Baritone guitar

Baritone guitar

Clifton Hyde with Mustapick Acoustic Baritone Guitar; Brooklyn, New York City 2007
String instrument
Classification	String instrument
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	321.322 (Composite chordophone)
Playing range
(a standard tuned guitar)
Related instruments
Bowed and plucked string instruments

The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schecter, Jerry Jones Guitars, Burns London and many other companies have produced electric baritone guitars since the 1960s, although always in small numbers due to low popularity.^[1] Tacoma, Santa Cruz, Taylor, Martin, Alvarez Guitars and others have made acoustic baritone guitars.

Use

The baritone guitar first appeared in classical music. The Danelectro Company was the first to introduce an electric baritone guitar in the late 1950s, and the instrument began to appear in surf music and background music for many movie soundtracks, especially spaghetti westerns. More recently, the baritone guitar has appeared in rock, metal and improvised music. With appropriate strings, some baritone guitars can play in the bass guitar range.

"Tic-tac bass" is a method of playing, in which a muted baritone guitar doubles the part played by the bass guitar or double bass. The method is commonly used in country music.^[2][3]

Tuning and string gauges

A standard guitar's standard tuning (from lowest string to highest) is E A D G B E. While no standard tuning has been established for baritone guitars, popular tunings for the instrument are: a perfect fifth (A D G C E A), a diminished fifth (B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ F B♭), a perfect fourth (B E A D F♯ B), or a major third lower (C F B♭ E♭ G C). The most common scale lengths on an electric baritone range from 25.5" to 28.7", With the latter more commonly being tuned lower than a common six-string. The average baritone scale on the market would be around the scale length of 27", with a tuning set to a perfect fourth, using at least 12 gauge strings or bigger stock.

Acoustic baritone guitars typically have larger bodies than standard guitars, and—like electric baritones—have longer scale lengths so the strings can be tuned lower while remaining at normal tension. On a standard, steel-string, acoustic guitar, the scale length (the distance from the nut or string guide to the saddle on the bridge) is typically 24.9" to 25.7", and the strings range in diameter from .012" to .054". The scale lengths of various baritone designs range from 27" to 30.5", and the string gauges range from the normal .012 - .054" set to sets as thick as .017 - .095". Shorter-scale baritone guitars are more like long-scale guitars, having more midrange volume, whereas the longer scale lengths and heavier string sets give more bass to the instrument's timbre. Shorter scale baritones tend to be tuned C-C or B-B, whereas longer ones are typically tuned A-A.^[1]

Baritone guitarists

1960s early adopters

The Danelectro baritone was used by guitarist Duane Eddy in numerous recordings, including "Bonnie Came Back", "Because They're Young", "Kommotion", "My Blue Heaven", "Deep in the Heart of Texas", and "The Son of Rebel Rouser". The instrument was used almost exclusively on his best-selling 1960 album "The Twang's the Thang" and appears regularly on singles and albums throughout his career. The "twangy" sound of his guitars (which include Duane Eddy custom-builts by Guild, Grestch and Gibson) augmented the even deeper twangy sound made by the Danelectro baritone. Eddy used the familiar black model and an unusual gray "Longhorn" model.

Brian Wilson often included baritone guitars in his arrangements for The Beach Boys records, such as in "Dance, Dance, Dance" (1964) or "Caroline, No" (1966).

Singer Jimmie Rodgers also favored the baritone guitar, which can be heard in the opening bars of his recording of "Woman from Liberia" (1960).

Singer Glen Campbell used a baritone electric guitar on several of his big hit songs, most notably "Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston", where he played a distinctive baritone solo following the melody in both songs.

In heavy metal

Baritone guitars became popular in heavy metal music during the late 1980s, as it became increasingly popular to employ lower guitar tunings and dropped tunings. Early examples include Carcass (using B standard) and Bolt Thrower (using A standard on Realm of Chaos).

• Pat O'Brien of the band Cannibal Corpse has a baritone guitar to allow him to use the tuning G# without experiencing tuning problems because of his use of a Floyd Rose tremolo.
• Dylan Carlson of drone metal band Earth played a baritone guitar on Hex (Or Printing in the Infernal Method).
• Machine Head uses baritone guitars tuned to drop B and C# standard (tuned 40 cents sharp). Robb Flynn, singer and guitarist from the band, has a signature Epiphone Baritone Flying V model called "Love Death".
• Brian 'Head' Welch of Korn uses Ibanez baritone guitars on his solo album Save Me From Myself.
• John Petrucci of the band Dream Theater has used Music Man baritone guitars on several songs, in the tunings A and Bb.
• James Hetfield of Metallica uses his signature ESP baritone guitar "The Grynch" on the song "Invisible Kid" from the 2003 Metallica album St. Anger.
• Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria uses a Gibson Explorer baritone for "Key Entity Extraction II: Hollywood The Cracked" from the band's album The Afterman: Ascension and "Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry The Defiant" from the album The Afterman: Descension.
• Devin Townsend of the Devin Townsend Project and Strapping Young Lad often uses baritone guitars due to his preference for open B and C tunings. His specific instruments are ESP Custom 7 string used in Strapping Young Lad, his Peavey signature Flying V, and the "Ziltoid" Flying V built by Framus.
• Other baritone 7-string artists include Jeff Loomis of Nevermore, who has used baritone Schecters since 2002 and currently has several signature models. The deathcore band Whitechapel has recently made use of baritone guitars, and have released signature models with ESP that feature baritone scale lengths.
• Stephen Carpenter of Deftones began using baritone 7-strings in 2002, due to his constant exploration in down-tuning. While previous albums were recorded with standard-scaled 6-strings tuned to as low as drop C, their 2003 self-titled album was recorded with a baritone 7-string tuned to G#.

In rock

Rock guitarists also use down-tuned guitars. Benjamin Burnley, the guitarist/singer from Breaking Benjamin, uses custom- built PRS^[4] and ESP baritone guitars for their songs in Drop A# tuning. Ko Melina of The Dirtbombs plays a Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom. Teppei Teranishi of Thrice plays a baritone on the "Fire" disc of The Alchemy Index and Major/Minor. Ian Mackaye plays a baritone guitar when playing with his band The Evens. Aerosmith's Joe Perry plays a six-string Fender baritone bass tuned down to a G (which was later stolen) on "Back in the Saddle" on the 1976 Rocks album, and currently uses a Music Man Silo Baritone.

Pete Loeffler, the guitarist/singer from Chevelle, uses a custom built PRS baritone and Fender Sub-Sonic baritone guitar for their songs in drop B tuning.

Mike Mushok of the band Staind has a signature model baritone guitar manufactured by PRS Guitars.^[5] Prior to his PRS signature model, Mushok had a signature baritone guitar produced by Ibanez called the MMM1, and had a custom built fanned-fret baritone made by Novax called the Expression.

Dave Matthews plays a baritone on certain songs such as "The Space Between" and "Some Devil". Parker Lauzon of Evans Blue uses an Ibanez.

Robert Smith of The Cure has made the baritone guitar a major component of his dark and atmospheric tone since 1989's Disintegration. Schecter guitars have produced a Robert Smith signature model baritone guitar.^[6]

English musician Alex Turner of the band Arctic Monkeys plays the baritone guitar on their song "If You Were There, Beware", and on a number of songs in concert with The Last Shadow Puppets.

In jazz

Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny used baritone guitars made by Linda Manzer on his 2003 solo album One Quiet Night and his 2011 solo album What's It All About. Ani DiFranco often plays a baritone guitar, including those by Alvarez, frequently employing alternate tunings. Clifton Hyde has had his acoustic baritone guitar featured in the music of Sigur Rós, Gato Loco, and Pape Armond Boye. Bob Lanzetti, guitarist for the modern fusion band Snarky Puppy, frequently employs an electric baritone guitar as well.

Fingerstyle players and others

Numerous fingerstyle guitarists use baritone guitars, including Andy McKee, Don Ross, Martin Simpson, Sergio Altamura, Iain Micah Weigert, and Dave Amato. Don Ross plays a baritone by Canadian Luthier Mark Beneteau, and Simpson has played baritones made by English luthier Ralph Bown. Andy McKee plays a baritone guitar made by another Canadian Luthier Michael Greenfield. Brian Setzer played the Gretsch/TV Jones Spectra-Sonic baritone on the song Mystery train during the Brian Setzer Orchestra tour.

Blues band MonkeyJunk features a baritone guitar instead of a bass guitar.

Australian musician Stu Thomas plays a Barracuda^[7] baritone guitar by Burns London, tuned an octave lower than a regular guitar. He uses it as a bass when playing with Dave Graney & The mistLY, and as a "regular" guitar when he accompanies himself solo as The Stu Thomas Paradox.

Dave Gonzalez started playing a baritone with The Hacienda Brothers, consisting of a Fender Bass VI neck on a Fender Jazzmaster.^[8]

Guitar Prodigy Sungha Jung plays original and cover instrumentals on Lakewood Acoustic Baritone Guitars.

Examples

• Alvarez ABT60 series Baritone Acoustic Guitar (27-23/32 in)
• Danelectro Baritone Electric 6 String Hodad (27.75 in)
• Danelectro Neptune Longhorn Bass 6 (30 in)
• Ernie Ball Silhouette Baritone 6 string (29-5/8 in)
• Fender Bajo Sexto Telecaster (28.5 in or 30-1/4in)
• Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom (28.5 in)
• Fender Jaguar Baritone Special HH (27 in)
• Fender Sub-Sonic Baritone Stratocaster and Telecaster (27 in)
• Gibson Guitars Les Paul Studio Baritone (28 in)^[9]
• Gretsch G6144 Spectra Sonic Baritone (29-1/4 in)
• Hagström Viking Baritone (28 in)
• PRS Guitars Mike Mushok Baritone, SE 277 (27.7 in)
• Walden Guitars B-1 Baritone^[10] (26.75 in)

See also

• Bass guitar
• Tenor guitar
• Extended-range bass
• Seven-string guitar
• Eight-string guitar

References