That's CRAZY TALK...

[rockandroller]

So, I'm feeling like upper fret access is a bit cramped on all my 24 fret Gibson scale guitars (five in the house right now). Those top four or five frets suddenly feeling like I'm playing a mandolin.

So I'm kind of leaning towards maybe a BARITONE necked project, but tuned to regular E-e pitch. Maybe with a set of 8s or even 007s, it could feel like playing a strat with 010s??

Anybody doing this in the real world?

It would be nice to have at least one guitar with a little more real estate up there, but I am loathe to be messing around with down-tuning.

Nice thing about the WM bari necks is that they have 24 frets and fit ALL THE BODIES. I really need to sell about ten instruments to make room for an imminent downsizing BUT I just got my shipment of experimental dayglo yellow ultraviolet finish additives, which pretty much guarantees that another build will have to be geared up soon...

 

[mayfly]

That's crazy man! I have no idea if that would work. But, hey, I bet it would....

 

[teleme01]

I'd think you would break the high e

 

[JohnnyHardtail]

I don’t think it will feel like a strat because of the different scale length and wider fretboard. Although I didn’t try it. There are many companies selling 24 fret guitars with proper access, so I wonder if that might be the solution. Also possible to use 11-52 strings and downtune a 22fret neck, but you said it’s a hassle?

 

[rockandroller]

Well, I didn't mean "feel to the hands" (neck size and fret spacing down low) but rather the same sort of "bend flexibility" when it's up high.
Just with a little more space on those top frets!

Downtuning: I get enough 'tuning hassle' playing my cello and viola da gamba, I don't want to always be mentally transposing because I have the 'guitar' tuned down to D or C or whatever!
I am not a fan of transposing, my hands expect the notes to be in their usual locations! I once had to do a last-minute fill in bass gig for a friend (opening for UB40 at an outdoor Canada Day show) and a couple of the songs were crying out for a low "open D" riff so I assembled a five string (this one actually) just for that show and detuned it A D G C F ... (the Low A was nearly inaudible as a 'tone' but it got used a couple times as percussive decoration.) The whole experience of messing around in a foreign tuning was just painfully 'foreign' to me....

 

[rockandroller]

Hmmm. the Gemini AI ( which enthusiastically tackles any challenge given), just spit out this concept...
I will have to hit the string tension caclulator site to see if its really in the ballpark. I'm thinking a "Hybrid" set might work, I don't need the wound strings to be quite as slinky, it's more the plain strings where I tend to do most of the bending work

Proposed "Special Baritone" Hybrid Set (EADGBE)​

This custom set is designed for E Standard tuning on a 28.6" scale while aiming for the flexible feel of an .008/.009 set on a standard 24.75" scale.

Position	Note	Suggested Gauge	Type	Notes on Feel
1st (E)	E4	.007	Plain	Necessary to keep the high E slinky at this scale length.
2nd (B)	B3	.009	Plain	Good for bending, like a .008 on a 24.75".
3rd (G)	G3	.012	Plain	Thin G string. Can be swapped for a wound .018 if you prefer wound Gs.
4th (D)	D3	.020	Wound	Very light wound D to keep the overall tension down.
5th (A)	A2	.030	Wound	Significantly lighter than a typical A string.
6th (E)	E2	.042	Wound	The gauge from a standard "Super Light" set, which will feel like your .038 on the shorter scale.

 

[stratamania]

Apart from string tension, I would suspect those gauges tuned to E standard on a baritone would tend to sound somewhat less balanced and more towards a treble or thinner tone.

Have you tried a 25.5" 24 fret neck, perhaps that might be all that is needed for the extra space at the higher frets you are looking for.