Metallica · The Black Album · song 4
The Unforgiven tuning.
The Unforgiven (Metallica, 1991) is in E Standard, about 5 cents sharp (A ≈ 441), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
5 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD and the original LP: Tune moves every string +5 ¢.
Metallica · The Black Album · 1991
About The Unforgiven
The Unforgiven, from the Black Album (1991), is a slow, brooding song that mixes acoustic and clean guitars with heavy riffs. Like ten of the album's twelve songs it is in E Standard (E A D G B E). It is also the first of three songs with that title: The Unforgiven II followed on ReLoad (1997) and The Unforgiven III on Death Magnetic (2008).
TuneLit measured the album about 5 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 441.3) on the CD, and this song reads the same: about 4 ¢ on the CD and 6 ¢ on the original LP. Tune sets E Standard +5 ¢. That is close enough to concert pitch that most players will not hear the difference, so a plain A 440 tuner works too; the Tune button just gets you the last few cents.
The sequels are not all in the same tuning. The Unforgiven II is half a step down in E♭ Standard, like most of ReLoad, while The Unforgiven III is back in E Standard. If a tab sounds a half step off, check that it is for the 1991 song and not for Part II or a live version, since on stage the band plays it in E♭.
Tip: Before you start, check the tab is for the 1991 original: The Unforgiven II on ReLoad is in E♭, a half step lower.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, every string +5 ¢, the notes The Unforgiven was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. The Unforgiven sits 5 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play The Unforgiven 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 The Unforgiven 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 +5 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and The Unforgiven moves down 5 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 The Unforgiven in?
E Standard +5 ¢: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.