This tuning, named DABF#BD#, is crafted for a raw, dissonant sound, perfectly suited for post-punk and gloomy, abrasive musical styles, as intended by its creator.

Technical Analysis

The open strings present a fascinating and challenging harmonic landscape:

• The lowest two strings (D2-A2) form a strong Perfect 5th, providing a powerful, driving foundation.
• However, the intervals quickly become unconventional. The jump from A2 to B2 is a tight Major 2nd, introducing immediate tension.
• A dramatic leap occurs from B2 to F#4 (an Augmented 11th), a highly dissonant interval spanning an octave and a tritone. This wide spacing is a key contributor to the tuning's "gloomy" and "abrasive" character.
• Perhaps the most distinctive feature is the re-entrant nature between the 3rd and 2nd strings: the 3rd string (F#4) is actually higher in pitch than the 2nd string (B3). This creates a descending Perfect 5th interval when moving from the 3rd string (F#4) down to the 2nd string (B3), breaking the usual ascending pitch order of guitar strings and leading to highly unconventional voicings.
• Finally, B3 to D#5 is a Major 10th (Major 3rd plus an octave), adding a bright, yet still tense, top end.

The open strings (D-A-B-F#-B-D#) do not form a simple, recognizable major or minor chord, but rather a complex, dissonant cluster. This makes it ideal for generating unique, atmospheric drones, sharp, angular riffs, and chords with significant harmonic friction, aligning perfectly with the post-punk ethos. The re-entrant F#4 combined with the B3 string allows for unique intervalic relationships and potential for open, ringing harmonies or stark dissonances. Fingerings will need to be re-imagined entirely, opening up new melodic and harmonic possibilities.

How to Tune

Here's how to adjust your guitar to the DABF#BD# tuning from standard E Standard tuning:

• String 6 (Low E equivalent): Tune down 2 semitones to D2. (This movement is within safe limits for a standard string gauge.)
• String 5 (A equivalent): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to A2. (No change in string tension.)
• String 4 (D equivalent): Tune down 3 semitones to B2. (This movement is within safe limits for a standard string gauge.)
• String 3 (G equivalent): Tune down 1 semitones to F#4. (This movement is within safe limits for a standard string gauge.)
• String 2 (B equivalent): Keep as is; no change (0 semitones) to B3. (No change in string tension.)
• String 1 (High E equivalent): Tune down 1 semitones to D#5. (This movement is within safe limits for a standard string gauge.)

Movements exceeding 4 semitones (up or down) often suggest that a different string gauge may be advisable to maintain optimal playability and string longevity. All individual string movements in this tuning fall within commonly accepted safe ranges for standard string gauges.

String 6 (Lowest Pitch): D2

String 5: A2

String 4: B2

String 3: F#4

String 2: B3

String 1 (Highest Pitch): D#5