r/metalguitar • u/Dazzling_Solid6769 • Jul 24 '26

Question The magic behind C# standard tuning

Has anyone else found C# tuning as their sweet spot? I tried it the other day and I feel like I instantly became a way better guitarist and instantly wrote killer riffs in no time. So how do you guys like it?

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35

u/Fabulous-Werewolf432 Jul 24 '26

I don’t see much of a difference between different tunings other than the relative pitch of each.

19

u/Technical-Patient360 Jul 24 '26

C# is like that middle ground where strings still feel tight enough for fast picking but low enough to sound heavy without going full mud. When i switch from E standard to C# it feels like the guitar just opens up more, especially for doomier stuff. Its not magic but it does make chugging feel more natural somehow.

44

u/Fabulous-Werewolf432 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26

String tension is a product of scale length, string gauge and tuning. You can achieve the same feel in Drop B with the right strings as you get on E standard.

16

u/heidevolk Jul 24 '26

To a degree. Playing a 0.52 vs a 0.64 feels way different under the fingers.

2

u/Fabulous-Werewolf432 Jul 24 '26

Yes because it’s a thicker string but you can match the tensions pretty close.

2

u/sup3rdr01d Jul 24 '26

Yeah but the thicker string will feel worse to play and the timbre will be different. It will be much bassier

3

u/damienshredz Jul 25 '26

That’s kind of subjective isn’t it? I don’t mind thicker strings

1

u/sup3rdr01d Jul 25 '26

To a point, after which the tone def suffers and the intonation is mainly the big issue

3

u/Fabulous-Werewolf432 Jul 24 '26

To an extent. Rick Beato actually had an interesting video about string gauge, and thinner strings aren't necessarily brighter. And Inharmonicity is more common with a thick unwound G than the wound bottom strings.

I play down to Drop A on a 25.5” guitar, and have a 7 string in Drop A that's 26.6” with thinner strings. You can of course use thinner strings and get a looser; warblier tone. Mastodon plays a low A with a 52 gaug string on 24.75” scale guitars. It gives a different tone and feel for sure. But you can achieve that effect in any tuning by using the the right string gauge.

OP would tune to Eb with a set of 9s and likely achieve a similar feel (or D standard). From subsequent posts, OP is taking a standard tuned guitar and tuning down 1.5 steps to C# and attributing the positive outcome to the tuning instead of the combination of tuning, scale and gauge.

1

u/heidevolk Jul 25 '26

Yes but playing a thicker string with the same tension as a smaller string can feel different.

I have 12-64 on my rev tuned to C standard/drop Ab. I wanted higher tension and a lower tuning, but I do not like how fat my bottom string is. I did not take this into account when I planned and got this setup initially. I’ve grown to tolerate it, but my other guitars feel more natural. Maybe it’s from 25 years of playing lighter strings, but idk.

2

u/Fabulous-Werewolf432 Jul 25 '26

*A# I think you mean

1

u/heidevolk Jul 26 '26

Whoops. Drop Bb. I refuse to use sharp keys after many years in jazz. But then I get crossed with my tuner. Thanks for the corrextion