Developing a liking for C# tuning

weepingminotaur

weepingminotaur

Well-known member
Never thought I'd really enjoy playing lower than D in tuning, but here I am, having a ball, practicing some slower Behemoth and modern Slayer tunes in C#.
 
Hell yeah. I love C#. It's where my Explorer sounds its best. Low enough to have some real beef and still high enough to have good definition/presence and not create too much of an intonation challenge. C standard is where things start to sound and feel a little dull to me, on my Gibson and Fender scales at least.
 
Seashore said:
Hell yeah. I love C#. It's where my Explorer sounds its best. Low enough to have some real beef and still high enough to have good definition/presence and not create too much of an intonation challenge. C standard is where things start to sound and feel a little dull to me, on my Gibson and Fender scales at least.
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Yeah, I don't think I have a real need to go lower than C# at the moment, and I have a feeling it might start to sound a bit muddy to my ears. Right now, C# works well. I basically the follow the tune, so when it came time to learning some songs, I thought why not just tune the LTD down another half-step to really get that good sludgy tone. I have 12s on it so string tension isn't an issue even at C#
 
weepingminotaur said:
Yeah, I don't think I have a real need to go lower than C# at the moment, and I have a feeling it might start to sound a bit muddy to my ears. Right now, C# works well. I basically the follow the tune, so when it came time to learning some songs, I thought why not just tune the LTD down another half-step to really get that good sludgy tone. I have 12s on it so string tension isn't an issue even at C#
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C# (and drop B) is where I started to get picky about string gauges and figuring out what tension I really liked. What's your low string on that 12 set? I think the ecosystem of available sets is optimized for different feels in E standard, and the farther you get away from that, the more you might eventually want to tweak. I have a custom 63-12 set for my Explorer in C# and a 68-11 set for my 25.5" Schecter in drop B.

I also find my amp EQ changes, and there are a lot of classic tones (especially in the Marshall family) that don't read as well as they should. Some amps just don't cut it. Most of my preferences with my rig are built around low tunings. It really became apparent to me a few years ago when I joined a band where I needed to tune back up to E standard. It felt like a lot of options opened up, sort of like when you get a good mic/pre combo in front of a good speaker and you have a lot of different choices that sound great, instead of constantly struggling for that one sweet spot where everything makes sense. But man, I missed that thump and chunk.
 
Seashore said:
C# (and drop B) is where I started to get picky about string gauges and figuring out what tension I really liked. What's your low string on that 12 set? I think the ecosystem of available sets is optimized for different feels in E standard, and the farther you get away from that, the more you might eventually want to tweak. I have a custom 63-12 set for my Explorer in C# and a 68-11 set for my 25.5" Schecter in drop B.
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Wow, 63-12 is beefy. I'm running 12-56 since this LTD (24.75") is normally tuned to D standard, and I need to be able to do fast thrash rhythm in D (contemporary Exodus and such). I don't find the guitar floppy in either D or C#.

I also find my amp EQ changes, and there are a lot of classic tones (especially in the Marshall family) that don't read as well as they should. Some amps just don't cut it. Most of my preferences with my rig are built around low tunings. It really became apparent to me a few years ago when I joined a band where I needed to tune back up to E standard. It felt like a lot of options opened up, sort of like when you get a good mic/pre combo in front of a good speaker and you have a lot of different choices that sound great, instead of constantly struggling for that one sweet spot where everything makes sense. But man, I missed that thump and chunk.
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For sure. I definitely have to adjust tone settings depending on what tuning I'm using. Particularly when it comes to EQing out certain low frequencies to get that chunk. I have a guitars I keep in E and Eb for specific songs and genres, but those see more versatile (i.e. non-metal) use. I don't really play anything non-metal on the LTD. :D
 
^^ And Master of Reality, of course ;). First record they did tuned down.

I've occasionally played C# à la Tony (yes, with 9s) and it's fun. You do have to have to play quite lightly, but the thinner strings have less low end so there's some clarity. It is ultimately for a different kind of playing, not so much for pounding out those machine gun 16th notes and the like.
 
Ashurbanipal said:
^^ And Master of Reality, of course ;). First record they did tuned down.

I've occasionally played C# à la Tony (yes, with 9s) and it's fun. You do have to have to play quite lightly, but the thinner strings have less low end so there's some clarity. It is ultimately for a different kind of playing, not so much for pounding out those machine gun 16th notes and the like.
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C# with 9s? Wow. I'd be swimming in spaghetti. I don't have that light a touch. LOL
 
Me too, I do way too much tremolo picking and palm muting to be chasing thin strings around. I used to use much thinner strings when I started tuning lower just because I didn't know any different, but steadily increased the gauges I prefer over a few years. I can enjoy playing rubbery sounding bendy stuff on very light gauges but it's not suited for my general use.
 
Seashore said:
Me too, I do way too much tremolo picking and palm muting to be chasing thin strings around. I used to use much thinner strings when I started tuning lower just because I didn't know any different, but steadily increased the gauges I prefer over a few years. I can enjoy playing rubbery sounding bendy stuff on very light gauges but it's not suited for my general use.
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Yeah, if I want to do bends and so on, I'll be playing my E standard guitars and it's likely either blues or rock. In C#, I am strictly here for the chugs and the trem picking. Not that my trem picking is great RN, but I am working on it.
 
Back in secondary school, we used to have a rule where we said we wouldn't tune higher than C#. Our reasoning was that was where it stopped sounding like Metallica, and it started sounding good, LOL.

Then St. Anger came along, and it broke all our preconceptions of how sucky downtuning can sound.

Stupid, I know. We were kids. I just find it funny.
 
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Securb said:
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, especially that song, is probably Tony's worst recorded tone.
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The main riff was literally the first one I learned, by ear, because it was the only tone my awful beginner amp could make :lmao:But in standard tuning...
 
Rex_Rocker said:
Back in secondary school, we used to have a rule where we said we wouldn't tune higher than C#. Our reasoning was that was where it stopped sounding like Metallica, and it started sounding good, LOL.

Then St. Anger came along, and it broke all our preconceptions of how sucky downtuning can sound.

Stupid, I know. We were kids. I just find it funny.
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I actually didn't mind parts of St. Anger. To me, it just suffered from the usual Metallica problems: long songs without sufficient inspiration to justify the length and a lack of editing.
 
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