Meshuggah · Nothing · song 7
Straws Pulled at Random tuning.
Straws Pulled at Random (Meshuggah, 2002) 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 · Nothing · 2002
About Straws Pulled at Random
A mid-tempo track from Nothing (2002), in the album's plain eight-string tuning, F B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, built on long riffs that let the low F ring between hits. Like the whole original album, the rhythm guitars were recorded on seven-strings tuned down to the eight-string notes, not on real eight-strings.
TuneLit measured the original CD about 10 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 443), and this song reads exactly the album value. The semitone check from the audio hears the open F clearly here, so the tabs, the album and the audio all agree. Press Tune and the tuner sets both the F tuning and the 10 ¢ offset. Tabs may follow either the 2002 or the 2006 recording; the strings are tuned to the same notes in both.
Because the riffs sustain, tuning matters more here than on the fast songs: a long low F that is 10 ¢ flat against the record beats audibly against the bass. A mid-tempo song is also a good place to practise palm-muting an eight-string evenly, since the low strings ring loudly when the picking hand lifts.
Tip: Play the open F along with one of the long sustained notes and fine-tune until the slow wobble between your guitar and the record disappears.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to F Standard, every string +10 ¢, the notes Straws Pulled at Random 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. Straws Pulled at Random 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 Straws Pulled at Random 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 Straws Pulled at Random 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 Straws Pulled at Random 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 Straws Pulled at Random in?
F Standard +10 ¢: F B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.