Sonic Youth · Goo · song 4
Kool Thing tuning.
Kool Thing (Sonic Youth, 1990) is in F♯2 F♯2 F♯3 F♯3 E3 B3, about 9 cents sharp (A ≈ 442), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
9 ¢ sharp
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +9 ¢.
Sonic Youth · Goo · 1990
About Kool Thing
The single from Goo (1990), sung by Kim Gordon with a guest spot from Chuck D of Public Enemy. Unusually for this album, both guitars use the same tuning, F♯ F♯ F♯ F♯ E B, the one the band first used on Bad Moon Rising. Four strings share one note in two octaves, and the open E and B on top fill out every chord.
TuneLit measured the Goo CD, a Mobile Fidelity gold disc, about 9 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 442.2), and Kool Thing sits right on the album's value. Tune therefore sets the F♯ tuning 9 ¢ sharp; a guitar at A 440 sounds a little flat against the record.
Guitar Player, Musician and the 1994 book Confusion Is Next all give this tuning, and the most-viewed Songsterr tab writes both parts in it. If you learn it from a standard-tuning tab, the shapes will not fit; tune first. The two low F♯ strings sit a whole step above the low E and a minor third below the A, so one string goes up and one comes down.
Tip: Start with the four F♯ strings: get the two low ones and the two higher ones in tune with each other before you touch E and B.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to F♯2 F♯2 F♯3 F♯3 E3 B3, every string +9 ¢, the notes Kool Thing was recorded in.
- From the album's E2 G2 D3 G3 E3 D4: String 6 up a whole step (E → F♯), String 5 down a half step (G → F♯), String 4 up 4 half steps (D → F♯), String 3 down a half step (G → F♯), String 1 down 3 half steps (D → B); the other strings stay.
- String 2 sits 7 half steps below its standard B3. On a normal set (.013) it keeps only about 45 % of its usual tension and feels loose. For the usual feel use about a .019 string, or a baritone guitar.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Kool Thing sits 9 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Kool Thing 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 Kool Thing instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in F♯2 F♯2 F♯3 F♯3 E3 B3 +9 ¢. Choose F♯2 F♯2 F♯3 F♯3 E3 B3 at A 440 and Kool Thing moves down 9 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 Kool Thing in?
F♯2 F♯2 F♯3 F♯3 E3 B3 +9 ¢: F♯ F♯ F♯ F♯ E B, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.