Alice in Chains · Dirt · song 12
Down in a Hole tuning.
Down in a Hole (Alice in Chains, 1992) is in E♭ Standard, about 10 cents sharp (A ≈ 443), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
10 ¢ sharp
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +10 ¢.
Alice in Chains · Dirt · 1992
About Down in a Hole
A slow, mournful ballad from Dirt (1992), released as a single and later one of the highlights of MTV Unplugged. On the original CD it is the second-to-last track; later US pressings move it up to track 4. The guitars, acoustic and 12-string parts included, are in E♭ Standard, but both Songsterr tabs drop the bass's low string to C♯, so the bassist plays in Drop C♯ while the guitarists stay in E♭.
TuneLit measured the original 1992 CD of Dirt about 10 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 442.4), and the song follows its album: E♭ Standard +10 ¢ for the guitars, with a separate Tune bass setting for Drop C♯ at the same offset. In the low end of the record a C♯ is one of the two most-heard notes, below anything an E♭ bass can reach, which backs the tabs' dropped bass. The check from the audio confirms E♭ for the guitars.
Because the song is slow and the chords ring for a long time, a small offset is easy to hear: if the 12-string sounds sour against the record, check the reference before you blame your tuning. Playing it alone on guitar, you can borrow the bass's low C♯ by dropping String 6, but the record's guitars stay in E♭ Standard. The Unplugged tabs keep the same split.
Tip: Tune the acoustic or 12-string with the Tune button's +10 ¢, then compare one long chorus chord with the record before playing along.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E♭ Standard, every string +10 ¢, the notes Down in a Hole was recorded in.
- From E Standard: Every string down a half step. No tuner that knows E♭ Standard? Clamp a capo across fret 1, tune to E Standard as usual, then take it off: every string drops to E♭ Standard. Check each string again afterwards, since a capo pulls the strings a little sharp.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Down in a Hole sits 10 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Down in a Hole 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 Down in a Hole 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 +10 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Down in a Hole moves up 90 cents, at its own speed. Slow it down or loop a few bars to learn it, and save the result as a WAV file.
Questions
What tuning is Down in a Hole in?
E♭ Standard +10 ¢: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.