Linkin Park · 2010 · Studio album
A Thousand Suns tuning.
Drop D at concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD. 5 of 15 songs are tuned differently.
Album tuning
Drop D
At concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD.
MeasuredFrom tabs
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
| Source | Offset | Equivalent A | Songs | Spread | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MP3 copy (320 kbps), Warner Bros. 2010 | −1.6 ¢ | A 439.6 | 15 | −2.9 to −0.7 ¢ | High |
Before we measured, sources said: Drop D, with no pitch given (community).
A Rick Rubin and Mike Shinoda production that treats the guitar as one sound among many. Drop D for the rock songs, E Standard for Waiting for the End and The Messenger. The MP3 copy of the CD sits at concert pitch (−1.6 ¢).
15 songs · 5 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. The Requiem
Drop DMeasured
Notes
An intro of voices and synths, no guitar; listed in the album's tuning.
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2. The Radiance
Drop DMeasured
Notes
A spoken-word interlude (J. Robert Oppenheimer), no guitar.
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3. Burning in the Skies
Drop DMeasured
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4. Empty Spaces
Drop DMeasured
Notes
A short interlude of sound effects, no guitar.
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5. When They Come for Me
Different tuning
B StandardMeasured
Notes
TuneLit's audio check cannot confirm the low B: low C notes dominate the record.
The one tab of it is written for a 7-string guitar in B Standard (B E A D G B E).
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6. Robot Boy
Drop DMeasured
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7. Jornada del Muerto
Different tuning
E StandardMeasured
Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: String 6 up a whole step (D → E); the other strings stay.
A short interlude; the little guitar it has is tabbed in E Standard.
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8. Waiting for the End
Different tuning
E StandardMeasured
Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: String 6 up a whole step (D → E); the other strings stay.
TuneLit's audio check agrees with E Standard.
E Standard on the Songsterr tab.
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9. Blackout
Drop DMeasured
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10. Wretches and Kings
Drop DMeasured
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11. Wisdom, Justice, and Love
Drop DMeasured
Notes
A Martin Luther King Jr. speech over piano, no guitar.
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12. Iridescent
Drop DMeasured
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13. Fallout
Different pitch
Drop D −10 ¢Measured
Notes
A vocoder interlude, no guitar. It measures about 10 ¢ flat (A ≈ 437.4), lower than the songs around it.
A concept album built around samples, keyboards and spoken interludes. The guitar songs are tabbed in Drop D (D A D G B E): Burning in the Skies, Blackout, Iridescent, The Catalyst. Waiting for the End and the acoustic The Messenger are in E Standard.
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14. The Catalyst
Drop DMeasured
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15. The Messenger
Different tuning
E StandardMeasured
Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: String 6 up a whole step (D → E); the other strings stay.
TuneLit's audio check agrees with E Standard.
An acoustic ballad in E Standard; Delson is listed playing a Gibson J-45 on it.
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 A Thousand Suns in?
Linkin Park recorded A Thousand Suns (2010) in Drop D at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit on the CD. When They Come for Me uses B Standard; Jornada del Muerto, Waiting for the End and The Messenger use E Standard; Fallout uses Drop D −10 ¢.
Why does A Thousand Suns sound out of tune with my guitar?
Fallout sits about 10 cents flat (A ≈ 437), so a guitar tuned to A 440 clashes with it. The Tune buttons on this page set the tuner's reference to match the record, so you only tune the strings.