So I ended up playing guitar.
In the past whenever I was working on demos at home I’d borrow a bass from someone, and always feel in some way that this feels right, even when I ended up with callouses and blisters. Eventually I got my own bass, and again I like using it for demos, but it doesn’t get a lot of use other than that. Thankfully I didn’t pay that much for it.
I’ve messed around with some nonstandard tunings, like Drop D, and even at one point had my strat set up a whole step lower. To take things even further I took an inexpensive first act guitar and even had it set up in a baritone tuning with heavier strings. It was a fun experiment, but had issues; while tuned low, things got flubby, more than likely due to the fact that the scale was a standard guitar scale. The longer scale of a baritone would bring that tight crispness to that big low end.
A few years back Epiphone sent me a Rob Flynn Flying V baritone to review. It was a fun guitar, and definitely showed the actual difference the long scale made. However, personally, the skull graphics on a flying V body wasn’t really my thing aesthetically.
I did get a few chances over the years to play a few baritones, A Jerry Jones, fender bass VI, a Telecaster conversion, an Ibanez Mike Mushok, as well as a few custom pieces. While I liked Epiphone’s forward thinking the others were in most cases (the Ibanez being the exception) a bit too vintage sounding. I was looking for something “in-Between”.
The Ibanez Mike Mushok was cool, and after I tried it out, I put it back on the wall at the store. Going back to the same store a few weeks later, I told myself, “If it’s there, just buy it”. I figured it’s a niche instrument, and would probably gather dust, until some sale event. Boy was I wrong. Cruzing the wall, it was nowhere to be found. I asked the guy behind the counter who told me I was the 3rd guy to ask about it that week! Apparently it was sold a day or two after I tried it out.
So then PRS made a Baritone, and again this was Mike Mushok’s signature edition. At $699 the price was OK, and came in an Adam Jones inspired silver burst, and later versions came in a nice classy vintage see thru look. My main guitars are by PRS, and as I know their quality, tone and feel. I’d love to “keep it in the family” so to speak. As I got ready to pull the trigger (meaning I had some spare $) it was gone off of PRS’ website, as it was discontinued. Alas, looking for a used one for a reasonable price on craigslist was also difficult.
Fast forward to 2016, PRS now offers TWO baritones, a humbucker equipped one, and a semi hollow p90 one. I’ve made it my personal mission to save up enough for one by the end of this year. However I am in a quandary, as I love the P90 version (it comes in a cool grey/black see thru finish) the noise of the P90’s may require some pickup upgrade, where the humbucker version might not.
The other issue is finding a cabinet that can handle those low notes. I have blown out a few 12” speakers even just with low tunings. I’m thinking of a 1x15 cabinet to take care of those low frequencies. I’d probably run one of my regular amp’s into it, like my ZT for any loud volume situations. I have a great hotone amp that could handle quitter gigs. Thankfully both are small amps
The application of this instrument might be a bit different, in some cases I’ve thought of getting together with a bass player, preferably a 5 string player and a drummer, or even just a keyboard player and a drummer for some morphine-ish type stuff. It seems like an interesting new creative tool that I’d like to check out.
I’d love to hear from any baritone players and their experiences with this type of guitar, in their application of using it in a band, as well as any special gear that has helped them integrate such an odd and interesting instrument.
