Eb tuning is such a pain in the...

B

Bman

Power User
it’s so frustrating try to play through my current iTunes playlist and have to switch guitars for the tunes in Eb. Pretty much all metal in the 80s and SRV. I’m currently going through and building a separate one for each. I’m stuck with Journey, Dio or anything with keyboard for one. Then Dokken, Ratt, Metallica, Megadeth SRV for the second. But my 1st choice guitar is tuned standard.

High class problem.. eh?
 
Why don't you retune the track? You may have to convert it from mp4 format and find an app to retune it. I'm a bit spoilt because I use WaveLab but I'm sure there would be other cheap or free programs that can retune the track. Or you can use an app like Riffstation that can retune it in real time (may even be able to save the retuned file, I'm not sure). My band had the same issue when we had to do Superstition by Stevie Wonder, which is in Eb but we just retuned to E and everyone's happy. Actually did the same with Baby Animal's 'Early Warning' now that I think about it. It's only a semitone shift so you (well, at least I) don't notice any nasty artefacts.

But I must admit MisterE's suggestion is a whole lot better than mine
 
vkinetic said:
Why don't you retune the track? You may have to convert it from mp4 format and find an app to retune it. I'm a bit spoilt because I use WaveLab but I'm sure there would be other cheap or free programs that can retune the track. Or you can use an app like Riffstation that can retune it in real time (may even be able to save the retuned file, I'm not sure). My band had the same issue when we had to do Superstition by Stevie Wonder, which is in Eb but we just retuned to E and everyone's happy. Actually did the same with Baby Animal's 'Early Warning' now that I think about it. It's only a semitone shift so you (well, at least I) don't notice any nasty artefacts.

But I must admit MisterE's suggestion is a whole lot better than mine
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I do the same... retune in some application and save it to my playlist . Years and years ago I played with a big orchestra band and those "pesky" brass instrument players are silly found of Bb, Eb, Ab, so had my separate big orchestra guitar tuned so I continue enjoy my E A and B ;)
 
Am I missing a sentence in one of the posts? Doesn't anyone use the pitch transposer in the Axe?

On I side note; When I was in a Metallica tribute band we had three different tunings = 3 different guitars, and a backup! (from '99 to '07, the Axe wasn't invented yet :(), then when Some Kind Of Monster came out, well fuggetaboutit. Good thing we didn't play much from that album, Just Saint Anger. ;) The stage looked like Guitar Center!
 
dpeterson said:
I've played in Eb my entire life... literally hate standard tuning. I use BestPractice (its free) to fudge tunings around while learning songs.
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I like playing in Eb too, everything sound heavier, the strings are easier to play, everything EVH does is in it, and that low Eb is just, well, indescribable! and drop Db takes you right to Unchained. :D That being said my two new guitars are tuned standard (with tremolo's! Ugh), while my baby is tuned flat. ;)

Not familiar with BestPractice, is it an internet download? If so how would I use it with a small practice amp?
 
I normally play in standard E, so when I need to learn a song I either transpose it in whatever app, or I use the AFX pitch block. The bigger challenge is when the song wasn't tuned correctly to begin with. This seems a lot more common on 70's classic rock when they probably just tuned to each other - so many songs from back then are just far enough off that you can't play along without noticing... ;-)
 
I use Riffstation for this kind of thing. Helps with albums that have odd tunings (Ride the Lightening is pitched up a quarter) and it can slow things down without altering pitch.
 
PumpkinKing86 said:
I use Riffstation for this kind of thing. Helps with albums that have odd tunings (Ride the Lightening is pitched up a quarter) and it can slow things down without altering pitch.
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Actually it's just "For Whom The Bell Tolls" that's out of tune, the rest of the album is standard. "Bells" must have been a single, or recorded at a different studio, or God forbid! sped up...

Is Riffstation an app too? Mac compatible? auto correct says computable, how apt...;)

dpeterson said:
oops it's a pc app.. allows you to change the pitch without slowing down.
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Oh ok, can it be used with a Mac, i.e., Garageband app.?
 
Tune all guitars to Eb, use capo on first fret for songs in E. Play guitar with no need for retuning songs.
 
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Consider yourself lucky. My band insists on playing everything in Eb. All of the standard tuned covers we play still sound wrong to me even after 20 years. I'd happily switch guitars during a show for the proper tuning.
 
steadystate said:
Consider yourself lucky. My band insists on playing everything in Eb. All of the standard tuned covers we play still sound wrong to me even after 20 years. I'd happily switch guitars during a show for the proper tuning.
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It's hard to believe that a 1/2 step down would make such a difference, but it does, both ways. The standard tuned songs (like Journey, Boston, AC/DC, etc...) sound odd?/dark? a 1/2 step down. And the 1/2 step down songs (like Van Halen, Alice in chains, etc...) sound odd a 1/2 step up.

I use the pitch block to drop me down a 1/2 or whole step (Motley Crue) rather than bringing more guitars to keep the songs we cover in their correct pitches. The only one that we do in the 'wrong' pitch is 'Foreplay/Longtime' just to make it easier to play. And it does make it a little easier our vocalist.

Comes in handy when learning tunes too....
 
gigawatt said:
Actually it's just "For Whom The Bell Tolls" that's out of tune, the rest of the album is standard. "Bells" must have been a single, or recorded at a different studio, or God forbid! sped up...

Is Riffstation an app too? Mac compatible? auto correct says computable, how apt...;)
Click to expand...
Hmm. I was under the impression the whole album had been sped up.

Layla was sped up and Pantera have their own strange tuning and programs like Riffstation make it so I don't have to mess with tuning my guitar just to play along to the song. And it does look like they have a Mac version.
 
Fortunately I have a couple that can be used for the Eb or other tunings. MY drummer buddy doesn’t understand when we’re zipping thru songs on his iPod I have to stop and switch guitars for one song.

I do have a pitch detune set up but there’s something a little off about it. It’s mostly in my head.
 
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