Where your low string actually lives.

These ten tunings put the lowest string's fundamental between 55 and 82 Hz. (Each drop tuning shares its low note with the matching standard tuning: Drop C and C Standard both bottom out at C.) That number matters every time you reach for a high-pass filter.

E Standard	82.4 Hz
Drop D	73.4 Hz
C# Standard	69.3 Hz
Drop C#	69.3 Hz
C Standard	65.4 Hz
Drop C	65.4 Hz
B Standard	61.7 Hz
Drop B	61.7 Hz
A Standard	55.0 Hz
Drop A	55.0 Hz

Equal temperament, A4 = 440 Hz. This one is maths, not a measurement.

How to use it

A high-pass above that number cuts the string itself. Sometimes that's exactly right: the bass guitar carries the fundamental and the guitars make room for it. Sometimes it's how a riff loses its weight. Either way, now you know which one you're doing.

Next: The heavy mix frequency map.