baritone - talk me in/out

Truss rod brings up an interesting question.  With the 24.75 conversion neck, the overhang prevents heel truss rod acess. I get that side adjust should be fine once its set up, but I srill hate taking it apart 6 or 7 times for initial setup.

I don't suppose truss rod access is available on baritone flat strats. I'd consider maple for a one piece but that's not available on baris
 
swarfrat said:
Truss rod brings up an interesting question.  With the 24.75 conversion neck, the overhang prevents heel truss rod acess. I get that side adjust should be fine once its set up, but I srill hate taking it apart 6 or 7 times for initial setup.

Then don't. While the neck is still off the body, put a straightedge down the length of the neck on the fretboard side and use a feeler gauge ($5 to $7 at any automotive supply) to measure the relief as you turn the heel adjuster until you get around .008" clearance around the 7th-8th fret. Usually doesn't take more than 1/4 turn. Install the neck, string it up, and if it still needs adjustment, then the fine-tune side adjuster has more than enough range to get where you need to be.
 
Not sure why I'm playing with it still (Actually I do. I can play with it until I got money to pull the trigger).  Plain ol Showcase Fatback Maple doesn't look nearly as bad as I thought it would.  If the ebony board hadn't showed up to the party, everyone would still be saying - wow nice dress. 

bari-maple_zps5tari6if.png
 
Ebony is just so nice... it's like real calfskin or mink as opposed to the department store synthetics. You know you've got a quality piece, even if nobody else does. Although, those that do know will nod and smile with approval. Of course, that comes with a price, so you have to decide whether that's important to you or not.
 
Funding secured.... choices choices choices..  I got the 6100GD on the shortscale. It was huge. I want stainless, but gold only has two choices. Thinking about going with a 6150, intrigued by the peaky 6115 after my experience with drum bearing edges. (I like round fat bearing edges on drums. But this is a guitar and a sharp edge sounds intriguing)

 
Gonna sleep on it before ordering but I think the the final answer is:

Stratocaster Baritone 28-5/8" Fatback
Shaft Wood: Roasted Maple / Fingerboard Wood: Ebony 
SS6105 (Stainless)
Sperzel (25/64") 
No Inlay / White Side Dots
No Nut Install (moving the Earvana shelf from the short scale neck here)

Still deciding on keeping the Ghost saddles or not. Not keeping the Hexpander and Acoustiphonic. If I keep the ghost, it's going to be summed into a mono signal, bandpass around 500 Hz or so, and brought back to a blend knob for "Woody Knock / Liveliness at volume".  I also need to rework my existing controls for MIDI volume and S1/S2.  I was *this* close to getting 6150 gold frets but I decided I wanted a narrower fret. Not 6155, but 6105 sounds interesting so I'll bite.
 
Sounds like a very good time indeed.


I played a Danelectro bari today as I indulged my masochistic urges with a trip to Guitar Center, a.k.a., the Place Where Hope Goes To Die.  And I decided to keep my bari neck and build a damn axe around it.  It was awesome.
 
I tell ya for sure, Baritones love the clarity and bite that only single coil voiced or P-90's can provide.  It defines twang as it should be in my opinion.
Filtertrons if you need to go full hum bucker, as you need to consider that all of the natural frequencies put forth are transposed down.  You need to compensate.

This isn't the type of guitar you pump through a Bogner Uber at high gain, but a Blackface Twin or AC30, OOOOOOHHHHH  YYYYYYYEEEEEEAAAAAHHHH!
 
Like I've said before. Really digging the GFS Memphis.  Gonna try the existing mean 90's first. But secretly I'm kinda rooting forbthe Memphis'.

And oh yeah, they rock into an AC30 or JCM800. you'd think it would be too bright but as long as you're not losing mids, they almost can't be too bright. Stainless strings. Metal pick. They just get more aggressive,  not harsher. As long as you got the right speaker. Into the Fender cabs they can be painful, but with the Greenback model they just bark with authority.

 
swarfrat said:
Like I've said before. Really digging the GFS Memphis.  Gonna try the existing mean 90's first. But secretly I'm kinda rooting forbthe Memphis'.

And oh yeah, they rock into an AC30 or JCM800. you'd think it would be too bright but as long as you're not losing mids, they almost can't be too bright. Stainless strings. Metal pick. They just get more aggressive,  not harsher. As long as you got the right speaker. Into the Fender cabs they can be painful, but with the Greenback model they just bark with authority.

I was gonna mention the Memphis too.  They come in at 5.5k on the bridge version, very clean, the Hot Liverpool goes up to 13.0K.  Anything above the Nashville at 8.8k, and I think you start losing the clarity for the Baritone, but for A440, they're ok, depending on how much gain you play with.
 
Woke up early this morning, checked Craiglist and dangit there's a steal of a price on a Ludwig Jr kit. !@#$%

But it was already gone, so no threat to the guitar budget. So I got my order number, build to order not getting paint ships in ~4-5 weeks.  Dangit I knew there was a another reason to troll the showcase: 5-6 days instead of weeks.

Oh yeah, ended up going with GD6150 frets instead. Once I decided to stick with a more mainstream wire that wasn't quite as huge as 6100, availability in gold (for this guitar) was kinda hard to pass up (again)
 
While I'm waiting all I can do is photoshop.  It'd be pushing it, but it sounds like it'll be ready a couple weeks after my birthday.

warmoth-ebony-roast-baritone_zps4swme3rf.png
 
Played my nephew's Danibari last night... interesting. Not really what I'm going for, but the freaky thing is that it sounded like a Dano unplugged too. I think it would work really well with the Memphis humbuckers searing upper mids without turning into a Spaghetti Western sound track machine. Overall very cool.  Debating how to string it, but currently thinking D'Addario EJ22 or maybe find a set that would work for a discard 1st string, add bottom string swap.
 
swarfrat said:
Played my nephew's Danibari last night... interesting. Not really what I'm going for, but the freaky thing is that it sounded like a Dano unplugged too. I think it would work really well with the Memphis humbuckers searing upper mids without turning into a Spaghetti Western sound track machine. Overall very cool.  Debating how to string it, but currently thinking D'Addario EJ22 or maybe find a set that would work for a discard 1st string, add bottom string swap.

Elixr makes a baritone set with a plain 3rd string that feels like 10's on an A440.  I love em.
 
On my acoustic, I string with a wound 2nd string and love it. But it can't handle C#, C is pushing it. (Or pulling, as the case may be)
 
Two words: Ship Notification!!!

Even better - I placed the order on June 1st. Got ship notice today. Expected delivery - day BEFORE my birthday!! Oh happy dance!
 
Halfway here, and 2 days to go! Woot! I guess I better get busy on the body.
 
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