TUNELIT

Iron Maiden · 1981 · Studio album

Killers tuning.

E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD. All 10 songs use it.

Killers album cover

Album tuning

E Standard

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

MeasuredFrom tabs

Tune like thisPlay alongAll 10 songs

Measured by TuneLit

At concert pitch

SourceOffsetEquivalent ASongsSpreadConfidence
CD, Toshiba EMI CP32-5107 (Japan, the first CD pressing)+3.7 ¢A 440.910+2.8 to +6.2 ¢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).

Adrian Smith's first album, Paul Di'Anno's last, and the first with producer Martin Birch, recorded at Battery Studios in London. E Standard at concert pitch: the first Japanese CD reads about 4 ¢ sharp, with songs from +1 ¢ (Innocent Exile) to +9 ¢ (Genghis Khan). The 1998 and 2015 remasters read about 4 ¢ lower on every song measured. Twilight Zone, added to the US edition and later CDs, was not on the original UK album.

10 songs

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. The Ides of March

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  2. 2. Wrathchild

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Opens with Steve Harris's bass riff, with the guitars joining on the same notes.

  3. 3. Murders in the Rue Morgue

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  4. 4. Another Life

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  5. 5. Genghis Khan

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Reads about 9 ¢ sharp, the highest on the album, but at lower confidence.

    On its own, this song measures sharper: CD +9.4 ¢. Tune uses the album's A 440.

  6. 6. Innocent Exile

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  7. 7. Killers

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  8. 8. Prodigal Son

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  9. 9. Purgatory

    E StandardMeasured

    Tune Play along

  10. 10. Drifter

    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 Killers in?

Iron Maiden recorded Killers (1981) in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit on the CD. Every song uses it.