Nirvana · Nevermind · song 4
Breed tuning.
Breed (Nirvana, 1991) is in E Standard, about 14 cents sharp (A ≈ 444), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
14 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +14 ¢.
Nirvana · Nevermind · 1991
About Breed
Breed, from Nevermind (1991), is one of the album's fastest and loudest songs, a churning riff that barely lets up. It is in E Standard (E A D G B E), and TuneLit's check from the audio hears E as the lowest open string, in line with the main tab.
TuneLit measured the Nevermind CD about 14 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 443.6), and Breed reads exactly 14 ¢. Its Tune button sets E Standard +14 ¢. At plain A 440 the guitar sits slightly under the record, which you notice most on held chords and bends.
Songsterr's "Breed in D♯m" looks like another reading of the record, but it is the main tab moved down to C♯ Standard to make it easier to sing, and it sounds lower than the record. One set of session notes connects Butch Vig's memory of the band tuning down to D or C♯ with Breed, but the record does not sound tuned down: E is the low string. If you play the album in order, note that Come as You Are, just before it, is in D Standard.
Tip: Use the main E Standard tab at +14 ¢; "Breed in D♯m" is a transposed copy in C♯ Standard and will sound lower than the record.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, every string +14 ¢, the notes Breed was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Breed sits 14 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Breed 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 Breed 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 +14 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Breed moves down 14 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 Breed in?
E Standard +14 ¢: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.