What tuning do you use with the 27" scale?

On my baritone I have a thru body hardtail bridge so it has a stiffer feel than the BassIV with it's vibrato assembly. With this bridge I can also use standard guitar strings(066-016) because I don't the have excessive distance behind the bridge.
I also don't use a super drippy reverb sound.

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Reverb17 wrote:

What tuning do you use with the 27" scale?

On my baritone I have a thru body hardtail bridge so it has a stiffer feel than the BassIV with it's vibrato assembly. With this bridge I can also use standard guitar strings(066-016) because I don't the have excessive distance behind the bridge.
I also don't use a super drippy reverb sound.

mine is B-b, light gauge strings. .015 top, .64 or something bottom. nickel wound. it's a Stratocaster with the vibrato blocked with wood.

with the bass vi as A-a tuned baritone, I used an even tension custom set from Kalium before those seem to have gone away.

found a squier hardtail jazzmaster for dirt cheap locally. that'll be the new baritone. I love my Strat's actual neck too much to keep the baritone neck on it. but I love baritone too much to not have a baritone.

I even have some original 1960s jazzmaster pickups laying around.

Last edited: Sep 23, 2020 20:33:23

I've also been wondering about the pros and cons of a vibrato on a baritone. I've seen photos of them both hardtail and with various vibrato systems, including Bigsbys on converted teles. So is there a reason to go with one versus the other? I would think for spaghetti western type songs, a vibrato would be desirable.

edwardsand wrote:

I've also been wondering about the pros and cons of a vibrato on a baritone. I've seen photos of them both hardtail and with various vibrato systems, including Bigsbys on converted teles. So is there a reason to go with one versus the other? I would think for spaghetti western type songs, a vibrato would be desirable.

with the bass vi, i loved the vibrato and had no concerns. however, there just seemed to be dead spots in the range that I'm unsure if it was the strings, scale length tuned A-a, or pickups. some notes had beautiful life, some sounded dead, and it wasn't an issue with the frets or action.

the 30" antigua jazzmaster baritone that came out around 2014 sounded much more lively with the same string gauge and scale as my baritone bass vi setup. it was hard tail.

for spaghetti western the vibrato rules. when i play my hard tail baritone strat, I don't exactly miss the vibrato. I like a more subtle bend of the neck. I'm just a 15 minutes a day hobbyist though.

Here’s Lonely Surfer by the Ventures. You can clearly hear the trem being used.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbY-l-7oChU

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Tqi wrote:

Reverb17 wrote:

To me the difference is all about the sound. A Bass IV is bassier.
You can't really play chords with a Bass IV in "E" tuning.
A baritone's thinner strings and 2 unwound strings just makes for a more guitar-like feel and sound.
I also feel that "A" tuning is much easier to transpose then "B" tuning.

So:

Electric 6 - Violin.
Baritone - Viola.
Bass VI - Cello.
Bass - Double Bass.

Have I about got that right? ;)

A 6 string guitar in standard tuning goes almost as low as a cello and almost as high as a viola. A Bass VI goes as low as a double bass and almost as high as a cello. An electric bass in standard tuning is exactly the same as a double bass.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Tqi wrote:

synchro wrote:

Tqi wrote:

So:

Electric 6 - Violin.
Baritone - Viola.
Bass VI - Cello.
Bass - Double Bass.

Have I about got that right? ;)

A 6 string guitar in standard tuning goes almost as low as a cello and almost as high as a viola. A Bass VI goes as low as a double bass and almost as high as a cello. An electric bass in standard tuning is exactly the same as a double bass.

I was thinking more in terms of role, rather than a specific comparison of pitch range, but you raise a great point.

I would say that in role, you are pretty close. In an orchestra, the violin frequently carries the melody, although it can also be used for accents.

A guitar in standard tuning is mostly a bass clef instrument. A lot of players that learned to read, didn’t realize that they were actually playing an octave below the written pitch, I know that I didn’t realize this at first and my old Alfred’s book didn’t go to any pains to point this out.

One thing I find interesting about the guitar is that it covers almost exactly the normal range of male and female singing voices. I would venture that most males can cover, roughly, the range of the six open strings of a guitar and most females are about an octave above that. A soprano could hit the 20th fret of the 1st string and an exceptional soprano the 24th fret. Low male voices, such as basso-profundo, can hit the C below the low E of the guitar.

I sometimes think of my VI in terms of a cello, but it can also be a bass. I have Fender CS Jaguar pickups in my Japanese made VI and it actually does pretty well as a bass, when played fingerstyle. It becomes more like a melodic instrument with a pick.

The Bass VI is somewhat a chimera. I have long maintained that it is an electric bass; but that’s no more valid than calling it a baritone guitar. It is capable of filling more than one role. The thing I find very appealing is that it can move between those roles very easily. I used an E-E Jaguar Baritone Custom in a duo, playing the bass part, counter melodies, and even some lead fills in the upper register. That may be the most appealing thing about an instrument like a VI, it can fill several different roles, in real time.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 14:58:24

cosmonaut wrote:

affinity series. solid alder! surprisingly good for $160. I had regular old filtertrons in an older baritone and didn't love them. I may consider them again since this is alder and string through vs basswood with vibrato. I'm also looking for cheap. no interest in putting money into this guitar.

Tqi wrote:

Bullet Jazzmaster of some kind?

How about Filtertrons?

I wonder how P-90s would be on a baritone.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

I assume those humbuckers are two wire rather than four wire - otherwise, I'd suggest re-wiring to only have one coil active for each pickup as the cheapest option. Otherwise, find some used four-wire humbuckers or look at the GFS options.