Soundgarden · 1994 · Studio album
Superunknown tuning.
Drop D, about 6 cents sharp (A ≈ 442), measured on the CD. 12 of 15 songs are tuned differently.
Album tuning
Drop D +6 ¢
About 6 cents sharp (A ≈ 442), measured on the CD.
MeasuredOfficial
Measured by TuneLit
6 ¢ sharp
| Source | Offset | Equivalent A | Songs | Spread | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CD, A&M Japan POCM-1065 (1994) | +5.9 ¢ | A 441.5 | 15 | Too few songs | High |
Before we measured, sources said: Drop D, with no pitch given (official).
Nearly every song has its own tuning, and Kim Thayil has confirmed them himself: Drop D for Let Me Drown, Black Hole Sun, Spoonman and Kickstand; E Standard for Fell on Black Days; E E B B B E for My Wave and The Day I Tried to Live; C G D G B E for Mailman and Limo Wreck; D G D G B E for Superunknown and Fresh Tendrils; C G C G G E for Head Down and Half; D G D G B C for Like Suicide; and C F C G B E, used only once, for 4th of July. TuneLit measured the Drop D songs about 6 ¢ sharp and most of the others 9 to 21 ¢ sharp. Two songs are far off: The Day I Tried to Live sits a quarter tone sharp, and Black Hole Sun almost a semitone above Drop D.
15 songs · 12 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. Let Me Drown
Drop D +6 ¢Measured
Notes
Cornell wrote the opening riff; Thayil added the harmonies.
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Notes
How to get there from E Standard: String 5 down 5 half steps (A → E), String 4 down 3 half steps (D → B), String 3 up 4 half steps (G → B); the other strings stay.
Measured about 14 ¢ sharp, a little above the album's Drop D songs.
E E B B B E low to high, Thayil says. Many tabs and articles write E E B B B B; he has corrected that: the top string stays E. Cornell found the riff while the band rehearsed Somewhere in the same tuning.
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Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: String 6 up a whole step (D → E); the other strings stay.
Measured about 15 ¢ sharp (A ≈ 443.8).
Plain E Standard, one of the few on the album; the riff is in 6/4.
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4. Mailman
Different tuning
C2 G2 D3 G3 B3 E4 +6 ¢Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: String 6 down a whole step (D → C), String 5 down a whole step (A → G); the other strings stay.
Matt Cameron's riff. Thayil: standard tuning with the two lowest strings dropped to C and G (C G D G B E). Chris Cornell does not play on it.
On its own, this song measures sharper: CD +17.7 ¢ (medium confidence). Tune uses the album's +6 ¢.
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5. Superunknown
Different tuning
D2 G2 D3 G3 B3 E4 +19 ¢Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: String 5 down a whole step (A → G); the other strings stay.
D G D G B E: Drop D with the A string down to G.
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6. Head Down
Different tuning
C2 G2 C3 G3 G3 E4 +18 ¢Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: String 6 down a whole step (D → C), String 5 down a whole step (A → G), String 4 down a whole step (D → C), String 2 down 4 half steps (B → G); the other strings stay.
Ben Shepherd's song, and the one that brought C G C G G E into the band. String 2 goes down to G, in unison with string 3.
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Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: Every string up a half step.
Fingered in Drop D, but the record runs about three quarters of a semitone sharp. The Tune button sets Drop D♯ 29 ¢ flat; to stay in Drop D, let Play along lower the record.
The band and every main tab say Drop D, and the fingerings are Drop D shapes. The record sits much higher: about 71 ¢ above Drop D, the same pitch as Drop D♯ 29 ¢ flat. One tab, titled "original tuning", is written in Drop D♯.
TuneLit's check from the audio hears the open low string one semitone above the tabs' D.
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8. Spoonman
Drop D +6 ¢Measured
Notes
Drop D, with the main riff in 7/4.
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9. Limo Wreck
Different tuning
C2 G2 D3 G3 B3 E4 +15 ¢Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: String 6 down a whole step (D → C), String 5 down a whole step (A → G); the other strings stay.
Thayil called its tuning the most interesting on the record: C G D G B E, the same as Mailman.
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Notes
How to get there from E Standard: String 5 down 5 half steps (A → E), String 4 down 3 half steps (D → B), String 3 up 4 half steps (G → B); the other strings stay.
Measured about 51 ¢ above this tuning, a quarter tone sharp (A ≈ 453): a 440 tuner reads the low string as F, 49 ¢ flat.
Same tuning as My Wave: E E B B B E, Thayil says, although tabs and Wikipedia write E E B B B B.
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11. Kickstand
Drop D +6 ¢Measured
Notes
Drop D in the band's 1994 list. The most-viewed tab tunes strings 2 and 1 down to A, but the newer tab and the band agree on plain Drop D.
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12. Fresh Tendrils
Different tuning
D2 G2 D3 G3 B3 E4 +6 ¢Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: String 5 down a whole step (A → G); the other strings stay.
D G D G B E, like the title track.
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Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: String 6 down a whole step (D → C), String 5 down 4 half steps (A → F), String 4 down a whole step (D → C); the other strings stay.
C F C G B E, a tuning the band used only once. Thayil says it was hard to keep in tune: it needed heavy strings, and on stage a separate guitar with heavier low strings.
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14. Half
Different tuning
C♯2 G♯2 C♯3 G♯3 G♯3 F4 +6 ¢Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: String 6 down a half step (D → D♭), String 5 down a half step (A → A♭), String 4 down a half step (D → D♭), String 3 up a half step (G → A♭), String 2 down 3 half steps (B → A♭), String 1 up a half step (E → F).
Thayil names C G C G G E, but the record is a half step higher: tune C♯ G♯ C♯ G♯ G♯ F, or put a capo on fret 1 in C G C G G E.
Thayil confirms C G C G G E, the Head Down tuning. On the record the same shape sits one semitone higher, C♯ G♯ C♯ G♯ G♯ F, as the most-viewed tab has it; one older tab says it may be C♯ rather than C.
TuneLit's check from the audio hears the droning low string on C♯, one semitone above Thayil's C G C G G E.
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15. Like Suicide
Different tuning
D2 G2 D3 G3 B3 C4 +6 ¢Measured
Notes
How to get there from the album's Drop D: String 5 down a whole step (A → G), String 1 down 4 half steps (E → C); the other strings stay.
D G D G B C. Thayil: Cornell could not reach the note he wanted for the arpeggio, so he tuned the high E down to C and let it ring open.
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 Superunknown in?
Soundgarden recorded Superunknown (1994) in Drop D, about 6 cents sharp (A ≈ 442), measured by TuneLit on the CD. 12 songs use other tunings or pitches, listed song by song on this page.
Why does Superunknown sound out of tune with my guitar?
My Wave sits about 14 cents sharp (A ≈ 444), 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, song by song, so you only tune the strings.