Queens of the Stone Age · Era Vulgaris · song 2
Sick, Sick, Sick tuning.
Sick, Sick, Sick (Queens of the Stone Age, 2007) is in C Standard, about 6 cents sharp (A ≈ 442), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
6 ¢ sharp
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +6 ¢.
Queens of the Stone Age · Era Vulgaris · 2007
About Sick, Sick, Sick
Sick, Sick, Sick, the first single from Era Vulgaris (2007), with Julian Casablancas of the Strokes on synth guitar and vocals, is in C Standard (C F B♭ E♭ G C) on Songsterr and UG. The riff hammers the open low C: in Songsterr's tab almost half the guitar notes and more than half the bass notes are that one note.
TuneLit measured the album about 6 cents sharp (A ≈ 441.5), so Tune opens C Standard with that reference. The song's own reading came out sharper, about 18 cents, but with too little confidence to count, so it keeps the album's value. On the record the bass sits on low C most of the time, and the audio check agrees with C.
With so much weight on one open string, tuning String 6 well matters more than usual here. In C Standard a light string set goes slack and the low C wobbles in pitch as you dig in; heavier strings, around .012 to .056, keep the note steady. Mute the other strings with your fretting hand so only the low C rings through the riff.
Tip: Spend your tuning time on String 6: the whole riff sits on that open low C.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to C Standard, every string +6 ¢, the notes Sick, Sick, Sick was recorded in.
- From the album's E Standard: Every string down 4 half steps. No tuner that knows C Standard? Clamp a capo across fret 4, tune to E Standard as usual, then take it off: every string drops to C 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. Sick, Sick, Sick sits 6 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Sick, Sick, Sick 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 Sick, Sick, Sick instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in C Standard +6 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Sick, Sick, Sick moves up 3 half steps and 94 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 Sick, Sick, Sick in?
C Standard +6 ¢: C F B♭ E♭ G C, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.