Drop G Tuning for Guitar

Drop G runs G1, D2, G2, C3, E3, A3, in playing order. The lowest-pitched string is G1 (49.00 Hz) and the highest is A3 (220.00 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 9 semitone(s) to G1; A2 down 7 semitone(s) to D2; D3 down 7 semitone(s) to G2; G3 down 7 semitone(s) to C3; B3 down 7 semitone(s) to E3; E4 down 7 semitone(s) to A3. 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.

One of the lowest tunings attempted on a six-string, with the low G1 sitting just above the open E of a bass guitar. Used in downtempo deathcore and slam, where clarity matters less than weight.

G1 is 49.00 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.

At roughly 49 Hz the sixth string sits a minor third above the open E of a standard bass guitar — already low enough that many consumer speakers struggle to reproduce the fundamental cleanly. What listeners perceive as the note leans heavily on the second and third harmonic, with the fundamental felt more than heard on anything but a full-range system. Practically this means the tuning rewards heavy distortion, which generates those upper harmonics abundantly, and punishes clean tones, which have nothing to make audible. The mechanical demands are extreme enough that this is really an extended-scale tuning being approximated on a normal guitar.

Genuinely impractical on a standard scale length — extended scale, very heavy strings, or both.