TUNELIT

Deep Purple · 1973 · Studio album

Who Do We Think We Are tuning.

E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD. 1 of 7 songs are tuned differently.

Who Do We Think We Are album cover

Album tuning

E Standard

At concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD.

MeasuredFrom tabs

Tune like thisPlay alongAll 7 songs

Measured by TuneLit

At concert pitch

SourceOffsetEquivalent ASongsSpreadConfidence
CD, EMI CDP 7 48273 2 (1987)+0.5 ¢A 440.17+0.4 to +4.3 ¢High
 Offset from concert pitch (A 440). Spread: the middle half of the songs, when four or more share the album's pitch. Confidence: how well the notes agree with one grid.

Before we measured, sources said: E Standard, with no pitch given (community).

Recorded with the Rolling Stones Mobile in Rome in July 1972 and in Frankfurt that October, the last album of the classic line-up for eleven years. E Standard throughout. The 1987 EMI CD sits at concert pitch (+0.5 ¢); only Rat Bat Blue reads higher, about 11 ¢ sharp. Woman from Tokyo is the song most players come for: its riff sits on the low strings and drops into a slow middle section. Place in Line, a slow blues, is the place to check your strings against long held chords. Gillan and Glover left after the 1973 tour of Japan.

7 songs · 1 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

  1. 1. Woman from Tokyo

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    At concert pitch on this CD.

  2. 2. Mary Long

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  3. 3. Super Trouper

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  4. 4. Smooth Dancer

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  5. 5. Rat Bat Blue

    Different pitch

    E Standard +11 ¢Measured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    About 11 ¢ sharp on this CD.

    Ritchie Blackmore in standard tuning: every tab of the album (Songsterr, the main ones credited to his parts) has the guitar and Roger Glover's bass in E Standard. TuneLit measured this song on its own about 11 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 442.7), 10 ¢ above the album value.

  6. 6. Place in Line

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  7. 7. Our Lady

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

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 Who Do We Think We Are in?

Deep Purple recorded Who Do We Think We Are (1973) in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit on the CD. Rat Bat Blue uses E Standard +11 ¢.

Why does Who Do We Think We Are sound out of tune with my guitar?

Rat Bat Blue sits about 11 cents sharp (A ≈ 443), so a guitar tuned to A 440 clashes with it. The Tune buttons on this page set the tuner's reference to match the record, so you only tune the strings.