Bass Guitar · 4 STRINGS
Bass Guitar Drop D Tuning
Standard bass tuning with the fourth string lowered a whole step to D, giving you a low D without leaving first position.
How to tune
Getting into Drop D
Work down the list in order — each string's tension moves the ones already set.
Allow microphone access
Asked once. Detection runs on your device; nothing is uploaded.
Play one string at a time
Let it ring open. A strummed chord gives the detector several pitches.
Centre the needle
Sharp means loosen, flat means tighten. Inside three cents is in tune.
Work up from string 4, one at a time
The lowest string carries the most tension, so setting it first means the rest hold. The panel below lists every target in that order.
Run through every string once more
Setting one string drifts the rest; the second pass makes it hold.
Changing from Standard
1 string a whole step down
The other 3 strings keep their standard pitch.
Each bar shows how far that string sits from standard tuning. Select a string in Note Locking above to hold the tuner on it while you turn the peg.
About this tuning
About Drop D Tuning
Only the lowest string moves, from E down to D. The other three stay in standard tuning, so nothing you already play changes — you simply gain two extra semitones at the bottom of the range and a low D you can hit open.
Bass players mostly reach for it to match a guitarist in Drop D, which makes it one of the most common tunings in rock and metal. Because the fourth string now sits a whole step below the fifth-fret reference used for standard tuning, it is worth checking it against a tuner rather than by ear the first few times.
Also known as
- DADG tuning
Used in
- Rock
- Metal
- Hardcore
What it buys you
- An open low D to lock in with a guitar in Drop D
- Only one string moves, so you can switch mid-set
- Fifth on the bottom two strings, for one-finger root-fifth shapes
Note frequencies
Drop D string frequencies
The 4 open strings of Bass Guitar Drop D, lowest first, at A4 = 440 Hz. Each one is the pitch the tuner is listening for — D1 is D in octave 1.
| Note | Also | Solfège | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | — | Re | 36.71 Hz |
| A1 | — | La | 55.00 Hz |
| D2 | — | Re | 73.42 Hz |
| G2 | — | Sol | 98.00 Hz |
Sharps and flats share a pitch on a tuner: C♯ and D♭ are the same frequency, and which name you use depends on the key you are in, not on what the meter reads.
Questions
Drop D tuning, answered
Standard bass tuning with the fourth string lowered a whole step to D, giving you a low D without leaving first position. The 4 strings are tuned D1 A1 D2 G2, from the lowest-pitched string up.
It moves string 4 from E1 to D1. The remaining 3 strings stay at standard pitch.
A standard set will reach the pitch, but it will be slack. Dropping the lowest string a whole step down takes real tension out of it, and the usual fix is a heavier gauge — many players move to a .110 or .115 low string, or to a set sold specifically for the tuning.
No. The neck is built for the tension of standard tuning, and lowering the strings only reduces it. What changes is the relief: less pull straightens the neck slightly and lowers the action, which is what causes buzzing rather than any damage. If you keep the instrument in Drop D permanently, a truss rod and action setup fixes it. Switching back and forth harms nothing.
Yes. The tuner on this page listens through your device microphone and compares what it hears against the exact frequencies for D1 A1 D2 G2. Play one string at a time in a quiet room, and let the note ring rather than strumming.
No. This Drop D tuner runs in your browser — there is nothing to download, nothing to install and no account to create. Allow microphone access when the browser asks and the tuner starts listening. It works the same way on a phone, a tablet and a desktop.
Related tunings
Where to go from Drop D
Each one is described as the move from Drop D, so you can see how far away it is before you commit to turning a peg.
Standard
1 string a whole step up
The reference tuning for the bass guitar: E A D G, low to high.
E1 A1 D2 G2
Half Step Down
3 strings a semitone down, string 4 a semitone up
Every string down one semitone, so the bass matches a guitar tuned half a step down without any shape changing.
D#1 G#1 C#2 F#2
Drop C
Every string a whole step down
The whole bass down a step, then the fourth string down another — C G C F, matching a guitar in Drop C.
C1 G1 C2 F2
Guitar
Drop D
The guitar version, 6 strings
Standard tuning with the sixth string lowered a whole step to D, which turns the bottom three strings into a power chord you can barre with one finger.
D2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4