Baritone

[Tempest]

I'm on one of those GAS highs lately, so I've got a lot of ideas stewing around at the moment.

Thinking of putting my Jazzcaster project I was considering on the back burner and making a budget Baritone guitar.

So here's my idea....

Body would be a squier classic or MIM fender body, telecaster style, requisitioned from eBay.  Thats just to keep the price a little more affordable than buying a finished Warmoth body as much as I would like that.  But the classic vibe teles especially are pretty nice bodies as well!

I'd get a Warmoth baritone neck of course.  I'm considering maple/rosewood (or ebony) and getting a tonar finished neck, but I might go exotic, just not decided on that.  Do baritones come in other back contours than standard thin?  I'd love to have a '59 Bari

I'm pretty seriously considering some of Ken's roadhouse pickups, you guy's raving reviews of them are convincing and the price is just right!  :icon_thumright:  I don't know whether to do just a single coil in the bridge or do a set, either H/S or S/S.


All this is because I played one of Fender's new "blacktop" baritone teles the other day at a local shop and I really liked the low sound and feel.  But that particular guitar was too dark for me.


Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[AutoBat]

Baritones are only available in Standard Thin AFAIK. I haven't heard anyone 'ordering off the menu' on 'em before.
A special guitar deserves a special neck, make it exotic.

 

[Tempest]

Another possibility is splurging, forgetting the "budget" part, and making this a Baritone Jazzcaster, thus killing two sources of intense GAS in one blow...I guess that would end up being cheaper in the long run

 

[bagman67]

Who are you kidding?  You'd have the baritone jazzcaster, and then the burning desire for some other damn thing would eventually accrue.  Make what you want, and then do it again when you want something new.


Just sayin' what everyone is thinkin'.


Furthermore,  :rock-on:  .

 

[Tempest]

Who are you kidding?  You'd have the baritone jazzcaster, and then the burning desire for some other damn thing would eventually accrue.  Make what you want, and then do it again when you want something new.


Just sayin' what everyone is thinkin'.


Furthermore,  :rock-on:  .

The longer I can keep GAS at bay the better for me for my wallet...haha

 

[swarfrat]

I too think a Baritone Jazzmaster would totally rock. I'm  torn because it doesn't really fit on my roadmap. What would it have for pickups? I already have a dual P-90 in a HB box guitar and a two hard tail 3 single strats. Actually if I WERE to build a bari - it would probably end up being my Tele. (Don't have one of those ATM). I do know that it will be just a really long scale guitar, and not a spaghetti western or death metal guitar in B. I've already decided that a  while back.

 

[Tempest]

I'd do mine with a tele bridge pickup and either a tele or humbucker neck pickup

 

[Tipperman]

Why, Jaguar pickups of course! Or Rickenbacker style pickups. Or anything else that goes BZZZZZZZZ and makes you kick in your amps speaker cone.

But really, baritone sounds awesome. I'd built the first idea, and then go for the baritone after. Because you're still going to want that offset contour body and those tele pickups and that mastery bridge. There I go turning your guitar into mine again, woops!


"You must do what you feel is right, of course"

 

[Tempest]

There's something that does sound rather BA about a Jazzcaster baritone...really unique.

 

[bagman67]

I have a flame-maple topped strat body awaiting some attention in the form of dye and clearcoat, and I have a loaded pickguard cannibalized off an EJ Strat - and I have a vintage-tint neck that I cannot stand the sight of. So maybe I'll ditch that, and get a baritone neck for it.  That might be very interesting, and will solve two issues:  How do I justify adding another strat to the arsenal, and how do I get a non-nu-metal  baritone in the family as well?


Of course, I'll be back later to build more anyway - but thanks, Tempest, for setting me off down this road....


Bagman

 

[Tempest]

I have a flame-maple topped strat body awaiting some attention in the form of dye and clearcoat, and I have a loaded pickguard cannibalized off an EJ Strat - and I have a vintage-tint neck that I cannot stand the sight of. So maybe I'll ditch that, and get a baritone neck for it.  That might be very interesting, and will solve two issues:  How do I justify adding another strat to the arsenal, and how do I get a non-nu-metal  baritone in the family as well?


Of course, I'll be back later to build more anyway - but thanks, Tempest, for setting me off down this road....


Bagman

Always happy to be an enabler! haha.

That does sound like a cool project!

 

[Tempest]

I have a serious problem...I want them all...