Slipknot · All Hope Is Gone · song 4
Psychosocial tuning.
Psychosocial (Slipknot, 2008) is in Drop A at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
Drop A
At concert pitch (A 440).
Tune like thisPlay alongAll Hope Is Gone
Bass: Bass Drop A Tune bass
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
Measured on this song itself.
Slipknot · All Hope Is Gone · 2008
About Psychosocial
Psychosocial, the best-known song from All Hope Is Gone (2008), is one of four songs on the album that leave the band's Drop B for Drop A: A E A D F♯ B, every string a whole step lower, with Paul Gray's bass at A E A D. Its main riff leans on the open low A, and its Songsterr tab is among the most-viewed of any Slipknot song.
The CD sits within a few cents of concert pitch, and Psychosocial reads about 4 ¢ sharp, so the Tune button sets plain Drop A at A 440. TuneLit's semitone check from the audio confirms the low A, as do the main tabs on Songsterr and Ultimate Guitar.
Players who do not want to tune that low have made versions in Drop B, Drop C and Drop D, and they are popular: several have hundreds of thousands of views. They are fine for learning the riff, but against the record they sound a whole step or more too high. One Songsterr version labels itself official but is a user's tab, not a band transcription. On stage, the band plays its Drop A songs together in one block of the set, on separate guitars.
Tip: From standard, lower Strings 5 to 1 five half steps and String 6 seven, to A, then check the open A against the bass on the main riff.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop A, the notes Psychosocial was recorded in.
- From the album's Drop B: Every string down a whole step.
- String 6 sits 7 half steps below its standard E2. On a normal set (.046) it keeps only about 45 % of its usual tension and feels loose. For the usual feel use about a .069 string, or a baritone guitar.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Psychosocial sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Psychosocial 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 Psychosocial instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in Drop A. Choose Drop D at A 440 and Psychosocial moves up 5 half steps and 3 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 Psychosocial in?
Drop A: A E A D F♯ B, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.