Drop A Tuning for Guitar

Drop A runs A1, E2, A2, D3, F#3, B3, in playing order. The lowest-pitched string is A1 (55.00 Hz) and the highest is B3 (246.94 Hz), measured against A4 = 440 Hz. Those are the exact target frequencies the tuner on this page listens for.

6 of the 6 strings move: E2 down 7 semitone(s) to A1; A2 down 5 semitone(s) to E2; D3 down 5 semitone(s) to A2; G3 down 5 semitone(s) to D3; B3 down 5 semitone(s) to F#3; E4 down 5 semitone(s) to B3. Work through them in order, then go back and re-check the first string — retuning shifts the neck tension slightly, so the earlier strings drift as you go.

Standard down a perfect fourth with the sixth dropped further, landing the low string on A1 — the same pitch as a standard bass's open A string. Almost exclusively heavy territory, and frequently played on seven-string or baritone instruments rather than a standard six.

A1 is 55.00 Hz at concert pitch (A4 = 440 Hz). That's the fundamental — the string also produces harmonics above it, which is why a tuner reading the wrong octave usually means it locked onto a harmonic rather than the fundamental. This is the lowest string in this guitar tuning.

The low string lands at roughly 55 Hz, matching a bass guitar's open A string and sitting a fifth below where a six-string guitar was designed to operate. Scale length becomes the limiting factor rather than string gauge alone: on a 25.5-inch neck even a very heavy wound string arrives at this pitch with so little tension that fretted notes go sharp under normal finger pressure. Players who commit to this range generally move to a baritone or a seven-string, using the extra low string rather than detuning an existing one — which produces the same pitches with the tension the instrument was built for.

On a normal 25.5" scale this is very slack. A baritone scale or a dedicated heavy set is close to mandatory.