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Dropped C tuning is an alternative guitar tuning style in which the lowest (sixth) string is tuned down two tones ("dropped") to C and the rest of the strings are tuned down one tone, thus making the overall tuning CGCFAD from low to high. Although popularly referred to as "Drop C", CGCFAD tuning is not in fact "Drop C" tuning; a "drop" tuning refers only to the dropping of the tuning of the lowest string; thus "Drop C" tuning is actually CADGBE and the tuning referred to is actually "Drop D, tuned down one whole step (tone)."[1] Throughout the rest of this article, what is referred to as drop C is CGCFAD, or drop D tuned down one whole step.
[edit] Usage of Drop C tuning
The difference of drop C from standard tuning is that drop C allows for the bottom three strings to form a C5 power chord (somewhat similar in use to an "open" tuning), which can be shifted up or down the fretboard with a single finger to produce any power chord quickly and easily. This is very convenient for both beginners who have trouble moving the power chord shape and for music that requires very fast root-fifth changes, even making full root-fifth hammer-ons relatively simple. Although Drop-D tunings have been well known in all types of music, due to an interest in achieving the sound of the booming low "D" on open D chords, "Drop C" tuning is more popularly used in the former fashion in metal and hard rock music to achieve a lower, heavier sound, while retaining the familiar fingerboard patterns for upper register soloing. The tuning style can be easily recognised by the fully voiced 'chugging' or 'machine gun' sound that results from a palm muted power chord being played between notes.
[edit] Artists who use Drop C tuning (CGCFAD)
- 12 Stones uses Drop C tuning in all their songs, for example, in their song Photograph.
- 16 Volt's album SuperCoolNothing is played in Drop C.
- Alice in Chains use a variant wherein all strings are tuned one half-step higher than they would be in drop C, making it drop Db, for the song "Them Bones."
- 30 Seconds to Mars use Drop C tuning both live and on albums.
- Alexi Laiho uses Drop C tuning in his song Sioux City Sarsaparilla which can be found on the Guitar Heroes album.
- Alter Bridge uses drop C in some of the songs in Blackbird.
- Anberlin
- As Blood Runs Black
- As I Lay Dying
- Atreyu
- August Burns Red
- Berri Txarrak uses Drop C.
- Biffy Clyro use Drop C tuning for the song "Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies."
- Black Label Society
- Black Stone Cherry uses Drop C and Drop Db Tuning.
- Blaze uses Drop C on the song Hollow Head.
- Bob Dylan uses Drop C in the traditional folk styling for several songs, most notably on "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue."
- Breaking Benjamin uses Drop C tuning on their second album "We're Not Alone."
- Buckethead uses Drop C in the song Nottingham Lace.
- Bullet for My Valentine uses Drop C tuning on their CD The Poison.
- Chimaira
- Children of Bodom recorded Are You Dead Yet? and Blooddrunk (except 3 songs) in Drop C tuning and 2 songs from Hate Crew Deathroll (Angels Don't Kill & Sixpounder) were also in Drop C.
- Converge uses Drop C on most of their work.
- Darkest Hour use Drop C tuning for most of their records.
- Deathstars
- The Decieved uses Drop C tuning for all of their songs.
- Deftones used Drop C tuning on most of the album White Pony.
- Destroy the Runner
- DevilDriver uses Drop C in some of their work.
- Disturbed uses Drop C in their 3rd album Ten Thousand Fists. and on the album Indestructible
- Emigrate use Drop C on their song My World and most of the songs on their album, Emigrate.
- Enter Shikari Use Drop C tuning in many of their songs.
- Escape the Fate
- Ethereal Dissonance
- From First to Last Use Drop C tuning On Their Album "Heroine."
- Godsmack Use Drop C tuning in most all their songs, especially after the self titled album. Vampires, Faceless, Bad Religion, Moon Baby, and Keep Away are some of the ones in Drop D tuning.
- Grinspoon's cover of the Prong song "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck" is performed in Drop C tuning.
- Hail the Tragedy recently recorded their EP Lusitania exclusively in Drop C tuning.
- Haste the Day play many of their songs in Drop C.
- Hatebreed
- Helmet have recorded their most recent albums with this tuning, alternating with Drop D.
- Heaven Shall Burn also use Drop C in several songs, including "Counterweight."
- hide uses Drop C in "Blue Sky Complex."
- The Human Abstract
- I Killed The Prom Queen
- Ill Niño
- Job for a Cowboy uses Drop C on Doom
- The Killing Tree use Drop C on the song "Dressed to ####."
- Killswitch Engage
- Kittie
- Last Words
- Lostprophets
- Leathermouth uses Drop C tuning on their song "Fifth Period."
- Lumen
- Machinemade God
- Mentality are users of Drop C, along with Eb.
- Metallica used Drop C tuning for most of the St. Anger album.
- Mudvayne uses Drop C tuning on Lost and Found,The End of All Things to Come, and Kill, I Oughtta/The Beginning of All Things to End.
- Muse uses CADGBE tuning on Map of the Problematique.
- Omica
- Ozzy Osbourne uses Drop C tuning in I Don't Wanna Stop.
- P.O.D. alternates between D Standard and Drop C tuning.
- Papa Roach on their albums.
- Porcupine Tree use Drop C in song Anesthetise from Fear of a Blank Planet album.
- Queens of the Stone Age
- Rammstein has recorded Reise, Reise and Rosenrot in Drop C.
- Red House Painters primarily use alternate tunings, including Drop C. Both "Evil" (from Bridge) and "24" (from Down Colorful Hill) use Drop C.
- The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus uses Drop C tuning for the songs "Face Down", "Your Guardian Angel" and the hidden track, "Grim Goodbye."
- Saosin
- Senses Fail use Drop C on the song Shark Attack.
- Shadows Fall uses Drop C on numerous albums.
- Sick Puppies uses Drop C on their song "All the Same" from the album Dressed Up As Life.
- Stick To Your Guns
- A Past In Shadows
- System of a Down make heavy use of Drop C tuning on their first three albums, System of a Down, Toxicity, and Steal This Album!. They also used Drop Db on the last two of their albums Mezmerize and Hypnotize.
- The Sword in their song "Freya"
- Three Days Grace uses Drop C tuning for most of the songs from the album One-X.
- Thrice uses Drop C for all of The Artist In The Ambulance and a few songs on Vheissu
- Tides usually uses Drop C tuning.
- Tom Waits Uses Drop C tuning for the intro guitar line in "Goin' Out West."
- Turmion Kätilöt uses Drop C tuning for most of their songs.
- Uriah Heep (band) uses (CGCFAD) tuning on "The Wizard," not sure about their other tunes.
[edit] References
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_tuning#Dropped_C:_C-G-c-f-a-d.27
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
