C standard tuning

C standard: the strings and their notes

Tuning two whole steps down

What C standard is

C standard keeps standard tuning's intervals and moves every string down four semitones: C F B♭ E♭ G C, low to high. Every shape works as before and sounds a major third lower. It is the low end of the down-tuned standards (E♭, D, C♯, C), used in doom, stoner rock and sludge for weight without changing how the guitar plays.

Not to mix up with drop C: drop C (C G C F A D) lowers only the 6th string to C and leaves the others a whole step down; C standard lowers all six by the same amount, so the low string is a fourth below the next, as in standard.

How to tune to C standard from standard

With the tuner above: tap Start, play each string the table changes and turn until the needle sits in the middle. By ear, without the tuner:

1. Tune the 6th string to C2 first, from the tone of the string chip above (tap it with the tuner stopped) or a piano.
2. 5th string: A2 to F2. The 6th string at its 5th fret (F2) should sound like this string open.
3. 4th string: D3 to B♭2. The 5th string at its 5th fret (B♭2) should sound like this string open.
4. 3rd string: G3 to E♭3. The 4th string at its 5th fret (E♭3) should sound like this string open.
5. 2nd string: B3 to G3. The 3rd string at its 4th fret (G3) should sound like this string open.
6. 1st string: E4 to C4. The 2nd string at its 5th fret (C4) should sound like this string open.

Then check the whole tuning once more with the tuner: retuning one string moves the neck, and the others drift a few cents.

On the same strings, tension follows the square of the pitch: every string keeps 63 % of its pull. Slacker strings buzz and read flat at the attack; for more than a whole step down, a heavier set (or at least a heavier low string) keeps the feel.

What one finger plays

Every chord shape you know keeps working; it sounds 4 semitones lower. A capo at the 4th fret brings you back to standard pitch, which is how players in C standard join a band that plays in standard.

Strings and setup for C standard

• A heavier set: every string keeps only 63 % of its tension on the same gauge. Around 11 to 54 or 12 to 56 brings the feel back.
• Setup: less tension lets the neck straighten; a slight truss rod adjustment and intonation at the bridge follow a change this big.
• One step up: D standard; a semitone up: C♯ standard.

All six strings in standard and the other tunings: the guitar tuner. Any note at all: the chromatic tuner.

Then play something

The notes you tuned can go into Brumm as a short melody over a beat. Hum a line on top and it becomes an instrument.

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