Thetgtest:electricbaritones
If standard tuning isn’t doing it for you, maybe it’s time to consider going lower. Much lower...
As anyone who has ever down-tuned a guitar will tell you, there’s fun to be had by going low. Down-tuning a regular guitar isn’t always ideal though. Aside from your low strings flapping around in the wind, short-scale guitars simply aren’t built structurally with that kind of action in mind. There is, however, an alternative. This month’s round-up focuses onthe underrated joys of electric baritones. These guitars bridge the gap between guitar and bass, usually coming in four or five tuning steps lower. Crucially, all those chord shapes, scales and licks that you’ve learned can be played using exactly the same patterns, only now they deliver a much deeper and a more rounded sound.
Baritone guitars work across a range of genres, from Ennio Morricone westerns to modern day metal. The PRS SE 277 we’re testing here will cover most areas tonally while retaining that achingly cool, high-end vibe of its cousins. The Gretsch Electromatic G5265 features the same mini ’buckers and Bigsby-licenced trem as its more familiar stablemates, and we’ve room for a newcomer in the Chapman ML1 Modern Baritone, which builds on the burgeoning Chapman reputation.
Finally, rounding off the list, we have a piece of glorious baritonal atavism in the Danelectro Vintage ’56.