FEATURE: Downtuning For Guitar Players

 Well, ladies and gentlemen, how many of you remember your first song where you realized that not everything was going "right", usually triggered by the fact that, if it was a guitar-dominated recording, the guitarist played the coolest licks with empty strings and the bands always used strange keys like E flat, A flat or D flat? For me, it was the first Van Halen album in 1979, which, apart from Edward Van Halen's guitar playing, which was absolutely incredible at the time, also had a powerful guitar sound. Yes, of course it was also the legendary tension-modified "Brown" sound, but no, that wasn't what I heard.

Who was the first musician to steer the basic sound of the instrument in new directions by abandoning the standard E tuning of the guitar can no longer be traced exactly, but the fact remains that at the beginning of the eighties the number of lower tuned record productions increased massively, especially in the heavy sector, so much so that there were almost no more recordings in standard tuning. The modification of standard tuning, especially among slide guitarists, is anything but unusual, but the use of open tunings has exclusively harmonic reasons, not tonal ones.

So why is it so important to modify the traditional when it has worked so well for decades? Is it just the urge of the youth to reject something established and to cite the approach "the main thing is different" as the main reason, or is there more behind it? In order to become aware of this, we should first take a look at a classic band constellation with its very own functions.

Starting material:

Let's assume we are a typical, guitar-heavy band in the popular sixties line-up a la Led Zeppelin or Free, i.e. vocals, guitar, bass and drums. Why no keyboards? Well, until the establishment of the polyphonic synthesizer, keyboards meant organ, piano or at least electric piano, which meant a transport volume of at least 70 kilograms per instrument. Best example, Hammond plus Leslie, approx. 200 kilograms WITHOUT flight case or similar. With the plastic bar, a transportable solution appeared on the scene for the first time and managed to capture all frequencies for itself when required. Depending on the craftsmanship (or the transpose control), keys are also irrelevant for a keyboardist, i.e. the subject of downtuning is completely uninteresting for a keyboardist.

However, many note-playing keyboardists were delighted with the first downtunings, as the hated "guitarist keys" such as A major (3 #), E major (4 #) or even F# major (6 #) were replaced by the far more common keys of A flat major (4 b), E flat major (3 b) or F major (1 b). Well, keyboards out of the equation and onto the strings, especially the open strings. If we look at the above-mentioned standard quartet in terms of frequency, the center-heavy orientation of the sound material quickly becomes apparent. Even if the kick covers a lot between 60 and 100 Hz and the bass can lay a good foundation between 100 and 500 Hz, depending on the tone control, the wide gap of frequency holes begins above that.

Even if the note pattern of the low E-string of a guitar in treble clef suggests otherwise, even in the high-gain range an electric guitar that has not been further processed in terms of effects (e.g. octaver) conveys a cutting midrange (approx. 1-3 kHz) and sometimes biting highs (from 4 kHz), but the boost known from modern productions does not really want to occur in this tuning. Don't misunderstand, this statement doesn't mean that you can't create punchy productions in standard tuning, especially as the greatest hits in guitar history were all written and recorded in standard tuning, but in our bass-fixated times, older recordings seem much less punchy, and not just because of the mastering that was unknown at the time.

In addition to the toms of the drums, which sit tonally slightly above the bass, and the snare, which is in a comparable range to the guitar, we also have the cymbals (preferably with a high-pass filter) and our singer, who now has to find a range to assert himself against the guitar board. Quick question, who has already noticed that the great rock hits of the sixties and seventies are a real torture when it comes to male vocals? What has driven many a cover band mad and to desperate acts in the style of "woman-sings-male-voice" was an integral part of the search for the frequency hole. OK, there was of course a bit of showing off and showing off (who gets higher), but anyone who has ever tried to sing AC/DC, Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple in the original keys knows what I'm writing about.


In order to remain equally audible throughout the entire song, the vocalists sang tonally above the guitar, which inevitably resulted in a more than ambitious tenor. In these registers, you are firmly in the registers of a woman's voice. At the same time, we have a low-mid range between 500 - 1500 Hz, exactly the range which, in the overall context, also produces a slightly oppressive sound over the infamous kitchen radio. Now then, let's first take a look at the purely practical advantages of down-tuning.

Advantages

It's anyone's guess, but the first downtuning was probably born out of necessity. We all know the problem: a singer has a cold or other ailment and can no longer manage the high notes. What do the loving and understanding colleagues in the string guild do? They tune their instruments lower. At a semitone, the playing feel is still relatively identical to standard tuning, beyond that the instrument has to be adjusted. Not a big deal in principle, apart from the tragedy of the Led Zeppelin tribute concert a few years ago, where Jimmy Page tuned his guitar three semitones lower and Robert Plant still couldn't hit a note in the high passages.

The second advantage of down-tuning is that the main and upper/lower frequencies of the instruments are shifted downwards. Now the guitar also takes over the low-mid range and thus gets a much more powerful sound, which is generally perceived as "fatter" and is therefore better suited for the classic "thick pants" of guitarists, which we all love so much about our instrument.

Disadvantages

Unfortunately, where there is a lot of light, there is also a lot of shadow. Two main problems arise as soon as you enter the depths of downtuning. The first problem can still be solved with a few changes to the instrument, the second unfortunately cannot, although both problems are based on simple physics. Problem 1 is the string tension of the instrument. With increasing downtuning, the string tension decreases, which at a certain point leads to an unclean attack and decay of the string. In particular, a hard attack with a plectrum leads to excessive deflection of the string, which initially makes the targeted note sound too high, only to hit the actual note after a few milliseconds. In addition, you need to have meticulous control over your string pressure, otherwise you end up in tonal nirvana, as you often had to suffer at some live concerts by the band Korn.

This problem can be tackled with thicker strings, using the rule of thumb "one string thickness more per semitone" as a basis. While the truss rod almost always copes well with the changed string gauge in compensation with the string tension, a vibrato system, especially if it is a free-floating system, sometimes requires readjustment. But what definitely needs to be done when replacing a second-grade set of strings is a professional re-filing of the nut. The thicker strings really bite into the notches and cause the strings to bounce during the tuning process, which takes all the fun out of it.

The second problem is of a larger nature and can only be discussed in more detail in the context of the band. Many of you have probably wondered where standard tuning originated. Why low E-string? Why not lower everything directly, even at the beginning of the electricization of the guitar, the bass? Well, at the other end of the cable is the second important component of the sound, the amplifier and loudspeaker, and at the beginning of amplifier history these were generally much smaller than current products. The lower the frequency to be transmitted, the more energy has to be applied to transmit the signal cleanly. Over the decades, standard tuning has crystallized as the perfect middle ground between transparency, load on the individual components and assertiveness in the human ear, in other words, standard tuning is based on decades of experience.

However, just as many of you have probably seen YouTube videos where a guitarist produces a very fat sound with extreme downtuning, accompanied at most by a drum loop or very reduced drums. On its own, the sound may make your jaw drop, but in combination with a band, it can no longer be located. The more bass there is in a guitar sound, the more the individual signal pushes and the less suitable the sound is for a band. Conversely, this means that the guitar can no longer be heard at an acceptable volume in the mix, or it has to be made so loud that the sound is unbalanced.

the bass player, the poor sock

The whole discussion about downtuning ultimately revolves around the bass part of the guitar sound, which means that the loser of the whole debate is already clear. As expected, it's the bass player whose natural habitat is being infiltrated and massively attacked by frequency technology. The popular call for the five-string doesn't always work. In a disciplined combo with a transparent Jamiroquai sound, i.e. little if any gain on the guitars, the forced escape down to low B may still be manageable, but in the heavy range, which is the main area of application for downtuning, the bassist fights for every single note that is not to drown in the frequency swamp. Ever been to a metal concert? Heard what the bassist plays in terms of individual notes? Exactly ...


Extended Range Guitars (ERG for short)

As if our friend with the thick strings didn't already have enough trouble with his frequencies, the djent movement of recent years with 8- or even 9-string guitars is proving to be a real job-destroying machine. Here the guitars have finally arrived in the real bass range, whereby the bassist can no longer escape downwards. Anyone who has ever heard Korn bassist Fieldy trying helplessly to get his low A somewhere with (unclean) slapping can only feel sorry for him. Djent metal figurehead Meshugaah leave the bass in standard tuning, which then simply doubles the guitar work in order to escape the low-frequency mud. Everyone can make up their own mind about the usefulness of such an undertaking.

Only the combo Animal As Leaders (there are probably other formations that I don't know at the moment) goes the consistent way with two 8-stringers and a drummer in a trio formation, with the two guitarists alternately sharing the bassist function. There is still a lot of room for experimentation here, but the frequency problem remains.

How low do you like it?

In principle, of course, you can tune your guitar however you like, but in terms of optimizing your fingering, the fourths tuning between the individual strings usually remains the same. This means that in most cases all strings are tuned down a certain number of semitones. Up to 2 semitones can be realized without any problems in consultation with the bassist, from 3 semitones upwards the problems slowly increase with a high gain factor. Once you have decided to add another string, the time has come for the 7-string or the baritone guitar. While the 7-string keeps the treble range within the normal radius of a standard tuning guitar and extends it downwards by 5 semitones, the baritone guitar counters the increasing frequency mud with a longer scale length, which increases the string tension and brings the tonal result back towards standard tuning in terms of transparency.

I have solved the problem in my third band MONSTERGROOVE in such a way that both my baritone guitars (76 cm scale length) and our bassist's bass (fanned frets, B-string approx. 92 cm scale length) have greatly extended scale lengths and generate a higher assertiveness due to the increased string tension. I also only play with moderate gain so that the sound remains comparatively transparent.

Another popular type of downtuning is the "Dropped D", where only the low E string is tuned 2 semitones to D. This has the advantage that power chords played on the bass strings of the guitar can now be stretched over 3 strings by means of a small barre chord and the octave shift of the root note gives the chord more power. This construction can of course also be tuned down by one or more semitones, whereby the danger of bass mud occurs even faster.

Here is an example of a dropped D tuning:

Conclusion

Of course, as always in music, whatever you like is allowed, but the limits of physics cannot be overridden. If you want to have a crisp, transparent and at the same time powerful band sound, you should work out a sound concept with the whole band in advance that offers maximum benefits. The listener will thank you for it.

P.S. If, of course, the bass player secretly keeps turning up the bass on the active 2-band EQ of his bass regardless of losses, you can of course save yourself any concept ...