Baritone Guitar?

[markf]

anyone use a baritone guitar?

I just listened to a tacoma thunderhawk absolutely beautiful sound.

[12GA]

I played one at the local shop a couple weeks ago and had trouble putting it down. Just a delightful instrument to play and not hard on the eyes either.

[Dad3353]

anyone use a baritone guitar?...

Good evening, Mark...
I use a OLP baritone (passive pu model...); it can be tuned to A, as a 'real' baritone, or down to E as a 6 string bass. The tone is quite different from either guitar or bass (other models will differ, of course...). I particularly like it's 'grand piano' tone, which permeates whatever style played. I wouldn't anticipate strumming, or full chords, except for really specific effect; it's role is very much melodic and/or bass(OK; double stops can work, if you insist, or octaves...). I don't read from staff, so the transposition is not a problem; just play by ear. If playing as a guitar, no problem fingering, but as a bass one has to decide whether to tune as a 6 string bass or as a guitar down an octave. As I play 6 string fretless the choice is easy (bass rules...). Not all baritones have this possibility of going down so low, but it was a definite factor for me in choosing the PRS.
Great fun, unique sound, but I would have great difficulty adopting as sole instrument (but then again, I'm a drummer..!). It's 'place' is somewhat limited in general repertoire, imho, but useful for 'ringing the changes' in original composition.
Hope this helps...

[markf]

thanks. very interesting.

[Soco]

I played one of Taylors new 8 string baritones, very cool guitar!

[docbop]

I dig the sound of Pat Metheny's baritone with his Nashville tuning on One Quiet Night CD. Looking around Taylor appears to be only commercial baritone acoustic in production rest are small luthiers. So no inexpensive way to test the waters.

[markf]

can it be played as a regular guitar, or are the frets farther apart, harder to make chords, play scales?

here's some that are made according to baritoneguitar.com

OLP MM5 Baritone Guitar list $349 (The 30 inch scale
Agile AB-3500 Baritone $399.99
Danelectro Baritone Solid Body Electric Guitar
Michael Kelly Patriot Lo Boy BARITONE Solid Body Electric Guitar list $645
Gretsch Guitars G5265 Jet Baritone list $649
B.C. Rich Bich Baritone Archtop Guitar list $685
Schecter C-1 EX Baritone Blackjack Guitar list $899
ESP LTD MHB-400 Baritone Electric Guitar list $899
ESP LTD VB-400 Baritone Electric Guitar list $899
Jaguar Baritone Special HH list $999
Ibanez MMM1 Mike Mushok Signature Baritone Electric Guitar list $1066
Jerry Jones Neptune Shorthorn® Baritone 3 pickups $1100

[markf]

pretty good sound demo

thanks folks

[Dookychase]

I believe Steve Masakowski plays a 7 string baritone. He's one of the jazz professors at the University of New Orleans. He plays with a band called Astral Project.

Check him out.

[markf]

I believe Steve Masakowski plays a 7 string baritone. He's one of the jazz professors at the University of New Orleans. He plays with a band called Astral Project.

Check him out.

very beautiful sound there, thanks. his chord sound is very full and beautiful.

[Stackabones]

can it be played as a regular guitar, or are the frets farther apart, harder to make chords, play scales?

IIRC most baritones have a longer scale, so yes the frets will be a little farther apart than standard scale guitars.

[mad dog]

Yes. I have a Jerry Jones, 2 p/u baritone. Lipstick p/us. First heard one on a friend's mostly acoustic guitar album. On one cut, thought I was hearing a really low lute of some sort. Turned out to be this JJ baritone, played softly, fingerstyle. He loaned it to me for a week and that was that. Had to have one. I can highly recommend it, especially the 2-pickup version, as the middle p/u position is where the real magic is.

This particular JJ felt so good, I forgot to plug it in at the store. Started to pay, and he said "don't you want to try it?" It's that kind of instrument.
MD

[markf]

thanks for the info

[P.J.]

I have a Dano baritone that is a lot of fun to play. I don't think they make them anymore but you could probably find one used on Ebay. Quite fun w/ reverb and some tremalo.

PJ

[markf]

thanks, I think they might still make them.

I saw the strings they use, not sure I could play a guitar with strings that heavy.

[JHutchinson81]

hey guys, have any of you tried one of these Jericho guitars? Wondering what you guys thought of them if you have. If not, Jericho Guitars | Longscale Baritone Electric GuitarsJericho Guitars

[ooglybong]

I dig the sound of Pat Metheny's baritone with his Nashville tuning on One Quiet Night CD. Looking around Taylor appears to be only commercial baritone acoustic in production rest are small luthiers. So no inexpensive way to test the waters.

Not quite. How about $359? Check this out: Alvarez Artist Series ABT60 Baritone Guitar | Musician's Friend

This is essentially a very nice 'copy' of the high-end Japanese handbuilt *Alvarez-Yairi* YB-1 baritone. Which I happen to own. The 'Yairi' is a marvelous sounding jumbo-body guitar, and sure, it's somewhat more elegant, esp. nicer woods being used, gold hardware and a sparser headstock design that I prefer, but certainly it's not miles above the 'stock' Alvarez at a glance. No way. The 'Alvarez' is a nicely finished gloss-bodied model, too, with a solid sitka top and mahogany back and sides—all of this with, IMO, a very high degree of fit and finish befitting a much more expensive guitar (at least the two that I've seen and played in the past year). Both guitars were wonderful sounding and nicely set up right "out of the box" (last month's had allegedly only been hung on the wall hours earlier). Really, that Alvarez was as nice as my Yairi. OK... maybe 90%—but at only 25% the price. If I didn't already have the YB-1, I would have definitely bought the Alvarez on the spot.

By the way, here's the cool $89 Alvarez 'jumbo' case for it (AFAIK): Alvarez JC1 Jumbo Acoustic Guitar Case | Musician's Friend

Hey, order one from MF with the current 15% Sale and still have 45 days to decide to keep it. I bet you will.

Just for comparison, here's the original 'Yairi' YB-1 version, discontinued at MF but still out there new on eBay, etc. for about $1750 (no electronics but with case) if you can still find one. Alvarez Yairi YB1 Jumbo Baritone | Musician's Friend

[SamBooka]

Zombie thread.. Wes used one on the Movin Wes album (probably got that wrong but hey...)

[ooglybong]

Zombie thread.. Wes used one on the Movin Wes album (probably got that wrong but hey...)

Didn't check the date, just saw it in the threads as a recent topic. Oops. But so what, right? It's still an interesting subject.
And that Alvarez baritone is still out there for only a few dollars if anyone's looking to pull of a Metheny-esque One Quiet Night vibe on an excellent yet inexpensive guitar (retuning required, of course). Hope this helps someone out there...

[Rustic]

Hey Ooglybong,

What's the scale length on the Alvarez? I think I could manage to play some chords on a 27" but a 29" would be beyond my reach, literally...

Can you tune yours all the way down to B?

Thanks

[ooglybong]

What's the scale length on the Alvarez? I think I could manage to play some chords on a 27" but a 29" would be beyond my reach, literally...
Can you tune yours all the way down to B?

See? Zombie threads can sometimes be good!

Just checked my YB-1.... The scale length is about 27.5". Yup, it's tuned down to B.

Now, I'm definitely not a baritone authority by any stretch, but IIRC, there are other tunings one might use, exploring different strings gauges, too, along the way. I seem to recall that Metheny used an interesting tuning with the two "innermost" strings replaced with a lighter gauge then tuned an octave higher than the normal bari range in order to facilitate his approach on One Quiet Night.

Side note: Interesting that MF's site didn't spec the scale length on the Alvarez (they do on the YB-1) but AFAIK, they're the same. But I Googled on over to zZounds anyway. Ha! They actually have the Alvarez ABT60E bari there with onboard electronics for $489. If that's got a case included (not mentioned so probably not) that would be a real steal. Even with buying the case, I think that's still a nice deal overall for what, IMO, is a very, very nice guitar —if you're interested in exploring the baritone without breaking the bank.

Alvarez ABT60E Baritone Acoustic-Electric Guitar at zZounds

Hope this helps.

[ooglybong]

...I think I could manage to play some chords on a 27" but a 29" would be beyond my reach, literally...

I had some more thoughts re the baritone... Managing to play chords? Yeah, the shapes for chords, etc. are the same but... it's different. At least for me. IMO, the baritone's not for the faint of fingers, being somewhat taxing (at least it is for me) to play for long stretches of time due to the longer scale length, heavier strings and the higher tension those entail. This is especially so when I insist on playing it more 'guitar-istically', and then certain songs just don't seem to sound 'right' to me when simply translated over from standard tuning and played in the same neck locations. Instead, simply improvising on the instrument definitely yields greater rewards (for me), esp playing over droned lower notes. (I also suppose that I'm playing it more as 'World' music than 'Jazz', too.) So, IMHO, a baritone requires a different approach, both physically and conceptually, but it's definitely rewarding when you find the right musical opportunities, whatever those might be.

[Rustic]

Hey, thanks for your experience and perspectives on the baritone. Once I strung up a six string bass in guitar tuning (an octave lower of course) and couldn't do anything except single line shapes on it. Of course a 28" scale would be more friendly than a 34"! Still, I get your point.

In terms of guitaristic chording possibilities, and jazz, a baritone electric might be something to consider. In an ad I saw a wild looking Steinberger with a 28" scale and a built-in moveable capo that allows changing key/scale length in seconds. My concern about that would be the capo mechanism being uncomfortable to play around.

[Doctor Jeff]

I played a Taylor Bari a little while ago. It has a very cool sound, and with the extra strings in the middle it gets a 12-string vibe as well. However, you do need to adjust your playing style, as stated above. Playing the usual chord-melody arrangements just doesn't sound right. And it takes some practice to finger-pick doubled strings.

i think it would be a cool guitar to try different tunings on, as well as a more "folky" approach to music. I think of Leo Kottke and Pat Metheny's One Quiet Night as models. However, it is a bit pricey for an experiment.

On a different note (NPI) one can get a baritone neck from Weymouth and put it on a Tele body. That might be the easiest way to try out a Bari without breaking the bank.

[Jim Soloway]

On a different note (NPI) one can get a baritone neck from Weymouth and put it on a Tele body. That might be the easiest way to try out a Bari without breaking the bank.

If you're going to consider the Warmoth route, I would strongly recommend using a Strat shaped body rather than a Tele. The Tele with the longer scale length can be hideously neck heavy whereas the Strat, because the center of balance is so much further forward can actually balance pretty well. They do offer the Strat body in a hard tail, so you're not stuck with dealing with a trem if that's an issue for you.