I've always wanted a baritone, but it's only in the last year or so that my music has really needed one. So I'm gonna sell my vintage Ibanez, which I don't play any more but is an awesome instrument, and buy a baritone. I'd love some thoughts on which one to go for. The main culprits are the PRS SE-277 Semi-Hollow Soapbar, Reverend Descent W, Duesenberg D6, Hagstrom Viking Deluxe, and Supro Westbury. Used there's the Fender Blacktop Baritone and Ibanez MMM1. Dunno what else there is.
I don't really want humbuckers, and definitely not hot or active ones, but some humbuckers have enough cut. P90s would be perfect. The scale length really can't go beyond 28" as I play a lot of weird-ass chords with painful stretches. It's hard enough on a Gretsch, let alone a 30". As long as it's above 25.5" and below 28", I'm down. Budget is around £1000. I'm flexible with most other aspects. Used or new, floating or hardtail, colour, finish, woods, doesn't matter. I'd rather avoid any 'metal' looking guitars as they generally have EMGs and not fret markers, but pickups can always be swapped out and I can get used to no fret markers if the guitar is right. The ESP LTD MH-400B and Ibanez RGIB6 fit that bill.
Comments
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/101878/custom-amp-build-ngd#latest.
Eastwood Guitars probably still does at least one baritone instrument.
Pre-owned Steinberger Synapse Trans-scale?
Possibly, the most practical option would be to purchase one of your existing Fender-derived guitars a Baritone conversion neck.
@Funkfingers The Barracuda is 30" in scale. I do think I could get used to a 30" neck, but it would limit what I could play dramatically.
I've looked into Eastwood, but unless I can try one out I don't know if I can trust them. The custom shop stuff might be a safer bet, like the Jeff Senn Model One Baritone. PRS and Reverend are usually a sure thing.
I could look into retrofitting a baritone neck to a Tele body, but the better baritone guitars, so I've read, are usually ones that were built to be baritone guitars. As in, it's not just the neck that's longer, the distance between the bridge and the neck is longer as well.
@NelsonP Going to see Jessica Lea Mayfield perform in Dublin earlier this year solidified my need for a baritone. She uses the Gretsch G5265 Jet and she let me have a little mess about on it. She's a pretty slight thing and has to play it like a bass guitar. That's fine for her stuff because it's generally quite stripped down (punk-rock mixed with folk kind of style), but my stuff is more like... post-metal mixed with folk... As in, all those weird chords from bands like Periphery but with folk and indie leanings.
Very few videos/clips out there, but the first minute and a bit of this one should give you some idea if it's the kind of thing you're after...
There's also Third Eye Guitars who make baritones with passive humbuckers.
I haven't been able to try any Supro guitars. There is actually a dealer in Ireland (which is weird since Ireland usually only ever stocks Fender/Gibson/Martin-type stuff. But when I asked about their only Supro guitar on their wall, the guy who owns the shop said the guitars were not that good and he wasn't going to be getting them in any more. He loves the amps and pedals and stocks them, but he wasn't enthused by the guitars at all. I've read a few other people say they weren't impressed by the new Supro guitars. I trust the dude since he's created rather quickly arguably the best guitar shop in Ireland and stocks the likes of Chase Bliss and B&G. He deals mostly with used instruments and they're usually all excellent.
@TheMarlin I'd LOVE a TV Jones baritone, but unless I can find one used, they're out of my price range.
@DarnWeight Thanks. I'll keep an eye out for a used one.
I like the black one.
£300.
Must......resist......
Now he's definitely going to be too heavy. xD
I try to avoid technical accuracy in my jokes and aim more for “in the ballpark”
put a Joe Barden on the bridge, it needs something crisper, and noise-cancelling fenders on the other 2
Be wary: mine was an early one, and the intonation could not be set properly without a bit of work from my luthier. Fender Uk paid for this, so it was not a subjective problem - the posts were set in a place that meant the saddles couldn't go far enough. I think he reversed a couple, and did some other thing to sort it out, So take a tuner if you buy one.