Often times, when questioned what tunings members of this board preferred, standard tunings such as EADGBE, #D#G#C#F#A#D, DGCFAD were the ones being played, with many guitarist shunning any breath of droping tunings such as DADGBE or CGCFAD which are amongst the popular few out there.

However, I've never really found where someone has really gave a definitive reason as to why they're "less" of a tuning aside from the fact that they're perhaps easier to play, in that of power chords which can easily be played with one finger instead of two.

Upon searching the internet for a possible answer to this I found this paragraph within an article on a site:

quoted from http://www.thirdhandcapo.com/basics.html

"Standard tuning is standard because it offers the most versatility. You can play with relative convenience in many different keys using standard tuning. Non-standard tunings are much more specific. Usually they're effective in only one key. A particular tuning may give you a great I chord, a cool IV chord, and an acceptable V chord, but perhaps offer no good way to finger a relative minor. This is why most people who use open tunings a lot, use a lot of different open tunings. Otherwise everything starts to sound the same."

So, perhaps a few of you could make some since of this?

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In metal and rock, mostly everyone that uses drop tunings just plays simple powerchord stuff. It appeals a lot to novices cause "hey, I can play entire songs using 1 finger!".

There are a few exceptions like some of the bands in your sig, but drop tunings have earned the reputation they have because of all the mainstream bands making hit singles with a series of 3-4 chords done with 1 finger.

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They aren't.

I can't really find a reason to say why drop tunings are bad. As souru mentioned, many players associated drop tunings with playing chords with only one finger. But if you listen to a band like Nile for example you come to realise that a drop tuning gives a lot of versatility also.

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drop tunings aren't bad

hell, half of my songs are drop tuned to A,B, or C... that's really low, eh?

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Drop tunings get a bad rap because a lot of shitty metal bands use them and because people are idiots and they associate shitty music with a tuning thus creating the "drop tuning is for pinecone fuckers".

and teeheeheehee:

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Oh yeah, and if HIS songs are in drop tunings that means that drop tuning CAN'T be bad can it.

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dont have to be a little bitch about it Wolfsherz.
Regardless, i like drop tuning, sounds really deep and heavy to me, can get bluesy if played right, Wylde can write quite a few decent dropped songs that are incredibly metal. Don't consider it bad thats for sure.

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Hey what the fuck, no one mentioned Tool!

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There not bad, I just prefer the sound of a standard tuned guitar. I also, only have floyd equipped guitars and can never be bothered to re jig everything

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Holy shit dude, I never said they were good, I just said it's not bad to have drop tunings by sayin most of my songs are dropped

don't be a little bitch

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Drop tunings are cool because you can start a 6 string arpeggio on the low E and just go over on the same position to the A string instead of having to shift position two frets up.
Nobody should ever have to feel insecure about their tunings... drop tunings bad? Not in my book. Who cares what tuning you're in anyway as long as the riffs rule.

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Drop tunings on acoustic rule. Bizarre chord shapes and progressions become really easy to come up with and finger. Open G(basically like drop D but you drop the A string a step as well) is also very awesome for playing any groovy rock or blues. It's almost impossible to make any pentatonic lick sound boring in that tuning.

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I don't usually use drop tunings. How ever some bands are really creative with it opeth is one that comes to mind.