the way the strings themselves feel...i use 10-52's and i don't like the feel of anything lighter, in any tuning

 

most of the time i tune down half a step, even on the guitars i have tuned to standard i use 11-50's on tho

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Back in high school, I played in a band that used drop-D tuning. I had only been playing for a year or so at that point, and became so accustomed to drop-D that it became habit-forming. It took me a long time to start playing properly in standard tuning. Ever since then, I've stuck to E standard. There is plenty of room for "brutal" or "crushing" riffs without tuning down, assuming the mix is good.

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Well I play in Dropped C# but it's just out of habit and because I have been forever now. I don't do it to be heavier and I can honestly write just as "heavy" of stuff in normal tuning it's just what i'm used to. It does make it far more comfortable live for me as well. I personally could give a rats ass what tuning someone uses as long as the song is good.

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Some of you guys sound outright snobby here...sorry im callin em like i see em. Why are you looking down on people that detune their guitars to different tunings? Does it make you a better player than them because you're in standard tuning? I used to only play in E standard, i wrote some killer stuff in E, i discovered dropped C and now im writing in that. Im not ashamed of it, i retuned every guitar i have to Dropped C, except 1 of my Jems that i kept in E just in case! It just sounds better to my ears. If there are some snobs here that dont like that and they think im taking the easy way out....oh well. I have been playing for well over 20 years now, i think i know what im doing!

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well i have a hand injury that makes it harder for me to riff real fast in standard, so if i want to play the fast stuff like we do i have to tune dropped or i basicaly cant play it very good. As far as heaviness goes, listen to metallica in standard E, then listen to Nile in drop A. ill take nile

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Sad but true was D standard, I will take RTL through black album anyday over Nile.

 

I used to pretty much just stay in E standard, even when playing slayer which is supposed to be Eb, but I have been playing alot of lamb of god covers lately so drop-d has been growing on me. But when its time to create my own riffs its 100% standard E for me.

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I think detuning loses a lot of dynamic impact, I've never been a fan of it. I play metal, and I keep my guitars tuned up to standard. You only need one bass in a band...
:rolleyes:

I gotta echo this comment.

And some tunings make it near impossible too distinct note seperation. Its like a bass running through a guitar rig and you hear the percussiveness of the strings more than actual notes. Im guilty of Dropping my E for a few songs but absolutely hate tuning below D and avoid it at all costs. Now having a 7 stringer

that feels comfortable to me and in standard 440 may be the ticket for me.

Plus Ive heard from plenty that tons of gain and ultra low tunings hide avg. playing skills and mistakes pretty well and in some cases I gotta agree.

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I don't mind tuning down, but always standard - drop tuning is annoying as {censored}. What are they too lazy to use more than one finger to form a power chord?! :rolleyes::freak:

 

99.9% of the time, I'm tuned to E standard

 

If you can't write a heavy riff in standard tuning, you need to work at your riffs some more.

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:rolleyes: Is this a joke or something? There are quite a few bands out there who's guitarists would outplay in anyone in the this thread and they use drop D style tunings. It's a {censored}ing tuning, it is another tool in your arsenal and if you foolish disregard it because some no talent hack from 1997 made it popular you are a moron.
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