Baritone Guitars / Bass V1

For anything to do with guitars, amps, effects units and any other music making accessories

Moderators: David Martin, dave robinson, Iain Purdon, George Geddes

Baritone Guitars / Bass V1

Postby Billyboygretsch » Mon Jul 04, 2016 4:26 pm

I have a Burns Barracuda , Burns Split Sound Bass both tuned an Octave lower than standard guitar E to E. I also have a Fender Jazzmaster Baritone put together by Paul Day tuned B to B.

What consensus is there - when does a guitar become a Baritone and a Baritone become a Bass ?

A great newcomer to compete with the Fender Bass V1 and Barracuda is the Revelation as per attached and readily available in colours and lefties if anyone interested and at £240 a keen price

Look at this on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291806369619

Left Handed Revelation Pawn Shop RJT-60-B 6 string Electric Bass Guitar £349.99
Billyboygretsch
 
Posts: 1055
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:15 pm
Location: Bedfordshire
Full Real Name: Bill Lovegrove

Re: Baritone Guitars / Bass V1

Postby JimN » Mon Jul 04, 2016 5:27 pm

I'd say that a guitar is a baritone model when it is tuned at least a major fourth below concert pitch (so that a fingered E sounds as a B).

The same applies to a fifth below concert: so that an E sounds as an A.

I can't see any practical purpose in tuning lower than a fifth below concert (BEADF#B) unless it's to EADGBE a full octave below a standard concert pitch guitar - which makes it a bass.
User avatar
JimN
 
Posts: 4780
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:39 pm
Full Real Name: Jim Nugent

Re: Baritone Guitars / Bass V1

Postby JimN » Mon Jul 04, 2016 5:28 pm

I like the look of the pickups on the Revelation: soapbar-alikes.

Any idea what the neck is like?

The neck on the Fender reissues (and the Squier) is very nice to play.
User avatar
JimN
 
Posts: 4780
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:39 pm
Full Real Name: Jim Nugent

Re: Baritone Guitars / Bass V1

Postby Billyboygretsch » Mon Jul 04, 2016 5:48 pm

I have the 12 string and new Thin Line Jazzmaster. Necks are great quite chunky frets are very good. Tried a bass and preferred it to the Squier for weight balance and range of tones - not that I would probably use all of them. The finish is fantastic. On the guitars the tremolo is excellent. Worth trying - them problem is not many stockists.
Billyboygretsch
 
Posts: 1055
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:15 pm
Location: Bedfordshire
Full Real Name: Bill Lovegrove

Re: Baritone Guitars / Bass V1

Postby RayL » Tue Jul 05, 2016 8:19 am

I agree with Jim - EADGBE an octave lower than a standard guitar is a six-string bass. Anything in between is a baritone.

However, unlike a 4-string or 5-string bass, the 6-string bass (or any baritone guitar)is a lead instrument, it plays melodies, so I thoroughly approve of Alan Entwhistle including a tremolo arm on the Revelation instrument.

If I didn't already has a 6-string bass, I might be tempted. Like the Revelation mine is a British design
Shergold Bass 6 Burns trem3.JPG
Shergold Bass 6 Burns trem3.JPG (68.32 KiB) Viewed 11323 times

and it sounds like this
SundayDate clip.mp3
(345.44 KiB) Downloaded 587 times
User avatar
RayL
 
Posts: 1256
Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:25 pm
Location: Carshalton, Surrey
Full Real Name: Ray Liffen

Re: Baritone Guitars / Bass V1

Postby davec » Tue Jul 05, 2016 8:57 am

A baritone guitar is usually tuned approximately half-way between a standard guitar and a bass guitar --- which, as JimN says, is a fourth or a fifth below standard -- but you are free to tune it any way like.

What makes it a baritone guitar is the scale length -- which should also be approximately half-way between a standard guitar and a bass guitar.

DaveC
davec
 
Posts: 85
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 1:39 pm
Full Real Name: David Coombes

Re: Baritone Guitars / Bass V1

Postby JimN » Tue Jul 05, 2016 2:20 pm

davec wrote:What makes it a baritone guitar is the scale length -- which should also be approximately half-way between a standard guitar and a bass guitar.
DaveC


The Fender Bass VI (which I regard as the definitive and supreme six-string bass) has a 30" scale length. I think the Burns Barracuda has the same (which would be an obvious move in order to be able to take advantage of available string sets, etc).

But what is the scale length of a bass guitar?

Whilst all the really classic basses have a 34" string-length (eg, Jazz Bass, Precision Bass, Gibson Thunderbird, Rickenbacker 4000 series), basses can have 30" scales. Lots of historically-significant basses had that length, including models from Burns, Gibson, Guild, Rickenbacker and even Fender.
User avatar
JimN
 
Posts: 4780
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:39 pm
Full Real Name: Jim Nugent

Re: Baritone Guitars / Bass V1

Postby davec » Tue Jul 05, 2016 10:45 pm

It's easy to create your own baritone guitar;

1. Take a spare Strat or Tele -- any MIJ, MIM, or MIK will do,
2. Buy a baritone neck (28-5/8" scale) from Warmoth and bolt it onto the Fender body,
3. Transfer all the hardware across,
4. Attach a set of baritone strings, and
5. Tune it a fourth or a fifth down.

I used a MIK Telecaster -- and I added a Stetsbar vib-arm. Sounds great.

DaveC
Last edited by davec on Wed Jul 06, 2016 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
davec
 
Posts: 85
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 1:39 pm
Full Real Name: David Coombes

Re: Baritone Guitars / Bass V1

Postby cockroach » Wed Jul 06, 2016 4:17 am

Well, there's also those modern 6 string basses with those enormous bottom B strings- not sure but I think they are tuned BEADGC (i.e. bottom note is a full octave below usual bass E). Suspect they are at least 34 inch scale. Sort of 'contra-bass I suppose?) The classic orchestral standup basses are about 42 inch scale I think.

Most 6 string basses are at least 30 inch scale (Bass VI) but there are lots of variations. I think the old Burns 6 string basses were possibly around the normal guitar scale (25/26? inches) however..

To me, baritone tuning is usually either a fourth or fifth (ADGCEA or BEADFsharpB) below standard guitar tuning

Years ago, I made a home made baritone- old mahoghany neck off an Eko/Eston acoustic, a lump of mahogany from the woodyard sawn to a body shape- and an old Rowe/DeArmond pickup off my old Harmony guitar, with no pots- just the pickup wired to an output jack!- I used heavy gauge guitar strings with a light gauge bass A string- tuned the device to AEDGFsharpA...it worked OK surprisingly, and I used it for some home multi-track recordings I was doing at that time.
cockroach
 
Posts: 1459
Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:33 am
Location: Australia
Full Real Name: john cochrane

Re: Baritone Guitars / Bass V1

Postby Billyboygretsch » Thu Jul 07, 2016 10:18 am

image.jpeg
(89.25 KiB) Downloaded 10136 times
The original Burns 6 string Split Sound bass was tuned an octave lower and had the same scale length as the equivalent guitar. Shown in the pic with a Barracuda for comparison
Billyboygretsch
 
Posts: 1055
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:15 pm
Location: Bedfordshire
Full Real Name: Bill Lovegrove

Next

Return to Gear

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests

Ads by Google
These advertisements are selected and placed by Google to assist with the cost of site maintenance.
ShadowMusic is not responsible for the content of external advertisements.