A Suspended 2nd Guitar Chord — Drop B
Guitar chord voicings in Drop B tuning (C#-G#-E-B-F#-B)
A Suspended 2nd Voicings in Drop B
A Suspended 2nd in Drop B Tuning — Guide
Notes: A, B, E
Intervals: 1P, 2M, 5P
The A Suspended 2nd chord in Drop B tuning (C#-G#-E-B-F#-B) requires different fingerings than standard tuning. We found 6 playable voicings, each filtered for comfortable fret span (max 4 frets) and realistic finger placement.
About Drop B Tuning
Drop B tuning (B-F#-B-E-G#-C#) takes the guitar into territory traditionally reserved for 7-string instruments, delivering a subsonic heaviness that you can feel in your chest. This tuning has become essential in modern extreme metal, deathcore, and djent, where low-end clarity and rhythmic precision are paramount.
Drop B represents the practical limit of what a standard 6-string guitar can handle before tone quality degrades. With the right string gauge (12-60 or heavier) and proper setup, it delivers the crushing lows of a 7-string while keeping the familiar 6-string layout. Bands like Architects, Periphery (on some tracks), and Parkway Drive have used Drop B to create some of the heaviest riffs in modern metal.
Genres & Artists Using Drop B
Genres: Deathcore, Djent, Progressive Metal, Extreme Metal, Metalcore
Notable artists: Architects, Parkway Drive, Whitechapel, Born of Osiris, Emmure
Scales for Improvising Over A Suspended 2nd in Drop B
When playing A Suspended 2nd in Drop B tuning, these scales work well for improvisation and melody writing:
- A Major scale
- A Mixolydian scale — bluesy, perfect over dominant 7th chords