baritone guitars

nomorebadtown

i play mainly bass and have recently be thinking of baritone guitars. i dont know much about them however (any info anyone would like to throw out there would be swell). thing is, from looking at a few youtube videos, they seem to be mostly used for metal and thats not really what i'm after. i like the idea of a fuller deeper sounding guitar which i would just use pretty much as i would a normal guitar. not for fearsome riffing but just kinda a guitar and vocal set up. would it work? will i find the guitar has limited use and end up selling it? any opinions? thanks lads!

Dord

Cool username

Baritones actually started out being used to double upright bass tracks on recordings, they were nicknamed "tic-tac" basses. They added a little more definition to the sound.
There are various tunings, but yes you could use it just like a normal guitar. It'd add more of a depth to the sound. I love the sound of them, and will eventually buy one.

There are a few still being made, some aimed at the rock or metal market, others aimed at the traditional baritone markets. Eastwood Guitars make a baritone or two that you might like. Fender also make them, their offering is called the Bass VI, but they also have a nice black baritone Jaguar. Schecter had a nice baritone model a while back, not sure if they're still making it.

Also, one that really interested me was the Tacoma acoustic baritone. Check it out, it sounds wonderful!!

boycey

check out some stuff by The Evens (2 piece, Ian McKaye from Fugazi and Amy Farina) - not metal at all, he uses the baritone for nearly everything on their first album, sounds great. Would love a lash on one myself, they've always intrigued me. Danelectro have a great one at a reasonable price http://www.thomann.de/ie/danelectro_longhorn_baritone_lb.htm

Im sure they do have a somewhat limited use but as a strictly rhythm, singalong kinda thing they should be pretty cool.

nomorebadtown

thanks chaps, i'd say i would need togo for a cheap enough model to start with as i probably wont even be able to find one to pick up and play in an irish music shops:rolleyes: i own a pretty nice bass amp, would i be aiming to play thru that or what?

Dord

Yeah, it should be fine playing the guitar through it.

Seziertisch

Jerry Jones also makes one. I have played a couple of his electric sitars and the build quality is excellent.

Incidentally, it is a Jerry Jones baritone that you are hearing on Metallica's Sad but true. So it can also obviously do the metal thing.

Eoin Madsen

Ann Scott plays a Danelectro baritone on quite a few of her songs (don't think it's that long horn version above though). For a Danelectro, it sounds surprisingly good anyway. You can hear it on her "Mountain" single which I think is on display on her myspace page.

Some manner of baritone guitar is definitely on my list of things to buy.

colm_r

Seziertisch wrote: »

Jerry Jones also makes one. I have played a couple of his electric sitars and the build quality is excellent.

Incidentally, it is a Jerry Jones baritone that you are hearing on Metallica's Sad but true. So it can also obviously do the metal thing.

I have a Jerry Jones Neptune Baritone. It`s my favourite guitar, sounds lovely. No metal, I mostly using it for fingerpicking and the occasional twangy country riffs. If you are just testing the waters the danelectro probably makes more sense - they are cheaper and easier to come by. But the Jerry Jones one is absolutely lovely.

May have been mentioned already, but people seem to refer to two different types of guitar as baritones. There is the 6 string bass variety ( gretsch have a cheap enough one) and theres the lower tuned guitar(usually the lowest string is b or a, danelectro and jerry jones are this type).

DexterDarkly

I've also been interested in baritones recently but only because I need them to play certain songs that I'm learning properly so actually buying one will never be justified .
An acoustic baritone is the same as a normal 6 string except it has a larger neck and heavy gauge strings to allow for the low tuning, B E A D F# B, or sometimes as low A and there is other slight variations.
If your not familiar with baritone use outside metal, I suggest checking out Andy Mckee's song Ebon Coast or Heathers Song (their on youtube). Also laods of Don Ross tunes and the song Reality by Antoine Dufour (also on youtube).
Finally if you want to get a sense of the dynamics of a baritone you can actually tune down an acoustic 6 string or a nylon to B E A D F# B just make sure you have at least medium gauge strings.