Baritone Guitars

[Taylor Martin Guild]

As I have become older, I can't sing as high as I once could.
There are a lot of songs that I used to sing but now are out of my range.
Some of these songs can be played in a lower key and sound good while others need to be played with the original chords.
It is "these" chords that make the song work.
I am now thinking about getting a Baritone Guitar for these songs.

Do any of you play a Baritone?
How do you like them?
How much of your playing time would be spent with a Baritone?

To start with I'm looking real hard at an Alvarez ATB-60.
The cost for one is about $400.00 with a case.
It is getting some very good reviews.

So what are your thoughts on a Baritone Guitar?

 

[davismanLV]

Hey, TMG! I'm a HUGE fan of baritone guitars. I just love the deep, full sound they produce. The only ones I'm really familiar with is the Taylor version, which is AWESOME but WAY over $400!! Here's a really nice video featuring a Taylor baritone guitar, both 6 and 8 string.

http://youtu.be/5O-n-fWiPao

If the Alvarez is a good sounding baritone, you really can't beat the $400 price tag!!

As much as I love the sound, I've never actually had one in my hands, and at my age I'm actually looking for a SHORTER scale length, rather than LONGER. 27" seems like a pretty far stretch for me, but if you've got no shoulder issues.... it could make singing in a lower key way less of a problem, right?

 

[Ridgemont]

I played a Taylor baritone about a year ago. Honestly, it seemed more like a novelty item than anything else. Aren't they typically tuned down a full step to D? Before spending $$$ on another guitar, I would suggest getting medium or heavy gauge strings for a guitar that I could leave tuned down a full step.

 

[mad dog]

TMG: A good buddy loaned me his Jerry Jones baritone for a couple weeks and I was hooked. Always had loved that sound. Found one of my own several years ago. Two lipstick p/us. It's one of the best playing and sounding guitars I've tried yet. Felt so right at the store I forgot to plug it in. Brought it up to pay and the guy said "Don't you want to plug it in??"

Best thing about the baritone is it changes your approach. I love playing rhythm anyway ... with baritone, accompanying melody lines can be chordal or bass run. It also clearly suits my solo style. One of the bands I'm in loves this guitar, begs me to bring it to practice.

There are downsides. Another band was not as accepting. It was a trio, so the baritone changed not only tonality, but my approach to solo/rhythm. I thought for the better, they didn't. That's the kind of thing you can run into with oddball instruments.

BTW, the JJ at 28" scale is one of the best playing instruments ever. That scale feels so right to me, I know own a Soloway Swan now. Not a bartitone, but a regular guitar at 27" scale. The virtues of the longer scale are quite pronounced. Tremendous sustain and clarity.

Here's an original, written on baritone:
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=8352418
MD

 

[Ridgemont]

Hey, TMG! I'm a HUGE fan of baritone guitars. I just love the deep, full sound they produce. The only ones I'm really familiar with is the Taylor version, which is AWESOME but WAY over $400!! Here's a really nice video featuring a Taylor baritone guitar, both 6 and 8 string.

http://youtu.be/5O-n-fWiPao

If the Alvarez is a good sounding baritone, you really can't beat the $400 price tag!!

As much as I love the sound, I've never actually had one in my hands, and at my age I'm actually looking for a SHORTER scale length, rather than LONGER. 27" seems like a pretty far stretch for me, but if you've got no shoulder issues.... it could make singing in a lower key way less of a problem, right?

Ah, I was wrong. it is tuned to B. Maybe you could get close with heavy gauge strings....but probably not considering there is a reason why they came up with the baritone.

 

[davismanLV]

Hey, TMG! I'm a HUGE fan of baritone guitars. I just love the deep, full sound they produce. The only ones I'm really familiar with is the Taylor version, which is AWESOME but WAY over $400!! Here's a really nice video featuring a Taylor baritone guitar, both 6 and 8 string.

http://youtu.be/5O-n-fWiPao

If the Alvarez is a good sounding baritone, you really can't beat the $400 price tag!!

As much as I love the sound, I've never actually had one in my hands, and at my age I'm actually looking for a SHORTER scale length, rather than LONGER. 27" seems like a pretty far stretch for me, but if you've got no shoulder issues.... it could make singing in a lower key way less of a problem, right?

Ah, I was wrong. it is tuned to B. Maybe you could get close with heavy gauge strings....but probably not considering there is a reason why they came up with the baritone.

EXACTLY, Ridge!! I was just gonna reply but I see you got the memo. The thing with the baritone is that you don't have to "tune down" so the string tension remains up. One of the problems with tuning down is floppy strings, depending on how low you go. The baritone is normally tuned in B, or a 4th down.

 

[Scratch]

As I have become older, I can't sing as high as I once could.
There are a lot of songs that I used to sing but now are out of my range.
Some of these songs can be played in a lower key and sound good while others need to be played with the original chords.
It is "these" chords that make the song work.

True that on the aging vocal chords. Drives me crazy that I can no longer hit the high notes. I keep the 12 string tuned down a step and go to it as necessary for covers.

Fortunately with songwriting, you can write/play the song in whatever key suits you. Most I write now are in 'G' or 'A'.

 

[Ridgemont]

EXACTLY, Ridge!! I was just gonna reply but I see you got the memo. The thing with the baritone is that you don't have to "tune down" so the string tension remains up. One of the problems with tuning down is floppy strings, depending on how low you go. The baritone is normally tuned in B, or a 4th down.

Yeah, TMG is thinking of one to accompany his voice that is no longer a soprano. :wink: Still if it were me, I would see how low of tuning I could get on a normal guitar strung with heavy strings. Maybe C or C#? Not sure.

 

[Sunn Man]

Hi there,original baritone guitar,(think Fender BassVI),is tuned in the range of a 4 string bass guitar with a high B and E string,basically Spanish E tuning an octave lower.Modern day baritone guitar is a 4th or more lower in tuning,could be B to B or even A to A.Six string bass guitars are usually tuned B,E,A,D,G,C which is more of a Contrabass tuning,Mel.

 

[scott]

Hi- I have an 8-string Taylor Baritone tuned in "B". Very heavy strings; kind of difficult to play. It works better for instrumentals but it can work with vocals. I have used it with my trio but it is somewhat overpowering. The sound is cool but with heavy strings a 12 string can do many of the same things that the baritone can do and it is more versatile. I have experienced the lower-voice syndrome as well and the heavy-stringed twelve tuned very low has worked well for me. Good -luck.

 

[evenkeel]

Slight veer alert.
I'm a big fan of Marshall Crenshaw. He uses a Danelectro Baritone, which has a very cool sound.

Customary Youtube clip..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L8Nx6dWyvE

 

[Los Angeles]

I love and play baritones as well. A "middle" price bari is the Yairi YB-1 I own one and like it quite a bit.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I don't care for the sound of a standard 6 string that is tuned to a lower key.
I have played one Baritone and liked the feel and sound of it.

I play in a group and I use a fretted resonator guitar. It brings a unique sound to the group
I'm thinking that on some songs, the Baritone would be a good choice for an alternate sound.
Other instruments used in the band are Banjo, Mandolin and 12 String Guitar.
We play a mix of Folk, Classic Rock and a bit of Bluegrass.

Well, I just placed an add to sell a Blueridge guitar to help fund the Baritone.
I'll let you know if I get one.

 

[Walter Broes]

I've never played an acoustic Baritone, but I'd sure like to.

I have a Jerry Jones six string bass, a quality copy/update of the original Danelectro Longhorn six string bass, tuned E to E. (30" scale). The six-string bass guitar, as in guitar tuning, but an octave lower, was pioneered by Danelectro in 1956. The Fender VI came later, in an attempt to get in on Dano's market.

I also have a Baritone Telecaster, with a 27-something " scale, that I have tuned to a low A.

You can hear and see me playing it in this clip

 

[geoguy]

Here's another cool example:

Brian Setzer - Mystery Train with Gretsch Longhorn baritone

 

[RussD]

Warning - the following statement is only an opinion - your mileage may vary!
I mostly play fumble finger, errr, finger-style.

I've owned a Yairi YB-1 for 6 or 7 years now. It's not at all what I expected when I first went looking. You know the guy in an acapella group that sings the low bass line all the time? For my ear, a baritone guitar like that. It holds a definite place in music, but what makes it great limits it, as well.

Deeply sonorous, it easily defines a bass line when playing with other acoustics, and handles a second-guitar part well. It's a unique sound, that a surprising number of folks can identify as different. But, like an acoustic bass, that low string (B for mine) doesn't get much use in cowboy chord positions. To get the tones that cause this big guitar to ring, it needs to be played up the neck, if I play finger-style. A pick makes it ring loud enough to over-power parking-lot circles.
The Yairi is of gorgeous wood, tight grained, with impeccable deatails.

Wouldn't trade it for... wait, is that a Guild in that case you got there?

 

[Sal]

Here's an original, written on baritone:
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=8352418
MD

Yeah! Nice.

 

[mad dog]

Sal:

Thank you sir! Here's me (on baritone) and the boys on a slow blues, Champion Jack Dupree's "24 Hours":
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11253905
MD

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I tried to order the Alvarez Baritone today but the store is currently out of them. May have some in tomorrow.
I'm in Utah and the guitar will be coming from Georgia.
Hope this won't pose any weather related problems.
I know about letting the guitar acclimate to my house temps and all that
but I just hope that the guitar doesn't sit in a cold delivery truck parked outside someplace where the temps are below freezing.

One thing that will be interesting will be finding the strings that I will like best for a Baritone.
This one comes set up with D'Addario EXP strings.
They would have been my first choice, so it will be interesting to see how they compare to other strings.