Metallica · The Black Album · song 2
Sad but True tuning.
Sad but True (Metallica, 1991) is in D Standard, about 13 cents sharp (A ≈ 443), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
D Standard +13 ¢
About 13 cents sharp (A ≈ 443).
Measured by TuneLit
13 ¢ sharp
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +13 ¢.
Metallica · The Black Album · 1991
About Sad but True
Sad but True is the second song on the Black Album (1991) and its heaviest riff. The band wrote and demoed it in E Standard; producer Bob Rock then suggested taking the whole guitar down a whole step, as Mötley Crüe had done on Dr. Feelgood. The result is D Standard (D G C F A D), with the slow main riff leaning on the open low D.
TuneLit measured the song about 13 ¢ sharp on the CD (A ≈ 443.2) and about 8 ¢ on the original LP, a little higher than the rest of the album, which sits near +5 ¢. Its Tune button sets D Standard +13 ¢, so a guitar in plain D at A 440 will sound slightly flat against the record.
The common mistake is Drop D. Here all six strings go down a whole step, not just String 6, and a Drop D tab will not line up with the record. Recent live transcriptions keep the song in D Standard too, so unlike the album's E Standard songs, which moved to E♭ on stage, its live versions use the studio tuning.
Tip: Lower all six strings a whole step, not only String 6, then check the open low D against the main riff.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to D Standard, every string +13 ¢, the notes Sad but True was recorded in.
- From the album's E Standard: Every string down a whole step. No tuner that knows D Standard? Clamp a capo across fret 2, tune to E Standard as usual, then take it off: every string drops to D Standard. Check each string again afterwards, since a capo pulls the strings a little sharp.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Sad but True sits 13 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Sad but True 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 Sad but True instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in D Standard +13 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Sad but True moves up a half step and 87 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 Sad but True in?
D Standard +13 ¢: D G C F A D, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.