bari

[Tweed]

I'm switching my thoughts to building a Warmoth baritone. What I'd like to know is how low I can tune it. I think ideally I'd like it to be a whole octave below a standard guitar, where the low E would be the same note as the 2nd fret of a bass' D string.
Works/no?

 

[nathan a]

A regular-tuned guitar's low E is already the same note as a bass' D string 2nd fret! A full octave below standard would just be a bass, my friend. I don't think you could pull off such a low tuning on these baritone necks. Maybe if you were playing something high-distortion and didn't care about 'flub'... but normally, I would be very surprised it such a slack tuning sounded usable.

The 'standard' for baritone tunings is B to B, or A - A. To me, tuning a baritone 'low' would be G-G. That's only a step and a half away from a bass guitar, but in my experience, that is a long long 1.5 steps.

 

[tfarny]

nathan is right about everything.
What I've come to believe is getting low notes is more about string thickness and less about scale length. Warmoth's 28 5/8 scale basically adds two frets to a strat scale - so to tune more than one full step lower than a normal guitar and still have acceptable string tension, you'll want heavier strings - how heavy depends on your taste. My baritone has .014 - .072 or something and it I am comfortable in a standard or b standard.
I've been toying with the idea of just putting baritone strings on a regular neck and calling it good - if I can get b to b at a decent tension, that's good enough.

 

[Death by Uberschall]

Build a 6 string bass and let 'er rip!!!  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[AToE]

I actually disagree as to whether this is possible and what impact scale length has, I've tuned baritones with 27" scale lengths that low and it worked (barely)and Warmoth's is even longer. Scale length has as much to do with tension and pitch as string gauge, the same gauge of string at the same tension will be a lower note when made longer - hence the long scale on bass guitars. I wouldn't call this a baritone guitar though, it would just be an extra short scale bass with really close string spacing!

You would be looking at some interesting gauges for strings though, and definitely at assembling your own “custom” sets. Look at how thick a bass guitar’s need to be, and they have several extra inches than a baritone. As such, to achieve the same tension as a bass, you'd have to go WAY thicker. Even if you did something crazy like an 85 for your low string, that would still flop around pretty good at a low E note. You're looking at using really bloody thick strings, and some insane nut/bridge/tuner modifications to allow for such thick strings.

 

[Tweed]

Huh. I always just presumed a guitar's low E was the same as a bass's 9th fret on G string.
See, the thought that sparked all this is that I play more bass-ically, but I enjoy guitar a little more.

So if all this is true, does that mean Fender's old Bass VI really was just a 6 string bass closely spaced?

 

[nathan a]

does that mean Fender's old Bass VI really was just a 6 string bass closely spaced?

:hello2: Yes! I would like to try one of those, see how it feels. I've never even seen one.

 

[tfarny]

ATE, you tuned a 27" guitar down a full octave with guitar-gauge strings??  Even a 30" scale bass, with bass strings, is a bit floppy and weak. Yours must have played / sounded like overcooked linguini. No offense.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Huh. I always just presumed a guitar's low E was the same as a bass's 9th fret on G string.

That's actually an octave higher.  A guitar's low E is the same as the 2nd fret on a bass's D string.

 

[AToE]

ATE, you tuned a 27" guitar down a full octave with guitar-gauge strings??  Even a 30" scale bass, with bass strings, is a bit floppy and weak. Yours must have played / sounded like overcooked linguini. No offense.

It was pretty loose, but it did alright (I did say it barely worked). I think the guages were something like 14-68. Distorted it was junk, clean it passed, but barely. My point was more that 28 (point whatever) is actually long enough to pull it off decently with some mother heavy strings. I'd guess something like 85-95 would do it reasonably well, but yes, still much floppier than a bass.

 

[PitchShifter]

I was intending to turn my Warmoth Jazzmaster into a Bass VI.  The Jaguar Baritone Custom was an updated short-lived revision of the old Fender Bass VI and had a 28.5" scale length. If you can get the bridge 28.77" from the nut, you can do it. Though, I will defer to the more experienced guys whether the Warmoth conversion neck works the same as standard 28" neck.

I picked up a replica Bass VI bridge from a French Luthier. It's similar to the Jazzmaster bridge, but it's 1" wide allowing for the low E and A to intonate better. I expect you'll need the nut slots revised too.

However, after playing a Schecter Hellcat VI, I've really had a rethink. And I play as much bass as I do guitar.

 

[JerkyChid]

This makes me wonder about an idea I've been kicking around in my head for a baritone Warmoth 7 tuned EADGCEA (standard bass + 3)

 

[V-P]

The band Meshuggah from Sweden uses 8-stringed 31" scale guitars tuned to F, almost one octave down with 0.70 strings.
It's pretty cool, almost like three basses playing together.  :headbang1: