baritone guitar

[JamesO'Rourke]

Has anyone used a baritone to gig with in lieu of playing bass? I currently play bass in a duo and would like to transition to guitar, which I'm playing more of these days. This way one of us can do leads. Opinions please, Jim

 

[Elio]

Has anyone used a baritone to gig with in lieu of playing bass? I currently play bass in a duo and would like to transition to guitar, which I'm playing more of these days. This way one of us can do leads. Opinions please, Jim

I haven't but @straightblues has brought his out to jams before and he does play gigs, so he may have some good input. For the record, his sounds great.

 

[blackcoffeeblues]

I have always wanted to try one...I dig the sound.

 

[straightblues]

Yes I have one. They are cool. They kind of ride the line between bass and guitar.

Typical baritone guitars are either 28 or 30 inch scale length and are tuned to B or E respectively. If you get one tuned to B, you have to find figure out where all you root notes are because they aren't in the normal places.

Yes, they can be used for bass playing. You have to decide whether to play them through a bass amp or a guitar amp. If you choose a guitar amp, it will be a little bit brighter, but you run the risk of blowing speakers up if they aren't powerful enough (I blew the speaker in my Princeton even when I wasn't playing that loud).

I like the 28" scale models. It isn't too big and I can still play chords. I currently have a Teisco but I have also owned a couple of Danelectros. I like to play mine through a guitar amp and run it brighter and it puts out a fat guitar tone.

The Fender Bass VI is a 30 inch scale and has more of a bass feel than a guitar even though it has 6 strings. I personally find them a little hard to play. Glenn Campbell played one on the song Wichita Lineman for the lead guitar part. Jack Bruce from Cream played one as well.

If you have any other questions let me know. It is a guitar that I don't play a lot, maybe two or three songs in a full 3 hour gig. But it is fun to play at jams with too many standard guitar players. They are also a really good song writing tool. They sound super cool and provide a new feel and tone.

 

[straightblues]

This is the sort of stuff I like to play on my baritones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=44&v=YFUa1G7tdk4&feature=emb_logo

This is more of what a long scale Bass VI is used for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_l3Wb6dDSQ


BTW, you can chose different string gauges on either to push it more into the guitar or bass range.

 

[JamesO'Rourke]

Thanks for the information. This will get me started. I have to find one and try it

 

[TwoNotesSolo]

I'm building a baritone after playing one at a friend's, but I personally think it's more of a guitar than a bass (and I play the bass). both in how they feel and how they sound. I'm sure you can use the baritone for bass if you need to, just like you could use an octave down on a guitar.
On the other hand a duo with a guitar may be the perfect setting for the baritone, it will stand out better than in a band setting (where its range can get lost more easily than guitar and bass)
So try one and see what you like.

Fender Bass VI is another choice, feels more like a bass, but is tuned like a guitar, just an octave lower (the low string is E rather than B like a 5 string bass)

 

[PapaBear]

I read somewhere years ago that on the studio recording of Red House (I think it Was) Jimi played the Bass line on his Strat with the tone all the way down