Tuning Overview: Deep Loathe Variant

This tuning, named the "Deep Loathe Variant," is a custom creation inspired by the desire for a "LOATHE-like" sound, specifically conceptualized for a 30-inch baritone guitar. It plunges the instrument into an extremely low and resonant sonic landscape, offering a distinct alternative for players seeking a heavy, expansive, and deeply atmospheric sound. If your goal is to explore the lowest registers with profound depth, this tuning provides a powerful foundation.

Verbal Analysis

The Deep Loathe Variant tuning transforms your baritone guitar into a formidable sonic weapon, ideal for genres such as doom metal, progressive metal, ambient soundscapes, or any style requiring immense depth and sustain. The extreme low D (D1) on the 6th string provides a crushing foundation, while the subsequent intervals create a complex harmonic profile. This tuning encourages a powerful, droning approach to riffs, with open strings providing a rich tapestry of interwoven notes.

Visually, the tuning is wide-spanning, with significant drops across all strings. This opens up new possibilities for chord shapes and melodic phrasing, moving away from conventional patterns. The combination of open fifths and fourths with a final major third creates a blend of sheer power and nuanced harmony, allowing for both guttural impact and surprisingly delicate textures.

Technical Analysis

The tuning notes from low to high are D1 G1 D2 G2 C3 E3. Let's break down the intervals between adjacent strings:

• 6th String (D1) to 5th String (G1): A Perfect 4th (P4).
• 5th String (G1) to 4th String (D2): A Perfect 5th (P5).
• 4th String (D2) to 3rd String (G2): A Perfect 4th (P4).
• 3rd String (G2) to 2nd String (C3): A Perfect 4th (P4).
• 2nd String (C3) to 1st String (E3): A Major 3rd (M3).

This sequence of P4-P5-P4-P4-M3 significantly deviates from standard guitar tuning, creating a unique voicing. The open strings, D1-G1-D2-G2-C3-E3, do not form a simple major or minor triad. Instead, they present a complex, rich sonority that can be interpreted as a Dsus4(addC)(addE) or a Gsus2/D. This provides a versatile harmonic palette, capable of sounding both massively heavy and subtly dissonant, or even surprisingly consonant depending on context and melodic overlay.

Open Chords and Voicings

• Powerful D Focus: The D1-G1-D2-G2 structure offers an incredibly weighty foundation. Strumming the bottom four strings produces a massive D power chord feel, with the Gs adding a suspended 4th or 11th texture that's both thick and resonant.
• C Major Triad: The top three strings (G2-C3-E3) form a C major triad in first inversion (C/G). This allows for easy access to brighter, contrasting voicings in the higher register, offering a counterpoint to the deep low end.
• Movable Shapes: Despite the unconventional intervals, barring across a single fret will produce powerful, thick clusters. Experimentation with two-finger power chords (e.g., across P4 or P5 intervals) will reveal a wealth of heavy, resonant sounds that are easy to shift across the fretboard.
• Melodic Opportunities: The consistent P4 intervals on strings 6-5, 4-3, and 3-2 can be exploited for melodic runs that maintain a sense of power and depth, creating engaging patterns that leverage the guitar's extended range.

How to Tune: Deep Loathe Variant

Achieving this extremely low-end tuning requires significant adjustments from standard pitch. It is highly recommended to use a heavy gauge string set (specifically baritone strings, or even bass strings for the lowest strings) for optimal tension, clear tone, and to prevent potential string or instrument damage, given the extreme downtuning on all strings. Proceed with care and ensure your instrument is properly set up to handle the reduced string tension.

• 6th String: Tune your 6th string to D1. Tune down 9 semitones. A heavier gauge string is advised due to this significant drop.
• 5th String: Tune your 5th string to G1. Tune down 9 semitones. A heavier gauge string is advised due to this significant drop.
• 4th String: Tune your 4th string to D2. Tune down 7 semitones. A heavier gauge string is advised due to this significant drop.
• 3rd String: Tune your 3rd string to G2. Tune down 7 semitones. A heavier gauge string is advised due to this significant drop.
• 2nd String: Tune your 2nd string to C3. Tune down 7 semitones. A heavier gauge string is advised due to this significant drop.
• 1st String: Tune your 1st string to E3. Tune down 7 semitones. A heavier gauge string is advised due to this significant drop.