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Clifton Hyde with Mustapick Acoustic Baritone Guitar; Brooklyn, New York City 2007

The baritone guitar is a variation on the standard guitar, with a longer scale length that allows it to be tuned to a lower range. It first appeared in the classical music realm. The Danelectro Company was the first to introduce the electric baritone guitar in the late 1950s. Shortly after, Fender released the Bass VI which can be described as either a baritone guitar, or a bass guitar. The baritone guitar was not originally popular with players or listeners.^{[citation needed]} However, the instrument began to appear in surf music, as well as background music for many movie soundtracks, especially spaghetti westerns. In more recent history, the baritone guitar has found use within rock and metal. Baritone guitars also have the capacity to be used as a bass guitar if strung correctly.

A standard guitar's standard tuning (from lowest string to highest) is E A D G B E. Baritone guitars are usually tuned a perfect fifth lower (A D G C E A), a perfect fourth lower (B E A D F♯ B), a major third lower (C F B♭ E♭ G C) or an octave lower. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson (EB-6), Danelectro, Jerry Jones, Burns London and many other companies have produced baritone guitars since the 1960s, although always in small numbers due to low popularity.^[1]

Baritone guitars have larger bodies than standard guitars, especially in the case of acoustic instruments, and have longer scale lengths which allow the strings to be tuned lower while remaining close to or 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]

"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]

[edit] Baritone guitarists

Brian Wilson often included baritone guitars in his arrangements for The Beach Boys records, such as in "Dance, Dance, Dance" or "Caroline, No". Folk-pop singer Jimmie Rodgers also favored the baritone guitar, which can be heard in the opening bars of his recording of "Woman from Liberia". Dave Gonzalez started playing a baritone with The Hacienda Brothers, consisting of a Fender Bass VI neck on a Fender Jazzmaster.^[4]

Metal bands started using baritone guitars in the 1990s, as it became increasingly popular to "down-tune" or "drop-tune". Dylan Carlson of drone metal band Earth played a baritone guitar on Hex (Or Printing in the Infernal Method). Ko Melina of The Dirtbombs plays a Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom. Jack Bruce also played a Fender Jaguar Baritone on Cream's Fresh Cream album and as a back-up on subsequent tours. Teppei Teranishi of Thrice plays a baritone on the "Fire" disc of The Alchemy Index. Pete Loeffler of Chevelle uses PRS custom guitars with baritone necks, and two custom Fender Stratocaster Baritones. D.A. Sebasstian of Kill Switch...Klick used a standard scale DeArmond Starfire professionally set-up and restrung as a Baritone extensively on his second self-titled solo album. Ian Mackaye plays a baritone guitar when playing with his band The Evens.

Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny used baritone guitars made by Linda Manzer on his 2003 solo album One Quiet Night. Ani DiFranco often plays a baritone guitar, including those by David Berkowitz, Joe Veillette, and 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. Nico Audy-Rowland of Trocadero played a Dan Electro Baritone Guitar for the theme music of the machinima series Red vs. Blue. Baritones have also been used by British band The Cure, making its first appearance on the dark and brooding album Faith in 1981. Dave Matthews plays a Baritone on certain songs such as "The Space Between" and "Some Devil". Parker Lauzon of Evans Blue uses an Ibanez. Brian 'Head' Welch of Korn uses Ibanez baritone guitars on his debut solo-album Save Me From Myself. Australian Stu Thomas has been using Barracuda baritone guitars by Burns London onstage for a number of years.

Numerous fingerstyle guitarists use baritone guitars, including Andy McKee, Don Ross, Martin Simpson 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 Micheal Greenfield.

The Les Deux Love Orchestra often performs with two baritone guitars playing together, a Jerry Jones and a Danelectro, as can be heard on their recording of Henry Mancini's "Experiment In Terror."

The Danelectro baritone was used by million-selling guitarist Duane Eddy on some of his huge hits, such as "Bonnie Came Back," "Because They're Young," "Kommotion," (all 1960), "My Blue Heaven"(1961), "Deep in the Heart of Texas" (1962), and "The Son of Rebel Rouser" (1964). The instrument was used almost exclusively on his best-selling album "The Twang's The Thang" (Jamie Records, 1960) and pops up regularly on singles and albums throughout his career (for instance, "Twang Thang," The Duane Eddy Anthology, Rhino Records).

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. Duane used the familiar black model and an unusual gray "Longhorn" model.

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.

Shawn Lewis from the band Hyperstatic Union plays an Avante AV-2 on the song(s) "In Remembrance of Him" and "Meet Him In the Air". ^[6] You can hear the sound of the Avante AV-2 on their website.

John Petrucci of the band Dream Theater has used baritone guitars on numerous songs since the "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" album. These songs include "Blind Faith", "These Walls", "Panic Attack" and "Wither". He originally used a Music Man Silhouette bass (a 6 string baritone guitar/bass), but now has his own signature model produced by Music Man.

Ben Burnley of the band Breaking Benjamin uses a custom made semi-hollowbody baritone guitar manufactured by PRS Guitars.

Crap and Flux, both guitarists of the German industrial metal band Oomph! used baritone guitars in B tuning in the albums Plastik, Ego and Wahrheit oder Pflicht, and in their single Niemand.

Chicago indie rock band Pinebender is known for their use of the baritone guitar, replacing bass and lead guitar roles with it.

The Beatles used a Fender VI Baritone Guitar that was owned by Abbey Road Studios in the late sixties. John Lennon usually played the Fender VI when Paul McCartney played piano or lead guitar. Lennon can be heard playing the baritone guitar on "Birthday", "Back in the USSR", "Helter Skelter" and "Let it Be". George Harrison played the Fender VI on "Hey Jude".

Thomas Erak of the band The Fall of Troy used a baritone guitar to record the song "Webs" off of the album "In the Unlikely Event". He does not always use the guitar for live performances.

[edit] See also

• Bass guitar
• Tenor guitar

[edit] References

Guitar portal