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. The Danelectro Company was the first to introduce the baritone guitar in the late 1950s. Shortly after, Fender released the Bass VI which can be described as either a baritone guitar, or a bass guitar. The baritone guitar was not originally popular with players or listeners.Fact|date=May 2007 However, the instrument began to appear in surf music, as well as background music for many movie soundtracks, especially spaghetti westerns. It also has the capacity to be used as a bass guitar if strung correctly.

The baritone guitar was also used by country artists and can be heard on recordings by Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Dwight Yoakam, George Jones, and Willie Nelson, often doubling the acoustic bass part of the song.Fact|date=May 2007 Folk-Pop singer Jimmie Rodgers also favored the baritone guitar, which can be heard in the opening bars of his recording of "Woman from Liberia". Ian Mackaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi, Dischord Records) plays a baritone guitar when playing with his band The Evens. More recently, the baritone guitar was used in some Barenaked Ladies and Stevie Ray Vaughan songsFact|date=May 2007, and was also used by Daron Malakian of System of a Down prior to the release of Mesmerize. Brad Delson, from Linkin Park, in playing "Don't Stay", "Nobody's Listening" and "Somewhere I Belong". Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny used baritone guitars made by [http://www.manzer.com/web/index.php?thisid=164 Linda Manzer] on his 2003 solo album One Quiet Night. Ani DiFranco often plays a baritone guitar, including those by [http://www.berkowitzguitars.com David Berkowitz] , [http://www.veilletteguitars.com Joe Veillette] and Alvarez, frequently employing alternate tunings. Clifton Hyde has had his acoustic baritone guitar featured in the music of Sigur Rós, Gato Loco, and Pape Armond Boye. Dylan Carlson of drone metal band Earth played a baritone guitar on Earth's 2005 LP Hex (Or Printing in the Infernal Method). Nico Audy-Rowland of Trocadero is also known for playing a Dan Electro Baritone Guitar during his work for the theme music of the machinima series Red vs. Blue. Ko Melina of The Dirtbombs plays a Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom. Baritones have also been used by British band The Cure, making its first appearance on the dark and brooding album Faith in 1981. Teppei Teranishi of Thrice plays a baritone on the majority of the fire disc on The Alchemy Index.

Numerous fingerstyle guitarists use baritone guitars, including Andy McKee, Don Ross, Martin Simpson and Dave Amato. Don Ross plays a baritone by Canadian Luthier Mark Beneteau, and Simpson has played baritones made by English luthier Ralph Bown.

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 Fmusic|sharp B), a major third lower (C F Amusic|sharp Dmusic|sharp G C) or an octave lower. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson (EB-6), Jerry Jones, Burns London and many other companies have produced baritone guitars since the 1960s, although always in small numbers due to low popularity.cite journal
author=Gerken, Teja.
title=Acoustic Longnecks
journal=Acoustic Guitar
pages=pp. 94–97
month=June | year=2003]

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.

Duane Eddy

The Danelectro baritone was used by million-selling guitarist Duane Eddy on some of his huge hits, such as "Bonnie Came Back," "Because They're Young," "Kommotion," (all 1960), "My Blue Heaven"(1961), "Deep in the Heart of Texas" (1962), and "The Son of Rebel Rouser" (1964). The instrument was used almost exclusively on his best-selling album "The Twang's The Thang" (Jamie Records, 1960) and pops up regularly on singles and albums throughout his career (for instance, "Twang Thang," The Duane Eddy Anthology, Rhino Records).

The "twangy" sound of his guitars (which include Duane Eddy custom-builts by Guild, Grestch and Gibson) augmented the even deeper twangy sound made by the Danelectro baritone. Duane used the familiar black model and an unusual gray "Longhorn" model.

Mike Mushok

Mike Mushok (born April 10, 1970) is the lead guitarist for the hard rock/post-grunge band Staind, who hails from Ludlow, Massachusetts. Mike used his signatured Ibanez MMM1 from "Dysfunction" (1999) up until "Chapter V" (2005). The guitar is now discontinued by Ibanez. At the 2008 Winter NAMM show, PRS Guitars introduced the new Mike Mushok Signature Baritone SE. [cite web |url=http://www.prsguitars.com/namm08/index.html |title=NAMM 2008 |accessdate=2008-05-25 |last= |first=PRS Guitars |date= |work=Guitar Co.]

Tic-tac bass

"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 term is commonly used in country music. [cite web |url=http://www.bassplayer.com/article/1962-supro-pocket/feb-07/25446 |title=1962 Supro Pocket Bass |accessdate=2008-01-07 |last=Pomeroy |first=Dave |date=2007-02 |work=Bass Player] [cite web |url=http://www.jerryjonesguitars.com/NLHbass6.htm |title=Neptune� Longhorn Bass6 |accessdate=2008-01-07 |work=Jerry Jones guitars]

ee also

*Bass guitar
*Tenor guitar

References