Meshuggah · Koloss · song 9
Demiurge tuning.
Demiurge (Meshuggah, 2012) is in F Standard, about 10 cents sharp (A ≈ 443), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
10 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +10 ¢.
Meshuggah · Koloss · 2012
About Demiurge
The ninth track of Koloss (2012) and one of the heaviest grooves in the catalogue: slow, crushing chords and single notes on the bottom of the eight-string. It uses the band's tuning, F B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, eight-string standard a half step down, and the main tab writes both guitar parts that way.
TuneLit measured Koloss about 10 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 443), and Demiurge reads about the same. The semitone check from the audio is unsure on this song, as on most of the album, because the bass sits underneath the guitars' low F; the tab and the band's own tuning are clear.
A very popular alternative tab arranges the song for a six-string in Drop F (F C F B♭ D G). That is a way to play it on a normal guitar with very heavy strings, not the band's tuning: the record has eight strings tuned mostly in fourths from a low F. Choose the six-string version for practice if you like, but expect some chords to sound different from the record.
Tip: Use the Tune button for the eight-string F tuning rather than a six-string Drop F tab if you want your chords to match the record.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to F Standard, every string +10 ¢, the notes Demiurge was recorded in.
- From F♯ Standard: Every string down a half step. No tuner that knows F Standard? Clamp a capo across fret 1, tune to F♯ Standard as usual, then take it off: every string drops to F Standard. Check each string again afterwards, since a capo pulls the strings a little sharp.
- Turn String 8 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Demiurge sits 10 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Demiurge along with the record: its lowest open note and your String 8 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 Demiurge instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in F Standard +10 ¢. Choose F♯ Standard at A 440 and Demiurge moves up 90 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 Demiurge in?
F Standard +10 ¢: F B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.