Live Tunings

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Mofo

Refugee
Joined
Dec 21, 2000
Messages
1,072
Location
MTY, Mexico
Hi guys a while ago there was a thread about the live tunings and JMScoopy came up with this one from a standard Vertigo tour setlist

s- standard tuning
h- half step down
f- full step down

cobl- h
vertigo- s
elevation- s
electric co - h
ISHFWILF- h
MD- s
OOTS- s
SYCMIOYO -s
LAPOE - (open D tuning)
SBS- f
bullet - h
rtss - h
pride- f
streets - s
one - h

zoo station - h
the fly - h
WOWY - h

ABOY - s
yahweh - s?
40 - s

as far as I can tell it's pretty accurate, but I was hoping if we could help each other from missing songs (like Beautiful Day, Fast Cars, Mysterious Ways, acoustic versions of Stuck, Wild Horses, Walk On, etc) and past tours so here's some to get started I'm extremely tone-deaf so please any help would be greatly appreciated

Zoo TV

zoo station- h
the fly- h
even better-
mysterious ways-
one- h
until the end-
trying to throw- h
wild horses-
new years day-
numb-
angel of harlem-
stay
satellite of love-
bad-
dirty day-
bullet- h
running to stand still- h
where the streets have no name- h
pride- h
desire-
daddy is gonna-
ultraviolet-
lemon-
with or without you- h
love is blindness-


I'm, pretty sure with the few I've got but any corrections would be great, I'll try to fill in the missing songs tomorrow, as well as an Elevation setlist
 
Until Zoo TV everything was tuned to a standard semitone down. During Popmart Bono couldn't reach the highnotes on certain songs like Pride and ISHFWILF and these were played on instruments tuned down a full tone

With Elevation the rulebook went out of the window and most new songs get played on normal tuned instruments, some oldies also, some still a semitone down and only problem cases like SBS and Pride the full tone down or even further.
 
thanks Muad'zin I was starting to wonder if I'd come up with anything in standard tuning in Zoo TV

so why woud they start playing most of the stuff in standard tuning? If Zoo TV is probably the best Bono's ever sound (well probably Joshua/Love Town Tours) but Zoo TV is not far behind
Standard tuning would strain Bono's voice more
 
Beats me?

Maybe he thinks he's a vocal superman or he took lessons since then. I can understand him wanting to sing the new stuff as is on the record. But to actually sing old stuff like IWF, OOC and 11:00 in standard tuning when these songs were never in standard tuning is a bit of a mystery. The only reason I can think of is Edge's explorer guitar. That was the guitar used for those songs and since Elevation it has been tuned in a standard tuning as its also the guitar for Beautiful day and Miracle Drug.
 
another thing that really suprises me is that I can never hear Bono breathing in as opposed to most singers where you can hear them breathing in right before singing
 
Muad'zin said:
The only reason I can think of is Edge's explorer guitar. That was the guitar used for those songs and since Elevation it has been tuned in a standard tuning as its also the guitar for Beautiful day and Miracle Drug.


didn't they do Beautiful Day, Out of Control, I Will Follow, and 11 O'Clock Tick Tock a half step down on the Elevation tour? it would help for Miracle Drug a lot.
 
discothequeLP said:



didn't they do Beautiful Day, Out of Control, I Will Follow, and 11 O'Clock Tick Tock a half step down on the Elevation tour? it would help for Miracle Drug a lot.

All standard tuning, baby! The Explorer got tuned normally and suddenly ALL songs that were played on the Explorer were in standard tuning.
 
Mofo said:
another thing that really suprises me is that I can never hear Bono breathing in as opposed to most singers where you can hear them breathing in right before singing


I have always wondered that but I saw a few videos and before he sings he puts hit mic. to the side so he can take in some air...

Either that or I have no clue...
 
Mofo said:
Does anyone know if Stay was played in standard or half in ZooTV and Elevation?

Not a complaint nor a rant, but I've always wondered, why do people find it so hard to determine in which key U2 play live? Is it that hard to hear the difference between regular and standard tuning? I usually hear it in seconds. And I'm not even good at it.

Then again I did learn to figure stuff out by ear in the 80's. When there was no handy internet to ask questions first.
 
Muad'zin said:


Not a complaint nor a rant, but I've always wondered, why do people find it so hard to determine in which key U2 play live? Is it that hard to hear the difference between regular and standard tuning? I usually hear it in seconds. And I'm not even good at it.

Then again I did learn to figure stuff out by ear in the 80's. When there was no handy internet to ask questions first.

Well my only excuse is I'm tone deaf, I usually have a hard time learning songs just by ear, I'll do simple solos but other than that I depend a lot on tab sites, as for the tunings, I am getting better, but Stay I wasn't sure so that's why I asked
 
Mofo said:


Well my only excuse is I'm tone deaf, I usually have a hard time learning songs just by ear, I'll do simple solos but other than that I depend a lot on tab sites, as for the tunings, I am getting better, but Stay I wasn't sure so that's why I asked

Fair enough. But surely you are the exception, right? It would be hard to believe this whole subforum is full of tone deaf people.
 
maybe lazy people :reject: still it's not easy for everyone. I have two electric guitars but for a couple of years I had one stored, so until a few months ago I decided to buy new strings and now I have a guitar in standard and another in half step down so now it's easier for me to compare
 
The whole standard (concert pitch tuning) and detuned half a step tuning has driven me mad for years.To the point now where I am going to have to get another guitar to stop re tuning all the time.
Very interesting point that was made about songs being in concert pitch because Edge was using the Explorer again.Could be true.

What about Streets being in concert pitch on the Chicago dvd?. He uses a Strat for that song. And that follows immediately after pride that is a full tone lower.

It puzzles me!

By the Way the Tabs posted on the Net are not always correct!
Try and use it as a last resort only.Figure as much of the song as possible by ear.

I have seen Tabs totally wrong in that they have been transcibed a half tone out. If you take them as gospel you can get in a mess.

Trust your ears. not your eyes!
 
Back
Top Bottom