Tuning Overview: Sevendust A#7sus4

This distinctive tuning, named "Sevendust A#7sus4 tuning," is an altered Drop A# configuration known for its heavy, resonant sound, often associated with Sevendust. It's a key part of their signature sonic palette, specifically used on tracks like "Shine" from their album Animosity. It should not be confused with another A#F#BEG#C# tuning they've used, as this one offers a unique open chord voicing.

Verbal & Technical Analysis

Verbally, this tuning delivers an incredibly dark, powerful, and thick sound. The extensive tuning down across all strings creates immense slack, making heavier gauge strings essential for optimal tension and tone. The open strings immediately form an A#7sus4 chord, providing a strong, resonant foundation for riffs. This makes it perfect for heavy rock and metal genres where a droning, low-end presence is paramount.

Technically, the open string notes are A#2, F2, A#3, D#4, G#4, A#4 (from low to high). The most striking feature is the very low F2 on the fifth string, a tritone (six semitones) below the lowest A#2 string. This creates a deeply dissonant and powerful interval on the lowest two strings when played open or fretted at the same position, giving a unique, growling characteristic to power chords. The interval structure from low to high is:

• String 6 (A#2) to String 5 (F2): Tritone (6 semitones down)
• String 5 (F2) to String 4 (A#3): Octave + Tritone (18 semitones up)
• String 4 (A#3) to String 3 (D#4): Perfect Fourth (5 semitones up)
• String 3 (D#4) to String 2 (G#4): Perfect Fourth (5 semitones up)
• String 2 (G#4) to String 1 (A#4): Minor Third (3 semitones up)

The open tuning explicitly spells out an A#7sus4 chord (A#, D#, F, G#). This means strumming all open strings yields a powerful, ready-made chord, ideal for creating massive, sustained harmonic textures. The configuration of the higher strings (A#3, D#4, G#4, A#4) allows for easy formation of `A#` based chords, particularly suspended voicings, and familiar 4th-based shapes on strings 4-2. The minor third interval on the highest two strings adds a bluesy or darker flavor to lead lines and higher voicings.

How to Tune Your Guitar

To achieve the Sevendust A#7sus4 tuning from standard E Standard tuning (E-A-D-G-B-E), you will need to perform the following adjustments. Due to the significant drop in pitch for most strings, especially for the 6th and 1st strings (6 semitones down), using a heavier gauge string set is highly recommended to maintain proper string tension, intonation, and tone. Tuning down more than 4 semitones can lead to very loose strings if not using appropriate gauges.

• String 6 (Low E): Tune down 6 semitones to A#2.
• String 5 (A): Tune down 4 semitones to F2.
• String 4 (D): Tune down 4 semitones to A#3.
• String 3 (G): Tune down 4 semitones to D#4.
• String 2 (B): Tune down 3 semitones to G#4.
• String 1 (High E): Tune down 6 semitones to A#4.

Open String Notes:

String 6 (Low E Equivalent): A#2

String 5 (A Equivalent): F2

String 4 (D Equivalent): A#3

String 3 (G Equivalent): D#4

String 2 (B Equivalent): G#4

String 1 (High E Equivalent): A#4