ZZ Top · Rio Grande Mud · song 2
Just Got Paid tuning.
Just Got Paid (ZZ Top, 1972) is in E Standard at concert pitch (A 440), measured by TuneLit from the record.
Measured by TuneLit
At concert pitch
The album's value, measured on the CD.
ZZ Top · Rio Grande Mud · 1972
About Just Got Paid
Just Got Paid, from Rio Grande Mud (1972), is built on one of Billy Gibbons's heaviest early riffs, rooted on the low E string, with a slide guitar over it. The most-viewed tab plays both the chopping riff and the slide part in E Standard, and that is how the database lists it.
TuneLit measured the 1987 CD remix of the album at concert pitch (A ≈ 439.9). This song's own reading, about 1 ¢ sharp, is weaker than most, but it agrees with the album, so the Tune button sets plain E Standard at A 440.
The open question is the slide. A second tab, much less viewed, puts the slide part in open E (E B E G♯ B E), and Wikipedia's list of open-E songs names this one too. Both tunings keep the low string on E, so the riff sounds the same either way, and TuneLit's check from the audio agrees that the lowest string is E. If you play the slide part, try open E and see which feels closer to the record.
Tip: Tune to E Standard at A 440 for the riff; for the slide part, try open E, which keeps the same low E.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, the notes Just Got Paid was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Just Got Paid sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Just Got Paid 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 Just Got Paid instead. Add your own copy, for example from your CD (it never leaves your device); the link already says the song is in E Standard. Just Got Paid is already in E Standard at A 440, so nothing moves. Slow it down or loop a few bars to learn it, and save the result as a WAV file.
Questions
What tuning is Just Got Paid in?
E Standard: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.