ZZ Top · Tres Hombres · song 1
Waitin' for the Bus tuning.
Waitin' for the Bus (ZZ Top, 1973) 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 · Tres Hombres · 1973
About Waitin' for the Bus
Waitin' for the Bus opens Tres Hombres (1973): a short, tough shuffle with harmonica and Billy Gibbons's rhythm guitar in E Standard, as every tab shows. It flows straight into Jesus Just Left Chicago, and radio often plays the two as one.
TuneLit measured the song about 4 ¢ sharp on the 1987 CD remix and about 5 ¢ sharp on the 2006 remaster of the original mix, right on the album value (+3.5 ¢, A ≈ 440.9). That rounds to concert pitch: the Tune button sets E Standard at A 440, and an ordinary tuner does the job.
The catch comes at the end of the song. Jesus Just Left Chicago, which follows without a pause, sits about 24 ¢ sharp, some 20 ¢ above this one. If you play along with both, either retune in the gap, or set a compromise reference of about +12 ¢ (A ≈ 443) and accept that each song is a little off. TuneLit's check from the audio agrees that the lowest string is E.
Tip: Tune to E Standard at A 440, and raise the reference about 20 ¢ before Jesus Just Left Chicago starts.
Step by step
Tune your guitar like the record
- Tap Tune like this: the tuner switches to E Standard, the notes Waitin' for the Bus was recorded in.
- Turn String 6 to String 1 until each shows ✓ in tune. Waitin' for the Bus sits at concert pitch on the record, so the tuner stays at A 440.
- Then play Waitin' for the Bus 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 Waitin' for the Bus 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. Choose E Standard at A 440 and Waitin' for the Bus moves down 3 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 Waitin' for the Bus in?
E Standard: E A D G B E, low to high, at the pitch TuneLit measured on the record.