Viewing Thread:
"Slipknot tuning...Eh? (Ignore if u can't play guitar!)"

Today i picked up an old guitar mag and found a song by slipknot tabbed out. I decided to give it a go. Since they're a grunge band, i guessed it would be in drop D tuning. I played the song through and thought it sounded ok, then tried it with the backing track on the CD. I have only just realised why it sounded so wrong: You DO drop D....then take every single string down a further 3 frets!!! It's MAD! The bottom string goes down to a B for christs sake!!! And a warning to all guitarists: NEVER play ANYTHING by slipknot unless your string gauge is at least [.053-.014]. Plus the tempo of this song (people=) is 237 bpm! So really all in all, being able to play at this pitch and speed seems to make slipknot a pretty talented bunch...

Any thoughts?

Remember kiddies, it's only tabbed out by the mag so it might not be right. Same with tab book - they employ a session musician to listen to the music and give their best representation on paper. No input from the original musician. Some tab books rip you off because they just put "Ad. Lib", or "Effects" in places where the tabber can't figure it out. Fact.

No it isn't fiddled. The guitar that Mick Thompson uses is a BC Rich Warlock and his signature one, like the one he plays, is just a 6 stringer. I can't remember off the top of my head what Root plays. But it just tuned down.

triggerhappyrocker wrote:
> You DO drop
> D....then take every single string down a further 3 frets!!!

So Drop to D, then another 3 frets down... takes the e string down to a B.

This is what the lowest note on a 7 stringer would be. Me thinks that the tab is indeed fiddled with so people can play it on a six string guitar.

You're right they are tuned waaay down. It is all on 6 strings however. I find that .010's are good as far as about C or C#.

I think Mick Thompson is a good guitarist, he can shred quite well when I have heard him outside the 'knot. But none of the band show any real musicianship in 'knot coz simply there is no room for anything musical, their individual talents are wasted. I also think that Corey Taylor is a very good vocalist, or at least he is when he sings in Stonesour.

Korn didn't pioneer the seven string. Steve Vai did. In fact originally Korn used Vai signature Ibanez's until they got their own signature 7 stringer, the K-7. Steve Vai incidentally makes a mockery of 237 bpm. He has been known to play at 21 notes per second, which works out at 1260 bpm.

If you want something heavy and musical check out Nickelbacks first album. Yes I am being serious. Or Stiltskin! (Anyone remember them?)

Noobster, what do you mean part of the string is stuck under the bridge? What type of guitar have you got? Which E string? If it is a strat that you have (Fender, Squier or any other copy) and a string has snapped and left the end in the block then just get a bit of wire, a needle...anything that will fit into the block from the top and push the end out. If it is a Floyd Rose trem, i.e one with bolts over the strings at the nut, then be VERY careful. If you aren't you can damage the trem's edge and it will never be the same again. If it is a tune-o-matic bridge i.e a les paul stylee, then the most that could have happened is you managed to jam a string into a groove on a saddle. Happened to me once when I went up a gauge of strings. It just pulled out then.

triggerhappyrocker wrote:
> Maybe, but think about it: Most of it is short, repeated riffs using
> chords on the bottom two strings. You couldn't do that if there were
> seven strings. You need to detune 3 steps anyway so therers no point
> in an extra string! I think.....it's confusing!
>
> Korn definatly use 7 stringers though, I'm sure of that.

Yeah they do. It's a fact.

Can anyone tell me how to re-string my E-string? :(

I swear that part of the string is trapped under the bridge and I can't get it out :|

Might take it to my veteran mate who has 14 guitars and 20-years of knowledge :D

I can play a guitar, but have no idea what your on about... mainly because i only play my freinds guitar so I let him tune it soon as its his, and i dont have a guitar...

I've played in drop C with 10's but its pushing it. I think 11's would cope fine with B. Bands like System play in C. You can get a bloody heavy sound with Drop D Flat with a couple of tweeks on the amp and the peddle settings.

Slipknot Are my fav. band and they have pretty easy riffs to play BUT, I agree the tuning is akward.

my band plays in B, and it sounds just fine.

There are too many bands nowadays that just whack their guitars into Drop D and then just put a barre across DAD. For me, it's just a lazy way of getting around power chords (amazingly simple anyway!) whenever I learn a song in drop D I always change it to normal tuning because it's effort to fiddle with your pegs all the time.