Jimi Hendrix · Electric Ladyland · song 15
All Along the Watchtower tuning.
All Along the Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix, 1968) is in E♭ Standard, about 17 cents sharp (A ≈ 444), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
E♭ Standard +17 ¢
About 17 cents sharp (A ≈ 444).
Measured by TuneLit
17 ¢ sharp
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +17 ¢.
Jimi Hendrix · Electric Ladyland · 1968
About All Along the Watchtower
Hendrix's version of the Bob Dylan song, begun at Olympic Studios in London in January 1968 and released on Electric Ladyland that October. Dave Mason played a 12-string guitar, Brian Jones added a percussion rattle, and Hendrix ended up playing the bass himself as well as lead and slide guitar. The tabs put every guitar, the 12-string included, in E♭ Standard.
TuneLit measured it on the 1993 MCA CD about 17 ¢ sharp of E♭ (A ≈ 444.4), some 22 ¢ above the rest of Electric Ladyland. It has its own value, so the Tune button sets E♭ Standard 17 ¢ up; with the album's setting you would sit noticeably flat against the record.
The song turns on a short cycle of chords and the open low string is rarely heard, so TuneLit's audio check could not confirm the semitone on its own; the tabs decide, and they agree on E♭. Tabs written for E Standard put you a half step too high. To cover Mason's part, a 12-string in E♭ Standard works; tune its octave strings with the same offset as the rest.
Tip: Use the song's own button (E♭ Standard, 17 ¢ up), not the album's, and check it against the strummed chords of the intro.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E♭ Standard, every string +17 ¢, the notes All Along the Watchtower 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. All Along the Watchtower sits 17 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play All Along the Watchtower 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 All Along the Watchtower 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 +17 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and All Along the Watchtower moves up 83 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 All Along the Watchtower in?
E♭ Standard +17 ¢: E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.