TUNELIT

System of a Down · 2002 · Studio album

Steal This Album! tuning.

Drop C at concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD. All 16 songs use it.

Steal This Album! album cover

Album tuning

Drop C

At concert pitch (A 440), measured on the CD.

MeasuredOfficial

Tune like thisPlay alongAll 16 songs

Bass: Bass Drop C Tune bass

Measured by TuneLit

At concert pitch

SourceOffsetEquivalent ASongsSpreadConfidence
CD, American/Columbia COL 510248 9 (2002, Europe)−3.4 ¢A 439.116−7.2 to −0.2 ¢High
 Offset from concert pitch (A 440). Spread: the middle half of the songs, when four or more share the album's pitch. Confidence: how well the notes agree with one grid.

Before we measured, sources said: Drop C, with no pitch given (official).

Most of these songs were recorded during the Toxicity sessions and leaked online as "Toxicity II" before the band finished and released them in November 2002. Every song is tabbed in Drop C, including the all-acoustic Roulette; it was the last album in that tuning. TuneLit measured the CD about 3 ¢ flat, concert pitch for a tuner, with songs spread from about 19 ¢ flat (Bubbles) to 5 ¢ sharp.

16 songs

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

  1. 1. Chic 'N' Stu

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along

  2. 2. Innervision

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Released as a promotional single.

  3. 3. Bubbles

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Measured about 19 ¢ flat, though with low confidence.

    On its own, this song measures flatter: CD −18.8 ¢ (medium confidence). Tune uses the album's A 440.

  4. 4. Boom!

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Released as a promotional single.

  5. 5. Nüguns

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along

  6. 6. A.D.D. (American Dream Denial)

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along

  7. 7. Mr. Jack

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along

  8. 8. I-E-A-I-A-I-O

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along

  9. 9. 36

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along

  10. 10. Pictures

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Measured about 11 ¢ flat.

    On its own, this song measures flatter: CD −11.2 ¢. Tune uses the album's A 440.

  11. 11. Highway Song

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    The tab adds an acoustic guitar to the electric parts, all in Drop C.

  12. 12. Fuck the System

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along

  13. 13. Ego Brain

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    An acoustic guitar carries much of the song in the tab, in Drop C like the electrics.

  14. 14. Thetawaves

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along

  15. 15. Roulette

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    An all-acoustic song. The main tab keeps the acoustic guitars in Drop C; a standard-tuning tab is a transposition and will not match the record.

  16. 16. Streamline

    Drop CMeasured

    Tune Play along
    Notes

    Measured about 11 ¢ flat.

    On its own, this song measures flatter: CD −10.6 ¢. Tune uses the album's A 440.

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 Steal This Album! in?

System of a Down recorded Steal This Album! (2002) in Drop C at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit on the CD. Every song uses it.