Slipknot · Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) · song 4
Duality tuning.
Duality (Slipknot, 2004) is in Drop B, about 5 cents sharp (A ≈ 441), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
Drop B +5 ¢
About 5 cents sharp (A ≈ 441).
Tune like thisPlay alongVol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
Bass: Bass Drop B +5 ¢ Tune bass
Measured by TuneLit
5 ¢ sharp
The album's value, measured on the CD: Tune moves every string +5 ¢.
Slipknot · Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) · 2004
About Duality
Duality was the lead single from Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) (2004), the band's only album with producer Rick Rubin, and it is still one of their best-known songs. Wikipedia names its tuning as Drop B, the tuning most Slipknot songs use, and the tabs agree: B F♯ B E G♯ C♯ on both guitars and B F♯ B E on the bass. After a filtered, lo-fi guitar intro, the full band comes in on the low strings.
TuneLit measured Duality about 5 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 441.2), the same as the album, and the semitone check from the audio confirms the low B. That is close enough to concert pitch that a Drop B guitar at A 440 already sounds right; Tune adds the 5 ¢ for an exact match.
Duality is also one of the most re-tabbed songs on Songsterr. A Drop D version and an E Standard version each have hundreds of thousands of views, and they let you learn the song without retuning. Against the record, though, they are a step and a half or more too high. Only the Drop B tab lines up with the CD, and the 5-string bass versions are arrangements for a standard 5-string.
Tip: Tune String 6 down to B, check it against the bass when the full band comes in, and keep the transposed tabs for practice without the record.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop B, every string +5 ¢, the notes Duality was recorded in.
- From E Standard: String 6 down 5 half steps (E → B), String 5 down 3 half steps (A → F♯), String 4 down 3 half steps (D → B), String 3 down 3 half steps (G → E), String 2 down 3 half steps (B → G♯), String 1 down 3 half steps (E → C♯).
- String 6 sits 5 half steps below its standard E2. On a normal set (.046) it keeps only about 55 % of its usual tension and feels loose. For the usual feel use about a .061 string, or a baritone guitar.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Duality sits 5 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Duality 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 Duality instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in Drop B +5 ¢. Choose Drop D at A 440 and Duality moves up 2 half steps and 95 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 Duality in?
Drop B +5 ¢: B F♯ B E G♯ C♯, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.