Guitar tuning · C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯
Drop C♯ tuner.
C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯: String 6 dropped to C♯2. Tune with your mic or by ear, at A4 = 440 or any pitch you need.
Tuner · Any tuning
Tune your guitar.
Pluck a string and the meter shows how far off it is. Tap any string to hear it at its true pitch and tune by ear.
- Pick any instrument and tuning
- Shift it down or up by half steps
- Set A to anything: 440, 432, 442…
C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯ · Drop D shape · −1 st
Check string tension →The sound never leaves your device.
Keys: Space start or stop · ← → half step · ↑ ↓ A (Shift: bigger steps) · 1–9 string · M mode · R hear · − + volume · L copy link · Esc done
Ready
tab: D
Strings 1 → 6
3 times each
Tap Start, then pluck any string.
Your browser asks once · nothing is recorded
Strings · tap to hear
Instrument
Try uke, bari, 5 string, cello…
Tuning
Drop C♯
Shape
Shift
Standard pitch
Higher or lower
Fine-tune
Moves every string a little, for example to match a recording.
Custom tuning
Any strings, any notes
One row for each string. The top row is the top string, usually the thickest.
Start from
Strings
+ adds a lower string at the top. − takes the top string away.
Notes from C0 to C8. Type a note like D2, F♯3 or B♭1, or use − and +.
Save and use keeps it on this device (up to 8 tunings). Use without saving tunes with it for now.
Reference A
Slider 380–500 Hz. Type any value from 300 to 600 Hz.
More pitches
Sound
Violin, viola, cello and double bass start with Bowed, the rest with Acoustic.
Note length
Match a recording Beta
Find the A a song was recorded at, then tune to it and play along.
…listening
Play the song, loud and clear.
Result
This recording sits on A 440
The tuner already matches it: nothing to change.
A recording is only known within a half step: if the song is a half step down, also change the tuning.
Beta: tested on real records and synthetic songs. Check the result by ear.
Nothing is uploaded: the sound is measured on this device.
Settings
Mode
Guided: one string at a time, from the thickest.
Meter
Bar: a slider with a mint in-tune zone.
Note length
How long a tapped string and Hear sound. Repeat plays the string again every few seconds, Continuous holds it: tap it again to stop.
Reference sound
Violin, viola, cello and double bass start with Bowed, the rest with Acoustic. A sound you pick stays.
Volume
Phone speakers play very low notes an octave up.
Note names
Sharps and flats
Octave numbers (E2, E4)
Tells the two E strings apart: E2 is the low one, E4 the high one.
Frequencies (Hz)
Each string's pitch in hertz, such as 82.4 Hz.
In tune within
Precise is not used with harmonics: Normal ±3 applies.
Harmonic mode
For one low string: play its 12th-fret harmonic (×2) or its 5th-fret one (×4).
Pro view
The pitch heard in Hz, tenths of a cent and the input picker. Turns on octave numbers and frequencies.
Device names appear after you allow the microphone.
Input channel
Auto picks the channel with sound. Interfaces: choose the input your instrument is plugged into.
Background
Night ocean, cosmos, forest and more.
The sound never leaves your device. No account, no cookies.
Guitar · Drop tuning
About Drop C♯
E♭ Standard with String 6 dropped a whole step, to C♯2: C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯. Drop tunings make a power chord from one finger across the lowest three strings, so heavy riffs get easier to play.
Drop C♯ is Drop D a half step lower, or E♭ Standard with String 6 dropped. Bands that play in E♭ often use it for their heavier songs.
Also written: C#G#C#F#A#D#
How to get there from standard
- String 6: lower 1½ steps (E2 → C♯2)
- String 5: lower a half step (A2 → G♯2)
- String 4: lower a half step (D3 → C♯3)
- String 3: lower a half step (G3 → F♯3)
- String 2: lower a half step (B3 → A♯3)
- String 1: lower a half step (E4 → D♯4)
Quicker from E♭ Standard: lower String 6 a whole step (E♭2 → C♯2).
Why players use it
Why Drop C♯
Drop C♯ sits in a useful spot: low enough for a dark riff, high enough that fast picking still sounds clear. Daron Malakian chose it for exactly that. System of a Down played their first three albums in Drop C, and for Mezmerize and Hypnotize he moved up a half step so the attack of each note would come through in the faster, more intricate parts.
It also pairs neatly with E♭ Standard. The top five strings are the same, so a guitarist can keep one guitar in each and swap for the heavy song without the singer or the solos noticing. Jerry Cantrell does just that, with a second guitar in Drop C♯ beside his E♭ one.
On the records
Who plays in Drop C♯
For Alice in Chains that second guitar carries We Die Young, Them Bones, I Stay Away and Grind, 16 songs on TuneLit. Nirvana used the same pairing on In Utero, which is in E♭ with Scentless Apprentice, Heart-Shaped Box and All Apologies in Drop C♯, and Van Halen took the low string from E♭ down to C♯ for Unchained and three other Fair Warning songs.
TuneLit lists 92 Drop C♯ songs. Linkin Park lead with 24, built on Hybrid Theory and Meteora: Papercut, One Step Closer, In the End and Numb. System of a Down add 21 from Mezmerize and Hypnotize, B.Y.O.B. and Lonely Day among them, and Deftones tuned all of Around the Fur here, My Own Summer (Shove It) and Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) included.
Songs on TuneLit
Famous songs in Drop C♯
Each song has its own page: the exact tuning, the pitch of the record and how to get there string by string. Tune sets the tuner to the record, cents included.
- We Die YoungAlice in Chains · Facelift (1990) · +4 ¢Tune
- My Own Summer (Shove It)Deftones · Around the Fur (1997) · −8 ¢Tune
- PapercutLinkin Park · Hybrid Theory (2000) · +12 ¢Tune
- Something in the WayNirvana · Nevermind (1991) · −45 ¢Tune
- B.Y.O.B.System of a Down · Mezmerize (2005)Tune
- Going to HellThe Pretty Reckless · Going to Hell (2014)Tune
- UnchainedVan Halen · Fair Warning (1981)Tune
- Them BonesAlice in Chains · Dirt (1992) · +10 ¢Tune
- Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)Deftones · Around the Fur (1997) · +14 ¢Tune
- One Step CloserLinkin Park · Hybrid Theory (2000)Tune
- Heart-Shaped BoxNirvana · In Utero (1993)Tune
- Radio/VideoSystem of a Down · Mezmerize (2005)Tune
- I Stay AwayAlice in Chains · Jar of Flies (1994) · +13 ¢Tune
- CrawlingLinkin Park · Hybrid Theory (2000)Tune
- All ApologiesNirvana · In Utero (1993)Tune
- HypnotizeSystem of a Down · Hypnotize (2005)Tune
92 songs · 12 bands
Every Drop C♯ song on TuneLit
Open a band to see its songs in this tuning. Each song opens on its album page, at its own Tune button, set to the pitch of the record.
Linkin Park 24 songs
- Hybrid Theory (2000): Papercut, One Step Closer, Points of Authority, Crawling, By Myself, In the End, Cure for the Itch, Pushing Me Away
- Meteora (2003): Foreword, Lying from You, Hit the Floor, Faint, Figure.09, Breaking the Habit, From the Inside, Session, Numb
- Minutes to Midnight (2007): Shadow of the Day, No More Sorrow, In Between, In Pieces
- Living Things (2012): Powerless
- From Zero (2024): Two Faced, Stained
- Linkin Park: every album and its tuning
System of a Down 21 songs
- Mezmerize (2005): Soldier Side – Intro, B.Y.O.B., Revenga, Cigaro, Radio/Video, This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm on This Song, Violent Pornography, Sad Statue, Old School Hollywood, Lost in Hollywood
- Hypnotize (2005): Attack, Kill Rock 'n Roll, Hypnotize, Stealing Society, Tentative, U-Fig, Holy Mountains, Vicinity of Obscenity, She's Like Heroin, Lonely Day, Soldier Side
- System of a Down: every album and its tuning
Alice in Chains 16 songs
- Facelift (1990): We Die Young, Sunshine
- Dirt (1992): Them Bones, Dam That River, Rain When I Die
- Jar of Flies (1994): I Stay Away
- Alice in Chains (1995): Grind, Sludge Factory
- Black Gives Way to Blue (2009): All Secrets Known, Last of My Kind, A Looking in View, Acid Bubble
- The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013): Hollow, Stone, Lab Monkey
- Rainier Fog (2018): Red Giant
- Alice in Chains: every album and its tuning
Deftones 8 songs
Nirvana 7 songs
Van Halen 5 songs
The Pretty Reckless 4 songs
Guns N' Roses 2 songs
Slayer 2 songs
Kyuss 1 song
Metallica 1 song
Sepultura 1 song
Playing tips
Playing in Drop C♯
The same notes also appear as Drop D♭, C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯ or D♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭. Many tabs and lessons move these songs up to Drop D: the frets are right, but they sound half a step above the record and will not line up when you play along.
The low string drops three half steps and loses close to a third of its pull, so it is the one that flaps. A heavier String 6 on its own fixes most of that: Malakian used a .048 to .050 low string on the double album. Tune the top five to E♭ first, then lower String 6 until it sits an octave below String 4. The bass goes to C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯.
6 strings
Notes and frequencies
| String | Note | A = 440 | A = 432 | A = 442 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | C♯2 | 69.30 | 68.04 | 69.61 |
| 5 | G♯2 | 103.83 | 101.94 | 104.30 |
| 4 | C♯3 | 138.59 | 136.07 | 139.22 |
| 3 | F♯3 | 185.00 | 181.63 | 185.84 |
| 2 | A♯3 | 233.08 | 228.84 | 234.14 |
| 1 | D♯4 | 311.13 | 305.47 | 312.54 |
The tuner on this page works at any A4 from 300 to 600 Hz, and can shift the whole tuning by half steps or fine cents.
Measured
How the tuner hears C♯2
Drop C♯ goes down to C♯2 on String 6, 69.30 Hz. A phone mic hears C♯2 faintly: in our phone-mic model its fundamental arrives 7 dB quieter. Read from its overtones, C♯2 stayed within 1 ¢.
No tuner for Drop C♯?
The capo trick
If your tuner only knows Drop D, clamp a capo across fret 1 and tune the strings, capo on, to Drop D (D A D G B E) as usual. Take the capo off: every open string drops a half step and you are in Drop C♯ (C♯ G♯ C♯ F♯ A♯ D♯).
A capo pushes the strings a little sharp, so the open strings can end up a few cents flat. Check each one again without the capo: the tuner on this page reads Drop C♯ directly.
String tension
Strings and tension
String 6: about 29% less tension. Strings 5–1: about 11% less tension (approx., same strings, same scale length).
To keep the feel of a 10–46 set at standard pitch, try about 10.5–54 (approx.: string makers' charts differ, and many players simply like it looser).
A longer neck helps too. Compared with a 25.5″ guitar, a 27″ scale gives back about a half step of tension and 28.6″ about a whole step (approx.).
Check string tension → String by string, with your own set and scale length.
Neighboring tunings
Higher tunings first. Each rung moves every string of Drop C♯ by a half step; in the tuner, the ◂ ▸ arrows on the tuning chip do the same.
- Drop E♭Drop D, 1 half step higher. Notes: E flat B flat E flat A flat C F
- Drop DLow string down to D
- Drop C♯This pageDrop D, 1 half step lower. Notes: C sharp G sharp C sharp F sharp A sharp D sharp
- Drop CDrop D, 2 half steps lower
- Drop BDrop D, 3 half steps lower
Questions
What are the notes of Drop C♯?
From String 6 to String 1: C♯2 G♯2 C♯3 F♯3 A♯3 D♯4. At A4 = 440 Hz the lowest string is 69.30 Hz and the highest is 311.13 Hz.
How is Drop C♯ different from C♯ Standard?
C♯ Standard lowers all six strings 1½ steps (C♯ F♯ B E G♯ C♯). Drop C♯ takes only String 6 that low; the other strings stay at E♭ Standard (A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭).
Do I need heavier strings for Drop C♯?
String 6: about 29% less tension. Strings 5–1: about 11% less tension (approx.). To keep the feel of a 10–46 set at standard pitch, try about 10.5–54 (approx.: string makers' charts differ, and many players simply like it looser).