This is a free online tuner for 7 string guitar, already set to B E A D G B E, with one button per string. Press Start, play one string on its own, let the note settle, then aim for 0 cents. The tuner widens its analysis window on this preset, because the low B is a slow wave that needs a longer look. No account, no download. It sits alongside the rest of our free guitar tools.
7 string standard tuning: B E A D G B E
From the lowest string to the highest: B E A D G B E. It is a six string guitar in E A D G B E with a low B added underneath. The seventh string sounds B at 61.74 Hz, a fourth below the low E. Everything you know on six strings still works: you can compose, read six string tabs and carry your habits across.
The low B extends the range, strengthens palm mutes and opens up modern voicings built on fourths and parallel fifths. In metal as in fusion, you keep your six string reference points and gain a wider foundation.
A 7 string does not only play lower. It mostly demands more precision: picking hand, palm mute, string gauge, gain and timing.
How to tune a 7 string guitar
- Tune the six usual strings to E A D G B E first, to 0 cents.
- Bring the seventh string to B. Play it on its own and let it ring: the reading on a note that low arrives a moment later.
- Check the fourths between the low strings, B to E, E to A, A to D: the fifth fret of each string should match the next one up.
- Go round a second time. Stretch new strings gently, the seventh above all, and tune again.
Reference tones, A4 = 440 Hz
One button per string on a 7 string in standard tuning, from the low B up to the high E. Play the string on the guitar and bring it to the same pitch.
Each tone is synthesized by your browser at the exact frequency, with A4 at 440 Hz as the reference, so it stands in for a tuning fork. No audio file is downloaded.
Two quick reference points once you are in tune. The low power chord B F# B: seventh string open, sixth and fifth strings at the second fret. And the low trio on strings 7, 6 and 5 gives you the B E F# cell many riffs are built on.
Drop A on a 7 string
Drop A on a 7 string comes from lowering only the seventh string by a whole step, from B to A: A E A D G B E. The three lowest open strings then make an A power chord, A E A, that one finger laid flat moves around the whole neck, exactly like Drop D on a six string. You keep your six string reference points and gain a more anchored low end.
There is no Drop A preset. Keep the 7 string preset and lower the seventh string until the large note name reads A and the cents read 0. On the way down, the text that names the string still says B and the message says tighten: the tuner is measuring against the B you started from. Within about 20 cents of A that text goes blank and the reading is the plain note, so read the note and the cents, not the string name.
On a six string, Drop A takes a different shape. The whole guitar goes down to B standard, then the sixth string to A: A E A D F# B. That is far lower than where the guitar started, the sixth string falling a fifth from E to A, so it calls for a baritone set or very heavy strings, often on a longer scale guitar. On a 7 string, the same low sound costs one string. If that is where you are heading, the baritone guitar tuner covers the B standard side of it.
7 string tunings at a glance
| Tuning | Notes, low to high | Lowest string | In this tuner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard (B standard 7) | B E A D G B E | B, 61.74 Hz | Preset, this page |
| Drop A | A E A D G B E | A, 55.00 Hz | No preset, chromatic reading |
| Drop G# (Drop Ab) | G# D# G# C# F# A# D# | G#, 51.91 Hz | No preset, not checked |
| A standard | A D G C F A D | A, 55.00 Hz | No preset, chromatic reading |
| Drop G | G D G C F A D | G, 49.00 Hz | Below what the tuner reads |
Drop G# is Drop A taken down a half step on all seven strings. A standard and Drop G take the whole guitar down a whole step: they call for a heavier set of strings overall, not just a thicker seventh string.
Drop G sits below what this tuner reads on a guitar preset: its lowest string is 49 Hz, and the guitar presets listen from 50 Hz up. We would rather say so than show you a reading we cannot vouch for.
String gauges and setup
- B E A D G B E: 10-59 or 10-60, a good balance between tension and bends.
- Drop A: 10-64 or 11-64, for a firmer low string and cleaner riffs.
- Drop G: plan on a 64 to 68 for the lowest string, so it holds.
- Nut: a slot cut and polished for the seventh string's diameter.
- Bridge: set the intonation with the final set on.
- Action: a slight raise if your palm mute is energetic.
- Truss rod: an eighth of a turn, then let the neck settle.
For how the 7 string compares with Drop C, Drop B and the baritone, see the string gauge chart for drop and low tunings.
The real trap: low is not the same as readable
A badly set up 7 string can sound huge on its own and turn unreadable the moment you play with a metronome, a drummer or a bass. The low end has to be held, but also clean, in tune and placed in time. Before you add gain, check three things: the low string comes back to pitch, the palm mute does not eat the whole attack, and the riffs still make sense at a slow tempo.
Work your low patterns with the online metronome: if a riff does not sound clear slowly, it will not get cleaner faster.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tune a 7 string to Drop A?
Which gauge to start with in B E A D G B E?
In Drop A, the low string sounds blurry. What can I do?
Do I have to relearn my six string reference points?
Floyd Rose and 7 strings: any precautions?
Who made this
Guitar Social Club is the work of Yohann Abbou, a guitar teacher in Paris. He teaches adults: people with jobs, limited practice time and a clear idea of the songs they want to play. The tools come out of his lessons, which is why none of them asks you to sign up before it works, and why this one shows you cents rather than a green light. The rest of our free guitar tools work the same way.
More about Yohann on his page, and about why Guitar Social Club exists.