How to tune a 7-string guitar in your DAW
By Piotr Bogus · 4 November 2026 · 5 min read
The short answer
- Put a tuner plugin first on your guitar track, before the amp sim and any effects.
- Standard 7-string tuning is B E A D G B E. Drop A lowers only the low B to A; A standard lowers every string by a whole step.
- The low B is the hard one: pick it softly, wait for the note to settle, and always tune up to the note.
The tunings
A 7-string is a 6-string with one more string below the low E. In standard tuning that string is a B, a fourth below the E, so everything you know on six strings stays where it was. Lower tunings work the same way as on six strings: drop the lowest string a whole step for a drop tuning, or lower all of them together.
| Tuning | Strings, lowest first | How to get there from B standard |
|---|---|---|
| B standard | B1 E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 | the standard 7-string tuning |
| Drop A | A1 E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4 | low B down a whole step to A |
| A standard | A1 D2 G2 C3 F3 A3 D4 | every string down a whole step |
The number after each note is its octave: B1 is the low B at about 61.7 Hz, E4 the high E at about 329.6 Hz. A tuner that shows the octave tells you at once when you have tuned a string to the wrong one, which happens more easily on a slack low string than you would think.
Step 1: put the tuner first on the guitar track
Insert the tuner in the first slot of the guitar track, or on the input channel, so that it hears the clean DI signal. Distortion, compression and modulation all add harmonics and wobble that make any tuner less sure of itself, and on a low B that is the difference between a steady reading and a jumpy one.
Any tuner plugin works. CentTune is free and made for this: it has the three tunings above as presets, shows a headstock with the peg to turn lit up, and passes the guitar through untouched, with no latency, so you can leave it on the track. Like a tuner pedal, it has a mute switch for tuning on a stage or while recording.
Step 2: pick the tuning and go low to high
Choose the tuning, then tune the strings from the lowest to the highest. The low strings pull the hardest on the neck, so tuning them first means the others move less afterwards. In AUTO mode CentTune follows whichever string you play; when a string is held in tune it gets a tick and the next string is selected.
Then go round once more. Seven strings put a lot of tension on the neck, and on a guitar with a floating tremolo every string you tune pulls the others out a little. The second round is usually just a check; on a floating bridge you may need a third.
Step 3: tuning the low B (or A)
This is where most players fight their tuner. A low B vibrates only about 62 times a second, so a tuner has to listen a little longer to be sure of the note. A thick string is also stiff, and a stiff string's overtones come out slightly sharp of where they should be: some tuners follow them and read the string sharp. On top of that, every string goes a little sharp right after the pick hits it and settles a moment later.
- Pick softly, with your thumb or the side of the pick, over the neck pickup or the end of the fretboard. A hard attack near the bridge is all overtones.
- Read the note after it settles, half a second or so after the attack, not the first flash.
- Tune up to the note. If the string is sharp, go below the note and come back up. The string then holds its tension at the nut and the tuning post, and stays in tune when you play.
- Mute the other strings with your fretting hand, so the low string is the only one ringing.
CentTune measures the fundamental of the string on its own, so the sharp overtones of a stiff low string do not pull the reading, and it shows the octave, so a B2 by mistake never looks like a B1. On a real string the reading still moves a little while the note rings: tune to where it rests.
Step 4: check the reference
Almost everyone tunes to A = 440 Hz. If your band or a backing track uses something else, such as 432 or 442, set the same reference in the tuner first, or every string will be a few cents off the rest of the music. CentTune offers 432 to 444 Hz and reminds you on screen whenever it is set to anything other than 440.
Lower without retuning
Retuning a 7-string to A standard or lower means slack strings, a different feel and often a new set of strings. If you only need a lower tuning for some songs, a polyphonic pitch shifter in the DAW gets you there with the guitar left in B standard or Drop A: −2 turns B standard into A standard and Drop A into Drop G. It is the same method as on six strings, step by step in how to play in Drop C, B or A without retuning.
Questions
Why does my tuner jump around on the low string?
Usually for one of three reasons: a hard pick attack, which is mostly overtones and briefly sharp; other strings ringing along; or a tuner placed after distortion. Pick softly, mute the rest and put the tuner first on the track. A worn string makes it worse too: if a fresh string is steady and the old one never is, it is time for a new set.
Which string gauge do I need for the low B?
A string made for it, usually somewhere from .059 to .064 for B standard and a little heavier for Drop A or A standard. A string that is too light for its note is floppy, buzzes and keeps going sharp under the pick, and no tuner can fix that.
Does this work for a baritone or a 6-string in B?
Yes. A baritone or a 6-string tuned to B standard is tuned B E A D F# B, which is the B Standard preset in CentTune, and Drop A on six strings is there too. Everything above about the low string applies the same way.
Get the tuner
CentTune is free, for Windows and macOS (VST3, AU, CLAP), with no account and no email. Load it first on your guitar track, pick 7: B Standard, 7: Drop A or 7: A Standard, and play.