Hey so i play in a metal band influenced by some death metal(Obituary, early Cannibal Corpse), hardcore/metalcore (Sick Of It All, Terror, Parkway Drive), some grindcore(Coldworker, Wormrot, Magrudergrind) and some sludge(Kylesa, early Mastodon, High On Fire). Hopefully this gives a slight bit of an idea on what kind of sound were going for. So heres my dillema. We started writing songs in drop C, but i always felt it was just kinda sounding like stereotypical death metal. So recently i switched down to Drop Bb which is drop D down 2 whole steps. It gave it a bit more life to all of the songs. But im still very unfamiliar with this tuning. This is where GC comes in. Anybody with prior knowledge of this tuning or if your just really adaptable and wanna help me out i could use some tips on writing some catchy parts. Or fast parts. Even if you know some bands who play this that i could learn their stuff to get more comfortable with it. Any tips on this would be great!
Get thicker strings. Also, check out bands like Meshuggah, Periphery, FellSilent, TesseracT, Uneven Structure,.... For a more complete list, go to got-djent.com
Yeah definitely thicker strings so you can still have decent tension and get a good tone. Just stay away from the usual chugging and use the same stuff as you would drop C but just remember how the new notes effect your scales and chords. If you want to be really unique pick up a 7 or 8 string, but you have o be pretty knowledgeable on music to make the transition and use the extra strings to their full potential.
Im using ernie ball 11-54 Beefy slinky right now. Is that a thick enough gauge? It doesnt seem to have too much unwanted rattle on any strings with this gauge. Does anyone know of any cheap (below $500) 8 strings i could get online? I kinda feel that if im goin for extra strings then go big or go home right
whats the point in dropping your tuning like that? i dont getg the obsession with playin as low as possible, your going to lose all distinction in your notes, especially if you drown it in overdrive or distortion.... just my honest opinion
I fell the same. I kind of prefer thrash metal where they don't stray much farther than drop c which is rare. Using an 8 string or a 7 string though to have the extra bass to compliment the standard 6 string guitar is definitely a plus. Although bands like Meshuggah and Unearth rock pretty hard with down tuned 7 and 8 strings and unearth has some awesome harmonies still.
yea, im not trying to say that the guitarists that play like this arent talented, some of them metal guys go hard af, but i feel it was a trend started by a guitarist who was doing it cause you can play damn near anything like that and itll sound good. i think you can get more done playing it standard or higher even
Yeah some of it you have to listen into because although it sounds simple at first it's filled with off beats and strange flats and sharps you would never expect thrown in but work. Other bands just drop tune and chug away on the same boring notes and never change things up though and that's just stupid.