What If Gojira Tuned Down? (7 String Guitar Gojira Riff Compilation)

[@OlaEnglund]

Nice!!!

[@zakpedley5160]

Ola Englund you are the reason I have a good tone , thanks dad

[@thovarisk8699]

Solar Empire Represent!!

[@patriotictrendkill9879]

Nice

[@dimitrismouchlis7172]

Ola Englund please send me that guitar :(

[@galacticblueprint-1]

THE HEAVIEST GUITAR IN THE UNIVERSE!

[@benthewavecame]

I actually don't think Gojira benefit from being lower. They are heavy as tits in D somehow.

[@jakeGE]

much more punchy in D

[@salvatorecorrao7497]

I agree. Tuning down takes away the little technical intricacies they often have in their riffs. With down tuning I could barely hear them

[@The_Kevinist]

glad to see i'm not the only one who thought that every song sounded better in their original tunning Vacuity was kinda the only one i liked

[@combatwombatt]

Benjamin Mitchell I agree!! Interesting perspective from 7 string but gojira does it right sitting where they are

[@allenvrabac4827]

The tone becomes less distinct in lower tuning in general. Combine that with the general sound of the band and you'll find some bands have their sound at E standard and some down to B or A.

[@TheMisanthropist432]

actually i find the D and the Drop C tuning more aggressive and clear

[@vandersonjunior8018]

Something with power chords in drop C fascinates me I can't explain but is like so good to hear

[@willhammond4290]

Especially on Love. It’s cause he is playing the same bar cords so it isn’t even the Sam progression. It is in drop A and the original is in D standard and he is playing the same fingering for the cords

[@Knight-brolaire]

it is impossible to make gojira riffs heavier just by downtuning, they're already heavy as fuck

[@Bad_Chemicals702]

Knightbrolaire honestly, now they sound like deathcore riffs tuned down this low. Kinda interesting on the perspective this brings to riff writing .

[@JoshuaDalviken]

Not a single one sounds heavier. Goes to show the value of a well-crafted riff.

[@fantastic_joe]

I totally agree

[@NicolaiHarbech]

Couldn’t agree with you more there good sir

[@blackenedizzycore]

Backbone was the only one I found intrinsically heavier, but I still prefer all the originals!

[@danielgerard6775]

Bingo. Lamb of god play in drop D and sound heavier than some others in drop C or lower.

[@jacobbrede7097]

Josh Dalviken amen

[@ithereaper8332]

I dig it but Gojira just sounds so much tighter in D awesome anyways man.

[@BaenaCarcosa]

Apologies for the re-upload! Accidentally listed the tuning as D Standard for all of the songs... that's fixed now haha.

[@TheAsylum23]

Andrew Baena I was wondering lol great video man!!

[@MrNickRowe]

Did you consider doing double drop D on the 8 (or tune up the 9)

[@Lucidfilth]

Andrew Baena if they were this low I'd be a fan. Haha. I don't know why, but I've never been crazy about them. But this sounds dank as fuck.

[@Screamer-tm6ly]

You should do Aftercoma tuned down

[@legoharry100]

My guy, what if Vildhjarta tuned down?

[@Garfield4317]

The real question is: What if Meshuggah tuned down?

[@BaenaCarcosa]

I have done this twice already :)

[@Garfield4317]

ahead of the game, well played

[@serdiezv]

What if Meshuggah tuned standard

[@bloodruststaples]

Watch the episode of South Park with the "Brown Note".

[@imadetheworld1075]

BROWN NOTE😂😂😂

[@MoraAzura]

Gojira is just the Best metal band right now

[@tuts3908]

Hockyy because it’s a French band 😂👌

[@MoraAzura]

Tut 's Voilà

[@brodiedavison342]

Hockyy i would say avatar is

[@poohandler8646]

Brodie Davison not even close

[@HavokStrifeX]

Le Enfant Savage started a serious down turn, at leat for me. If you'd be saying this in the Way of All Flesh/Mars to Sirius era, well, yeah, maybe.

[@drakenn342]

I love that Gojira riffs aren't heavy just from tuning, but they're crafted in such a way that they shatter worlds.

[@legoharry100]

WWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLEEESSSS

[@blooot5861]

How are you liking the new guitar? Sounds amazing.

[@willvaughn6.395]

Sounds so much more brutal in original tuning but nice playing

[@Klevaer]

I don't know what you did this time around but the guitars sound HUGE! GG me dude. 👌🤘

[@yeezymelon8283]

BMcknightC It's because it's Gojira lol

[@VitrescentObelisk]

I played a washburn version of this guitar, and the pickups sounded very similar to this and I wasn't even playing on a good amp. You should probably consider getting a pair of those pickups dude.

[@jordanmayer5932]

Hey what about if mastodon tuned down? I have zero idea to what that would even sound like, you'd probably end up summoning a demon while playing crystal skull.

[@memicusdankis4212]

Jordan Mayer I mean some songs are in drop A so

[@jordanmayer5932]

MemicusDankis my point exactly imagine that shit on a detuned 8 string, but riffs of their earlier albums like Iron Tusk and what not are only a step down

[@memicusdankis4212]

Jordan Mayer are you trying to end the world?

[@jordanmayer5932]

MemicusDankis indirectly; I'm trying to get Andrew baena to destroy it, Im just curious to what songs like oblivion would sound like, be fucking heavy as hell

[@winandcallebaut4541]

Iron Tusk is Drop A yo, just like Aqua Dementia.

[@tillsommerdrums]

interesting, I feel like it all is way heavier in Gojiras tuning. It just doesn't sound as menacing in a lower tuning

[@royalcat10]

That's because Gojira uses a trick to make their guitars sound really downtuned when they really aren't. They use a lot of 4th chords, which is easier to think about as just upside down power chords. (A normal power chord, or a 5th chord, looks like A-E. But a Fourth looks like E-A.) So basically, if you barre across the bottom strings while in Standard tuning, it gives you this chord. Gojira typically tunes to D standard (DGCFAD) so when they use that 4th chord they get D-G. When you hear this, your ear sort of fills in the gaps with this implied chord and you hear the lower G as well, making the full chord that you hear G-D-G. Very similar to another tuning, Drop G. Actually, Drop G IS the tuning they use, just excluding the low G because they aren't on 7 string guitars. D Standard = DGCFAD Drop G = GDGCFAD Notice the similarity? That's why Gojira sounds heavier, because they are actually tricking your ears (Or rather, your ears are tricking themselves) into hearing a guitar tuned to Drop G, which is lower than the tunings he uses in this video. If they were using 7 string guitars tuned to Drop G, their music would sound exactly the same, because they write and play their music as if they were on 7 string guitars tuned that low.

[@ZeugmaP]

That's really interesting man !

[@LeVezz]

royalcat10 well the chord is complete by the bassist!

[@Apolozx4]

Good explanation, Bro. Even for me as a drummer Haha

[@joshbouman1654]

Fourth chords are all over Terra Incognita and that album is disgustingly heavy.

[@sacredxgeometry]

Proof that Gojira really doesn't need to tune down to be heavy, the songs sound kind of funny when they are shifted instead of in D Standard haha. From watching all of your videos (having KZbin shove them in my face lol) I truly believe that tuning does *NOT* equal how heavy you are. Like, at all. Now I am not suggesting that you think this or anything but I feel that it's a concept that pervades a lot of core or death metal music in modern times because of course, it does produce a much richer, fuller bass timbre being that the guitar is tuned lower, as a bass is. But I think this stigmatically has reduced the necessity for a good sounding bass tone or a bass presence in music at all since the guitar handles most of the frequency range anyway. All in all modern metal for me has become much of a conundrum in terms of producing the idea that bands are heavier simply because they tune lower, yet bands that don't can still be heavy, or even much heavier. I hear bands all the time in Drop D and Drop C like The Faceless, The Red Chord, and Dillinger Escape Plan that are absolutely nasty and barely any band out today can really capture such ferocity...but as an owner of ERGs I can see why it is fun and I still do make extended range music half/more than half the time. Just an idea I've been coming up with, wanted to see if anyone was willing to discuss it. I know Rob Scallon, Fluff, and Andrew himself have also generally discussed this in many videos before.

[@royalcat10]

You're mostly being tricked. Gojira uses a trick to make their guitars sound really downtuned when they really aren't. They use a lot of 4th chords, which is easier to think about as just upside down power chords. (A normal power chord, or a 5th chord, looks like A-E. But a Fourth looks like E-A.) So basically, if you barre across the bottom strings while in Standard tuning, it gives you this chord. Gojira typically tunes to D standard (DGCFAD) so when they use that 4th chord they get D-G. When you hear this, your ear sort of fills in the gaps with this implied chord and you hear the lower G as well, making the full chord that you hear G-D-G. Very similar to another tuning, Drop G. Actually, Drop G IS the tuning they use, just excluding the low G because they aren't on 7 string guitars. D Standard = DGCFAD Drop G = GDGCFAD Notice the similarity? That's why Gojira sounds heavier, because they are actually tricking your ears (Or rather, your ears are tricking themselves) into hearing a guitar tuned to Drop G, which is lower than the tunings he uses in this video. If they were using 7 string guitars tuned to Drop G, their music would sound exactly the same, because they write and play their music as if they were on 7 string guitars tuned that low. Anytime you hear a band that sounds really heavy but they use a 'normal' tuning, *never, EVER* think anything along the lines of "This goes to show that you don't need to downtune to sound heavy!" because most of the time they are using this type of chording to play tricks on your ears. E standard tuning sounds like Drop A, for example using this type of chording. But therein lies the problem with this video. He didn't give an accurate representation of what Gojira would sound like if they were downtuned because he didn't play the same way they did. Technically he showed how they would sound like if they UPtuned. But that also shows that it's a preconceived notion that you have that is making you think that downtuning sounds worse or otherwise makes you like it less, and not objective evidence that you have found. Music theory is important yo. (PS: Some of this I copy pasted from a previous reply of mine on the same topic, so if you see that, sorry. But i felt as if I wanted to say the same to you for more conversation.)

[@sacredxgeometry]

royalcat10 sorry to tell you you wasted your time with that essay of a comment but Gojira sounds heavier for reasons I already explained and outlined above...like having a separate, distinguishable bass and guitar tone that meld an octave frequency together in ways that bands with 7 and 8 string guitars cannot achieve properly.

[@royalcat10]

I wrote that whole thing in between Overwatch queues. I didn't waste any time, I used my downtime more effectively ;) You probably won't believe it unless you hear it in real life. But I'm not kidding when I say that if Gojira used a 7 string guitar tuned to drop G that their music would sound *exactly* the same. It has less to do with the distinguishable bass and guitar, and more with the way they write their music. Please take note of the shape of the "4th" chord I talked about previously. On the bottom two strings it would appear as "0-0" or "1-1" or "2-2" etc. Essentially, they are just barre chords like you would see in the tuning Drop D, or any drop tuning for that matter. Which brings me back to D standard just being Drop G but throwing out the low G. They quite *literally* are playing their music as if they are using a 7 string but throwing out the 7th string. A note is a note. If you hear a G1 coming from a bass or a guitar you're still hearing G1. The air space of 49 hz is being filled regardless. While the different timbre's would have an effect on the way you perceive the 'heaviness' of something, the difference in timbre between a guitar and a bass just isn't big enough to justify the this myopic disdain for 7 strings and their tunings.. Even the difference between, say, a trombonist playing a pedal G and a guitarist playing the D2-G2 still gives that feeling. It's stretching it, but it's still there. (And I know this because I've tried it. The perks of being a music major.)

[@xtracom]

I found this interesting, thanks.

[@WeWantYouToStay]

Dude Calculating Infinity was written in standard tuning. FUCKING RIDDLE ME THAT

[@TurtleFL]

I don't hear a single thing wrong with what you're doing. It made already awesome music fucking epic. My hair stood on end.

[@alexandresiemsen798]

I think Gojira is in a level that even though they are in D standart, they reached the maximum level of riff heavines in this planet

[@600micsofacid]

And they don't sound that impressive too.

[@VokillCovers]

You're the heaviest Baena in the universe!

[@CaptainTaelos]

Your pun is even better than you think: Ballena (sounds like Baena, practically) means "whale" in spanish. Flying Baenas!!

[@VokillCovers]

Hahaha

[@jesuscristo1309]

Also sound like Vahena which mean another thing in Chilean Spanish

[@truedarklander]

CaptainTaelos Ballena sounds different to Baena, that's just Americans misspronouncing ballena

[@riccardovaccese933]

But it sounds good with the italian "Balena" ahahah

[@lynnchpin]

It's truly interesting to hear these songs tuned down and I appreciate your effort and passion for Gojira's music to provide this perspective. Making these songs as huge as they do in these tunings speaks volumes about their craftsmanship and that of their engineers both live and in the studio. I think these lower tunings actually diminish the overall heaviness because it sounds ever-so-slightly beyond the threshold of the ideal articulation, but that could be a number of other factors as well. Trying to imagine the bass and kick tunings transposed to fit within their relative intervals within the original framework makes me think it might make it worse but it just might be even more badass. Either way, nice work

[@Ahaggah]

Would have been cool if you played "Wolf Down the Earth"

[@v616sirius]

Afonso, you can expect a youtuber catering to normies to play underrated gojira songs

[@mariomogge4216]

Despite you're playing all riffs flawless and beautifully, in my opinion Gojira does not to tune down (if they ever wanted to). I think they need to give us the D pun intended hihi

[@theunholyguitaristofficial]

This is a treat cause I absolutely love Gojira.

[@silentdecay]

Dig it dude. Your skillz are on point much like you studio room but id like to drop a lil nod to your enthusiasm....shows youre tech while still feeling that shit!! Keep killin it!

[@constantinea8149]

Yeeah I've waited for this! :D Nice Solar btw \m/

[@brodycates8472]

They already had pretty low tuning on a lot of their songs. This is AWESOME! Great video

[@albcod90]

I been waiting this. Nice bro!

[@theblizzard32]

Great video man!!! You always kill it with your tone. do What if Pantera Tuned Down next!

[@ninjateddy608]

theblizzard32 Now if only Pantera didn’t fucking suck

[@theblizzard32]

OrangeJuliusSucks Lmao, and Remo Drive is the most illustrious, guitar driven, virtuoso Emo band for the masses. *sarcasm alert*

[@pruple-tm]

OrangeJuliusSucks Calm down there buddy, no one asked for your opinion on Pantera.

[@GuitarNinja91]

I like that you did this. I’ve been working on doing the same thing when I play Gojira covers because my 6 string isn’t set up for drop C/D standard, so instead I’ve been using my Ibanez S7 for drop A/B standard on their songs. But you played them better than I could and you have better gear. So nice job and awesome vid! I subscribed

[@Aelfons]

Thank you for playing some of my personal favorite songs. Very nicely done! Keep it up!

[@BlackMetalTimes]

I like how the tune down on "L'enfant Sauvage" makes it sound like a Behemoth song. Also, stellar playing! That hand technique in "Love" is insane!

[@xCynder]

This turned out a lot better than I originally anticipated

[@vbozenko]

My dear Watson, this is incredible!

[@Mus7a]

Awesome! The title should say "what if Gojira tuned down and swapped Mario for drum samples" tho :P

[@crumb5756]

Ooooooh! Love the Solar guitar! Great tone for this sort of low tuning!

[@MalachiArndt]

I like it man! That tuning sounds awesome!

[@jordanmayer5932]

Omg dude, this is exactly what I needed to see, this is goddamn awesome, it honestly sounds really fitting, I think gojira could easily add a string if they felt like it, this is one of those 'what if' videos that really feels very very plausible! (Not that your other videos are bad or anything -intact the sabbath one was fucking brilliant-) also that be a sexy ass new solar, it's a beaut' in white$

[@Wariwvlf]

gojira have some of the best riffs I've ever heard. fucking sweet video!

[@MrJoHnConsTanTine1]

It should've also include "Toxic Garbage Island" riff.

[@ethornell7357]

Gojira's riffs are heavy as fuck already! And you have gone and make them heavier!🤘🤘🤘

[@MaxFreist]

imho a great example that heavy as fuck riffs don't necessarily need heavy downtuning! great job :)

[@bhu1334]

Solar guitars are just awesome Ola englund made such a great job

[@christopherplank4644]

Amazing guitar work my friend. Very well done. I know music well enough that you did a tremendous job in showcasing the art of down-tuning your guitar to some exceptionally talented artists in Gojira...and you are an exceptionally talented musician as well. Cheers.

[@FurnaceFuneral84]

So filthy. Heck yah cheers from Seattle. Super heavy!

[@lorenzo4909]

The best video in your channel :D

[@os76ltd41]

this is way better than I expected it to be I love it.

[@Logan0123]

Man, you stopped right before the best part of Vacuity, I'm gonna go listen to it now!

[@TobyKBTY]

Started strong with Backbone. FUCK YES. Also, your 7-string tone has been ON POINT recently. Sounds ferocious, man. Been doing some tweaking or something?

[@Qartian16]

you fkin' destroyed it! such a great job, keep it goin'. I hope that "what if Andew Baena tuned down is in progress" \m/

[@allhopeislost5841]

3:15 sounds like a cannibal corpse progression in this tuning its interesting how songs in standard tunings can give a slightly different vibe to lower tunings.

[@AHmusic]

your studio shots are looking great dude. very nice lighting!

[@miguelsequeiraguitar]

Great job!

[@marktheguitarist4190]

hell yeah. dude your so talented keep up the fantastic work

[@taliosmusic8646]

Simply beautiful!

[@drcockles]

Fucking brilliant, you rock sir 🤘🏻🎸

[@danengel5739]

No Gift Of Guilt or My Last Creation? Blowin' it.

[@HellGoodDoogz]

That guitar is SO SICK! Cool vid too bruh... but damn... that guitar!

[@Xavocolypse]

This sounds awesome 🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@4seasonsgarage508]

Absolutely amazing 😱😱

[@mehstudio]

Amazing tones ♥️

[@ArturDrums]

Silvera already sounds incredible and tuned down it's just insane!

[@zackburford5102]

I always see guys who play djent style stuff with those wraps at the top of the neck, is their purpose to hold the strings in place because of the super low tuning?

[@Onamorata]

Zack Burford mostly to cut string noise and feedback tones from string scratching and such

[@SuperVilliany101]

I love this Gojira are heavy as shit in their original tuning but this is fantastic to imagine them in a lower tuning. Maybe a fun future video could be What If Ghost Tuned Down?

[@aaronvalure9921]

Heavy as fuck those amp tones are to die for ♥️

[@jimdanielhoxworth3374]

Oh, fuck yeah! Would you consider doing Rings of Saturn?

[@SlipknotMickk]

u kinda need a whole other level for that

[@yaboirico5221]

what if rings of Saturn tuned up

[@Necron00b]

I literally thought about this yesterday...awesome. haha

[@nimrodkalif3788]

Hi dude, love the tone! What profiles did you use?

[@ajdirosa1]

THAT SOLAR IS BEAUTIFUL!

[@alexandru.diaconu]

It sounds wildly good! The bad part is that it resembles all the new metal bands that have this "new" sound, more processed. Gojira is good as it is now, but a good idea of what it sounds when it's tuned down. Cheers from Romania!

[@Baylopersonal]

I’ve got the same axe! It’s truly a workhorse in the studio and on the stage!

[@Oelrich69]

no idea why i never watched your vids.... insta-subscribed

[@startffwolf]

In the next video Do "what if Yngwie Malmsteen tuned down! "

[@Aezthet1C]

The Ed-X make this happen

[@filthdealer8229]

Yessss

[@SirRunk666]

Totally! The riff in "Pyramid of Cheops" would sound downright beastly.

[@meep8279]

The Ed-X but Andrews not a shredder type player

[@transient442]

I would be very surprised if he could play that material

[@_L0r1S]

Andrew what are the eq settings and amp/amp model you used for this? Sounds sick!

[@legoharry100]

I asked him on Facebook and he said everything at 0 except for the gain and volume.

[@legoharry100]

Oh and the model is an EVH 5153.

[@WholeLottaBulldog]

Big amp settings at zero? Is that a Kemper thing or is the actual 5153 profiled with bass middle treble at zero? Just curious

[@BaenaCarcosa]

I use a Kemper running an EVH 5153 profile. As Big said, on my end everything is at 0, but that just means that it's using whatever the default options were on the amp that was profiled. So basically, I have no idea what the original profile creator did unfortunately. Sorry!

[@christopherleblanc3687]

Really well done. But for me, personally, It made me go and listen to the actual tracks. Have a Like and keep up the good work.

[@quinbrendal2087]

What’re you doing with your hand when you pull off across the strings? Is that just natural harmonics?

[@BaenaCarcosa]

+Scapegoat1975 I'm just dragging my hand across the strings, so it's basically just excess string noise from my hand. Think of it more like pick scraping

[@armyofone3372]

A day to remember next 🤘

[@1DeathEater]

It still sounds badass!!!!! They should totally do it like this one day..

[@kuroshine]

I realize in every video I look to see what Gunpla are on the Monitors lol. Come for the metal, stay for the gunpla

[@Eckathor]

Digging this! Drop A and B standard are more my kind of downtunings. Anything below A sounds unnecessarily low to me 99 percent of the time.

[@Bull3tphreak]

what do you call the big orange strap thing below the headstock, what does it even do?!

[@TurtleFL]

Vacuity just made all my hair stand on end. Drop A RULES!!!!

[@alberto8949]

Amigo con que cámara grabas tus vídeos?

[@jrod8797]

nice playin! cant wait to get a 7 string!

[@ChinOfAllChins]

2:26 to 2:31 I was so anticipating the breakdown, i was so pumped and you do me like this by cutting to the next song! F :( hahah

[@jakeellison5008]

Too heavy D: Just kidding. Nothing can ever be too heavy. Great video!

[@chucky4000]

That was fucking sick

[@Founworld]

Very Nice ! Gojira is the best modern metal band !

[@TimLSD]

god damn that guitar sounds amazing

[@jacak47410]

Shits solid as fuck dude. Love it

[@MartianDust415]

Is that the solar a1.7 vinter you playing?

[@Scotty515]

Loving the mix on this!! The slower groovier riffs sound hench in the lower tuning but I feel Backbone kinda loses the life behind that riff tuned lower.

[@OscarBlanco86]

great video!!

[@fabiankl3931]

What If Five Finger Death Punch tuned down? What If In Flames tuned down? Keep up the great work Andrew! Greetings from Germany

[@Buffalo45-70]

Like Gojira and that was interesting nice room set up. It's good to see a Solar guitar there really well made and great sounding guitars.

[@leogeraldo4872]

Its sounds way heavier, punchier, kinda core-ish at times when playing some of the riffs. Btw Sick Guitar Man! ❤ I wonder if I can have one delivered to Mexico. Keep rockin' my friend!

[@arthidayatullah]

Love this!!!

[@zhengyongkoh]

Sounds absolutely massive

[@piyushkashyap6778]

That sounds way more awesome

[@mateozz96]

Beautiful guitar