Songs where the guitar and bass are tuned differently

I’ve always been a fan of this song and recently I came across a tab of it. I was quite surprised to see the bass was in D while the guitar was in E. I didn’t believe it so I tuned my guitar to Drop D and lo and behold, the tab is actually correct. I even demuxed my track and isolated the bass to play along.

Now I’m obsessed. Are there any other songs where the guitar and bass are set to totally different notes but they play in the same key so everything works out?

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Legend of the Bitch Queen! What a great tune.

Almost all of Kigan by Dir en grey is rife with alternative tunings, from guitar to bass. Gyakujoutannou Keloid Milk comes to mind. Guitars in Drop C, and Bass in B. Zomboid too: open B, bass in C. :woman_shrugging::woman_shrugging:

Someone more knowledgeable about this album’s production should chime in though. I may be wrong altogether, though I’m pretty sure that I saw those in the score books.

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This is another one! Karyu is tuned to D but Zero is tuned to B.

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Dir en grey’s Ash (2018) remake has both Die and Kaoru doing ADADGBE, and Toshiya doing standard tuning (EADG) bass (!)

You can hear bass quite well as a result :slight_smile:

This also extends to Dir’s Tousei where Toshiya plays his bass in ADADG while Die goes for Drop C# and Kaoru does half-step 7-string guitar (i.e. a complete clusterheck of tuning choices):

(Technically you could do this with half-step 5-string bass too, but those slides and changes are much easier and more sensible with ADADG)

Dir’s Zomboid too has a clusterheck of tunings: Toshiya goes for G#C#F#BE (?!), Kaoru is A# D# G# C# F# A# D# and Die is doing DADGBE

Finally, Dir’s legendary (basstastic) song - Cage: Toshiya is doing drop D and other fellows are doing the standard tuning:

EDIT:

This applies to Dir’s Higeki… from Withering album as well:

Kaoru + Die seem to do standard tuning (EADGBE), but Toshiya is doing Drop C# (listen to those low Ds!).

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Found another one:

Guitars in Drop D#, Bass in Standard.

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IIRC, Toshiya was playing a 5string bass during Higeki in 2024 EU tour while Kaoru had a 6string guitar. And due to that his bass was very audible and I even felt it in my legs just due to bass vibrations going along the floor.

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That’s true indeed - I came to witness the same that year as you did. Toshiya does in fact use his 5-string much later on, though pre-2009/2010 (?) lives had him playing Higeki with his 4-string (including the acoustic 2008 one).

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There is more, and not necessarily DEG :slight_smile:

Guitars are in standard, bass is in drop D (!)

Studio version has Yukke playing his standard, while Miya is playing DGCFAD

Guitarists play standard, Shuse (bass) plays his half-step down tuning (!)

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I swear zomboid is A# or A. Its definitely not D like tabs have told me. Also apparently gyakujou is in G if you can believe it

The album version of zomboid is difficult to pick up the tuning for and now it makes sense. It sounds somehow out of tune but in tune.

One of the best riffs ever made regardless.

Iirc, Aoi wrote Unbearable act with an alternative Tuning. But I don’t think Reita tuned to it either. He could’ve easily hit those same notes, while tuned in Drop B.

Speaking of Gazette, forgot that their seniors (LUNA SEA) had their own “tuning clashes” as well:

Their LUNACY (2000) album had its own weird moments (including FEEL as mentioned in another thread), but 4:00AM was quite something:

Sugizo - slide guitar (standard, EADGBE), main guitar (D standard, DGCFAD)

Inoran - standard tuning (EADGBE)

J - standard bass tuned half step down

A complete clusterheck, yet somehow it works?

Also, another goldmine for this thread to add: their B-sides

Inoran - open D tuning (DADF#AD)

Sugizo - Standard tuning (EADGBE)

J - drop D bass (DADG)

There are other examples to name (Into the Sun, Be Awake, Be Gone, etc.), but this band never disappoints.

EDIT: @Ro_pls

I haven’t looked into your Gazette pick, but AFAIK, Nakigahara must have been one roadie/guitar tech nightmare (besides SHADOW VI II I - C# G C F, really?):

Reita - C# standard bass (C#F#BE)

Uruha - Drop C (CGCFAD)

Aoi - D standard (DGCFAD)

I think this is one of those few times where Reita deviated from his usual “Gazette tunings”.

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What is this nightmare of a tuning? Everything a whole step down except the bottom string which is an extra half step down? How does that make any sense?

This is also madness. I looked into his tuning. Top 3 strings are tuned to A standard but then he tunes the bottom string up a whole step? Am I reading that right? Why not play BEAD or get a five string at this point?

If it helps, at least as per live identification I did https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVDNLdTVyRg&list=RDkVDNLdTVyRg (skip to eleven minutes plus and you will see Reita’s finger patterns more clearly), SHADOW utilizes low C# in certain parts which requires Uruha to hit the 1-1-1 on his drop C guitar and Reita to hit on a loose E string (which would be C# in this case)

And no, no, @zeus I think I mispresented what I was trying to say: so for Nakigahara only, Reita simply tuned half step down from his usual “Gazette ballad” tuning (DGCF, which you recognize from a lot of their songs - Guren, Pledge, Cassis, etc.).

Good point though for having a tuning more logical like BEAD or a 5-string…we could ask the same about Reita’s trademark BDGC bass tuning they used for most of the “heavy” Gazette songs (COCKROACH, Filth in the Beauty, Vortex, etc.)