Megadeth · Rust in Peace · song 1
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due tuning.
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due (Megadeth, 1990) is in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
The album's value, measured on the CD.
Megadeth · Rust in Peace · 1990
About Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
Holy Wars... The Punishment Due opens Rust in Peace (1990), Marty Friedman's first album with the band. It moves through a fast opening riff, a Spanish-flavoured acoustic interlude and the heavier "Punishment Due" half, with solos from both Mustaine and Friedman. Every part is tabbed in E Standard, including the nylon-string section.
TuneLit measured the original CD at concert pitch: the album reads about 2 ¢ flat and this song the same, so the Tune button sets plain E Standard and an A 440 tuner is all you need. The check from the audio hears E as the lowest open string.
Two other versions are worth knowing about. The 2004 remix of Rust in Peace reads about 7 ¢ higher than the original CD, so with the remix a touch of Fine-tune upward helps on the long notes. And the band has played the song a whole step down since 2013, which is why Songsterr also carries "D Standard" medleys of Holy Wars: those follow the live versions, not the record. For the album, stay in E.
Tip: Plain E Standard at A 440 fits the original CD; check it on the palm-muted open-E riff at the very start.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, the notes Holy Wars... The Punishment Due was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Holy Wars... The Punishment Due 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 Holy Wars... The Punishment Due 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. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Holy Wars... The Punishment Due moves up 2 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 Holy Wars... The Punishment Due in?
E Standard: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.