Meshuggah · Koloss · song 3
Do Not Look Down tuning.
Do Not Look Down (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 Do Not Look Down
A mid-tempo groove from Koloss (2012), the album Hagström described as focused on groove-oriented writing, and one of its most played songs. It uses the band's standing eight-string tuning, F B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, as Premier Guitar found both guitarists' instruments on the 2013 tour. The riff bounces on the open F, with bends higher up the neck, which makes it one of the more approachable Meshuggah songs to learn.
TuneLit measured Koloss about 10 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 443), and this song reads almost exactly the album value. The semitone check from the audio hears the open F and agrees with the tabs, one of the few songs on the album where it gives a clear answer.
The main tab adds two lead parts written for a seven-string in B♭; that tuning is the top seven strings of the eight-string F, so an eight-string plays them as written. Bends are where a slack set goes out of tune first, so check the upper strings after a few run-throughs.
Tip: Press Tune and then recheck String 2 and String 3 after the first full play-through, because bending pulls them flat.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to F Standard, every string +10 ¢, the notes Do Not Look Down 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. Do Not Look Down 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 Do Not Look Down 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 Do Not Look Down 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 Do Not Look Down 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 Do Not Look Down in?
F Standard +10 ¢: F B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.