Soundgarden · Badmotorfinger · song 1
Rusty Cage tuning.
Rusty Cage (Soundgarden, 1991) is in B1 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4, about 6 cents sharp (A ≈ 442), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
B1 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 +6 ¢
About 6 cents sharp (A ≈ 442).
Measured by TuneLit
6 ¢ sharp
Measured on this song itself: Tune moves every string +6 ¢.
Soundgarden · Badmotorfinger · 1991
About Rusty Cage
The opening track of Badmotorfinger (1991), written by Chris Cornell and later covered by Johnny Cash. Its tuning is B A D G B E: Cornell dropped string 6 all the way from E to B, a fourth down, while the other five strings stay standard. Thayil explains the appeal: the octave of the low note now sits a whole step up on string 5. The jittery opening riff is played through a wah pedal parked as a filter.
TuneLit measured the album about 6 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 441.5); Rusty Cage's own reading is less certain, so it uses the album's value. The audio check confirms the low B. At A 440 you are only a few cents away, so the bigger risk is the low string, not the reference.
Thayil called the slackened string wobbly, and on a light set it is: a B on a normal string 6 rattles, bends sharp when picked hard and pulls out of tune. Use a heavier string 6 for this song if you can, tune it after the others, and recheck it before the slow, heavy final section, where it rings longest.
Tip: Tune string 6 down to B last, then compare its 12th-fret harmonic with the B on string 2 before playing the heavy outro.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to B1 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4, every string +6 ¢, the notes Rusty Cage was recorded in.
- From the album's Drop D: String 6 down 3 half steps (D → B); the other strings stay.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Rusty Cage sits 6 cents sharp on the record: at A 440 your guitar would sound that much flat against it, which Tune already corrects.
- Then play Rusty Cage 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 Rusty Cage instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in B1 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 +6 ¢. Choose B1 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 at A 440 and Rusty Cage moves down 6 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 Rusty Cage in?
B1 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 +6 ¢: B A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.