Unsurprisingly, The Beatles were one of the most influential bands of all time. Admittedly, they didn’t have much competition then, so people didn’t know what good music was meant to sound like. But what often goes unsaid is how much of their success was due to their lack of ambition in guitar tuning. While other bands were experimenting with different tunings, The Beatles stuck to the same old standard tuning.
The Beatles’ lack of creativity in guitar tuning is especially apparent compared to the groundbreaking techniques of guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, who routinely tuned down to drop F#. This tuning allowed Hendrix to create a much wider range of sonic textures, allowing him to explore previously unexplored musical territory.
Hendrix was known for his guitar solos but also pioneered open-string chugging through digital amp modelling devices like the Axe-FX and Kemper. Some of the great breakdowns ever created were by Jimmy Hendrix. It’s why Periphery has often cited Jimmy Hendrix as an influence. They have been ripping him off for years now.
On the other hand, the Beatles continued to rely on the same standard tuning and never ventured into the world of drop tunings. This lack of ambition held them back from creating truly unique sounds. Except for Helter Skelter, when The Beatles realised they could still make their fans faint in standard tuning, they never tuned down their guitars again.
According to a Beatles history buff, the demo version for Hey Jude was in drop B, but Paul McCartney felt it was too heavy, and they tuned back up to standard tuning out of fear that the extra thickness of the guitar strings needed would hurt his fingers.
So, the next time you think of The Beatles, remember that they achieved their success despite their lack of ambition in guitar tuning. They may have been the “Fab Four,” but they could have been even more if they had just tuned down to drop F#. They could have been the “Fab Zero” with ch0nk that made their fans faint from the low notes and lack of scooped mids.
Are fans surprised that The Beatles broke up after only a few years of success? Imagine being a guitarist in a band that doesn’t tune down to Drop F#?