I am officially FED UP with downtuning

[badgermark]

That nile track was balls! An intro where everyone seems to be playing different songs, cr@ppy tone so I couldn't make anything out and the 'vocals'. Pah.

I don't mind down tuning, and i'm a fan of dropped d- not just for one finger power chords though, can get some interesting chords and drones going on with it.

[Davey]

The thing is ... every band i get in to it's like this

we're playing in D ... okay, fine, tune my guitar to D and lets play.. right, that's the point of having a band, yes? next week.. we're going down to C# >.<   ... WHAT?? why? it's heavier... the $%&# it is.

other band, allright, can we keep this in Eb, IF you dont want (for whatever reason) play in standard? sure, okay. no problem. week later.. say, can we go to D? *sigh* okay, at least we're playing... next time i talk to em, dude says, listen, i droped my guitar to C# the other day and it sounds amazing! WHAAA??? $%&# OFF!

okay.. couple of friends decide to make a band, i compromise and put the tuning into D for the sake of writing material and not being the only one steping out of line. yesterday the guitarist sends me a message over MSN that goes exactly like this: We're tuning to C# now.. literally told him to suck my dick and to $%&# off with the band and that i'm never going below Eb again. drop-D is acceptable and if they dont want to play in that, they should look for another guitarist.

i'm SICK of growly mushy droptuned guitars and the pinch harmonics that sounds like a cat shrieking in slow motion. $%&# that
it's the downtuning for the sake of downtuning. the material doesnt sound any better and on the same strings and same setup, you sound like a total mess. everything is drowned out by the low end

[MDV]

That nile track was balls! An intro where everyone seems to be playing different songs, cr@ppy tone so I couldn't make anything out and the 'vocals'. Pah.

I don't mind down tuning, and i'm a fan of dropped d- not just for one finger power chords though, can get some interesting chords and drones going on with it.

Look, like it or not, the point was tha that can barely be played in drop tuning, and much of it, like the stacked 4ths and 5ths in the chorus of Papyrus are impossible with normal sized hands in standard, and the rest is way harder still in standard. Its to show that drop tuning is a usefull musical tool. But you knew that already. It seems some people, even here, dont *shrug*.

C standard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTbjy9ppMok&feature=related

[_tom_]

This track is downtuned to $%&#, and it would sound shitee any other way

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO7VP34n2Ps


edit - davey, I see what you mean, downtuning for the sake of downtuning is a bit stupid, but some things just wouldnt sound right otherwise. Cowboys From Hell is all in standard though (I think) and is heavy as $%&# :)

[ailean]

The thing is ... every band i get in to it's like this

we're playing in D ... okay, fine, tune my guitar to D and lets play.. right, that's the point of having a band, yes? next week.. we're going down to C# >.<   ... WHAT?? why? it's heavier... the $%&# it is.

other band, allright, can we keep this in Eb, IF you dont want (for whatever reason) play in standard? sure, okay. no problem. week later.. say, can we go to D? *sigh* okay, at least we're playing... next time i talk to em, dude says, listen, i droped my guitar to C# the other day and it sounds amazing! WHAAA??? $%&# OFF!

okay.. couple of friends decide to make a band, i compromise and put the tuning into D for the sake of writing material and not being the only one steping out of line. yesterday the guitarist sends me a message over MSN that goes exactly like this: We're tuning to C# now.. literally told him to suck my dick and to $%&# off with the band and that i'm never going below Eb again. drop-D is acceptable and if they dont want to play in that, they should look for another guitarist.

i'm SICK of growly mushy droptuned guitars and the pinch harmonics that sounds like a cat shrieking in slow motion. $%&# that
it's the downtuning for the sake of downtuning. the material doesnt sound any better and on the same strings and same setup, you sound like a total mess. everything is drowned out by the low end

I don't have a particular opinion on this myself, I view drop tuning as a tool, and anyone who can use their tools properly is welcome to do so as long as I'm not forced to listen to it :)

But I think Davey is making a valid point, the examples he's given are not 'changing your tools to make a job easier' which is Mark's very valid point, it's 'oooo lets see how low we can tune'. Everyone on this forum is interested in good tone, if you're being pressured to compromise your tone on a whim then I think you're entitled to be annoyed.

Davey, get everyone kitted out with Warpigs, they won't need to go below D then :)

[MDV]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x7Ez7yCyA8

Drop B

Both gay sounding any higher than that (well you might get away with drop C, but it wouldnt have the same melancholy about it) and impossible in standard format

[MDV]

The thing is ... every band i get in to it's like this

we're playing in D ... okay, fine, tune my guitar to D and lets play.. right, that's the point of having a band, yes? next week.. we're going down to C# >.<   ... WHAT?? why? it's heavier... the $%&# it is.

other band, allright, can we keep this in Eb, IF you dont want (for whatever reason) play in standard? sure, okay. no problem. week later.. say, can we go to D? *sigh* okay, at least we're playing... next time i talk to em, dude says, listen, i droped my guitar to C# the other day and it sounds amazing! WHAAA??? $%&# OFF!

okay.. couple of friends decide to make a band, i compromise and put the tuning into D for the sake of writing material and not being the only one steping out of line. yesterday the guitarist sends me a message over MSN that goes exactly like this: We're tuning to C# now.. literally told him to suck my dick and to $%&# off with the band and that i'm never going below Eb again. drop-D is acceptable and if they dont want to play in that, they should look for another guitarist.

i'm SICK of growly mushy droptuned guitars and the pinch harmonics that sounds like a cat shrieking in slow motion. $%&# that
it's the downtuning for the sake of downtuning. the material doesnt sound any better and on the same strings and same setup, you sound like a total mess. everything is drowned out by the low end

Seems to me youre just fed up with people changing tuning.

Dont be hatin' the detuning just because you like one tuing and others try others :)

[_tom_]

Isis are awesome :)

[MDV]

Damn straight they are!

By transit of property, Drop B is therefore awsome :D

[WezV]

the material doesnt sound any better and on the same strings and same setup, you sound like a total mess. everything is drowned out by the low end

thats it aint it, its not as simple as just tuning lower... for it to work well the guitar needs to be set up for it.  

I work with a lot of kids so come across this problem a lot, they think they can just tune it down and that makes them sound more metal, i am fed up of dealing with these farty, flabby things!!... its the same type of people that think going for a highly overwound quadrail humbucker with a output of 56k is going to make them sound more brootal

the right strings on the right guitar (and scale length) can make tuning down really usefull - and usefull for many things other than metal

[MDV]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvcfvSKP7Vg

B00talz

$%&# knows what tuning.

[Davey]

Davey, get everyone kitted out with Warpigs, they won't need to go below D then :)

well... if he can scr@p the cash together, the other guitarist (in whichever band. got 2 now) will get my spider jackson (custom MM & VH2) i got a CWP coming in the DK2M LE, so yeah.. once they hear that, they'll probably stick with Eb (hopefully)


and okay.. i'll rephrase my initial post. here goes:
If you cant play metal in A-440, downtuning wont help out either.

[PoshCollins]

DADGBE or Eb.

If you gotter go lower to sound BRO0TALZ then there's something wrong with one's tone. :P

Just my two pence....

[Adam.M]

the material doesnt sound any better and on the same strings and same setup, you sound like a total mess. everything is drowned out by the low end

the right strings on the right guitar (and scale length) can make tuning down really usefull - and usefull for many things other than metal

My Ibanez MTM 2 which is now tuned to C Standard gives me the sweetest Jazz tone that I've ever had... haha :D

[Johnny Mac]

Davey you need some more guitars so you can keep them in those tunings. That would piss me off having to re-tune all the time too. People who change their minds all the time about anything is a pain.

I think its all a case of what tuning fits the track. You have to get your vocalists range within these tunings too.

I agree with what MDV is saying. You can't expect the same affect for a track that was written in B and then play it in Standard.

I have a guitar with 13's on with a warpig and MQ and I love the sounds you can get with it. I got it to play SOAD stuff with really. But if I play Fvcking Hostile on it by Pantera it doesn't sound the same.

So its all subjective and a case for using the right tools for the job.  8)