Foo Fighters · 1999 · Studio album
There Is Nothing Left to Lose tuning.
E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD. 4 of 11 songs are tuned differently.
Album tuning
E Standard
At concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD.
MeasuredCommunity
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
| Source | Offset | Equivalent A | Songs | Spread | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD, BMG Japan BVCM-35131 | +1.0 ¢ | A 440.3 | 11 | +0.6 to +2.1 ¢ | High |
Before we measured, sources said: E Standard, with no pitch given (community).
Recorded by the trio of Grohl, Nate Mendel and Taylor Hawkins in Grohl's basement in Virginia. Mostly E Standard; Stacked Actors drops the low string all the way to A, and Live-In Skin and Headwires are in Drop D.
11 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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1. Stacked Actors
Different tuning
A1 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: String 6 down 7 half steps (E → A); the other strings stay.
String 6 sits 7 half steps below its standard E2. On a normal set (.046) it keeps only about 45 % of its usual tension and feels loose. For the usual feel use about a .069 string, or a baritone guitar.
Expect a very loose 6th string: it goes down seven semitones. A heavier gauge helps.
Standard tuning with the low E string slackened all the way down to A, an octave below the 5th string (A A D G B E). That is what gives the main riff its octave sound; Wikipedia and the main tab agree.
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2. Breakout
E StandardMeasured
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3. Learn to Fly
E StandardMeasured
Notes
Plain E Standard in every main tab.
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4. Gimme Stitches
E StandardMeasured
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5. Generator
E StandardMeasured
Notes
E Standard; the wah-like vocal sound on the riff comes from a talk box, not a different tuning.
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6. Aurora
E StandardMeasured
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7. Live-In Skin
Different tuning
Drop DMeasured
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E → D); the other strings stay.
Tabbed in Drop D, and the low D is the most common bass note in the audio.
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8. Next Year
E StandardMeasured
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9. Headwires
Different tuning
Drop DMeasured
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E → D); the other strings stay.
Tabbed in Drop D, and the low D is clearly heard in the audio.
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10. Ain't It the Life
E StandardMeasured
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11. M.I.A.
Different tuning
D2 A2 D3 G3 A3 E4Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: String 6 down a whole step (E → D), String 2 down a whole step (B → A); the other strings stay.
The only full tab uses an open, ringing tuning: D A D G A E (6th string down to D, 2nd string down to A). Little used, so treat it as a good guess.
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.
- Community
- 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 There Is Nothing Left to Lose in?
Foo Fighters recorded There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999) in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit on the CD. Stacked Actors uses A1 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4; Live-In Skin and Headwires use Drop D; M.I.A. uses D2 A2 D3 G3 A3 E4.