TOP 5 GREATEST 7 STRING TUNINGS!

[00:00:23]Okay, before we get started, you guys need to thank me for controlling myself.

[00:00:28]You cannot fathom how close I was to making this six seven string tunings.

[00:00:34]However, in my defense, your honor, I thought it was funny. But I know half of you would have had an aneurysm cuz you're weenies that hate seeing kids have a glimmer of joy in the world that you ruined. Anyway, guys, I'm going to be straight up with you. This video was my excuse to play the seven string EC-1000 one more time before I had to send it back to Z, which is why the guitar isn't here with me right now. I I sent it back quite a few weeks ago.

[00:00:53]Yeah, you get to mess around with time like that when you're a YouTuber. But don't worry, you guys, it's getting better. I only cry about it twice a day now. Yeah, I miss that guitar. My goodness, I was horrendously down bad for that thing. Genuinely the best seven string I've ever played. Maybe the best guitar I've ever played. The baritone scale length and the Evertune just completely changes the game when it comes to string tension and intonation on a seven string. Like comparing that EC-1000 to a regular 25 1/2 in like hard tail seven string is literally not even fair. It's the epitome of coughing baby versus hydrogen bomb. However, while that ESP LTD EC-1007 baritone ever tune may have just an obnoxiously long name, it was more than the perfect guitar to use to show you guys the top five heaviest, funnest, bestest seven string tunings that we currently know of.

[00:01:52]>> [music] >> Yeah, I don't know which title I'm going to end up sticking with. I always try a few different ones. But what is up you slimy scissoring seahorses? Dendon here.

[00:02:05]And are you new to seven strings? Are you on the fence about getting one? Are you just looking for some new fun tunings to try? Well, stick around cuz I'm going to show you my five favorite tunings to throw my seven stringed instruments into. Now, real quick, just so we're all on the same page, a seven string is a guitar with seven strings.

[00:02:24]Now, one of my favorite things about seven strings is how much lower you can tune them, especially when they have a baritone scale length and an ever tune bridge. It unlocks this whole new world of fun. And I hope this video inspires you to maybe try out a seven string if you haven't already, or to mess around with new seven string tunings if you already have one. Because for the majority of time I have known how to play guitar. I just stuck to a standard scale six string guitar tuned to either E standard or drop D. And it wasn't until a few years ago that I started messing around with lower tunings and seven strings and pitch shifters. And it was like I found DLC for playing guitar.

[00:02:58]But the DLC makes the bass game like unfathomably larger. It was so much fun and just completely reinvigorated my love for playing guitar. and it is an integral part of playing guitar for me now. Like, if I was just stuck to one tuning, I'd be so sad. So, if you're getting bored with playing guitar or just looking to explore some new sounds, maybe try chugging out some caveman nonsense on these tunings. Now, before we jump in, I just want to give a huge shout out and a thank you to sounds [music] for letting me borrow this absolute peak example of a seven string for so long. So, if you want to get yourself a seven string baritone with an Evertune or any other awesome piece of gear, use my link in the bio and head over to Zounds to grab it. Treat yourself. You've earned it. Now the first best seven string tuning is going to be [music] [music] I feel like even though it's the standard tuning for a seven string, this might be the most slept on tuning on the whole list. Like seriously, how often do you hear someone playing a seven string in B standard? When I first got a seven string, I skipped right past B and I went straight down to A standard because I wanted to play corn riffs. The B standard has been so underutilized, especially in our modern times, that I think we have all collectively forgotten that B standard is actually sick. I don't mean to get political, but due to down to inflation, it seems like there's quite a few people out there that are under the impression that B standard isn't even heavy at all. And that's crazy, my friends. Make no mistake, B standard has got the sauce. E Standard has got the sauce if you know what you're doing, but that's a whole other video. But I think B standard is in that perfect range of having enough clarity, especially for faster, like thrashier playing, but still has that added bass of the low B to make it sound a lot more heavy and a lot more crushing. It's the easiest tuning to put a seven string into because it is the universal standard tuning for a seven string. So, if you go into a guitar store and you see a seven string, most likely it is going to be tuned to be standard. And if you have never played a seven string before, the next time you're in a guitar shop that has one, pick it up and imagine that that low B string is just your low E string and just play all your regular E standard riffs. It is a magical experience.

[00:05:22][music] >> [music] [music] [music] >> Be standard is a blast, but if you dare to venture a whole step lower, then you will find yourself in [music] >> [music] >> God, I love A Standard. The reason I bought a seven string was so that I could tune it to A standard and play some corn riffs. If I had never went to see them live, I might still be playing an E standard today. And that's kind of weird to think about. I know a lot of other people tune to A standard, but I think it's kind of required ball knowledge to know some corn riffs if you're going to play a seven string.

[00:06:23]Steve Vi may have gifted us this beautiful instrument, but Monkey and Head showed us that that instrument could bring us down to tunings hither too undret of. They also showed us that with those lower tunings, if you got groove, you don't need much else. So, a lot of corn riffs are just really stinking fun.

[00:07:02]Now, standard tunings are great. I love them so much. But if we're going to play metal, like really heavy metal, then we got to drop that low string. Which brings us to [music] [music] [music] So, hitting the reset button, we're back in B standard. to get to drop A, instead of dropping every string down a whole step, you're just going to drop that low B down to a low A. It's literally drop D for a seven string. Like, take that same philosophy we did, pretending that B standard is E standard. Just pretend drop A is drop D. So, if you know some drop D riffs, then guess what? Suddenly, you know some drop A riffs now, too.

[00:07:56]You're welcome, friends. Drop A has kind of become the de facto metal tuning over the years, kind of replacing drop C. So, there's no shortage of fun and challenging drop a riffs that just sound awesome. And they're riffs that people will recognize from modern bands like Slipnot and Bad Omens and Poppy and all those fun crazy kids. [music] [music] [music] And I think drop A rides just on the edge of that perfect clarity. to bassy boominess ratio. However, when we go lower than drop A, that ratio is going to start skewing quite significantly towards the heavy. We're starting to get a little sloppy here, friends, cuz my next favorite tuning for a seven string is going to be [music] [music] Now, this is where having a baritone scale length and having an ever tune especially really comes in handy cuz drop F# is three semmit tones or a whole step and a half below drop A. That is heavy. So, if you've just got a regular seven string with a regular old 25 and a half inch scale length, it's going to be kind of hard for you to physically achieve this tuning with any sort of consistency or stability, unless you got a really light touch. However, you can still achieve this tuning by physically tuning your guitar down to drop A and then using either a pitch shifter or a transpose dial on a plugin to get down those three extra semmit tones. Now, normally this is a brutally low tuning.

[00:10:11]And on my Shear Reaper seven string that I own, I have to crank the mids and the highs and just like totally tank the lows to even have a crumb of clarity.

[00:10:21]But this seven string is overpowered.

[00:10:23]This seven string is who David from Cyberpunk Edgeunners thought he was.

[00:10:27]God, I'm so excited and terrified for season 2. I got off track, but yeah, the combination of active fisherman pickups, a 27in baritone scale length, and an ever tune bridge, it really brightens up the sound. Now, I fell in love with Drop F# because of Spiritbox. Mike Stringer is an incredibly overpowered guitar player, but a lot of his riffs are just downright fun and stupid heavy. Without Spiritbox, I probably would have never tried tuning this low. I'm glad I did cuz it is just too stinking fun, especially with this guitar. This is a comically heavy tuning. But with a seven string setup like this, [music] even drop F# can have some snap and clarity to it still. And yeah, this is a tuning that's low enough to where people are going to be like, >> "Well, why don't you just play a bass at this point?"

[00:11:10]>> And then you too will get to feel bad for them because clearly they hate having a good time and have never actually tried it for themselves. Like, have you guys ever actually tried tuning lower than I don't know, drop C? Like, be honest. Have you actually tried it?

[00:11:23][music] [music] And those people that hate having fun better brace because our final tuning is going to be Guys, you don't have to tell me. I know this one's stupid. If there is a hell, it is not located as far down as this tuning goes. We are officially in black hole territory. I wrote Thurms in my script. I need to go to sleep. I don't even know what tuning I'm in right here, honestly. Space and reality warp when you get this low. I think I went down to drop C1, but I might have gone even lower. I don't know. I just cranked the transpose dial as far down as I could go with it still being playable. That That's what you should try. Just get a drop pedal or a transpose dial and just crank it until it turns into whatever happens when you get that cycllospora stuff going around. This is firmly in bass territory just with a nasty guitar tone. It's vile. It's disgusting. But it is pure serotonin straight into the Snickers vein if you know what I'm saying. It is so low that someone's grandpa is genuinely going to get mad and they might hurt themselves. And you know what? I get it. But at least try it for yourselves first before you hate on it because I doubt you're not going to think it's fun. Like especially with a real amp, dude, it is so awesome. Well, if you cause an earthquake, it's not my fault. But yeah, you kind of do need to feel how earthshatteringly powerful these low tunings are when you're playing them through a fully cranked full stack in order to really appreciate them. It's something else. It feels like you're playing an explosion. Seriously, just tune as low as you are capable of.

[00:13:59]Just try getting as low as you possibly can with whatever you have right now and just chug out some It'll fix most any problem you're having that day.

[00:14:07]I swear if people actually, you know, tried messing around in tunings this low, they'd stop asking why people keep playing around in tunings this low.

[00:14:14]We're just having a good time. And you would know that if you actually tried it, you fart. And I don't know if you noticed, but most of the stuff I played in this video wasn't that hard. Like Jaded takes a second to get the hang of, especially once you get down to this nonsense, the tuning is doing most of the work. Honestly, you really just need to know some groove and noise control and you're set. [music] Heat.

[00:14:45]Heat.

[00:14:54]Oh, [music] heat, heat.

[00:15:22]Heat.

[00:15:40]Heat.

[00:15:58]Heat.

[00:16:01]Heat.

[00:16:37]God. He scared the out of me.