The Sleep Token III Drop Tuning for Bass Electric is a highly unique and profoundly deep tuning, famously associated with the enigmatic bassist III from Sleep Token. This tuning ventures into extreme low frequencies, creating a colossal, resonant soundscape that is both heavy and harmonically rich.

Verbal Analysis

Prepare for an earthquake of sound! This tuning plunges your bass into the sub-bass realm, with the lowest string hitting an astonishing B0. The overall effect is incredibly dark, brooding, and massive, perfect for genres like progressive metal, djent, or any style demanding an exceptionally thick and atmospheric low end. The extensive down-tuning across all strings results in a distinctively loose feel and requires a very specific playing approach, often emphasizing open string drones and heavy, percussive articulation. It creates a vast sonic canvas, allowing the bass to occupy an immense amount of sonic space.

Technical Analysis

• Tuning Layout: The tuning is B0-D#2-A#2-C#3-G#3, from the thickest (5th) to the thinnest (1st) string. This layout is a dramatic departure from standard bass tunings, resulting in a significantly lower overall pitch.
• Harmonic Structure: When played open, these strings form a sophisticated B Major 13th chord (without the 5th). Specifically, you have the Root (B0), Major 3rd (D#2), Major 7th (A#2), Major 9th (C#3), and Major 13th (G#3). This creates an incredibly rich and expansive harmonic foundation, ideal for intricate chordal work or powerful, sustained drones.
• Chordal Potential: The open tuning itself provides a complex B Major 13th voicing. This makes it exceptionally easy to construct expansive major or Lydian-flavored chords by simply adding a few fretted notes. The wide intervals between strings also lend themselves to open, resonant arpeggios and power chords that naturally inherit the deep, full character of the open strings. Due to the shape, simple fingerings across adjacent strings can yield complex voicings, for example, two fingers across the 2nd and 3rd strings (C#3 and A#2) form a major 6th, which can be part of many different chords depending on the root.
• Dynamic Range: Spanning over three octaves from B0 to G#3, this tuning offers an extraordinary dynamic and frequency range, allowing the bass to move from earth-shattering lows to clear, cutting mid-range tones.
• Extreme Down-tuning: All strings are dropped by 11 to 13 semitones, necessitating a very heavy gauge string set to maintain any semblance of tension and intonation.

Tuning Notes Overview

Here are the target notes for each string, from the thickest (5th) to the thinnest (1st):

• 5th String: B0 (Sub-contra B)
• 4th String: D#2 (D sharp in the 2nd octave)
• 3rd String: A#2 (A sharp in the 2nd octave)
• 2nd String: C#3 (C sharp in the 3rd octave)
• 1st String: G#3 (G sharp in the 3rd octave)

How to Tune

Achieving this extreme drop tuning requires careful adjustment of each string. Due to the significant changes in pitch (all strings are tuned down by more than 4 semitones), it is highly recommended to use a much heavier gauge string set than standard to maintain adequate string tension and prevent intonation issues and string floppiness. Proceed with caution.

• 5th String (Lowest): Tune this string down 12 semitones (a full octave) to reach B0.
• 4th String: Tune this string down 13 semitones to reach D#2.
• 3rd String: Tune this string down 11 semitones to reach A#2.
• 2nd String: Tune this string down 13 semitones to reach C#3.
• 1st String (Highest): Tune this string down 11 semitones to reach G#3.

Always use a reliable tuner and check your intonation after tuning, especially with such dramatic pitch changes.