Black Sabbath · Heaven and Hell · song 1
Neon Knights tuning.
Neon Knights (Black Sabbath, 1980) is in E♭ Standard, about 5 cents sharp (A ≈ 441), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
5 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +5 ¢.
Black Sabbath · Heaven and Hell · 1980
About Neon Knights
The fast opener of Heaven and Hell (1980), and the last song the band wrote for the album: it was put together quickly at Studio Ferber in Paris in January 1980, and it is the one song on the album with writing input from Geezer Butler. The driving riff and Tony Iommi's solo are in E♭ Standard (E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭).
TuneLit measured the 1986 Japanese Vertigo CD. The album sits about 5 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 441.3), and Neon Knights reads about 2 ¢ sharp, close to the album value, so Tune gives E♭ Standard 5 ¢ up. At this tempo nobody hears 3 cents; what matters is the half step down. TuneLit's check from the audio agrees that the low string is E♭.
Every tab of the song uses E♭ Standard, so there is little to trip over. The things to watch are the fast picking on the open low string, which pulls a slack string sharp if you dig in, and the bass: tune it down the same half step. If you play the album in order, Lady Evil, two songs later, sits higher, about 19 ¢ sharp.
Tip: Pick the opening riff lightly while you tune; hard attack on a half-step-down string reads sharp.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E♭ Standard, every string +5 ¢, the notes Neon Knights 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. Neon Knights sits 5 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Neon Knights 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 Neon Knights 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 +5 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Neon Knights moves up 95 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 Neon Knights in?
E♭ Standard +5 ¢: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.