Sepultura · Chaos A.D. · song 1
Refuse/Resist tuning.
Refuse/Resist (Sepultura, 1993) is in D Standard, about 12 cents sharp (A ≈ 443), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
12 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +12 ¢.
Sepultura · Chaos A.D. · 1993
About Refuse/Resist
The opener of Chaos A.D. (1993), the album where Sepultura tuned down for the first time. Refuse/Resist is in D Standard, every string a whole step down (D G C F A D), one of six D songs on the record. Max Cavalera recalled having to fight Andreas Kisser over the move to D; Kisser feared that slack strings would cost the band its speed and hard picking, until heavier strings solved it.
TuneLit measured the Japanese CD about 12 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 443), and Refuse/Resist reads exactly the album value. A guitar tuned to a perfect A 440 sounds a touch flat against it; Tune sets the tuner 12 ¢ up. TuneLit's semitone check from the audio hears the open low D and agrees with the tabs.
The other half of Chaos A.D. sits a half step higher, in E♭ Standard: Amen, Propaganda, Biotech Is Godzilla, We Who Are Not as Others and Clenched Fist. If you play along with the whole album, retune between songs but keep the reference, because the D and E♭ songs share the same +12 ¢. Coming from the band's earlier thrash albums, everything here is a whole step lower.
Tip: Press Tune rather than tuning to a plain A 440: the 12 ¢ offset is what keeps your D Standard from sounding slightly flat against the record.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to D Standard, every string +12 ¢, the notes Refuse/Resist was recorded in.
- From 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. Refuse/Resist sits 12 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Refuse/Resist 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 Refuse/Resist 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 +12 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Refuse/Resist moves up a half step and 88 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 Refuse/Resist in?
D Standard +12 ¢: D G C F A D, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.