Ramble On

I was just poking around the web and this came across my lap(top) via the mylespaul forums – a baritone guitar of the DIY variety.  It’s owner says it started life as a 1961 EB-0 bass, 4 strings of course with a 30” scale. The owner swapped out the bridge for a wraparound (I would have found an adjustable wraparound or use a badass bridge but I digress…) and doweled the original tuner holes, put in some klusons and a P90.  This may sound invasive and scary for a vintage instrument but apparently the neck was bolted on with a fender neckplate and the original pickup are hacked up to fit some other monster pickup.  So this is an improvement.  I like this DIY mentality of taking something and tweaking it not only to make it playable but make it unique as baritone guitars aren’t exactly readily available as import strat copies.

with sister SG

Note previous bridge holes

Gibson did make a 6 string baritone albeit briefly in the form of the EB-6 with PAF humbuckers and a 30” scale.  This one is from 1965.












For those new to baritone guitars (I’ve never played one – working on remedying that) it’s a guitar with a longer neck than a guitar but shorter than bass, usually around 30” (also see Wikipedia).  Fender did come out with a subsonic series a few years back that came in at about 27” (Jaguar shown) which was a bit of update from their 60s Bass VI.  You can even order the 27” conversion neck online (think warmoth, allparts) and swap out your Fender type neck.
For sounds check out youtube or think of spaghetti westerns (like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) they usually had a baritone guitar used. 
Surf music was also fond of these oddities. 



The first to come out with a baritone guitar was Danelectro with the UB2 in 1957.  Epiphone also put out a baritone Les Paul a while back, no photo needed it’s a big Les Paul lol.

And of course a custom shop Telecaster Bajo Sexto circa 1998 used by Jimmy Page for Embryo and in “it Might Get Loud'’. Note this Jaguar tremolo and roller bridge along with with blade humbuckers.



For even more info check out TheBaritoneGuitar