So which baritone would I like?

[Dave Wakely]

I've always liked the idea of baritone guitar, but I'm coming at this from an unusual angle. Given to playing guitar clean but with a fair bit of compression (Tone Press, to avoid clipping note attack or overly squishing tone),where I'm coming from is the idea of baritone as viola/cello compared to guitar as violin. I want to be closer to Yo-Yo Ma than Dick Dale!

Today I tried two different Jerry Jones baritones. Single cut played nicely, but top two strings had very different tone to lower four. Double cut had ch a narrow fingerboard as to be very hard to play. But both struck me as sounding very 'piano-ish'. Great clarity, but ... er, clangy.

So which baritones might sound smoother, or should I be thinking of conversion necks and modding a Strat or Tele (the idea of baritone with trem is nice, but how practical is it?). And if so, what pickups would people suggest.

[Gas-man]

Have you looked at the Eastwood baritones?

[Quarter]

It may or may not be down your alley, but I love the tone on the Danelectro baritones.
Though, my judgment may be suffering as I've had Longhorn GAS for some time now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDPuK_tqG-Y

[Reeltarded]

The JJs and the Danos! What else is there?

BAW BAW BAW

[KRosser]

Originally Posted by Dave Wakely

I've always liked the idea of baritone guitar, but I'm coming at this from an unusual angle. Given to playing guitar clean but with a fair bit of compression (Tone Press, to avoid clipping note attack or overly squishing tone),where I'm coming from is the idea of baritone as viola/cello compared to guitar as violin. I want to be closer to Yo-Yo Ma than Dick Dale!

Today I tried two different Jerry Jones baritones. Single cut played nicely, but top two strings had very different tone to lower four. Double cut had ch a narrow fingerboard as to be very hard to play. But both struck me as sounding very 'piano-ish'. Great clarity, but ... er, clangy.

So which baritones might sound smoother, or should I be thinking of conversion necks and modding a Strat or Tele (the idea of baritone with trem is nice, but how practical is it?). And if so, what pickups would people suggest.

I love the piano-ish quality of the Jerry Jones baritone. D'Addario strings to me sound much warmer than the stock ones Jerry puts on, but that twang is very much a Jerry Jones characteristic.

If the JJ is too twangy for you, you might want to look into something solid-bodied, like I know Yamaha, ESP and Shecter have made.

[jrm]

Didn't Fender make a jag baritone a while ago? I bet that would be nice. Gretsch also makes a solidbody baritone.

[mad dog]

Me, I love that JJ sound. Chris DiPinto has one of his Galaxie 4 guitars that he swapped necks on to create a Baritone. Bet that one sounds sweet. As far as I know, it's the only one, and it's still hanging in his shop.

[Dave Wakely]

Originally Posted by KRosser

If the JJ is too twangy for you, you might want to look into something solid-bodied, like I know Yamaha, ESP and Shecter have made.

Thanks Ken - the JJ is nice in its own right, but it's not a sound I'd have an application for.

For those who have handbuilt bari-Strats or Teles, how did they sound?

[jrm]

You could always just get a conversion neck from Warmoth and slap it on a strat or tele (if you have one) to see if you like the tone.

[blood5150]

Originally Posted by jrm

You could always just get a conversion neck from Warmoth and slap it on a strat or tele (if you have one) to see if you like the tone.

Would you need to add a new bridge to do that?

[Home Grown Tele]

Originally Posted by blood5150

Would you need to add a new bridge to do that?

Nope, the Warmoth baritone conversions work just like a standard neck. I have one on a Tele I built and it works just fine. No need to change bridge location at all.

BTW, there are several different tunings that can help alter the tone on a baritone. Try HERE for info on them.

The only tuners I found that would work with baritones are the old style Kluson slotted post tuners.

[henry_lee]

I sorta went through Baritone mania last year:

- a real, vintage 1958 Danelectro U2 Baritone - tuned A to A
- an import reissue Danelectro U2 Baritone - tuned A to A
- a recent model Gibson USA Les Paul Studio Baritone - tuned B to B (swapped pups to P-94's)
- a recent model Fender Jaguar Baritone HH - tuned B to B (put Phat Cat in neck, 57 in bridge)

The vintage Dano was hands down the best sounding of them all.
Vintage lipstick pups are where it's at. The Gibson played the best,
the Jag was the raunchiest of the bunch. I but Bigsbys on both the
Les Paul and Jag... bow bow bow-w-w-w-w-w-w.

the Dano reissue was the worst of them all, but I kinda expected that
given the low price and my experience with U2's and DC's of both vintage
and reissue variety.

Having been through all that, I'd go for a Jerry Jones with Bigsby B5.

[ScioBro]

Originally Posted by Dave Wakely

For those who have handbuilt bari-Strats or Teles, how did they sound?

i went the route of putting a warmoth conversion neck onto a MIJ Tele I had and its very nice.
I had a JJ also.
Solid body is better for me.
I'm using "lighter" strings and tuning higher (C) compared
to "true" baritones