Kyuss · Blues for the Red Sun · song 1
Thumb tuning.
Thumb (Kyuss, 1992) is in C Standard, about 19 cents flat (A ≈ 435), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
C Standard −19 ¢
About 19 cents flat (A ≈ 435).
Measured by TuneLit
19 ¢ flat
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string −19 ¢.
Kyuss · Blues for the Red Sun · 1992
About Thumb
Thumb opens Blues for the Red Sun (1992), Homme's riff and lyrics with music shared with Brant Bjork. It is in C Standard (C F B♭ E♭ G C) like the rest of the album, but it does not live on the low C. In the Songsterr tab the main riff sits on the open String 5, F, which makes up about half of the guitar's lowest notes, and the open String 6 never sounds. Oliveri's bass follows the same F an octave down.
TuneLit measured the album about 19 ¢ flat (A ≈ 435.2). Thumb itself reads close to concert pitch, about 1 ¢ sharp, but the reading is weak, so the song keeps the album's setting. If the button's C Standard −19 ¢ sounds flat against the record, plain C Standard at A 440 is the alternative to try. Because the open low string is never played, the strings that matter most here are String 5 and String 4.
A version written for E Standard would start this riff on the open A string. It is the same shape: in C Standard the open String 5 is F, a major third lower, so keep the frets and drop all six strings two whole steps instead of moving the riff.
Tip: Check String 5 (F) against the opening riff before anything else; the song is built on that open string, not on the low C.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to C Standard, every string −19 ¢, the notes Thumb was recorded in.
- From E Standard: Every string down 4 half steps. No tuner that knows C Standard? Clamp a capo across fret 4, tune to E Standard as usual, then take it off: every string drops to C 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. Thumb sits 19 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Thumb 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 Thumb instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in C Standard −19 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Thumb moves up 4 half steps and 19 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 Thumb in?
C Standard −19 ¢: C F B♭ E♭ G C, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.