Top 10 Best Guitar Tunings

This tuning feels very comfortable and natural to me, like it was made for me. You get plenty of bass with the C#, which is good for some dark, weird-sounding stuff. It makes the keys of D#, D, and C# much easier to play in than in standard tuning.

It's also great for Sabbath-type music since Tony Iommi basically pioneered this tuning on the Master of Reality album. It's super fun to mess around in.

This is my second favorite tuning to play in. A standard is generally thought of as ADGCFAD, a full step down on a seven-string. However, I like to play in ADGCEAD, with the third string flattened a half step. This allows all your basic barre chords to work while providing an extra fourth at the end, giving the chords a unique flavor.

Your approach to the guitar changes with that one flattened string. When it's not flattened, you approach the guitar as a six-string tuned to D with an extra low A at the bottom. When it is, it's just a six-string tuned to A with an extra high D at the end. Both are great for metal since you get plenty of bass without losing much treble.

Baritone A personally isn't my thing since I lose the high A#, B, C, C#, and D notes that you get with the highest string. However, I can see why you'd prefer A standard baritone to A standard seven-string.

This is my second favorite drop tuning. Most people think of the Psychosocial riff when you say drop A, and I don't blame them. It's the song that got me into the tuning. Drop A is excellent for riffs with a nice kick to them, like Psychosocial, Viper King by Dream Theater, etc. It's a very foamy, jumpy tuning. That's the best way I can describe it.

This was the first non-E standard tuning I really got comfortable with, aside from Eb/D#. Every Symphony X song is in this tuning, along with Forsaken by Dream Theater, Endless Sacrifice by Dream Theater, etc. It has enough bass for me, and I don't lose too much treble.

I have to use this in place of A at the moment since I don't currently have a seven-string, but I'm content with it for now.

My second favorite behind standard tuning. Really dark and heavy sound.

I don't usually play in major keys, which is why I lean towards DADFAD. It's much easier to build a D minor chord in open D minor than in open D major. All you have to do is fret the F# on the F string and strum the rest of the strings open. The same applies to all other barre chords.

Some people prefer the open major chord, and that's fine. It's just my preference. Both are great for slide guitar, as you can get the fifth between the D and A strings, the fourth between the A and D, the minor third between the D and F, the major third between the F and A, and the final fourth between the high A and high D. If you're really into slide guitar, you can Zakk Wylde it and go to drop C#.

If you want to write dark music, tune to C standard. This tuning is the key to dark writing. This is my go-to tuning when I want to get really creative because the riffs just pour out when you tune down a whole two steps.

Some of my favorite guitar songs of all time, like In The Name Of God by Dream Theater, Dopesmoker by Sleep, and plenty of Static-X songs, are all in C standard.

Ah, the Slipknot tuning. It makes sense that I'd love this tuning since C# is my main tuning, and this is the drop tuning you get from it. The riffs you get from drop B are just straight up nasty.

G# is my favorite tuning for that extra low-end punch. A is my main tuning, but in case I need that extra half step, I'll go to G#. I can't name too many songs in G#, but they're definitely out there. The same principles I talked about in the A standard entry apply here, just a half step down.