Baritone Guitar

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, and 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 styles like rock, metal and improvised music. Some baritone guitars may 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), or a major third lower (C F B♭ E♭ G C). Gretsch, Fender, Gibson (EB-6), PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schecter, Jerry Jones, Burns London and many other companies have produced baritone guitars since the 1960s, although always in small numbers due to low popularity.

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.

"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.

Read more about Baritone Guitar:  Baritone Guitarists, Examples

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