apple
Quarternote
Posts: 36
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Post by apple on Dec 25, 2022 17:07:34 GMT -5
My wife and I have a music duo. Two guitars seemed like one too many and the sonic space between guitar and bass seemed a little wide. Since I play guitar and bass, a possible solution was to try a baritone guitar. I was lucky to score a PRS 277 locally on Facebook Marketplace for a fair price with a hard shell Gator case thrown in. They are on back order at Sweetwater. Apparently they're all the rage with metal bands. It was the perfect solution! I'm hooked enough that I bought a Squier Paranormal Baritone Cabronita Telecaster for a back up. Anyone else playing a baritone?
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Post by LesTele on Dec 25, 2022 17:32:18 GMT -5
I was aware of baritone guitars for “ heavy, aggressive and drop-tuned doomage” as one one UK retailer states in their PRS SE description.
What sort of music do you play?
Rev has a Fender Bass VI which isn’t a baritone but I’m interested in finding out more.
My New Year resolution is to use the gear I have and not buy any more.
I’m asking for a friendl😋
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Post by reverendrob on Dec 26, 2022 7:09:26 GMT -5
Yea, I have a Bass VI I adore, and a 7 string that I prefer (string popping on the high A be damned!) in the original intended "not dropped" tuning.
It shreds the 8s at high A though.
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apple
Quarternote
Posts: 36
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Post by apple on Dec 26, 2022 17:10:32 GMT -5
I was aware of baritone guitars for “ heavy, aggressive and drop-tuned doomage” as one one UK retailer states in their PRS SE description. What sort of music do you play? Rev has a Fender Bass VI which isn’t a baritone but I’m interested in finding out more. My New Year resolution is to use the gear I have and not buy any more. I’m asking for a friendl😋 Baritone electric guitars have been around since the 1950s played by the likes of Duane Eddy and other instrumentalists. Duane used a baritone to play the theme to 'Peter Gun' which was also the Blues Brother's theme song. They were used in '60s surf music as well. They're different from the Fender Bass VI which was designed for regular guitarists to play bass on but not chord. The baritone is most commonly tuned BEADF#B which is four octaves lower than a regular guitar and can be chorded with familiar chord shapes. So if my wife is playing in E, I'm playing in E but with the A chord shape. It's pretty easy to get the hang of. We play a wide variety of music, none of which is “ heavy, aggressive and drop-tuned doomage” nor surf music. The PRS does lend itself to the heavy stuff but not so much the Squier. What I really like is that I can go from playing bass lines as my wife carries the heavy guitar lifting and then switch to chording when she's playing the ride. It kind of sets us apart from other duos because there aren't a lot of them with this sound. They are quickly becoming popular and the price of the Squiers is helping in that respect. |
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Post by oldfartbassplayrwalt on Dec 29, 2022 8:48:05 GMT -5
I use a Gretsch 5265, tuned an octave below. Consider maybe using that or Fender VI, playing 'real' bass for parts of the song, but then taking advantage of the higher 'baritone' range to fill out the bottom as a alternate. I found it a creative way to accompany a thin acoustic guitar.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Dec 29, 2022 22:57:38 GMT -5
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Dec 29, 2022 23:06:20 GMT -5
An alternative to spending $$$ on a new instrument is to convert one of your existing guitars to a baritone. All that's necessary to convert a Strat or Tele is to recut the nut for fatter strings, install the strings, and do a setup. If you have nut files, your only cost is strings (about $10 or so). This beast is a homebrew Stratocopy I cobbled together a few years back.  |
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apple
Quarternote
Posts: 36
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Post by apple on Dec 30, 2022 8:51:21 GMT -5
Very well done Peegoo! You've inspired me to work up an instrumental to give my audience a quick overview of what a baritone guitar is as compared to a regular guitar. Ha ha. I might even throw in some dog and goat effects. For now I'm heading back to your link to hear some more of your stuff. Concerning your Custom Strat Baritone, my first thought was to do the same thing. I have a cool old Harmony guitar that I thought would be perfect for that. But then I read in a couple of places that you would need a longer scale neck, at least 27” to achieve normal string tension and prevent your strings from being super floppy. Have you had that experience with the Strat build at all? |
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