Alice in Chains · 1992 · Studio album
Dirt tuning.
E♭ Standard, about 10 cents sharp (A ≈ 443), measured on the CD. 4 of 13 songs are tuned differently.
Album tuning
E♭ Standard +10 ¢
About 10 cents sharp (A ≈ 443), measured on the CD.
MeasuredWidely reported
Measured by TuneLit
10 ¢ sharp
| Source | Offset | Equivalent A | Songs | Spread | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD, Columbia 472330 2 (1992, Austria) | +9.6 ¢ | A 442.4 | 13 | +6.5 to +10.4 ¢ | High |
Before we measured, sources said: E♭ Standard, with no pitch given (widely reported).
Track order of the original 1992 CD, which the library holds: later US pressings move Down in a Hole up to track 4. E♭ Standard, with Them Bones, Dam That River and Rain When I Die in Drop C♯. TuneLit measured the CD about 10 ¢ sharp: a guitar at A 440 sounds a little flat against it, so every setting carries +10 ¢. Only Iron Gland, the short untitled track with Tom Araya of Slayer, sits at concert pitch.
13 songs · 4 tuned differently
Every song, ready to tune
Tune opens the tuner in that song's tuning, pitch included. Play along opens the song player set to that tuning, so the track plays in yours. What the labels mean
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Notes
How to get there from the album's E♭ Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E♭ → C♯); the other strings stay.
Drop C♯: the chromatic riff runs up from the open low C♯.
MusicRadar's Dirt lesson: take String 6 down a further whole step from E♭ Standard, to D♭ (C♯). Songsterr's tab agrees, bass included.
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2. Dam That River
Different tuning
Drop C♯ +10 ¢Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's E♭ Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E♭ → C♯); the other strings stay.
Named with Them Bones as the Drop C♯ songs in MusicRadar's Dirt lesson; Songsterr agrees for guitar and bass.
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3. Rain When I Die
Different tuning
Drop C♯ +10 ¢Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's E♭ Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E♭ → C♯); the other strings stay.
Both Songsterr tabs put the guitars in Drop C♯. MusicRadar's lesson names only Them Bones and Dam That River, but does not cover this song.
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4. Sickman
E♭ Standard +10 ¢Measured
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5. Rooster
E♭ Standard +10 ¢Measured
Notes
E♭ Standard. The swirl on the clean parts is a flanger, as MusicRadar points out.
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6. Junkhead
E♭ Standard +10 ¢Measured
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7. Dirt
E♭ Standard +10 ¢Measured
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8. God Smack
E♭ Standard +10 ¢Measured
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9. Iron Gland
Different pitch
E♭ StandardMeasured
Notes
The 43-second interlude with Tom Araya of Slayer. TuneLit measured it at concert pitch, about 9 ¢ below the rest of the album.
E♭ Standard on Songsterr's tab, like the rest of Dirt. TuneLit measured this short track on its own at concert pitch (+1 ¢).
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10. Hate to Feel
E♭ Standard +10 ¢Measured
Notes
Layne Staley wrote it and plays the rhythm guitar, in E♭ Standard like Cantrell.
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11. Angry Chair
E♭ Standard +10 ¢Measured
Notes
Another Staley song with Staley on rhythm guitar: a second guitarist tunes down a half step too.
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12. Down in a Hole
E♭ Standard +10 ¢Measured
Notes
Guitars in E♭ Standard, bass in Drop C♯ (tabs). On the CD a low C♯, below anything an E♭ bass can reach, is one of the two most-heard bass notes, which fits the dropped bass.
The guitars, acoustic and 12-string parts included, are in E♭ Standard; both Songsterr tabs have the bass's low string dropped to C♯.
Bass: Bass Drop C♯ +10 ¢ Tune bass
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13. Would?
E♭ Standard +10 ¢Measured
Notes
E♭ Standard; the dark sound of the verse riff comes from the notes, not from a lower tuning.
What the labels mean
- Measured
- TuneLit measured the pitch on an original CD or LP. The tuning name still comes from the sources.
- Official
- The band, a member, their producer or their guitar tech said it.
- Widely reported
- Trusted outlets, guides and tabs agree, but the band did not say it directly.
- From tabs
- From community tabs, or from players who tune along with the record.
- Disputed
- Sources disagree. The likeliest setting is shown; the notes name the other one.
Each song shows one label, the strongest it has, in this order. How we measure recordings →
Questions
What tuning is Dirt in?
Alice in Chains recorded Dirt (1992) in E♭ Standard, about 10 cents sharp (A ≈ 443), measured by TuneLit on the CD. Them Bones, Dam That River and Rain When I Die use Drop C♯ +10 ¢; Iron Gland uses E♭ Standard.