GuitarTuner.online

12-String Guitar tuner – Double Drop D

D-D-A-A-D-D-G-G-B-B-D-D · Drop

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Microphone off
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Press “Start tuner” – the browser will ask for microphone access. Sound is analysed on this device and never uploaded.

This free online tuner listens through your microphone and shows how close each string of your 12-String Guitar is to Double Drop D tuning (D-D-A-A-D-D-G-G-B-B-D-D). Play a string, watch the needle, and turn the peg until the meter glows green. If you prefer tuning by ear, tap any string card to hear its reference tone.

About Double Drop D tuning

Compared with Standard, Double Drop D moves 4 strings. Every change is downward, the largest by 2 semitones, so the instrument sits at lower tension than in Standard.8 strings stay exactly where they were.

How Double Drop D differs from Standard, string by string.
StringStandardDouble Drop DChange
1E2D2down 2 semitones
2E3D3down 2 semitones
11E4D4down 2 semitones
12E4D4down 2 semitones

Played open, the strings sound D-D-A-A-D-D-G-G-B-B-D-D – from D2 at the bottom to G4 at the top, a span of 2 octaves and 5 semitones.

Double Drop D is re-entrant: the strings do not rise steadily in pitch, so the string nearest your thumb is not the lowest note available. That is deliberate, and it is a large part of why the instrument sounds the way it does.

Left open, the strings together spell Gadd9. That is a by-product of how the intervals are laid out rather than the point of the tuning, but it does mean some chords need very few fingers here. See Gadd9 shapes in this tuning →

The drop is small enough that a standard set handles it. If the lowest string starts to rattle against the frets, one step up in gauge fixes it.

History

Where the Double Drop D tuning comes from

Double Drop D on the twelve-string comes from the folk-rock guitarists of the late 1960s who used the tuning on six strings – Neil Young and the Beatles among them. The doubled courses make the drone even richer.

History of the instrument: 12-String Guitar →

Other 12-String Guitar tunings

Standard

Standard E-E-A-A-D-D-G-G-B-B-E-EHalf Step Down D#-D#-G#-G#-C#-C#-F#-F#-A#-A#-D#-D#Whole Step Down D-D-G-G-C-C-F-F-A-A-D-D

Drop

Drop D D-D-A-A-D-D-G-G-B-B-E-EDouble Drop D D-D-A-A-D-D-G-G-B-B-D-DDrop C C-C-G-G-C-C-F-F-A-A-D-DDrop C# C#-C#-G#-G#-C#-C#-F#-F#-A#-A#-D#-D#Drop B B-B-F#-F#-B-B-E-E-G#-G#-C#-C#Drop A A-A-E-E-A-A-D-D-F#-F#-B-B

Modal

D Modal D-D-A-A-D-D-G-G-A-A-D-D

Open

Open C C-C-G-G-C-C-G-G-C-C-E-EOpen D D-D-A-A-D-D-F#-F#-A-A-D-DOpen E E-E-B-B-E-E-G#-G#-B-B-E-EOpen G D-D-G-G-D-D-G-G-B-B-D-D

Chords for this tuning

CGDAEFAll 12-String Guitar chords →
How do I tune my 12-String Guitar to Double Drop D?

Allow microphone access, pluck a string, and the tuner will detect it automatically. The needle shows whether the string is flat or sharp – adjust until the reading is within ±5 cents (D-D-A-A-D-D-G-G-B-B-D-D).

Which notes are used in Double Drop D tuning?

Double Drop D tuning for 12-String Guitar uses the notes D-D-A-A-D-D-G-G-B-B-D-D, listed from the lowest string to the highest.

Can I tune without a microphone?

Yes. Every string card plays a reference tone – tap it and match your string to the sound by ear.