System of a Down · Toxicity · song 13
Psycho tuning.
Psycho (System of a Down, 2001) is in Drop C at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Song tuning
Drop C
At concert pitch (A 440).
Tune like thisPlay alongToxicity
Bass: Bass Drop C Tune bass
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
The album's value, measured on the CD.
System of a Down · Toxicity · 2001
About Psycho
Psycho, on Toxicity (2001), is one of the band's heaviest grooves. It is in Drop C, but the main riff barely touches the open C: in the main tab the distorted guitar almost always plays fret 2 or 3 on String 6, D and E♭, and the bass sits on the same two notes. A clean guitar part and a solo with bends complete it.
TuneLit measured Toxicity at concert pitch (about 4 ¢ flat) and Psycho about 7 ¢ flat, close enough to share the album setting: the Tune button opens Drop C at A 440. The check from the audio agrees with Drop C.
Because the open low string so rarely sounds, it is easy to tune it wrong without noticing. It is tempting to leave String 6 at D and play the riff at frets 0 and 1, but then the fingering no longer matches the tab or the C notes elsewhere in the song. Tune the full Drop C, and fret the riff where the tab puts it. Fan transcriptions of the solo from 2002 festival shows are in Drop C as well, so live versions from that period match the album.
Tip: Tune String 6 to C, then check fret 2 against the D the bass plays under the main riff.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to Drop C, the notes Psycho was recorded in.
- From E Standard: String 6 down 4 half steps (E → C), String 5 down a whole step (A → G), String 4 down a whole step (D → C), String 3 down a whole step (G → F), String 2 down a whole step (B → A), String 1 down a whole step (E → D).
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Psycho sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Psycho 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 Psycho instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in Drop C. Choose Drop D at A 440 and Psycho moves up 2 half steps and 4 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 Psycho in?
Drop C: C G C F A D, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.