Foo Fighters · The Colour and the Shape · song 2
Monkey Wrench tuning.
Monkey Wrench (Foo Fighters, 1997) is in Drop D at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
Measured on this song itself.
Foo Fighters · The Colour and the Shape · 1997
About Monkey Wrench
Monkey Wrench, the fast second track of The Colour and the Shape (1997), is in Drop D: String 6 goes down a whole step to D and the rest stays in E Standard. Dave Grohl has said so himself, recalling that the band was working on Monkey Wrench when he found the opening chord of Everlong in the same tuning, and Wikipedia and every main tab agree.
TuneLit measured the song about 2 cents sharp, on a CD that sits within about 2 cents of A 440, so Tune opens Drop D at concert pitch with nothing to correct.
The catch is that the open low D is rarely heard on the record itself, so you can't easily tune String 6 by ear against it; use the tuner instead, and let Grohl's own account settle the tuning. Chris Shiflett still keeps a guitar in Drop D for Monkey Wrench and Everlong on tour, and most of the rest of the album, including My Hero, is in E Standard, so a second guitar saves a lot of retuning if you play the whole record.
Tip: Lower String 6 to D with the tuner rather than by ear, then check it by playing its 7th fret against open String 5: both should give the same A.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop D, the notes Monkey Wrench was recorded in.
- From the album's E Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E → D); the other strings stay.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Monkey Wrench sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Monkey Wrench 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 Monkey Wrench instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in Drop D. Choose Drop D at A 440 and Monkey Wrench moves down 2 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 Monkey Wrench in?
Drop D: D A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.