Six-String Drop A Guitar Tuner.

Count six strings before selecting this preset

The six-string layout A E A D F sharp B is not the first six targets of seven-string Drop A. In the seven-string layout, the upper strings include G, B and E. Choosing by the lowest note alone can leave half your guitar wrong. This page deliberately gives the string count equal importance to the tuning name.

Low A needs an honest signal

A1 is 55 Hz at A4 = 440 Hz. Its second harmonic is A2 at 110 Hz, which can be more prominent through small speakers or a laptop microphone. Mute the other strings, select string 6 and compare the displayed octave. Repositioning the device or using a clean input is preferable to turning the peg in response to an octave jump.

Treat the instrument as part of the setup

Compared with ordinary standard tuning, the bass falls seven semitones and the other strings five. That is a substantial change in string behaviour. A tuner can provide targets but cannot establish a suitable gauge, neck adjustment or scale length. If normal fretting bends the strings audibly sharp, the solution is not extra decimal places on the tuner.

Your string-by-string route from standard

This is a comparison of target pitches, not a recommendation to use every tuning on every guitar. Start from the tuning your instrument actually has. Use the directions and the octave labels together.

Nearby tunings, compared by their actual notes

These are the three closest six-string presets by total semitone movement from this setup. The ranking describes target changes, not playing difficulty or physical suitability. A familiar name can hide a different middle-string layout.

Try the setup with a sourced arrangement

• Slipknot · Psychosocial

These links refer to named parts in linked arrangements. They do not establish a universal tuning for every recording or live version.