Downtuning Vs. Drop Tuning: What's the Difference?

Downtuning Vs. Drop Tuning: What's the Difference? | GEAR GODS

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I see a lot of comments from people who seem confused about what it means to DOWN tune your guitar and what it means to DROP tune your guitar - so I created this handy guide to help!
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guitar tunning tuning drop tune drop tuning downtuning downtune guitar drop c drop c# drop d drop a drop b

Пікірлер: 567

@treyxaviermusic 2 жыл бұрын

My songwriting course is finally HERE: bit.ly/SONGWRITINGCOURSE

@jimmyhazard 4 жыл бұрын

Being an old man I wish I had a clear video like this when I was starting out 27 years ago. We had to learn from the forest witch; it was a different time.

@michaelftekol 4 жыл бұрын

0:57 (Standard Tuning) 2:39 (Down Tuning) 5:30 (Drop Tuning) 7:37 (Down Tune)

@Trirosmos 4 жыл бұрын

TL;DR is: downtuning preserves intervals, drop tuning doesn't.

@donuttoy8482 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks guy

@illlanoize23 4 жыл бұрын

TCNG what ive always figured but I’ve always just thought of it as the lowest string being different

@nalonlefournis 4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it also opens up new/easier ways of playing fancy chords

@joshstiehl1170 4 жыл бұрын

I've always wondered why this channel makes 10 minute long videos to explain something that takes a minute and a half. HMMMMM

@roopwind 3 жыл бұрын

I've always heard literally the opposite lol, in practice it doesn't really matter, the terms are used interchangeably, there have been alternate tunings used for as long as there have been guitars....

@Circaman8 4 жыл бұрын

"If you see a guitar on the wall of a guitar store it's probably tuned to standard tuning" I'd like to know what guitar stores you go to.

@mcbrodz1663 4 жыл бұрын

Black Dahlia it’s tuned to H

@mnemic9564 4 жыл бұрын

Small towns have barely any popular crowds so they have all their guitars tuned because there isn't enough traffic or there arent too many guitars to tune

@coldguto 4 жыл бұрын

It's usually tuned like ¥ $ & @ π ¢

@gredangeo 4 жыл бұрын

What guitar store have you've been going to, in which the guitars aren't tuned to Standard? That's the norm, that I've always heard of.

@HimothyBurton 4 жыл бұрын

gredangeo hes making a joke that alot of the guitars are out of tune when theyre on the wall

@keski56 4 жыл бұрын

See's tele and drop tuning Average metalhead: *Wait, that's illegal*

@zachjollimore4339 4 жыл бұрын

*Laughs in Math Rock*

@zacharylinn2380 4 жыл бұрын

Lol Tell Jim Root and John 5 that.

@TheSanctionextremis 4 жыл бұрын

@@zachjollimore4339 chuckles in 3/4 120 bpm

@zachjollimore4339 4 жыл бұрын

@@TheSanctionextremis *giggles in 9/8 140 bpm*

@M-I-LK 3 жыл бұрын

@@zachjollimore4339 chortles in 7/8 Open C# Major tuning at 236.3 BPM

@richskater 4 жыл бұрын

I use "Environmental Tuning", basically whatever pitches my guitar plays based on the current temperature and humidity. Anything I write today will likely sound different tomorrow.

@patriotic_isaiah1757 4 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂

@johnmoser2689 4 жыл бұрын

Tone deafening helps this tuning greatly

@TripleTSingt 4 жыл бұрын

thats another way of saying "tuning is too much work for me" ^^

@thomaskittock2866 3 жыл бұрын

Sounds very artsy, if you don't appreciate consistency or the ability to recall whatever you noodle on you axe.

@sashabagdasarow497 2 жыл бұрын

Very interesting. How come your guitar detunes so easily?) Mine stays in tune for weeks

@deadsky13 3 жыл бұрын

I had a 7 string in high school that I loved playing with in jazz band. Standard B of course. I was playing those partial chords, you know, that were just root-3rd-7th triads from your standard barre chords. It was cool using the 7 string because I had 5 strings of perfect 4ths instead of just 4, so it made my job a whole lot easier with chord changes, lol. I would afterwards go home and chug the fuck out of that B string.

@datutturugang666 Жыл бұрын

ugga chugga for days

@DrugMeToHell1 4 жыл бұрын

Been a while since i've heard silverchair, under rated for sure

@christianbatchelor5639 3 жыл бұрын

I was like "Is that Freak?"

@wilssantos2 2 жыл бұрын

Yup. Definitely Freak. I liked the reference :) I thought he would demonstrate with an Alice in Chains riff, though. But that added to the nicety.

@Nathan-gz8zf 4 жыл бұрын

So a fun and weird one i have been toying with is AGCFAD makes for some chunky riffs :D

@dehasim 4 жыл бұрын

Mastodon used that tuning, Alter Bridge used it half step higher and Tool used it 1 steps higher, and Architects use a variation of that tuning it all strings half step lower but with the 6th string 1,5 step lower (F#)

@ivansuner2120 4 жыл бұрын

That's one of my favorite tunings for Periphery songs. It's like having a 7 string a full step down and without the low E (tuned down to D) string.

@TheLastCrankers 4 жыл бұрын

@@dehasim Also Periphery and Mastodon both use it. I see it's more popular than it seems!

@zachiswayposi1 4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I don't know why he specified that drop B or A have to have same intervals as drop D when they don't.

@Wind-nj5xz 3 жыл бұрын

@@zachiswayposi1 The tuning OP described isn't really drop A

@FrancoisCantine 4 жыл бұрын

Silverchair!

@treyxaviermusic 4 жыл бұрын

I think that's the heaviest riff of all time

@danitwisted7300 4 жыл бұрын

I wish this video existed like, 7-8 years ago when I was struggling with the exact same thing you speak about... There was barely any KZfaq video on the topic...

@treyxaviermusic 4 жыл бұрын

I do what I can!

@Mr.Goldbar 4 жыл бұрын

on 6 string I mostly use E Standard (because I have a life outside of metal too), Drop D, Drop B (sometimes with the high E and B tuned to A and D) and open Cmaj7 (E standard on the highs, Drop C on the lows). on 7 strings I use B Standard, Drop A and A Standard

@71goaliemask 4 жыл бұрын

This is excellent. Kudos on offering clear and concise explanation for beginners and the uninitiated. I accidentally discovered drop tuning in 1985 (pre internets babies!) And naturally assumed I had invented the world's greatest guitar development. You can imagine my disappointment when I realised that I hadn't. Not long before that I invented the pentatonic scale... 😁

@greencrab6 2 жыл бұрын

The fact that he played a Silverchair riff for the Drop D bit was awesome, super underrated band

@treyxaviermusic 2 жыл бұрын

heaviest riff ever

@GJ11598 Жыл бұрын

yeAH I'M a freak of natttttuuuuure

@ouie-fl4qo Жыл бұрын

sometimes i forget that they have 2mil monthly listeners in australia because i never hear them mentioned

@cuh5018 9 ай бұрын

Knew it was silver hair loo

@martas1112 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks! This video is really useful andhelped me understand the tunings! Keep up the good work!

@TheMathPipe 4 жыл бұрын

Great explanation on a topic i feel rarely gets touched.

@Ears14U 3 жыл бұрын

Great presentation. Thank you for the upload.

@JesusAMendoza1024 4 жыл бұрын

I use all-fourths tuning which is EADGCF. Very logical in terms of chord shapes.

@MrGuitarandvocals Жыл бұрын

Fantastic video brother!

@DragonofLimerick 4 жыл бұрын

Very cool video, new most of this already, but hearing it back to back was stunningly amazing thanks, loved this video!! I only tend to use standard E or Drop D, and open E for slide (if that is the correct term) but will have to give more of these a chance.

@Metaldad87 4 жыл бұрын

Unless it's a solar then it comes in d standard 😂

@dysthymiabearer 4 жыл бұрын

The Solar Burst A 1.6 i own comes in E standard. You know, the orange one. Quickly tuned it down to Drop C/Standard D (you know how evertune works)

@treyxaviermusic 4 жыл бұрын

What tuning do you mostly use on your guitars?

@DreadedMetal 4 жыл бұрын

Drop B on a 7 string. I tune the E standard part of the guitar Up to F# standard and leave the B where it is.

@SixStringDave_90 4 жыл бұрын

I have one I use in E Standard/Drop D, another in Eb Standard/Drop Db, another I use from D Standard/Drop C and a 4th I use for Db Standard/Drop B and a 5th I use to experiment on with different tunings. Gotta have an axe for every occasion.

@erickmazur807 4 жыл бұрын

@@DreadedMetal Unearth style!

@treyxaviermusic 4 жыл бұрын

I think that’s how Unearth tunes. What led you to that tuning?

@treyxaviermusic 4 жыл бұрын

whoops you beat me to it haha

@markecker135 4 жыл бұрын

That clears it up for me. Thanks man 🤘🏼👍

@Mark_Ocain 3 жыл бұрын

This is the best and most useful explanation I've seen ..very decent. THANKS!!

@samratsen4609 Жыл бұрын

Really appreciate 🙏 for your hard work your explanation on guitar tuning was very helpful.

@michaeltreser1435 2 жыл бұрын

Excelent, thats what i was searching for. Thanks from Germany.

@Jaidezilla 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this video. People want to argue this with me all the time. We all used to know what it meant in the 80s and then somewhere in the nineties everybody forgot so once again thank you very much.

@tenchu006 4 жыл бұрын

I'm finally commited to learning guitar and this video was explained PERFECTLY, guy is really cool as well, Subbed and I'm gonna check out your other vids, cheers from the UK!

@druwk 4 жыл бұрын

D Standard. Learning/relearning playing songs with open chords, transposed to be able to play along with others in E Standard

@mheberling5939 2 жыл бұрын

I learned so much with this video. Thank you.

@keithrogers2295 3 жыл бұрын

Great explanation, man. Thank you!

@conker33350 2 жыл бұрын

Subbed. Love the shirt by the way. Haha good information.

@purpleman1719 3 жыл бұрын

bro i cannot thank you enough this video saved my life i’ve been trying to figure out how to downtune the right way and how a Cb sounds like for example

@GONDORAJKUMAR 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for clearing this up

@ladislavpanko 10 ай бұрын

Thank you, great video. finally someone explained it in a comprehensible way for beginning musicians. I understood it, but I was not able to explain it to others.👍

@cartermason8985 4 жыл бұрын

Damn ! I'm a beginner and I really needed this video ! It's a perfect, clear explanation video ! Thanks a lot !

@MadeOfStones 3 жыл бұрын

That cleared that up. Thanks!

@wyattstephans1718 Жыл бұрын

This a pretty comprehensive overview. Thank you.

@erichill8501 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this. I've always wondered what the difference between those were.

@sock4919 Жыл бұрын

I am always using one of 3 tunings: Standard Drop C …and on a 7-string, I use exclusively Drop A tuning. Not only is Drop A the best sounding (IMO), but A4 is also 440Hz or 432Hz if you’re into that idea, and if you’re a producer, most scales in the key of A minor / C Major are just the white keys on a piano / keyboard. Magical stuff.

@markgueren9633 4 жыл бұрын

Great explanation!!

@mrsenorsalami 4 жыл бұрын

Good work remembering all that!!

@gabrieloalgo 4 жыл бұрын

That drop A 7 string is the most versatile I´ve used... From tango to djent, you can play everything.... Edit: Easier to work with singers too....

@icenic_wolf 4 жыл бұрын

24-fret guitar + D-standard + capo = versatility. IMO.

@matteverett 4 жыл бұрын

I’m a C standard tuning kinda guy. Fantastic video as always man.

@koffieverslaafde627 4 жыл бұрын

Matthew Everett i have a 6 and seven string. C standard is that one tuning thats too high for my 7 string and too low for my 6. Gonna change that sometime though

@lCREEPINGDEATH1 4 жыл бұрын

Yeah keep it standard bro!! I'm all about that C# standard

@dysthymiabearer 4 жыл бұрын

I play Drop C/D standard (Got evertune bridge, so i can change that really quickly) Found that drop can be really helpful when going for Strange Chords shapes that i really like (Example: Demon of the Fall´s Outro).

@FacelessEater 3 жыл бұрын

Welcome to the C STANDARD club!

@MetalHeadHippie 4 жыл бұрын

Helpful thanks Trey.

@juergenvennemann1101 3 жыл бұрын

very well explained! .. thx

@rphuntarchive1 4 жыл бұрын

A violinist friend of mine once performed with Siouxsie and the Banshees, and she told me later that for some reason they were playing in G# minor. I told her that often rock musicians tune down a half step, and she was like "ah, now it makes sense".

@reptarien 4 жыл бұрын

I usually use D standard and Drop C, most of my fave bands use those.

@sebrura 9 ай бұрын

You have good teaching skillz.

@floopk8036 4 жыл бұрын

thanks for the explanation

@jeffrow8043 3 жыл бұрын

Ill definetely check out your 60min scale video :)

@resington 4 жыл бұрын

Amazing video for any new players!

@mikemiller6628 4 жыл бұрын

Very well explained.

@jocro3501 2 жыл бұрын

I enjoyed this video.

@robertmeyer8735 4 жыл бұрын

D standard is what I settled into, I always called it "Full step down to D" but it is what you called D standard, great video!!!

@nerdsforcardgames 4 жыл бұрын

This video would have been amazing when I was 10 years old. This is a great video! Definitely recommend this video to new players. Oh and I’m Eb standard always!

@BrokeAtBestMusic 4 жыл бұрын

I just wanted to jam to the intro for a sec, but this was a nice video starring a straight badass. The dude was also informative. Good work! Also, was that Silverchair?! Hell yeah, man! "Body and soul, I'm a freak, I'm a freak". I started a cover of that a while back. Never finished it.

@chrishopkins209 4 жыл бұрын

D Standard Tuning = Bflat Concert Pitch (Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Trumpet etc)

@lukeabrahamsen-collins808 4 жыл бұрын

Chris Hopkins that’s really cool. Thanks👍👍👍

@FranklinSoong 4 жыл бұрын

lol you were playing Freak by Silverchair in the drop tuning section, love it!

@gokyo12 4 жыл бұрын

Play mostly in standard E and standard B on my 7 string, but I have an Ibanez RG tuned to standard D which is awesome

@alastor1052 4 жыл бұрын

I mainly play Eb standard and Drop C#. I found out that I play things that sound original to me, like it's my own style. The more mellow sound of Eb compliments my death metal style riffs whilst drop C# allows me to, like you mentioned, use bigger intervals in chords and chuggy stuff more. All in all good comparison

@Hellseeker1 4 жыл бұрын

Silver Chair?!!! I'm a freak I'm a freak

@treyxaviermusic 4 жыл бұрын

Fuck yes

@johnmoser2689 4 жыл бұрын

Throw the sailors overboard

@underworlddeity 4 жыл бұрын

I've written a couple of pieces in drop B, but my main tuning is drop C.

@lllllllllllllllllllllIII 8 ай бұрын

How can y’all’s guitar handle that tuning mine can’t at all only standard and drop d that means I can’t play a lot of palm muting riffs like riot by 3 days grace I wonder if you can still play the riff in drop d just a different way

@charlesmayberry2825 4 жыл бұрын

I use D standard and D drop C on my 6 string (with the strings I have on it, playing in E standard is pretty much asking someone to press bridge cables down) then on my 7 I use either standard 7 string tuning or I drop the G a half step so it retains the same scale shapes when played from the heavy string (basically the whole point of that is it's then a baritone with an extra High E rather than a Standard guitar with an extra B on the low end. I played a 6 string in B tuning for a long time before I bought a 7 string, so it made sense to me, to use it that way.

@michaelblaney4461 7 ай бұрын

Thats a very good explanation , I like Barritone B std and E std . You can use a capo with either ( maybe doesnt look very metal). Drop D is the only drop tuning i would ever use its easy to change between that and E Std without a problem. As a bassist normally if i Need to i just use a standard 5 string 😮 I kind of think that drop tunings is just kind of a crutch to make the same old power chords and riffs sound a little different.

@griffsimcox9459 4 жыл бұрын

cool hearing that tele through an Engl nice and tight I use drop d on 6 string and drop G# on 7 mostly 😁😁😁

@iAmGio91 4 жыл бұрын

Great video. Now pls do a video about alternate open tuning.

@treyxaviermusic 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks dude! I probably won't, only because there's soooooo many different tunings and I'm not really an expert on any of them, but who knows?

@Arfonfree 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks. I just bought a guitar with a drop tuner. I have no idea why except that I thought it looked cool. And it was cheap. Now I have some inkling of what to do with it.

@D-Rguitar 4 жыл бұрын

Would be cool to mention bands like Architects that play In a sort of Drop B but with a low F or G depending on the song, and many other bands that do similar.

@logansmith1463 4 жыл бұрын

Why did I watch this? I've been playing guitar for 6 years. Still a great and informative video!

@yellowmustard7482 4 жыл бұрын

Simpler times....

@rphuntarchive1 4 жыл бұрын

Wow, a whole 6 years.

@logansmith1463 4 жыл бұрын

I'm 17 and picked up guitar when I was 11. No need to be a douche

@greglane334 4 жыл бұрын

Playing in drop C right now. I blame Killswitch

@outofboundsbro 4 жыл бұрын

Now they do D standard lol

@arcaneflame6556 3 жыл бұрын

Same lol

@scottparker7918 4 жыл бұрын

Being a newbie, don't these lowered tunings affect any chords/chord shapes that were learned with standard tuning?

@Kipp274 3 жыл бұрын

Yea, Chords get changed up. I'm doodling around for 7 years now, and I never bothered about that. If me and my pals play tuned down, we refer to standard tuning chords and notes. The last time though we had a drop C guitar, a drop D guitar and a standart tuned. Haha, what a mess. It was fun though, first time I ever had to "translate" between tunings since I'm the only one who has somewhat of a clue whats going on

@slimbr32 2 жыл бұрын

If it's down tuning, no. It just affects the position of the chords on the fret board. On DROP tuning, yes.

@norppa658 Жыл бұрын

If you downtune a full step the chord name just changes a full step. So A would be G and so forth. On drop tunings the intervals change so yeah the fingerings can change too. A bit late on this comment lol.

@scottparker7918 Жыл бұрын

@@norppa658 Thank you for that explanation, it does help me a bit. 😀 I've heard with drop D it makes it easier to play power chords. I haven't messed with my guitar in so long, but I really should get back to it though.

@Mark_Ocain 3 жыл бұрын

man, I like that guitar..I'd love that with a rosewood board fretboard. Sounds awesome here too. Gosh, is there anything aTele can't do? truly the all-rounder of the guitar world

@joseph2832 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks

@davidg1612 2 жыл бұрын

I use anything from E Standard to Open C depending on the guitar I'm using. Open C is my favorite because it's the Strapping Young Lad "Love?" tuning.

@russellward4624 4 жыл бұрын

Just for reference at some point if you go to a super heavy string gauge youre going to have to have the nut adjusted so that it fits properly or the string isnt going to be a little higher and youll get bendy notes like pressing to hard on a scalloped fret board. Bonus of a double locking guitar you dont have to worry about that.

@NGC_2264 4 жыл бұрын

I finally understood lol thank you

@bozziovai 4 жыл бұрын

damn !!! a telecaster played with metal riffs. sick. damn sick. hahahaha. thanks for the tutorial/tips.

@jackkay726 4 жыл бұрын

I've been playing Drop B for the past few years, got a soft spot for it

@wilssantos2 2 жыл бұрын

Two things: 1) That tele sounded AMAZING on the Engl, it was hard to tell you were using single coils. Made me look to teles with better eyes. 2) What name would you use to a tuning like Soundarden's Rusty Cage, in which it's a drop B, but all other strings remain in E Standard? My go-to tunings are Eb Standard and Drop Db. But I'm old. Maybe I should be djenting (yeah! *Bee gees vibe* 😂)

@mintumixolydian8941 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you..

@jke7472 4 жыл бұрын

He says he didn't explain very well but it was great!

@RJW14 3 жыл бұрын

Love how you play C standard on just a regular telecaster :) But yeah, single coils sound great for metal for some weird reason.

@Metaldad87 4 жыл бұрын

The gear gods intro riff as the test riff I see what you did there 😁

@robertthompson5568 3 жыл бұрын

Was that "Remedy" by Seether? I'm a drummer but I dabble. That last Drop D riff sounded kinda similar. I love that some of the sickest sounding riffs are the easiest to play! 🤟

@jacksmith4460 4 жыл бұрын

I play drop C on 6string Tele's i actually play modern metal on tele single coils, I find the singles have great clarity for down/drop tuning

@RanchJackaBee 4 жыл бұрын

A nice fresh cup of Xavier in the morning

@treyxaviermusic 4 жыл бұрын

Lil cream and sugar, it's the best part of waking up

@brians3948 4 жыл бұрын

I love watching these sesame street videos on down tuning. I watch them imagining a young snapper truly learning. I would hope people could figure this shit out on their own. Sorry for bitchin. Your a good dude

@trip2sick 4 жыл бұрын

D standard DGCFAD, it just sounds fuller to me

@ozzie4306 4 жыл бұрын

I like that lortab shirt you got.

@benjipc5637 4 жыл бұрын

Drop D for the one-finger Lamb of God riffage. D Standard for the Gojira harmonics on the high strings (and tuning the low string down a step to C for some songs).

@gabreeul9341 4 жыл бұрын

Did you use a drop tune pedal to dowtune or did you actually downtuned the guitar? If its the second case, which strings did you use to play well on E Standard and also C Standard?

@jeffrow8043 3 жыл бұрын

Hey my friend good video im very enjoying it 👍 one question though, what strings are u using to go that down?

@blahblahsen1142 4 жыл бұрын

i do a "drop everything" tuning. So like B, F# C# E and so on. its the distance between dropped strings, only with every string. no shitty 3rd anything. kinda like violins or cellos. allows me to get extended ranges without more strings, so everything i have is either 4,5, or 6 string, but really low heavy notes.

@seanrosendo5672 2 жыл бұрын

For example, the song you're practicing is in the D key. You can keep your guitar in E standard and just play what's on the tab, or better, tune it to Drop D or D standard, and improvise the riff into your own.