AC/DC · The Razors Edge · song 1
Thunderstruck tuning.
Thunderstruck (AC/DC, 1990) is in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440).
Not measured yet
TuneLit has not measured this record. The tuning comes from community sources, at concert pitch unless they say otherwise.
AC/DC · The Razors Edge · 1990
About Thunderstruck
The opening song of The Razors Edge (1990), produced by Bruce Fairbairn in Vancouver. Everything is in plain E Standard. The famous intro is Angus Young hammering on and pulling off notes on the B string against the open B, before Malcolm Young's rhythm guitar and the band come in under it.
TuneLit has not measured Thunderstruck itself. The tuning comes from community tabs, which all agree on E Standard, and the Tune button sets it at concert pitch (A 440). Two other songs from the album were measured from a compilation copy (an unofficial Russian Greatest Hits CD): Are You Ready at A 440 and Moneytalks about 14 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 443.5). So the album sits near concert pitch, but not every song lands exactly on it.
Because the intro returns to the open B string again and again, that one string decides whether the song sounds right. If the intro sounds sour while your guitar is in tune, nudge the reference by a hertz or two rather than retuning.
Tip: Tune String 2 (the open B) with special care, since the whole intro is played against it.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, the notes Thunderstruck was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Thunderstruck sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Thunderstruck along with the record: its lowest open note and your String 6 should ring together without a wobble.
Or the other way round
Move the record into your tuning
Rather keep your guitar as it is? Let Play along move Thunderstruck instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in E Standard. Thunderstruck is already in E Standard at A 440, so nothing moves. Slow it down or loop a few bars to learn it, and save the result as a WAV file.
Questions
What tuning is Thunderstruck in?
E Standard: E A D G B E, low to high.