Led Zeppelin · Led Zeppelin II · song 1
Whole Lotta Love tuning.
Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin, 1969) is in E Standard, about 6 cents flat (A ≈ 438), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
6 ¢ flat
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string −6 ¢.
Led Zeppelin · Led Zeppelin II · 1969
About Whole Lotta Love
The opening track of Led Zeppelin II (1969), driven by Page's riff around the open low E in plain E Standard. A long middle section of effects, theremin and percussion breaks the song up before the riff returns.
TuneLit measured an original 1980s Atlantic CD of the album at about 6 ¢ flat (A ≈ 438.6). The song's own reading, about 15 ¢ flat, is too weak to use: the middle section has no steady pitch for the measurement to hold on to. The riff sections read 3 to 13 ¢ flat, close to the album, so Tune uses the album's E Standard −6 ¢. TuneLit's audio check hears the open low E where the tuning puts it.
Led Zeppelin II was cut in different studios between tour dates, and its songs do not all sit at one pitch (Ramble On is about 17 ¢ sharp), so set the tuner per song rather than once for the album.
Tip: Check your tuning against the opening riff, not the middle section, which has no steady pitch to compare with.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, every string −6 ¢, the notes Whole Lotta Love was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Whole Lotta Love sits 6 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Whole Lotta Love 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 Whole Lotta Love 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 −6 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Whole Lotta Love moves up 6 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 Whole Lotta Love in?
E Standard −6 ¢: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.