Verbal Analysis: The Deep Resonance of Baritone Asus2

The Baritone Asus2 tuning plunges your guitar into a realm of deep, resonant sound, perfectly suited for heavy genres, atmospheric soundscapes, or exploring the extended range of your instrument. As its name suggests, this tuning embraces the characteristics of a baritone guitar, providing a robust low-end presence. While the lowest string is a commanding B1, the overall open string voicing forms a rich Asus2 chord (A-B-E), but uniquely voiced with the B as the foundational bass note, creating an expansive and slightly mysterious feel.

The arrangement of the open strings (B1-E2-A2-E3-A3-B3) offers a surprisingly versatile platform for playability, living up to its description as an "easy movable shape in A". The repeated A and E notes across different octaves provide a solid harmonic core, making open chord voicings and arpeggios particularly lush and full. This structure lends itself well to creating massive power chords with minimal effort, and its relatively consistent perfect 4th intervals in the middle strings mean that many chord shapes can be easily moved up and down the neck. This facilitates dynamic changes in harmony with simple finger movements, encouraging experimentation and the discovery of powerful, low-register riffs.

Technical Analysis: Unpacking the Baritone Asus2 Structure

This Baritone Asus2 tuning is characterized by a significant drop in pitch across nearly all strings, fundamentally shifting the guitar's register downwards. The open notes are:

• String 6: B1
• String 5: E2
• String 4: A2
• String 3: E3
• String 2: A3
• String 1: B3

Analyzing the intervals from low to high, we observe:

• String 6 (B1) to String 5 (E2): Perfect 4th
• String 5 (E2) to String 4 (A2): Minor 3rd
• String 4 (A2) to String 3 (E3): Perfect 4th
• String 3 (E3) to String 2 (A3): Perfect 4th
• String 2 (A3) to String 1 (B3): Major 2nd

The unique notes present are A, B, and E. When organized with A as the root, these notes form an Asus2 chord (A-B-E). The tuning's structure places the B (the 2nd of Asus2) as the lowest note, creating a strong, suspended open chord that is both full and harmonically interesting. The aggressive down-tuning, with multiple strings dropped by 5 semitones, necessitates a significantly heavier gauge string set than standard. This is crucial for maintaining proper string tension, intonation, and playability, effectively preventing fret buzz and preserving tonal clarity across the entire instrument.

How to Tune: Baritone Asus2

This tuning involves substantial adjustments from standard EADGBe. Please proceed with caution, especially for strings tuned down more than 4 semitones. For these strings, a heavier gauge string set is highly recommended to maintain optimal tension, prevent fret buzz, and ensure good tone and intonation.

• String 6 (Low E): Tune down 5 semitones from its standard E2 to B1. This is a significant drop, and a heavier gauge string is strongly advised.
• String 5 (A): Tune down 5 semitones from its standard A2 to E2. Another substantial drop; considering a heavier gauge string is crucial.
• String 4 (D): Tune down 5 semitones from its standard D3 to A2. This deep plunge also benefits greatly from a heavier gauge string.
• String 3 (G): Tune down 3 semitones from its standard G3 to E3. This is a moderate drop, where a slightly heavier gauge string might be beneficial for stability.
• String 2 (B): Tune down 2 semitones from its standard B3 to A3. This is a relatively minor adjustment and may be manageable with standard string gauges.
• String 1 (High E): Tune down 5 semitones from its standard E4 to B3. This is a significant drop for the high string, making a heavier gauge essential for proper feel and sound.