Drop A Guitar
Extremely low tuning for the heaviest styles of metal.
Drop A is the bottom of what most six-string guitars can handle. The lowest string at A1 puts you in seven-string territory on a six-string instrument. This tuning is home to the heaviest styles of extreme metal, doom, and sludge.
At this pitch, clarity is a constant battle. Everything about your setup needs to be optimized for low tuning: heavy strings, long scale, tight amp voicing, and precise palm muting.
Making Drop A Work
Baritone guitars with 27" or 28" scale lengths are strongly recommended. Standard scale guitars will have extremely loose strings even with heavy gauge sets. The tone needs a high-pass filter or tight EQ on the low end to stay defined. Riffs tend to be slow and deliberate because fast picking becomes muddy at this pitch.