My favorite System song in Drop C has to be either “Prison Song” or “Aerials”. “Deer Dance” is a good one too. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with just about any song on Toxicity for good Drop C riffs.
I will never forget where I was and my reaction the first time I ever heard "Sugar". I'm lucky I didn't cause permanent damage to my neck. Bought the album like a week later.
Drop C is the best tuning for a heavy sound with a standard guitar setup. To get lower tunings to sound good it really helps to use a guitar that's built for it with longer neck scale length, a nut slotted for thicker string gauges, etc. and also you need to spend some time re-dialing your amp and trying different OD/Dist pedals with different settings. Those lower notes just behave a little different in the effects chain
@@theonyxofficial I agree. C# Standard is my favorite standard guitar tuning, and by extension you get drop B, and my all time favorite, most used tuning: double dropped B.
@@darkflash32 it works, done it tons of times on an epiphone, but if you dont want it to be sloppy fiesta do get some bigger strings, and just check if they fit the nut correctly. The truss rod might also need to get adjusted.
Not that long ago I discovered _the_ most brutal and sense-making tuning for the 8 string guitar. First you drop the low F# string down to E, no big deal. But then you also tune the G string down a 1/2 step. What you end up with is essentially a B standard tuning on the 6 center strings _plus_ a high E and a low E on the respective edges. The standard tuning allows you to do pretty much anything you'd do on a normal guitar but with more emphasis on the lows, since you moved a perfect 4th from E standard. _And_ you also have the opportunity to do some drop riffage with the low E. _And_ you also have an extended range for leads/solos thanks to the high E. _And_ the best part is that it's very easy to learn and play some usual guitar chords across all of the 8 strings. Personally I also take this whole thing and tune it up a 1/2 step so that I end up in C standard with added Fs - merely because I like this sound more. (The tuning string by string would be F C F Bb Eb G C F.) Now, I don't claim that I invented this, I'm very sure other people must have discovered this tuning before me, I just never heard of anyone using it. Do any of you know of an actual usage of this? I'd be grateful for inspiration.
I've been using this tuning for the past 6 months, it's cool that you had the same idea. I discovered this when I tried to tune my guitar like the band Loathe (they use 6 string baritones in E A E A D F#) and I realised that when you add the B and the E, the 3 highest strings are now in 4ths so it's easier to play melodies. Also, I think the 8 string guitar is a great platform for alternate tunings.
I think what makes drop C so special as a tuning is it’s the perfect middle ground for heaviness and melodic phrasing potential. IIRC, most pop songs are written in C (major to be specific). You can make a great melody in any key, but there’s something about C, minor or major, that can really make it pop in a good way. I think it’s why most melodic metalcore bands in the 2,000’s used it; the melodies always sounded good, but the chugging on the low C always brought the heaviness.
Yes indeed. Writing from a piano keyboard, even in the minds ear and eye onto a grand staff....written as played (guitar geys put on a Treble Clef in all the song books despite it's true range) and it really makes sense for functional reasons G is the dominant and B the leading tone so easy to reach normally. It's probably not conscious. Not all must retune perhaps.
My favourite drop C riff is probably Prong - Snap Your Fingers Snap Your Neck. It has two different riffs that could easily have been on this list. Probably my first exposure to drop C way back in 1994...
I know Rammstein's tuning varies but hearing their C (or whatever it was) live nearly buried me at Lincoln Financial Field last week. Epic. They let those two-ton chords just carry and it's beyond YUGE. 🔥🔥🔥😃
I agree with the comments bellow. I’ve been playing guitar for 18 years now, I’m a Metallica and Dream Theater fan and I just started to listen to Gojira last year. My first thought was: why didn’t I listen to them sooner. They are now in my top 5 bands.
A drop C riff you should check out (that doesn't get talked about much) is Blew by Nirvana. The bass mixed in with the heavy riff Kurt plays plus the hard hitting drums of Chad Channing gives Blew the heaviness it deserves
I remember looking up Digital Bath at guitar centers library of tab books and I then trying it out, I was like holy crap this drop C thing actually works!!!
Isn't that just standard seven string BEADGBE tuned whole step down to ADGCFAD and then the lower D string removed ? Don't get me wrong, I like the tuning, but it isn't really that crazy.
@@MrSprandik They either use AGCFAD or CGCFAD. Just read an interview with Bill Kelliher, he said that they are just not into 7 strings guitar. However, I have only a 7 string guitar, so I am trying Mastodon songs with ACGCFAD tuning. Sometimes I just omit one string (weird) sometimes I just find a role for the "extra" string :-)
@@MFKR696 to me it was more about making sense of the tuning than about recreating the band thought process an by tuning seven string BEADGBE whole step down to ADGCFAD and then removing six string you're still getting the same AGCFAD tuning. And it's make more sense to me like that because it explains the interval of tenth between fifth and sixth string more clearly: it's a standard interval of fourth between guitar strings, but twice.
@@MFKR696 you're not actually supposed to remove string from seven string it's just LIKE a seven string without the sixth string. That makes more sense to me. "Sixth string just tuned down one fourth more" doesn't really sound like the explanation to me. Why it's tuned down like that ? Because it's like skipping one string .
Gojira's got all sorts of amazing drop C songs, from "Vacuity," "Toxic Garbage Island," and "The Way of All Flesh" to "Mouth of Kala," "Gift of Guilt," "Pray," etc. One of my other favorite drop C riffs definitely has to be "Holy Roller" by Throwdown.
Chevelle plays in drop C a lot and I love pete’s guitar tone. The sounds he is able to make live are like nothing I’ve heard before, and the way he uses ghost notes to drive a rhythm really make him stand out
Saw them when they were promoting Wonder What's Next. Never understood how they never really gained much recognition outside of the hard rock scene because they're just so heavy with that 3man band its unreal.
I never knew what a versatile guitarist you were! You can play anything! I really enjoy you videos, I think your one of the best out there doing this! Keep up the killer work!
My favorite trio of bands from the 2000's and 2010's is Seether, Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace. They're in drop tunings for pretty much everything and varies from Drop-D to Drop-A, but mostly in D, Db and C. Some favorites in Drop-C; Seether: Like Suicide, Fallen, Fake It, Careless Whisper and Same Damn Life. Country Song is in D-standard, but it's a banger. Breaking Benjamin: So Cold, Anthem of The Angels, Home and Unknown Soldier Three Days Grace: Animal I Have Become, Riot, Home, Time of Dying, World So Cold, Chalk Outline and Bully Other favorites: Coffin - Black Veil Brides, Shadows Die - Black Veil Brides, I'll Cast A Shadow - Pantera
I have been living in D Standard for about a year now and I really enjoy it and adding that Drop C on it is like the icing on the cake. I have another guitar strung up with Mammoth Slinkys to handle C Standard tuning as an alternative.
Drop C has been my favorite tuning since I first started playing and it’s what I still use to this day. I first started using it to learn White Pony and then the Toxicity album.
Prong is definitely a good band for drop C lot of the riffs have a nice groove to them. Hatebreed has definitely got some of the heaviest drop C riffs that absolutely move the crowd
I'd have to say that one of my favorites has to be Nirvanas' Blew on Bleach, I just can't get enough of the bass line in the beginning, it just hits a certain spot every time
Korea by Deftones has some pretty heavy drop C riffs. The dissonant chords in the verses and chorus make it feel heavier than it actually is, and then the bridge has a really memorable riff that ties the song together. Paradise Lost also tuned to drop C for some of their songs on In Requiem, Never For the Damned having some pretty damn heavy riffs.
My Favorite Songs that are in Drop C: Slipknot by Slipknot (MFKR Demo) Gently by Slipknot (MFKR Demo) Planned Obsolescence by Gojira Vacuity by Gojira Suicide Messiah by BLS Yama’s Messenger by Gojira Toxic Garbage Island by Gojira L’enfant Sauvage by Gojira The Gift of Guilt by Gojira Radiant Eclipse by A7X Lonely Train by Black Stone Cherry Shimmy by SOAD Needles by SOAD Deer Dance by SOAD War? by SOAD Suite-Pee by SOAD Sugar by SOAD Aerials by SOAD Prison Song by SOAD Chop Suey! by SOAD Also if we’re including the alternate Drop C tuning that Gojira used on the Way of all Flesh than throw in Art of Dying and The Way of All Flesh.
I think my absolute favorite Drop C Riffs are: Bad Seed by Metallica, and Under the Sun by Black Sabbath. Both simple but heavy as hell Edit: Ok I realized my mistake, I don't know how I messed up but whatever. My actual fav Drop C riffs are, Fansong by Dethklok, Mean It by Slackjaw, and Mein Teil by Rammstein.
System of a Down, baby! I was born into Drop C, molded by it. I didnt see Standard tuning until I was already a man. By then it was nothing to me but SOFT!
I started playing in standard tuning, and I love it, but when I found drop C I fell in love, and it was why I started a metal band. We played tons of shows all over the Denver metro area, over the course of 8 years and wrote 2 full length albums. Unfortunately our 2nd and best, was never recorded. Biggest regret of my life. But yeah, System of A Down was why I fell in love with drop C. Epic riffs.
I remember the feeling of discovering dropped C back in highschool. Intonation or string gauges didn't matter, it was all about playing along to mp3s through my spider 3 and HAVING FUN!
My curse is slightly played wrong, but doesn't really matter, i love this video, Drop C is definitely also my favorite tuning to play in and there are so many amazing songs written in it.
@@TrapFrogGeeker73 Thanks, i'm not a native English speaker but i'm trying to become perfect bilingual, also want to be able to type everything in the correct way. It's fixed now but when to use 'to' or 'too' is sometimes confusing lol, like of and off was in the beginning, but i'm learning and getting better ea day.
Shadow Are Security by As I Lay Dying was the album that taught me to play guitar, I remember listening to it over and over again for hours trying to figure out the notes despite barley knowing how to play guitar I thought those songs were so cool that I kept going and going until I was able to play them and at one point I could play most the album in full and drop C being the primary tuning for that album made me fall in love with the tuning and for the longest time I only played drop C
Any Chimaira riff would also be on this list. "Crawl", "Army of Me", "Destroy and Dominate", "Cleansation" and SO many others. One of my fav metal bands ever, and they almost exclusively play in Drop C
Other amazing bands that play a lot in drop C and have killer riffs: - August burns red (awesome leads) - Beartooth (great power chords focused riffs) - Miss may i (typical sounding metalcore with the usual chug on the 6th string alternating with notes on the 5th and 4th, some of their songs are pretty technical) - While she sleeps (crazy good leads with a mix of great power chords riffs) - Unearth (sounds a lot like miss may i) - Pretty much every other metalcore bands from mid 2000's to early 2010's
Top 5 drop c riffs 1 breathe life verse riff-killswitch engage 2 suffocating under words of sorrow verse riff-bfmv 3 becoming the bull verse riff-atreyu 4 do what you do chorus riff-mudvayne 5 fixation on the darkness verse riff- killswitch engage
For me, it is definitely the Drop B or Standard C# because I visualize it as a dark green, almost black and white-looking colour. Makes me feel creative and powerful at the same time. Drop C is more like golden-yellow.. Sounds bright, kind a bluesy type of vibe. Dont get me wrong, if its a well constructed riff, it will sound heavy in any tunning but its just that everyone has its own view and colour palette. This is just how I think about the notes.
I prefer B and C for those same reasons I love D standard as well for more hard rock purposes but if it's heavy I'm going straight C or B. What color do you visualize Drop A?
@@alc3062 Yeah you're actually right.. That's what I see too! But i was probably reading my own comment about Drop B being dark green again so must've been mixed those two colours in my mind haha
Robbie Fitzgerald That’s Drop C#, they started using that tuning for Mesmerize/Hypnotize and their first three albums (SOAD, Toxicity and Steal This Album!) were all Drop C
Watched Steve Vai play live. I have been to many death metal shows, and I'm telling you, Bad Horsie live was the nastiest riff I've ever heard. Vai, obvious not being remotely death metal, made this incredible.
I started in standard tuning (as everyone did) and I was raised listening to old school music, like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. And I never even thought that there might be a lower tunings. I didn't think about tuning at all because I was a kid. But when I discovered a modern rock and metal music thanks to internet - my world changed! I got to know that there's 1 step down tuning (D), 2 step down (C) and so on. But the Drop-tuning is something that captures your attention immediately! For me the first band I heard playing in Drop was Nickelback and I wanted to play in that tuning so I did. Later I've been tuning lower to Drop B, then Drop A# and for around 8 years ago I stopped at Drop A which is perfect for me. It sounds real heavy, real thick and still clear to hear every note. Drop C is awesome tuning and often it seem to sound lower than it really is!
I'm glad we at least got one CoB riff on here. I still beg to differ on drop C being the heaviest tuning, but I will admit that it strikes a perfect balance between heaviness and clarity. Plus, I've come to associate D standard and drop C with death metal as a whole, especially pushing back into the 90's with bands like Death and, again, CoB, so it's a personal fav regardless
Great list! A song I was waiting for, as it's the song that taught me about Drop-C when I was learning guitar in high school would be I Don't Wanna Stop by Ozzy. Zakk Wylde doing what he does best on that one, really.
To your point on clarity; when a bass is tuned to drop C, the low C (C1) is at 32.70Hz which although not the lowest for most hearing (~20Hz), it is around the lowest sweet spot for what MOST speakers can reproduce with accuracy and articulation. Yes higher end stuff can do better at lower frequencies (SVS subs can go down to -9000Hz lol), but for most peoples speakers/headphones, this in my opinion sounds best and what lends to the "best-ness" of Drop C.
All you would have to do is cut off some of the low-end frequencies to clean it up that's it. This works on any instrument any tuning. Only other thing that would cause muddiness is string tension. Loose tension equals muddy sound.
@@luxuriousfir I do agree but then you’re losing that fundamental note and it just doesn’t sound as rich and full as it could. I am old now and have invested in a good quality (not fancy) system and it does make a huge difference on the lower end and over all as expected. Going between my stock car’s audio and the house is night and day. To your point on string tension I 100% agree!!! My RG7421 has .70 for the A string just to get the tension and tone I wanted.
When it comes to drop c, you really can’t go wrong with Killswitch. In fact, you can’t go wrong with Killswitch or As I Lay Dying, they’re the undeniable kings of drop c and metalcore in general.
@@xfritzthecatx3782 Ummmm, that’s not true at all lmao. 80% of their catalogue is in drop c with a few songs in drop d and RARELY any in drop b. Where did you get that information from? You might be thinking more of Parkway Drive. They play exclusively in drop b.
@@goner.9989 I'm not wrong about As I Lay Dying. PWD plays like 70% of their material in drop B with the other 30% in drop A# so that's my fault. As I Lay Dying has one song that i can think of off the top of my head thats in drop A# and its Shaped by Fire. You can look this up, I'm not wrong. I've learned the entirety of AILD's first 3 albums and they're all in drop c with MAYBE one exception per album.
Great video showcasing an awesome tuning. When I saw the Wylde Audio guitar I thought there would be a BLS/Zakk Wylde song mentioned, but no joy. The album 1919 Eternal, which got me into this tuning, has some great Drop C riffs. Thanks for the great content!
originally learned the fretboard using Drop C (had to relearn it in standard), to me it’s the perfect balance of heaviness without having the strings flopping around. Great video!
August Burns Red and As I Lay Dying deserve to be on this list imo, they’re big enough that I’m surprised people didn’t mention them but they both play the majority of their songs in drop C
Drop C is pretty cool, you've got Gojira, Children of Bodom, Mastodon, Blood Incantation, Green lung playimg in that tuning. But B standard (on a 6 string or 7 string even) has gotta be the best, you've got all the goodness of E standard plus the low B note which is very cool and also a very death metal tuning
Agreed. With a 7 string there is no drop tuning if in E standard. You just have a low B and that gives the full roundness of tone as far as I'm concerned. I have a Schecter Damian Platinum 7 string and I love how I can drop A on it and the notes still come out crystal clear. Of course it helps when you have good gear for those tones. Besides Bm is a very heavy key to play in. That and Dm in my opinion. Bm even sounds so damn heavy on a piano.
I play my 7 in Bb standard. I was a GnR fan growing up so my 6s were always tuned a 1/2 step flat. When I moved to a 7 I just tuned flat there too. I do run light strings to keep it from getting muddy.
Jerry Cantrell’s Degradation Trip is a great album with Standard D# and D, Drop C# and Drop C and B standard Baritone riffs scattered everywhere. I think “Spiderbite” is the best Drop C riff on that album. It’s so HEAVY!
Drop C and Drop A# are my go-to tunings. Drop A# when used with proper pickups, string tension, and tone is absolutely amazing sonically and gives me a similar feel to Drop C just with an emphasis on the lower end of the midrange that I don't really get from B or A oddly enough. Your low A# is beefy but can still sound really tight and clear. I personally use a 0.074 gauge string on it and it sounds massive but still has a lot of definition and the harmonic richness is absolutely insane. Then it positions the rest of your strings in your mid-range so you end up with smooth but still clear and bright runs on your higher strings and a ton of warmth and growl in the in-betweens. A wound 3rd really goes a long way with this tuning too
One of my favorite metal 'Drop C' riffs of all time. (I knew I wouldn't see it here but still enjoyed what was on offer, lol)... "Hall of the Mountain King" - Savatage. A very underrated guitarist back in the 80's Criss Oliva (R.I.P.).... Their older albums were in D or Drop C, later going back to standard tuning. Tend to agree, without playing heavy gauged strings or spending a lifetime getting that Floyd to work properly, Drop C is a great middle ground tuning. Best of both worlds, sounds heavy and clarity still retains fairly well. Wish more bands used it.
I just came across this video in my suggestions and I can't decide if I'm more impressed with the playing (especially Bad Horsie) or if I'm just really jealous of all the beautiful guitars and equipment! Haha! Here I am trying to save the money for my first electric guitar in 15 years (used to own 4 very nice electrics including a Les Paul DC Plus and Fender American Deluxe) and you have what, 37!? Haha. Killer vid, my man! I will continue to tune in!
Personally I think that Drop C is the perfect middle ground between heaviness and clarity. It's still heavy as fuck and you got the clarity and dynamics to still do more with it. I love some bands that go lower than that, obviously, but regarding to heavy tunings, Drop C is my favorite.
For fun discussion sake, I'll chime in and say it has a lot to do with the bass. A bass can still "thump" on a LOW C or even a B. A# and lower and the bass note starts to have a weird+ unarticulated attack, and a mere rumble for the tail of the note.
@@brianbergmusic5288 I totally agree and could say that this happens on the guitar as well depending on how you adjust your tone and how you record it. For example, I love the death metal band Nile. They play in Drop A. Sadly in some of their recordings it's hard to even discern what's happening and there's not a lot of dynamics going on, and it can leave the sound quite stale and boring if you are not in the mood for it. And the bass is practically a drone at this point too.
@@hugoleonardoamaral586 That's freaky! I was just listening Nile when you posted. I too enjoy Nile quite a bit. I also love Ron Jarzombeck's (Blotted Science) instrumental death metal album "The Machinations of Dementia" which is also recorded in Drop-A but with a less earthy/reverb sounding amp. Ron's riffs bounce around and switch tone clusters so much that the bass is less of an incoherent rumble. I think that's the most intelligent way to write riffs is to keep the lowest notes held in reserve for harmonic movement or resolving cadences. Of course, it also helps that Alex Webster (the guest bassist for Blotted Science) is a bass monster.
@@snow15243 Don't rush it... build a solid foundation. I watched the vid of you playing and one thing I noticed off hand that could help you is to pick with less motion. You do not need to have the pick fly miles away from the strings every time you dig in (unless it's for showing off or windmills). Even if all you want to do is strum, you need to tighten up your motions and only let the pick fly away as far as necessary for feel and looseness of wrist muscles. If you want to play metal, watch really fast rhythm downpickers. You will notice that they have economy of motion down to a science whether they pick single notes or two string dyads (looks like wrist flicks/shakes). However, a good teacher will show you how to control your picking motions with less muscle tension -- the worst enemy of speed and longevity. Once you have a grasp of economy of motion and the biomechanics of holding a pick with more intention, then you can venture onwards and upwards to concepts such as alternate picking (and economy or directional systems). The kung fu schools for guitar open their doors and the metronome keeps going up in tempo. You are at an age where you have boatloads of time to build that solid foundation and afterwards conquer the greatest solos with plenty of time to spare. I wish I had started guitar at your age instead of as a young adult. Good luck!
I think you're right about drop c. Jim root used drop b and a, his guitars feature ebony fret boards for clarity and signature pickups to brighten his sound. I could be wrong but that's what I see.
That would actually be Drop G (GDGCFAD) since the standard tuning is BEADGBE, and one step down would be ADGCFAD before dropping the lowest string down another step.
If you do dig in Gojira’s discography, defintely check out some live stuff on youtube. Anything off of The brixton academy live is excellent stuff. Studio wise, my fav album of theirs would be The Way Of All Flesh, check out the last sing, the title track. Gojira are different imo.
Drop C just records very well meaning it isn't hard to get the guitar tone perfect. I prefer B myself. I think it's the perfect heavy guitar tuning. Great video.
Job For A Cowboy's album Doom is in Drop C and I love the songs on that album. Also alot of Bodom aswell like everything from Are You Dead Yet? except Next In Line. Roundtrip To Hell And Back, Pussyfoot Miss Suicide, Hellhounds On My Trail and Knuckleduster are really fun ones recommend learning them
Drop C, C# and D are my main tunings cause they just sound so fierce and heavy without tuning absurdly low My favorite super low tuning, in my mind, nothing beats Drop A.
For me it was Metallica's some kind of monster, oh I just love to tune my guitar to drop C and play this song it is so cool how you feel when you play it, also "the notes in between" can be challenging.
Would have liked to have seem ADTR Sticks and Bricks on this list, feels so heavy the way the riff works with the kick and vocals but not sure what I'd bump off this really solid list. great vid.
Van Halen’s song Dirty Movies is another fantastic example of great drop C riffs. Personally it’s one of my favs and it’s the heaviest song they have in their catalogue Edit: The song is in drop C#, but nonetheless still one of the heaviest songs to use drop tunings
I was caugh by surprise when you started playing Gojira, that's my favorite band in the whole world! And you played very nicely! Keep it up the great content!
When you said drop C I immediately thought of Children of Bodom. I'm also glad that you included Gojira. And I like the Zakk Wylde SG. A new piece, huh?
I'm so glad that you included L'Enfant sauvage in the video. I played the whole song in my music class and it was super fun to learn. I love how the song is syncopated it is very interesting especially the main riff it gives it a very cool vibe. By the way the project for the music thing was you had to learn a song that was written by a French artist so I picked L'Enfant sauvage because the whole band is French.
My personal opinion for a Drop C song that should be added here: Disturbed - Indestructible This song was my introduction to Drop C as well as altered time signatures (Indestructible’s intro riff being in 7/4). One of the heaviest Drop C riffs IMO.
Some of Periphery’s riffs are almost shocking that they’re only in drop C. Lotta variety, from clean stuff like All New Materials to some pretty shreddy material, like Pale Aura. Omega specifically sounds like a 7-string; the end breakdown is monstrous.
Drop C is my favorite guitar tuning as well. It’s low enough to be heavy, but not low enough to lose clarity. It’s that perfect marriage of heaviness and clarity. I also really love 7 string Drop A.
That and the fact that if it was 2 takes spliced together the video footage would make it obvious. There would be a clear cut where he wouldn't have been stood exactly the same. That is how you know it was one take.
Rabea’s work in Toska. Done. As far as heavy tunings go though…In Flames uses mostly drop Bb. Lucky for me I keep a guitar in drop B so no biggie on setup. Lots of great riffs in their catalog. Meet Your Maker is a newer tasty one. All the chunks, perfect rhythm changes, big chorus, great solo.
dOoO yOuU wAnT hEaV-eHhHh beH-bAyYyYyYy????
- James Hetfield
Yes, I do
Exactly what I thought
what about no one knows by queens of the stone age?
@@SethPlaysBass I think that’s in C standard
Metallica gives you HEAVYYY
I'm so glad you include COB in these. They get overlooked way too much for how awesome they were.
Rip Alexei
Deathly true
Glad my comment made it to the video 😄 \m/
COB has amazing riffage tbh
You should do an entire video about Gojira they have a really unique sound and the way they use tapping is really interesting
Couldn't agree more
Absolutely, i think he’d really dig their music
They should remake the more cowbell skit with them and say more pick scrape
Have you heard of Uncle Ben?
GOJIRAAAAAA
My favorite System song in Drop C has to be either “Prison Song” or “Aerials”. “Deer Dance” is a good one too. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with just about any song on Toxicity for good Drop C riffs.
I will never forget where I was and my reaction the first time I ever heard "Sugar". I'm lucky I didn't cause permanent damage to my neck. Bought the album like a week later.
"Innervision" from Steal this Album is probably my favourite SOAD Drop C riff. Either that, or "Storaged" or "Marmalade"
Aerials is a good one. My fav from System.
Aerials is so fuckin good
Most if not all Converge songs are in Drop C, amazing band, pretty intense too
Drop C is the best tuning for a heavy sound with a standard guitar setup. To get lower tunings to sound good it really helps to use a guitar that's built for it with longer neck scale length, a nut slotted for thicker string gauges, etc. and also you need to spend some time re-dialing your amp and trying different OD/Dist pedals with different settings. Those lower notes just behave a little different in the effects chain
would a 24.75 scale length sound good on drop c?
Drop b the best
@@theonyxofficial I agree. C# Standard is my favorite standard guitar tuning, and by extension you get drop B, and my all time favorite, most used tuning: double dropped B.
@@darkflash32 Should be fine, just find strings you're comfortable with in that tuning.
@@darkflash32 it works, done it tons of times on an epiphone, but if you dont want it to be sloppy fiesta do get some bigger strings, and just check if they fit the nut correctly. The truss rod might also need to get adjusted.
Not that long ago I discovered _the_ most brutal and sense-making tuning for the 8 string guitar.
First you drop the low F# string down to E, no big deal. But then you also tune the G string down a 1/2 step.
What you end up with is essentially a B standard tuning on the 6 center strings _plus_ a high E and a low E on the respective edges. The standard tuning allows you to do pretty much anything you'd do on a normal guitar but with more emphasis on the lows, since you moved a perfect 4th from E standard. _And_ you also have the opportunity to do some drop riffage with the low E. _And_ you also have an extended range for leads/solos thanks to the high E. _And_ the best part is that it's very easy to learn and play some usual guitar chords across all of the 8 strings.
Personally I also take this whole thing and tune it up a 1/2 step so that I end up in C standard with added Fs - merely because I like this sound more. (The tuning string by string would be F C F Bb Eb G C F.)
Now, I don't claim that I invented this, I'm very sure other people must have discovered this tuning before me, I just never heard of anyone using it. Do any of you know of an actual usage of this? I'd be grateful for inspiration.
Damn man thats sounds cool as heck. I would totally use this if I could afford an 8string LMAO.
@@PSZEMKI Hehe mine is a Harley Benton, the cheapest 8 string on the market. D:
I’m going to try this on my 8-string. It does make sense. A baritone guitar with an extra high and low string. That’s cool. 😬👍
I've been using this tuning for the past 6 months, it's cool that you had the same idea. I discovered this when I tried to tune my guitar like the band Loathe (they use 6 string baritones in E A E A D F#) and I realised that when you add the B and the E, the 3 highest strings are now in 4ths so it's easier to play melodies.
Also, I think the 8 string guitar is a great platform for alternate tunings.
Kind if reminds me of Steph from Deftones 😁🤔
Animal I Have Become was the first song I ever learned on guitar. Definitely holds a special place in my heart.
Same here!!!!
It has to be done.
That’s probably drop B
@@MySpaceDxC_Suffo_AtTheGates do one google search please
I think what makes drop C so special as a tuning is it’s the perfect middle ground for heaviness and melodic phrasing potential. IIRC, most pop songs are written in C (major to be specific). You can make a great melody in any key, but there’s something about C, minor or major, that can really make it pop in a good way. I think it’s why most melodic metalcore bands in the 2,000’s used it; the melodies always sounded good, but the chugging on the low C always brought the heaviness.
Yes indeed. Writing from a piano keyboard, even in the minds ear and eye onto a grand staff....written as played (guitar geys put on a Treble Clef in all the song books despite it's true range) and it really makes sense for functional reasons G is the dominant and B the leading tone so easy to reach normally. It's probably not conscious. Not all must retune perhaps.
My favourite drop C riff is probably Prong - Snap Your Fingers Snap Your Neck. It has two different riffs that could easily have been on this list. Probably my first exposure to drop C way back in 1994...
Yo that was groovy as hell and I am gonna learn that as soon as I'm done my coffee thanks dude
Love that album
Absolutely Ace.
Prong! Yes!
Thanks for jarring my memory. I had to jump over to Prong to listen immediately. ,✌️
I know Rammstein's tuning varies but hearing their C (or whatever it was) live nearly buried me at Lincoln Financial Field last week. Epic. They let those two-ton chords just carry and it's beyond YUGE. 🔥🔥🔥😃
I think my favorite Drop C riff is "Silhouette" by Thrice - simple, but just so good. Just huge and powerful sounding and I've always loved it.
Name a thrice song that isn't huge and powerful, I dare you.
Ah, I See You're a Man of Culture As Well
Anything off that album! 🤘👍
Fuckn Thrice, yeah!!!
Thrice is awesome, Black Honey was one of my first guitar riffs
I agree with the comments bellow. I’ve been playing guitar for 18 years now, I’m a Metallica and Dream Theater fan and I just started to listen to Gojira last year. My first thought was: why didn’t I listen to them sooner. They are now in my top 5 bands.
Ditto. Incredible music! Check out King Woman and Chelsea Wolfe too!
If you like Gonira, listen to some meshuggah. They are my favorite right now
A drop C riff you should check out (that doesn't get talked about much) is Blew by Nirvana. The bass mixed in with the heavy riff Kurt plays plus the hard hitting drums of Chad Channing gives Blew the heaviness it deserves
That's in C standard.
@@philcollins5890 nope is Drop C
😂
@@philcollins5890 it's drop c
@@philcollins5890Krist's bass is for sure
The ENTIRE Deftones White Pony album is in drop C and is my favorite album of all time. It's perfect.
Thank you
I remember looking up Digital Bath at guitar centers library of tab books and I then trying it out, I was like holy crap this drop C thing actually works!!!
Some excellent guitar on that album. From this album onwards, a lot of their guitar parts got really interesting.
@@Labyrinth1010 what are you talking about lol?
Not sure how else to explain my comment. Feel free to move on if you don't understand or don't agree.
Lol.
BAD HORSIE is infectiously heavy.....Tyler but in a ton of work to recreate these tracks
i wonder how good horsie would sound muhahahahahaha
Mastodon’s earlier albums were played in AGCFAD and it’s my favorite tuning. It’s so heavy but also so weird.
Isn't that just standard seven string BEADGBE tuned whole step down to ADGCFAD and then the lower D string removed ?
Don't get me wrong, I like the tuning, but it isn't really that crazy.
@@MrSprandik They either use AGCFAD or CGCFAD. Just read an interview with Bill Kelliher, he said that they are just not into 7 strings guitar. However, I have only a 7 string guitar, so I am trying Mastodon songs with ACGCFAD tuning. Sometimes I just omit one string (weird) sometimes I just find a role for the "extra" string :-)
@@MFKR696 to me it was more about making sense of the tuning than about recreating the band thought process an by tuning seven string BEADGBE whole step down to ADGCFAD and then removing six string you're still getting the same AGCFAD tuning. And it's make more sense to me like that because it explains the interval of tenth between fifth and sixth string more clearly: it's a standard interval of fourth between guitar strings, but twice.
@@MFKR696 you're not actually supposed to remove string from seven string it's just LIKE a seven string without the sixth string. That makes more sense to me. "Sixth string just tuned down one fourth more" doesn't really sound like the explanation to me. Why it's tuned down like that ? Because it's like skipping one string .
yeah, and why he didn't included THAT riff ? (the last baron)
Gojira's got all sorts of amazing drop C songs, from "Vacuity," "Toxic Garbage Island," and "The Way of All Flesh" to "Mouth of Kala," "Gift of Guilt," "Pray," etc.
One of my other favorite drop C riffs definitely has to be "Holy Roller" by Throwdown.
vacuity has the best outro ever
Toxic Garbage Island has to be one of my favorite riffs
What about Silvera?
@@Vetkach silvera is in D standard
@@Nicolaukk vacuity intro better imo. Breaks my neck everytime 🤘🏽
Chevelle plays in drop C a lot and I love pete’s guitar tone. The sounds he is able to make live are like nothing I’ve heard before, and the way he uses ghost notes to drive a rhythm really make him stand out
Totally agree! Been playing a lot of Chevelle lately so they were the first band that came to mind. Their Drop B and Drop A# stuff is great too!
Saw them when they were promoting Wonder What's Next. Never understood how they never really gained much recognition outside of the hard rock scene because they're just so heavy with that 3man band its unreal.
@@omgvaguethey remind me of Filter in many ways. I think most people just don't know or respect certain talent when they hear/see it.
The entire L'Enfant Sauvage album is so, sooooo good. It was one of two albums in my introduction to extreme metal.
Even though Disturbed is just a meme at this point, I've always enjoyed their riffs. The beginning of Stricken is a pretty dope drop c song.
I think Stricken is one of their best songs
Yes!
Dan is pretty awesome for writing under-the-radar kickass riffs. In This Moment is one of my more recent favourites.
@@Barrsie For sure. Underrated player but a favourite of mine next to Mark Tremonti and Mike Mushok
I still have a hard time playing Stricken. That's a hard damn song.
I never knew what a versatile guitarist you were! You can play anything! I really enjoy you videos, I think your one of the best out there doing this! Keep up the killer work!
My favorite trio of bands from the 2000's and 2010's is Seether, Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace. They're in drop tunings for pretty much everything and varies from Drop-D to Drop-A, but mostly in D, Db and C. Some favorites in Drop-C;
Seether: Like Suicide, Fallen, Fake It, Careless Whisper and Same Damn Life. Country Song is in D-standard, but it's a banger.
Breaking Benjamin: So Cold, Anthem of The Angels, Home and Unknown Soldier
Three Days Grace: Animal I Have Become, Riot, Home, Time of Dying, World So Cold, Chalk Outline and Bully
Other favorites:
Coffin - Black Veil Brides, Shadows Die - Black Veil Brides, I'll Cast A Shadow - Pantera
Home is C# but agreed.
I'll cast a shadow is sick
Oh yeah, Seether. I love them. My Disaster riff comes to my mind.
I have been living in D Standard for about a year now and I really enjoy it and adding that Drop C on it is like the icing on the cake.
I have another guitar strung up with Mammoth Slinkys to handle C Standard tuning as an alternative.
C standard is great, I like how QOTSA used that tuning a lot
D standard is just perfect IMO. Plus you can play Death songs!
I have a Jazzmaster exclusive for that tuning
Deftones' White Pony and many other of their songs made me do it
So many great riffs
Black Label Society’s newest single, Set You Free, has a badass riff throughout the song. It’s so awesome
Yeah that ones in C# standard though
Any of the stuff off BLS 1919 eternal would count lol. And he’s playing a WYLDE AUDIO!
Drop C has been my favorite tuning since I first started playing and it’s what I still use to this day. I first started using it to learn White Pony and then the Toxicity album.
Prong is definitely a good band for drop C lot of the riffs have a nice groove to them. Hatebreed has definitely got some of the heaviest drop C riffs that absolutely move the crowd
Thrice had some absolutely incredible C# songs. Amazingly talented band and a huge influence on my playing today.
I came here to mention thrice as well. The Artist In The Ambulance album has some baller drop C riffs all over.
Came here to suggest Silhouette
I can't remember if it's drop c or drop c#, but Deadbolt has a pretty killer riff. Probably my favorite of theirs.
I remember back when I first learned the entirety of the first SOaD album. Good times.
Learning the songs was super easy, but matching the playing style was a challenge for sure.
It's not heavy, but Mastodon's opening riff to "Crack the Skye" is my favourite thing to play in Drop C.
Crack the Skye is in AGCFAd my dude
I'd have to say that one of my favorites has to be Nirvanas' Blew on Bleach, I just can't get enough of the bass line in the beginning, it just hits a certain spot every time
I think that's drop c#
But awesome riff anyhow If he did a drop c# video it would be just grunge really
@@wornstrat5517 no it's drop C
@@Happylink75 ah you are correct. I was thinking of alice in chains really
Korea by Deftones has some pretty heavy drop C riffs. The dissonant chords in the verses and chorus make it feel heavier than it actually is, and then the bridge has a really memorable riff that ties the song together.
Paradise Lost also tuned to drop C for some of their songs on In Requiem, Never For the Damned having some pretty damn heavy riffs.
Deftones have a lot of killer drop C riffs. I was hoping to hear them on here.
Probably the least known song off white pony
@@MadDogHoek23 a lot of theirs are actually drop c #
@@ryaneastwood6561 around the fur is drop c#, white pony is drop c. There are a couple of exceptions between both albums.
Deftones is actually the best band ever and has 30 years of killer records to prove it!
My Favorite Songs that are in Drop C:
Slipknot by Slipknot (MFKR Demo)
Gently by Slipknot (MFKR Demo)
Planned Obsolescence by Gojira
Vacuity by Gojira
Suicide Messiah by BLS
Yama’s Messenger by Gojira
Toxic Garbage Island by Gojira
L’enfant Sauvage by Gojira
The Gift of Guilt by Gojira
Radiant Eclipse by A7X
Lonely Train by Black Stone Cherry
Shimmy by SOAD
Needles by SOAD
Deer Dance by SOAD
War? by SOAD
Suite-Pee by SOAD
Sugar by SOAD
Aerials by SOAD
Prison Song by SOAD
Chop Suey! by SOAD
Also if we’re including the alternate Drop C tuning that Gojira used on the Way of all Flesh than throw in Art of Dying and The Way of All Flesh.
tbh kinda wondering if you like Gojira and SOAD
@@calebgood4966 yeah I do like both Gojira and SOAD. And in addition to that, I like Machine Head too. Also btw, was Burn My Eyes in Drop B or Drop C?
I’m always happy when Tyler uploads! \m/
I think my absolute favorite Drop C Riffs are: Bad Seed by Metallica, and Under the Sun by Black Sabbath. Both simple but heavy as hell
Edit: Ok I realized my mistake, I don't know how I messed up but whatever. My actual fav Drop C riffs are, Fansong by Dethklok, Mean It by Slackjaw, and Mein Teil by Rammstein.
I'm pretty sure under the sun is in C# standard.
Bad seed is c# standard
yeah, both those songs are in C# Standard
Fail...
@@chrisrodsa210 no one cares if it's a fail, they're educating instead of berating them.
System of a Down, baby! I was born into Drop C, molded by it. I didnt see Standard tuning until I was already a man. By then it was nothing to me but SOFT!
Lame
Trying out some old Metalica & Slayer riffs(although Eb) might help you change your mind.
Never heard of Sylosis?
I started playing in standard tuning, and I love it, but when I found drop C I fell in love, and it was why I started a metal band. We played tons of shows all over the Denver metro area, over the course of 8 years and wrote 2 full length albums. Unfortunately our 2nd and best, was never recorded. Biggest regret of my life. But yeah, System of A Down was why I fell in love with drop C. Epic riffs.
I remember the feeling of discovering dropped C back in highschool. Intonation or string gauges didn't matter, it was all about playing along to mp3s through my spider 3 and HAVING FUN!
16 years later im on my second spider 3
My curse is slightly played wrong, but doesn't really matter, i love this video, Drop C is definitely also my favorite tuning to play in and there are so many amazing songs written in it.
Your spelling of "too" is slightly wrong in this context (to) but it doesn't really matter.
@@TrapFrogGeeker73 Thanks, i'm not a native English speaker but i'm trying to become perfect bilingual, also want to be able to type everything in the correct way. It's fixed now but when to use 'to' or 'too' is sometimes confusing lol, like of and off was in the beginning, but i'm learning and getting better ea day.
@@TrapFrogGeeker73 you're*
@@Vivi_9 Your*
@@OmegaGames159 no u
Shadow Are Security by As I Lay Dying was the album that taught me to play guitar, I remember listening to it over and over again for hours trying to figure out the notes despite barley knowing how to play guitar I thought those songs were so cool that I kept going and going until I was able to play them and at one point I could play most the album in full and drop C being the primary tuning for that album made me fall in love with the tuning and for the longest time I only played drop C
Any Chimaira riff would also be on this list. "Crawl", "Army of Me", "Destroy and Dominate", "Cleansation" and SO many others. One of my fav metal bands ever, and they almost exclusively play in Drop C
Thank you. My thought exactly
Just saw your comment now after making mine. HUGE CHIMAIRA FAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Glad there is someone else with my taste!
@@dylanbotha9052 Hell yeah dude! Rob and Andols melt more face than most, and Chimaira doesn't get enough credit in these "Top Riffs" vids!
Isn't one or two albums played on 7 strings though?
Pray for All and inside the Horror is also note worthy from their self titled.
Other amazing bands that play a lot in drop C and have killer riffs:
- August burns red (awesome leads)
- Beartooth (great power chords focused riffs)
- Miss may i (typical sounding metalcore with the usual chug on the 6th string alternating with notes on the 5th and 4th, some of their songs are pretty technical)
- While she sleeps (crazy good leads with a mix of great power chords riffs)
- Unearth (sounds a lot like miss may i)
- Pretty much every other metalcore bands from mid 2000's to early 2010's
Ever heard of Jobforacowboy their doom album has amazing drop c riffs
DEUTSCHLAND by RAMMSTEIN is slow but too powerful
Thricr artist in the ambulance cd had some great riffs in c deftones as well
@@johnaranjo2059 oh yeah Deftones is really cool to play!
Comparing Unearth to Miss May I really hurts bro.
Top 5 drop c riffs
1 breathe life verse riff-killswitch engage
2 suffocating under words of sorrow verse riff-bfmv
3 becoming the bull verse riff-atreyu
4 do what you do chorus riff-mudvayne
5 fixation on the darkness verse riff- killswitch engage
For me, it is definitely the Drop B or Standard C# because I visualize it as a dark green, almost black and white-looking colour. Makes me feel creative and powerful at the same time.
Drop C is more like golden-yellow.. Sounds bright, kind a bluesy type of vibe. Dont get me wrong, if its a well constructed riff, it will sound heavy in any tunning but its just that everyone has its own view and colour palette. This is just how I think about the notes.
Yep. Been using this tuning since the early 90s. It sounds really dark and sort of unusual.
I prefer B and C for those same reasons I love D standard as well for more hard rock purposes but if it's heavy I'm going straight C or B. What color do you visualize Drop A?
@@alc3062 Red, Greenish kidaa
@@famouswww hmm I always got a grey red bloody orange from A 😂
@@alc3062 Yeah you're actually right.. That's what I see too! But i was probably reading my own comment about Drop B being dark green again so must've been mixed those two colours in my mind haha
Whenever I'm in Drop C my go-to riffs are Chop Suey!/Aerials by System of a Down, Bad Horsie by Steve Vai and Sweet Amber from Metallica, so groovy
I think BYOB wouldve been the best pick.
Robbie Fitzgerald That’s Drop C#, they started using that tuning for Mesmerize/Hypnotize and their first three albums (SOAD, Toxicity and Steal This Album!) were all Drop C
@@andrewpappas9311 My bad.
@@RobbieFitzgerald All good, they still do those songs in Drop C live but on the original recording Daron used Drop C#
aerials is so fucken awesome
you nailed the exact reason why I love Drop C, it's heavy but not muddy. It's got a nice crisp crunch to it imo.
So glad to see Gojira included on this list. All of L'enfant Sauvage is such a heavy song. Any riff from it would've been great!!
Watched Steve Vai play live. I have been to many death metal shows, and I'm telling you, Bad Horsie live was the nastiest riff I've ever heard. Vai, obvious not being remotely death metal, made this incredible.
Yeah, Bad Horsie is suuuper nasty. Awesome tune.
one of the few riffs that are obligatory stank face
@@siggiarabi 🤘🤘
That's a dirty ass song
I started in standard tuning (as everyone did) and I was raised listening to old school music, like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. And I never even thought that there might be a lower tunings. I didn't think about tuning at all because I was a kid. But when I discovered a modern rock and metal music thanks to internet - my world changed! I got to know that there's 1 step down tuning (D), 2 step down (C) and so on. But the Drop-tuning is something that captures your attention immediately! For me the first band I heard playing in Drop was Nickelback and I wanted to play in that tuning so I did. Later I've been tuning lower to Drop B, then Drop A# and for around 8 years ago I stopped at Drop A which is perfect for me. It sounds real heavy, real thick and still clear to hear every note. Drop C is awesome tuning and often it seem to sound lower than it really is!
I'm glad we at least got one CoB riff on here. I still beg to differ on drop C being the heaviest tuning, but I will admit that it strikes a perfect balance between heaviness and clarity. Plus, I've come to associate D standard and drop C with death metal as a whole, especially pushing back into the 90's with bands like Death and, again, CoB, so it's a personal fav regardless
Great list! A song I was waiting for, as it's the song that taught me about Drop-C when I was learning guitar in high school would be I Don't Wanna Stop by Ozzy. Zakk Wylde doing what he does best on that one, really.
Killswitch Engage is definitely the band that my brain immediately goes to when I think of drop c! Great playing on all these songs 🙂
To your point on clarity; when a bass is tuned to drop C, the low C (C1) is at 32.70Hz which although not the lowest for most hearing (~20Hz), it is around the lowest sweet spot for what MOST speakers can reproduce with accuracy and articulation. Yes higher end stuff can do better at lower frequencies (SVS subs can go down to -9000Hz lol), but for most peoples speakers/headphones, this in my opinion sounds best and what lends to the "best-ness" of Drop C.
This is the technical explanation behind why all the modern, drop tuned 7 or 8 string stuff just sounds all muddy and bad to me! Thanks for that.
All you would have to do is cut off some of the low-end frequencies to clean it up that's it. This works on any instrument any tuning.
Only other thing that would cause muddiness is string tension. Loose tension equals muddy sound.
@@luxuriousfir I do agree but then you’re losing that fundamental note and it just doesn’t sound as rich and full as it could. I am old now and have invested in a good quality (not fancy) system and it does make a huge difference on the lower end and over all as expected. Going between my stock car’s audio and the house is night and day.
To your point on string tension I 100% agree!!! My RG7421 has .70 for the A string just to get the tension and tone I wanted.
@@kornhead37 I'm speaking in terms of recording process
@@kornhead37 I hear what you're saying but it can be done. There are a few bands that are doing it and doing it well. The Sentinels are one of them.
When it comes to drop c, you really can’t go wrong with Killswitch. In fact, you can’t go wrong with Killswitch or As I Lay Dying, they’re the undeniable kings of drop c and metalcore in general.
Not much AILD is in drop C, they are mostly Drop B or Drop D
@@xfritzthecatx3782 Ummmm, that’s not true at all lmao. 80% of their catalogue is in drop c with a few songs in drop d and RARELY any in drop b. Where did you get that information from? You might be thinking more of Parkway Drive. They play exclusively in drop b.
@@TheDude044 wrong about pwd too my dude. They play in drop A# as well. Not exclusively drop B.
@@goner.9989 I'm not wrong about As I Lay Dying. PWD plays like 70% of their material in drop B with the other 30% in drop A# so that's my fault. As I Lay Dying has one song that i can think of off the top of my head thats in drop A# and its Shaped by Fire. You can look this up, I'm not wrong. I've learned the entirety of AILD's first 3 albums and they're all in drop c with MAYBE one exception per album.
@@goner.9989 aild definitely does a majority of drop c. pwd is drop b/a#
Animal I have become is one of the first riffs I learned and it will forever have a place in my heart
Great video showcasing an awesome tuning. When I saw the Wylde Audio guitar I thought there would be a BLS/Zakk Wylde song mentioned, but no joy. The album 1919 Eternal, which got me into this tuning, has some great Drop C riffs. Thanks for the great content!
THANK YOU graveyard disciples is my favorite song on the album
originally learned the fretboard using Drop C (had to relearn it in standard), to me it’s the perfect balance of heaviness without having the strings flopping around. Great video!
Thicker strings will stop any tuning from the strings being floppy... If u go 56-13 on ur 6 string, u can go as low as GDGCFA no problem :)
It has nothing to do with floppyness. The guitar, pedals, and amps just sound like poop that low
just use thicker strings for lower tunings. i use 11-54, and can easily go from d standard to b standard.
@@xfritzthecatx3782 try a 7 string guitar for Drop G and get back to me. It's gonna sound miles better than downtuning a 6 string.
August Burns Red and As I Lay Dying deserve to be on this list imo, they’re big enough that I’m surprised people didn’t mention them but they both play the majority of their songs in drop C
Agreed! AILD especially was of the bands that got me into metalcore as a kid, and made me wanna play in drop c.
I always preferred KSE version of Holy Diver as a riff from that album, but my curse and so many others on there are awesome. really take me back!
Yes!
Drop C is pretty cool, you've got Gojira, Children of Bodom, Mastodon, Blood Incantation, Green lung playimg in that tuning. But B standard (on a 6 string or 7 string even) has gotta be the best, you've got all the goodness of E standard plus the low B note which is very cool and also a very death metal tuning
Agreed. With a 7 string there is no drop tuning if in E standard. You just have a low B and that gives the full roundness of tone as far as I'm concerned. I have a Schecter Damian Platinum 7 string and I love how I can drop A on it and the notes still come out crystal clear. Of course it helps when you have good gear for those tones. Besides Bm is a very heavy key to play in. That and Dm in my opinion. Bm even sounds so damn heavy on a piano.
Too Bad yall cant play in any tuning... drop c has a psychological aspect deeming its heavy sound aka c minor but what do i know
@@caseyduncan7638 I literally have a guitar in drop C, it's cool but it's not B standard ;)
C sounds like E, but a little darker., why cradle of filth and akercocke use it..
I play my 7 in Bb standard. I was a GnR fan growing up so my 6s were always tuned a 1/2 step flat. When I moved to a 7 I just tuned flat there too. I do run light strings to keep it from getting muddy.
Drop G Sharp (7 String) and Drop C (6 String) are my favorite tunings! Great Video!
Jerry Cantrell’s Degradation Trip is a great album with Standard D# and D, Drop C# and Drop C and B standard Baritone riffs scattered everywhere. I think “Spiderbite” is the best Drop C riff on that album. It’s so HEAVY!
AMAZING SONG
Hellbound did it for me
Great fuckin album, Psychotic Break is my personal favorite
@@cotopaximusic There are too many great songs on that album that I can't choose one!
I am glad Animal I Have Become made the list. One riff I would’ve liked to see that was also the first dropped C riff I learned is Monster by Skillet
those were the first songs that i tried to learn when i got my guitar.
Drop C and Drop A# are my go-to tunings. Drop A# when used with proper pickups, string tension, and tone is absolutely amazing sonically and gives me a similar feel to Drop C just with an emphasis on the lower end of the midrange that I don't really get from B or A oddly enough. Your low A# is beefy but can still sound really tight and clear. I personally use a 0.074 gauge string on it and it sounds massive but still has a lot of definition and the harmonic richness is absolutely insane. Then it positions the rest of your strings in your mid-range so you end up with smooth but still clear and bright runs on your higher strings and a ton of warmth and growl in the in-betweens. A wound 3rd really goes a long way with this tuning too
One of my favorite metal 'Drop C' riffs of all time. (I knew I wouldn't see it here but still enjoyed what was on offer, lol)... "Hall of the Mountain King" - Savatage. A very underrated guitarist back in the 80's Criss Oliva (R.I.P.).... Their older albums were in D or Drop C, later going back to standard tuning. Tend to agree, without playing heavy gauged strings or spending a lifetime getting that Floyd to work properly, Drop C is a great middle ground tuning. Best of both worlds, sounds heavy and clarity still retains fairly well. Wish more bands used it.
Yes, it's a damn shame Savatage wasn't included, but im not surprised.
Is Oliva in C when he breaks into that killer riff on Legions at the start of the chorus?
One of my favourite Drop C songs to play is The Motherload byMastodon it’s also very fun to play
I just came across this video in my suggestions and I can't decide if I'm more impressed with the playing (especially Bad Horsie) or if I'm just really jealous of all the beautiful guitars and equipment! Haha! Here I am trying to save the money for my first electric guitar in 15 years (used to own 4 very nice electrics including a Les Paul DC Plus and Fender American Deluxe) and you have what, 37!? Haha. Killer vid, my man! I will continue to tune in!
Personally I think that Drop C is the perfect middle ground between heaviness and clarity. It's still heavy as fuck and you got the clarity and dynamics to still do more with it.
I love some bands that go lower than that, obviously, but regarding to heavy tunings, Drop C is my favorite.
For fun discussion sake, I'll chime in and say it has a lot to do with the bass. A bass can still "thump" on a LOW C or even a B. A# and lower and the bass note starts to have a weird+ unarticulated attack, and a mere rumble for the tail of the note.
@@brianbergmusic5288 I totally agree and could say that this happens on the guitar as well depending on how you adjust your tone and how you record it.
For example, I love the death metal band Nile. They play in Drop A. Sadly in some of their recordings it's hard to even discern what's happening and there's not a lot of dynamics going on, and it can leave the sound quite stale and boring if you are not in the mood for it.
And the bass is practically a drone at this point too.
@@hugoleonardoamaral586 That's freaky! I was just listening Nile when you posted. I too enjoy Nile quite a bit. I also love Ron Jarzombeck's (Blotted Science) instrumental death metal album "The Machinations of Dementia" which is also recorded in Drop-A but with a less earthy/reverb sounding amp. Ron's riffs bounce around and switch tone clusters so much that the bass is less of an incoherent rumble. I think that's the most intelligent way to write riffs is to keep the lowest notes held in reserve for harmonic movement or resolving cadences.
Of course, it also helps that Alex Webster (the guest bassist for Blotted Science) is a bass monster.
i prefer c standard. but i also cant solo for shit.
@@snow15243 Don't rush it... build a solid foundation. I watched the vid of you playing and one thing I noticed off hand that could help you is to pick with less motion. You do not need to have the pick fly miles away from the strings every time you dig in (unless it's for showing off or windmills). Even if all you want to do is strum, you need to tighten up your motions and only let the pick fly away as far as necessary for feel and looseness of wrist muscles. If you want to play metal, watch really fast rhythm downpickers. You will notice that they have economy of motion down to a science whether they pick single notes or two string dyads (looks like wrist flicks/shakes). However, a good teacher will show you how to control your picking motions with less muscle tension -- the worst enemy of speed and longevity.
Once you have a grasp of economy of motion and the biomechanics of holding a pick with more intention, then you can venture onwards and upwards to concepts such as alternate picking (and economy or directional systems). The kung fu schools for guitar open their doors and the metronome keeps going up in tempo.
You are at an age where you have boatloads of time to build that solid foundation and afterwards conquer the greatest solos with plenty of time to spare. I wish I had started guitar at your age instead of as a young adult. Good luck!
I love how carefully he placed the slide on the tuning peg. And then knocked it off 5 seconds later.
I think you're right about drop c. Jim root used drop b and a, his guitars feature ebony fret boards for clarity and signature pickups to brighten his sound. I could be wrong but that's what I see.
I think an equal to this tuning is drop Ab on a 7 string. It's the perfect step up in heavy while not being too low
That would actually be Drop G (GDGCFAD) since the standard tuning is BEADGBE, and one step down would be ADGCFAD before dropping the lowest string down another step.
If you do dig in Gojira’s discography, defintely check out some live stuff on youtube. Anything off of The brixton academy live is excellent stuff. Studio wise, my fav album of theirs would be The Way Of All Flesh, check out the last sing, the title track. Gojira are different imo.
Shame no songs from Deftones' White Pony album were featured. 'Elite' still absolutely blows me away anytime I hear it.
only reason I watched the whole video was in hopes of seeing a deftones song lol 😭
I would’ve also mentioned Marigold by Periphery. That one’s pretty awesome.
It's a great riff but a bitch to play
@@solarwinds5114 I know, I still haven’t quite mastered it
A glaring omission
i think insomnia and omega would fit well there too
Came here to say this.
Drop C just records very well meaning it isn't hard to get the guitar tone perfect. I prefer B myself. I think it's the perfect heavy guitar tuning.
Great video.
I totally agree with you on Let the Bodies Hit the Floor! Thank You for including that!
theres no way this man didnt play stricken by disturbed
It's probably in the honorable mentions if he had some
I really love all the songs from Chevelle's la' gargola. I'm disappointed that no one ever talks about them. They really have some good stuff.
Agreed. Chevelle is very underrated and underappreciated
I'm tired of people shitting on bands from that era in general tbh, Chevelle Seether Shinedown and Staind are all pretty fucking dope
What a great list and fairly versatile as well. Drop C has so many great heavy riffs.
Love drop C- still enough tension in the strings to be tight for a standard length scale without having to use 13s
Job For A Cowboy's album Doom is in Drop C and I love the songs on that album. Also alot of Bodom aswell like everything from Are You Dead Yet? except Next In Line. Roundtrip To Hell And Back, Pussyfoot Miss Suicide, Hellhounds On My Trail and Knuckleduster are really fun ones recommend learning them
That purple PRS is absolutely STUNNING!
Drop C, C# and D are my main tunings cause they just sound so fierce and heavy without tuning absurdly low
My favorite super low tuning, in my mind, nothing beats Drop A.
For me it was Metallica's some kind of monster, oh I just love to tune my guitar to drop C and play this song it is so cool how you feel when you play it, also "the notes in between" can be challenging.
Did they keep F'ing with you?
Drop C and a Line 6 Uber Metal pedal is a mood. Blew off a lot of high school homework with that combo.
Would have liked to have seem ADTR Sticks and Bricks on this list, feels so heavy the way the riff works with the kick and vocals but not sure what I'd bump off this really solid list. great vid.
Van Halen’s song Dirty Movies is another fantastic example of great drop C riffs. Personally it’s one of my favs and it’s the heaviest song they have in their catalogue
Edit: The song is in drop C#, but nonetheless still one of the heaviest songs to use drop tunings
I was caugh by surprise when you started playing Gojira, that's my favorite band in the whole world! And you played very nicely! Keep it up the great content!
Drop C has the most satisfying sound on power chords for me and it seems like the easiest for me to try to replicate by ear
That’s because 90% of the songs that use it is just covering the low E string on various frets.
When you said drop C I immediately thought of Children of Bodom. I'm also glad that you included Gojira.
And I like the Zakk Wylde SG. A new piece, huh?
I'm so glad that you included L'Enfant sauvage in the video. I played the whole song in my music class and it was super fun to learn. I love how the song is syncopated it is very interesting especially the main riff it gives it a very cool vibe. By the way the project for the music thing was you had to learn a song that was written by a French artist so I picked L'Enfant sauvage because the whole band is French.
My personal opinion for a Drop C song that should be added here:
Disturbed - Indestructible
This song was my introduction to Drop C as well as altered time signatures (Indestructible’s intro riff being in 7/4). One of the heaviest Drop C riffs IMO.
Say what you will about the St. Anger album, but that title track has an extremely heavy drop C riff. I’d include it on this list
I was really waiting for him to mention St. Anger!! Disappointed he didn’t at least recognize it. Frantic is such a sick track. Sweet Amber too!
Some Kind of Monster is a heavy one too. Probably my favorite to play.
thats some brutal riffage in drop C in that album!
Great songs, bad Metallica songs (imo)
Love the bridge in Sweet Amber
You can just play any Children of bodom riff and it will slap. They made me fall in love with drop C tuning, such a cool band.
Some of Periphery’s riffs are almost shocking that they’re only in drop C. Lotta variety, from clean stuff like All New Materials to some pretty shreddy material, like Pale Aura. Omega specifically sounds like a 7-string; the end breakdown is monstrous.
It’s like DADGAD but heavier
It’s like Kashmir but metal - I’d love to hear that
Drop C is my favorite guitar tuning as well. It’s low enough to be heavy, but not low enough to lose clarity. It’s that perfect marriage of heaviness and clarity. I also really love 7 string Drop A.
I disagree with losing clarity. It’s all about who’s playing.
System of a Down - Aerials is so heavy, my favorito drop C riff but I couldn't replicate that heavyness, it's a matter of mix and arrangement.
What a legend, he kept playing even though his slide fell. That's how u can tell it was in one take
That and the fact that if it was 2 takes spliced together the video footage would make it obvious. There would be a clear cut where he wouldn't have been stood exactly the same. That is how you know it was one take.
Rabea’s work in Toska.
Done.
As far as heavy tunings go though…In Flames uses mostly drop Bb. Lucky for me I keep a guitar in drop B so no biggie on setup. Lots of great riffs in their catalog. Meet Your Maker is a newer tasty one. All the chunks, perfect rhythm changes, big chorus, great solo.
I love World So Cold by Three Days Grace. Fun to play. But wow, these all sound great
World so Cold is awesome