Tuning Overview: Slipknot - Scissors (Bass Tuning)

This is a profoundly low and aggressive bass tuning, famously utilized by Paul Gray for Slipknot's "Scissors." It plunges the instrument into a sonic depth rarely explored, laying a heavy foundation essential for the band's distinctive sound.

Technical Analysis

The core of this tuning sets the four strings to the following notes, from lowest (thickest) to highest (thinnest):

• 4th String (Lowest): F#1
• 3rd String: F#2
• 2nd String: B1
• 1st String (Highest): E2

This configuration results in a very unique and powerful sonic landscape. The lowest two strings are tuned to F#1 and F#2, forming an open octave F#. This immediately provides a colossal, thick root note, ideal for the driving, percussive bass lines found in Slipknot's music. The subsequent strings, B1 and E2, fall into a pattern of perfect fourths (B-E), allowing for easy access to common heavy metal power chords and riffing patterns.

It's worth noting the original tuning description mentions an even lower configuration of F#0, F#1, B1, E1, suggesting an intention for the lowest string to be an F# an entire octave lower. While the specified tuning notes are F#1, F#2, B1, E2, both interpretations highlight the extreme low-end focus of this tuning.

Verbal Analysis & Chords

Sonically, this tuning delivers immense weight and guttural resonance. The open F# octave on the bottom strings creates a "wall of sound" effect, perfect for heavy chugging riffs and rhythmic accents. The natural perfect fourth and fifth intervals across the strings make it intuitive for a bass player to lock into powerful, dissonant, or harmonious (in a metal context) figures. Open power chords (root-fifth-octave) are easily formed by simply barring the F# strings and then adding the B or E notes. For example, playing the open F#1 and B1 strings together forms a perfect fourth, while playing the F#2 and B1 forms a perfect fifth, offering versatile harmonic options for a bass player. The overall impression is one of overwhelming sonic density and a dark, aggressive character.

How to Tune

To achieve this extremely low tuning, you will need to detune your bass significantly from its standard setup. Given the substantial drops for all strings, a heavier gauge string set is strongly advised to maintain tension and intonation, and prevent potential damage to lighter gauge strings. Moving more than 4 semitones (up or down) generally warrants a different string gauge for optimal performance and instrument health.

• 4th String (Lowest, F#1): Tune down 7 semitones to reach F#1. This is a significant drop, meaning a much heavier gauge string is recommended.
• 3rd String (F#2): Tune down 5 semitones to reach F#2. This is also a considerable drop, for which a heavier gauge string is advised.
• 2nd String (B1): Tune down 5 semitones to reach B1. This is a considerable drop, for which a heavier gauge string is advised.
• 1st String (Highest, E2): Tune down 5 semitones to reach E2. This is also a considerable drop, for which a heavier gauge string is advised.