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.

 

[Strangs]

Stringjoy suggests it's not that far off.
- https://tension.stringjoy.com/

 

[rockandroller]

I've pondered the 25.5 with 24 fret extension option, but that puts the 24th fret closer to the body cutaway.

I like how the bari pushes that 24 fret further up (as does a 7/8 neck), ...if I'm gonna play up there its nice not to bump my hand into the body so much.

Strat scale 24 fret extension also requires bumping the neck pickup down into a new rout position, which limits the choices for a middle pup...

 

[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.

@Strangs I am not sure if your post was to the thread in general or in response to my post before it.

Note I said about the string gauge sounding less balanced and more towards treble, talking about EQ of the strings tone wise. My comment is not about string tension.

 

[Strangs]

@Strangs I am not sure if your post was to the thread in general or in response to my post before it.

Note I said about the string gauge sounding less balanced and more towards treble, talking about EQ of the strings tone wise. My comment is not about string tension.

No, just adding info to the OP and thread in general. A bit thinner strings (looks like a set of 8.5s) will of course cut out some bass which I honestly prefer. More importantly, a guitar designed for a normal scale fitted with a much longer neck will shift the pickups proportionally closer to the bridge making the overall guitar brighter. That's what dark pickups and tone knobs were designed for.
I was surprised to see it doesn't require a set of 7's to get the string tension so close to strat territory. Could be a very cool idea if you want to play in higher positions but with a little more space to work with.