Sonic Youth · 1983 · Studio album
Confusion Is Sex tuning.
E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD. 2 of 9 songs are tuned differently.
Album tuning
E Standard
At concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD.
MeasuredFrom tabs
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
| Source | Offset | Equivalent A | Songs | Spread | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD, DGC/Geffen GED 24511 (1995 reissue) | +2.8 ¢ | A 440.7 | 9 | −21.5 to +8.7 ¢ | Low |
Before we measured, sources said: E Standard, with no pitch given (community).
The first album, recorded in 1982 and 1983 with Jim Sclavunos and then Bob Bert on drums. Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo play retuned and prepared guitars, and most of the tunings were never written down: Lee's parts on the Stooges cover, Shaking Hell and Making the Nature Scene are in standard tuning, so TuneLit lists the album in E Standard, and The World Looks Red and Confusion Is Next have Lee in E A D E C D with a screwdriver behind the 9th fret. TuneLit measured the 1995 CD about 3 ¢ sharp, practically concert pitch, but the songs scatter and the readings are weak: drones and objects on the strings give the measurement little to hold on to. The World Looks Red reads about 16 ¢ flat.
9 songs · 2 tuned differently
Every song, ready to tune
Tune opens the tuner in that song's tuning, pitch included. Play along opens the song player set to that tuning, so the track plays in yours. What the labels mean
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1. (She's in a) Bad Mood
E StandardMeasured
Notes
Not documented. Thurston strums an atonal open-string chord, the same retuned guitar he used on The World Looks Red, and ends by running a cowbell up the strings; nobody has worked out its tuning. Lee's part sounds as if it is in E.
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2. Protect Me You
E StandardMeasured
Notes
Not documented. Lee plays bass here; Thurston's guitar is probably the same retuned one as on Bad Mood.
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3. Freezer Burn/I Wanna Be Your Dog
E StandardMeasured
Notes
The Stooges cover is in standard tuning (Lee on guitar, Thurston on bass), like most of the band's covers.
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4. Shaking Hell
E StandardMeasured
Notes
Lee in standard tuning: on 1983 live tapes he audibly retunes to standard before this song. Years later he played it in E A D E C D. Kim Gordon's guitar part is not documented.
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5. Inhuman
E StandardMeasured
Notes
Not documented. Lee also plays a modified zither; in 1985 he played the song in E G♯ E G♯ E G♯.
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6. The World Looks Red
Different tuning
E2 A2 D3 E3 C4 D4 −16 ¢Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: String 3 down 3 half steps (G → E), String 2 up a half step (B → C), String 1 down a whole step (E → D); the other strings stay.
Words by Michael Gira. Lee plays his part with a screwdriver under the strings at the 9th fret, so the open strings ring at new pitches.
Lee's guitar: E A D E C D with a screwdriver wedged behind the 9th fret, as on a 1983 live recording. Thurston's tuning is not documented.
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7. Confusion Is Next
Different tuning
E2 A2 D3 E3 C4 D4Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's E Standard: String 3 down 3 half steps (G → E), String 2 up a half step (B → C), String 1 down a whole step (E → D); the other strings stay.
Lee's guitar: E A D E C D with a screwdriver behind the 9th fret, the same set-up as The World Looks Red.
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8. Making the Nature Scene
E StandardMeasured
Notes
Lee in standard tuning; recent set lists simply say "any" for this song.
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9. Lee Is Free
E StandardMeasured
Notes
Not documented: Lee's solo instrumental.
What the labels mean
- Measured
- TuneLit measured the pitch on an original CD or LP. The tuning name still comes from the sources.
- Official
- The band, a member, their producer or their guitar tech said it.
- Widely reported
- Trusted outlets, guides and tabs agree, but the band did not say it directly.
- From tabs
- From community tabs, or from players who tune along with the record.
- Disputed
- Sources disagree. The likeliest setting is shown; the notes name the other one.
Each song shows one label, the strongest it has, in this order. How we measure recordings →
Questions
What tuning is Confusion Is Sex in?
Sonic Youth recorded Confusion Is Sex (1983) in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit on the CD. The World Looks Red uses E2 A2 D3 E3 C4 D4 −16 ¢; Confusion Is Next uses E2 A2 D3 E3 C4 D4.
Why does Confusion Is Sex sound out of tune with my guitar?
The World Looks Red sits about 17 cents flat (A ≈ 436), so a guitar tuned to A 440 clashes with it. The Tune buttons on this page set the tuner's reference to match the record, so you only tune the strings.