432 Hz tuning

I thought I would get a little nerdy this morning.. and I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.What I’m talking about is tuning to 432 Hz. This is an interesting topic, and personally, isn’t quite there for me to commit to it, but I have to admit, I am curious about it. So what is this? Basically, using a tuner that is capable of tuning to 432 Hz vs 440 Hz. 440 Hz is known as the modern concert pitch, and has become the standard in 1936 and is what all the basic tuners out there tune to.

Apparently, tuning the A to 432 Hz music becomes easier on the ears.. and is often referred to as the ‘God note’. Some people argue that this is completely BS, while others are absolutely passionate that this impacts their tone in a positive way. Let’s hear some examples:

What did you think? Better? Worse? Now, I’ve also heard that many of the classic tunes from artists like Beatles, Dire Straits, etc tune to this and is the reason why when trying to play their songs in conventional 440 Hz tuning, your guitar sounds just a hair off.

Now one thing to consider, to be able to tune to this, you need a tuner that can adjust the frequency. Many of the popular tuners out there, are not capable of going down to 432 (ie: Boss, Polytune, etc). Some tuners can – Snark, Strobostomp, etc.

Now the other important thing to consider when you do this, it’s an all or nothing type situation. What this means, that if you tune down to 432 Hz, everyone else in the band needs to as well, or you’ll be slightly out of tune. That’s a band commitment.

Let me know what you think about this by commenting below!