That was really worth posting... (in regards to metalmonkeys post)

Normally I keep my guitar in E standard, with an occasional downtune to drop D, and like rapeandruin, I normally play about everything in E, regardless of it's actual tuning on the album.

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I'm the same as that - just that I play everything in B standard.

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That's the worst part about figuring out songs, having to fucking retune your guitar!

I use D standard...

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Heaviest tunings are C, Db, and D. D does nt sound happy at all to me as Transient said it was happy. The most happy tuning to me is E. I never like to go below D, and only when the need arrises. I like those tunings the best and I think C is heaviest. And no, drop tuning dosn't make anything heavier, playing technique and distortion/production do.

Ahhh, you said downtuning, well, same applies ^

i say fuck trying to tab the song if I have to change tunings...i don't tab a lot, but when I do it always seems to be a standard E song instead of somethign else...or something like that

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It isnt too hard to transpose when you keep to standard tunings.

C# gives that edge over D in my opinion... A good example of this is listening through Decapitated's history, listen to the first two albums in D then the Negation in C#. It has a much nicer sound and feel to it IMO, partially due to being a semitone down

When I was younger I preffered a half step lower than standard because of Becker, Eddie and Gilbert. Now I've played with our band in C for so long I don't think I could play any of our songs in standard. It just wouldnt sound right. Plus it helps our singer hit some crazy falsetto notes because it's in a lower key.

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Low pitches allow a DEEPER sound. This usually adds up to "heavier" though.

I have my 7's down a wholetone, to A, which without the 7th is D.

I have to admit as well, you get high tuners who are heavy as shit, listen to the palm muting at the end of Hammer Smashed Face. E motherfucking b!

But a lot of the time, high tuners are thrashing the strings at great speed and backed by a drum beat for their heaviness. Slayer (Eb) for example. Low tuners, like Meshuggah on their 8-strings ( low F), or Nile (drop A), are pushing out immense heaviness off the back of single notes.

So I guess it's the bass that determines heaviness. Listen to the Hammer Smashed Face chugging. They wreak of bass.

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I have one guitar it D, and the other is a 7

My favorite tuning is Bb.

I have 5 guitars in my room though...each with different tunings....so that helps with the whole "changing tuning" thing.

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i have sumtin to say on the changing tunings to tab songs thing.

i change the key of songs so i can tab sumtin in D while it is written in C for example, god bless cool edit pro.

EDIT: oh and i play in Eb most of the time, dont ask me y, i think every tuning sounds like shit

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Yeah but wouldn't you have to tab every thing out a step lower than you figured it out? Sounds like a pain, but if it works for you then cool...

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I tried that on GP,it just mixed the notes anywhere and made it useless to play.

Downtuning doesnt equal heaviness. Im one of those people that hate down tunings. Puts the fucking guitar out of proportion, when its all nicely set up in 4ths. For what.. convienience? Ok,Ok i admit you can do BREWTALLLA riffs, just flying about the frets but meh? 2 fingers is not 2 much more than 1.

And Drop D isnt as heavy as D standard, im sure you all know.

People say you can write a heavy song in E (Just look at Deicide - Legion) but I think part of the heaviness comes from the tuning. I mean, B5 sounds so much chunkier than E5. Just my opinion, and im not saying you cant write a heavy-ass song in E cause.. you can, and it has.

Just my 2 cents.


EDIT: oh and yeah I keep my 6 string in D and my 7 in E, so I have massive range (that of 3 guitars). In the future I plan on buying another 7 (with a fixed brigde!!!1) and ill keep it down one step so ill have A and D aswell. Then ill tune my 6 to C and ill have tunings A - E. That way everyone's happy.

i play in drp Bb low to high (Bb F Bb E G C)

Aha, so Deicide tuned up to standard on the 2nd LP? Yes, it sounds heavy but I find it sounds a little too bright for my tastes. Maybe it's just a matter of EQ-ing, I don't know. I think I prefer the sound of the guitars on their debut, though.

Btw, so I heard that downtuning makes the sound muddy. I guess everyone knows that. So, what can one do to counteract the muddiness? Change pickup perhaps?

I play standard on my 7 for the most part, with that G string down to F#. I also tune down to Bb alot, anything lower is too muddy for me. Also the occasional drop a

I either like standard E or go really low into B on the 7-string and drop down to A, Crunchy brutalness!