Sepultura · Roots · song 4
Ratamahatta tuning.
Ratamahatta (Sepultura, 1996) is in B♭ Standard, about 15 cents flat (A ≈ 436), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
15 ¢ flat
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string −15 ¢.
Sepultura · Roots · 1996
About Ratamahatta
From Roots (1996), Ratamahatta mixes metal with Brazilian percussion and features Carlinhos Brown. It is tabbed in B♭ Standard, three whole steps down (B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ F B♭), a half step below the album's B Standard. Cut-Throat and Spit share that tuning; the rest of Roots is mostly in B or D.
TuneLit measured the Roots CD about 15 ¢ flat (A ≈ 436), with low confidence, and Tune uses that album value here, 15 ¢ down. Ratamahatta's own reading is too weak to count, and the songs of Roots scatter widely, on the original CD and on a 2017 remaster alike. TuneLit's semitone check from the audio does hear the low B♭ and agrees with the tab.
Six half steps down is very slack on a normal set: the low B♭ flaps and goes sharp when you hit it hard, so heavier strings help a lot. If you play along with the album, remember that this song sits a half step below Roots Bloody Roots and Attitude, and fine-tune the reference by ear.
Tip: After the big drop, go over all six strings a second time: a guitar lowered three whole steps keeps drifting until the neck settles.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to B♭ Standard, every string −15 ¢, the notes Ratamahatta was recorded in.
- From the album's B Standard: Every string down a half step.
- String 6 sits 6 half steps below its standard E2. On a normal set (.046) it keeps only about 50 % of its usual tension and feels loose. For the usual feel use about a .066 string, or a baritone guitar.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Ratamahatta sits 15 cents flat on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much sharp against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Ratamahatta 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 Ratamahatta instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in B♭ Standard −15 ¢. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Ratamahatta moves up 6 half steps and 15 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 Ratamahatta in?
B♭ Standard −15 ¢: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ F B♭, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.