Baritone guitars

rauchman

rauchman

Hero Member
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929
Greetings,

I'm always exploring different guitar based options for a build.

Came across something on baritone guitars recently. Where do you see baritone guitars fitting in? Does one use a baritone as a guitar alternate, or something specific to the baritone?

From a build perspective, I see a lot baritone Tele's. I would think neck dive would be a problem, as well as the lower frets being waaaaaaaaay out there? Is there a Warmoth body shape that is preferred for a baritone build?
 
I have done 2 baritone teles with the Warmoth 28-5/8" conversion neck and I find them just to neck heavy.

I have done 2 different baritone teles using the Fender Sub-Sonic 27" scale necks and those hang much better but still need lighter tuners to combat neck dive.

Sub-Sonic Baritone Telecaster® Neck, 22 Medium Jumbo Frets, Maple | Parts

Sub-Sonic Baritone Telecaster® Neck, 22 Medium Jumbo Frets, Maple
www.fender.com www.fender.com

I have a 27" scale Strat type in progress using the fender 27" scale neck and I just based on my dry fit it hangs much better.

Sub-Sonic Baritone Stratocaster® Neck, 22 Medium Jumbo Frets | Parts

Sub-Sonic Baritone Stratocaster® Neck, 22 Medium Jumbo Frets, Pau Ferro
www.fender.com www.fender.com
 
to answer your question about what to use them for, I have used them In B-B tuning and C-C tuning to provide a different texture in blues and rock performances and recordings.

I have also used them in B-B and Drop A for metal.

I have wanted to build a 28" scale 7 string for tuning F#-B because I like playing low but I cannot get my mits to play an 8 string at all 🤣
 
My baritone Tele never had a neck dive issue, despite having a very very light body in the 3 lb range. No worries at all. I think Teles lend themselves well to Baritones as single coil voicings retain so much tightness to the low end, and nothing twangs like a Tele, but a BariTele adds so much more to it.
 
Love baritones! They’re very common in metal with players who want more “oomph in the pit of stomach” but without losing clarity

As noted by supertruper, lowered tunings are fairly common in blues and blues-rock (latter day ZZ Top being a great example)

I also think baris are great for jazz and jazz-adjacent music

One advantage of lowered tunings in general from my perspective, is that they make the whole instrument more usable for rhythm parts

I don’t presently own a bari, but i do keep guitars tuned in B-standard and dropped-A, would like to do a bari sometime
 
If you tune to C, you don't need a baritone guitar. You can use 12-54 strings on the 25.5" Fender scale length.
 
Last edited:
JohnnyHardtail said:
If you tune to C, you don't need a baritone guitar. You can use 12-54 strings on the 25.5" Fender scale length.
Click to expand...

I've used C,G,C,G,C,D on a 24.75" LP using 0.10's with no ill effect. I do have to be mindful of not power picking/strumming though, as it can get flubby
 
Funny this thread should be resurrected. I am currently shooting a series of Warmoth videos where I talk about the Bari conversion neck, and baritone guitars in general: their role in a band and how they differ than a Bass6.
 
lol Aaron’s baritone vids got me thinking of a baritone build as well. I am still curious why no one seems to like / recommend regular Strat pickups for a baritone? They seem to fit all the general recommendations in selecting pickups, but in the end I see almost always tele or p90 suggestions. Why no love for baritone strats? Is it just that they still sound like strats?
 
People may worry that a Baritone strat would sound thin. I don't know because I haven't tried it! There are some boutique soapbar P90s with Alnico 5 rods instead of the usual pole piece screws. That seems like an interesting option for a baritone guitar.
 
Bari-Strats or Bari-Teles Don not sound thin in the least bit. If anything, I think they sound even more balanced that their A440 counterparts. Much of the harsh top end shrill is shaved off ever so slightly on the bridge pickup selection, and even on the neck pickup, the low end remains tight.
 
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