When you want to get low—but not too low—it might be time to turn to a baritone guitar. Bridging the gap between a standard six-string guitar and a six-string bass (like the Fender Bass VI), baritones fill a unique sonic space and can add richness to recordings and live performances.

What is a Baritone Guitar?

A baritone guitar is a guitar that has a longer-than-standard scale length. It’s tuned lower than a normal guitar, but not as low as a bass guitar, and they most commonly have six or seven strings.

Is a Baritone Guitar Just a Bass?

No, baritone guitars are not bass guitars. The major differences between baritone guitars and bass guitars with regards to construction and tuning include:

• Number of strings: Four or five on a bass vs. six or seven on a baritone.
• Their most popular tuning compared to a six-string guitar: Octave down for bass vs. a perfect fourth for baritones.
• Scale lengths: Bass guitars generally have a longer scale length, though there is some overlap between short-scale basses and the longest-scale baritones.

A Brief History of the Baritone Guitar

In 1956, Danelectro released the first mass-produced baritone guitar. Early on, it was adopted in surf and country-western music, especially among spaghetti western film scores. In the ‘80s, it would find favor among a new genre—hard rock and heavy metal.

These days, baritone isn’t just for country or metal. You can hear baritone guitars across a variety of genres, including folk-rock, pop, and indie.

Characteristics of a Baritone Guitar vs. a Regular Guitar

On its face, a baritone guitar doesn’t look dissimilar from a standard-scale six-string guitar, but there are a few key differences. These include scale length, tuning, and tone.

Scale Length

When it comes to scale length—the distance between the nut and bridge of a guitar—there’s no singular standard for neither standard nor baritone guitars. A standard guitar’s scale length can vary from around 22.5 inches on the very short side to 25.5 inches for a more traditional scale length.

Baritone guitars most commonly boast a scale length of around 26.5 inches to 30.5 inches. The longer scale length means baritone guitars have increased string tension, so they can be tuned lower than a standard guitar while maintaining a “feel” and playability more akin to standard scale guitars.

What is a Baritone Guitar Tuned To?

Like with scale length, there isn’t one singular baritone guitar tuning. However, B standard (B-E-A-D-F#-B) is popular.

B standard is five half steps, also known as a perfect fourth, down from E standard. Since it’s tuned in ascending perfect fourths (excluding the major third between the G and B strings), standard chord shapes translate. For example, strumming an open E position in B standard will give you a B major chord.

Other popular “standard” tunings include C standard (a major third below E standard) and A standard (a perfect fifth below E standard).

Baritone guitarists are also known to play various drop tunings including drop A and open tunings like open G.

A quick aside here, your tuning of choice will determine what guitar strings you should buy. A poorly matched string set will result in unbalanced string-to-string tension and less-than-ideal playability. We recommend using a guitar string tension calculator where you can input your scale length and the pitch at which you plan to tune each string. This way, you can find or even build a perfectly balanced string set.

What is a Baritone Guitar Used For?

Like bass guitars, baritone guitars are commonly used to “fill in” the lower end of the sound spectrum in recordings and performances. Its specific uses are only limited by creativity, but there are a few common uses, which vary by genre.

Since their release, baritone guitars have been popular in country music. Early on, Nashville-based producers famously used baritone guitars to double lines over acoustic stand-up basses, which were notoriously difficult to mic for recording purposes. This punchy sound became known as “tic-tac” bass and prevails in certain country subgenres today.

Beginning in the 1980s, downtuned guitars became a major element of metal subgenres including thrash and progressive metal. In metal, baritones are used across tracks for lead and rhythm parts.

Surf rock is the third genre most closely associated with baritone guitars. In surf and surf-inspired music, baritone guitars are often used for percussive lead guitar parts. “Rock Lobster” by The B52s is a classic surf-inspired baritone guitar riff.

Tone and Sound

A baritone guitar’s tone can vary, but some of the words we associate with baritone guitars across the board include rich, warm, deep, dynamic, and resonant. The resonance in particular has a lot to do with the extended scale length creating a high amount of string tension, which gives you more sustain.

The increased string tension also helps account for the deep, warm tones of a baritone guitar, as it enables players to use those lower tunings we discussed earlier.

The build of a baritone guitar isn’t the only thing that will affect its tone. Pickups play a huge part in any electric guitar’s sound. You can make your baritone guitar bright and open, dark and compressed, or anywhere in between depending on your pickup selection.

Recommended Pickups for Baritone Guitars

Modern guitarists have no shortage of pickup options for their instruments, but there are a few things you should look for when selecting pickups for baritone guitars.

As we mention in our article “Electric Guitar Scale Lengths Explained,” low-tuned guitars like baritones should be paired with “pickups that were specifically voiced for lower tunings, which are designed to retain clarity and high-end and reduce muddiness.”

From there, it comes down to personal taste and what you want to hear with your baritone guitar. For example, do you plan on playing low, chugging metal riffs, or are you trying to capture classic country tones? With these questions in mind, here are some of our team’s top pickup choices for low-tuned baritone guitars.

Single Coils for Baritone Guitar

The true “vintage” baritone sound is most associated with the lipstick pickups found on early Danelectro models. Our Lipstick Tube For Danelectro pickups feature an Alnico 5 bar magnet to give you the jangle, spank, and sparkle you’d expect from a Danelectro Baritone guitar. We also have a Strat-sized version of our Lipstick Tube pickups, which are a drop-in replacement for standard-sized single-coil routing.

Over the years, the Telecaster has been a popular choice among baritone guitarists. For your baritone Telecaster, we recommend our Vintage Broadcaster Tele set for more traditional tic-tac or “spaghetti western” tones. If you’re looking for heavier tones with your baritone Telecaster, our Hot Rails for Tele will transform your baritone Telecaster into a high-output rocker.

For baritone Stratocasters (or other single-coil baritone guitars), we’ve already mentioned our Lipstick Tube pickups. But those aren’t your only options for traditional ‘50s and ‘60s baritone sounds. For a Strat-inspired baritone sound, our Vintage Flat Strat and Antiquity II Surfer Strat are popular choices.

Many baritone guitar sounds from the classic baritone era were played on Fender Bass VI guitars that were transformed into baritone guitars. The Bass VI was equipped with Jaguar pickups, and our Antiquity II Jaguar pickups are perfect for getting that bright and jangly ‘60s surf tone on your baritone guitar.

For single-coil metal tone on your baritone guitar, we again recommend our Hot Rails, but our JB Jr. for Strat delivers a bright harmonic sparkle and a tight focused low end that’s perfect for baritone. We’re also big fans of our Quarter Pound Strat set, which brings a fat, punchy tone with plenty of top-end sparkle.

Humbuckers for Baritone Guitar

For humbucker-routed baritone guitars, there are slightly fewer options for classic baritone sounds. Our Psyclone humbucker, which is based on an old-school Filter’Tron, can get into twangy territory, which is why we often recommend it to baritone players who want a ‘60s sound.

Most humbucker-equipped baritone guitars are marketed to metal players, and what they need is something with a tight and defined low-end—otherwise their sound may be overly muddy.

A recent addition to our lineup is our Rails Series, which currently includes our Hot Rodded Humbucker Rails set (JB Model bridge and Jazz Model neck) and a Nazgul/Sentient Rails set. Both are available for 7-string baritones and are particularly helpful if your baritone has non-standard string spacing.

In fact, many of our humbucker sets are made with lower tunings in mind and would be perfect for baritone guitar. A few favorites include the Jeff Loomis signature Noumenon passive humbuckers, Mark Holcomb’s signature Scarlet and Scourge set, our Pegasus & Sentient set, and our Black Winter models. For active pickups, our new alt.metal Blackouts, Corey Beaulieu Damocles signature Blackouts, and our classic Blackouts are all popular choices.

Notable Musicians and Bands Using Baritone Guitars

It’s one thing to talk about baritone guitars and their construction, tone, and electronics, but what about real-world examples? What are some popular baritone guitars, who plays them, and where can you hear one in action?

Examples of Baritone Guitars

D’Angelico Deluxe Atlantic Baritone

Most of the biggest guitar manufacturers offer at least one baritone guitar model. Examples of six-string baritones include the D’Angelico Deluxe SS Baritone, which features two Seymour Duncan D’Angelico Great Dane P-90s, and Rondo Music’s Agile AB-3000 Baritone, which ships with two Seymour Duncan Blackouts.

When looking at 7-string baritones, we have the PRS SE Mark Holcomb SVN, which is loaded with Mark Holcomb’s signature “Scarlet” and “Scourge” humbuckers, and the Dino Cazares DC Demanufacture by Ormsby Guitars, which features Dino’s exclusive signature Machete humbucker.

ESP LTD M-7 HT Baritone Black Metal

The above examples all ship with Seymour Duncan pickups—as you probably noticed—but we’d be remiss not to mention other popular baritone models, including the Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone, the ESP LTD SN-1007 HT Baritone, the Squier Classic Vibe Baritone, the Reverend Descent RA Baritone, and the Danelectro ‘56 Baritone.

ESP LTD Signature Ben Burnley BB-600 Baritone Electric Guitar

What Musical Genres Commonly Use Baritone Guitars?

Baritone guitar is arguably most popular in country and metal. However, guitarists in surf, rock, folk, ambient, and more have embraced the baritone sound when they need a little more low-end.

Which Guitarists Use a Baritone Guitar?

Since baritone guitars are used across a wide variety of genres, it makes sense that its most well-known players traverse a wide spectrum of music.

Within country music, Brad Paisley is one of the most visible baritone guitarists. Other baritone players in country music include Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, and Chris Hillman of the Desert Rose Band.

Moving to metal, Dino Cazares (Fear Factory) is a baritone guitar pioneer. He even has a signature 7-string baritone guitar—the DC Demanufacture by Ormsby Guitars—which we mentioned earlier. Other baritone players in metal include Mark Holcomb of Periphery (who also has a signature baritone in the PRS SE Mark Holcomb SVN), John Petrucci of Dream Theater, and Brian “Head” Welch of Korn.

When we look to rock and folk music, two baritone players who stand out include Pat Smear (Germs, Nirvana, Foo Fighters) and Phoebe Bridgers, the latter of whom famously smashed a Danelectro baritone while performing on Saturday Night Live.

Popular Songs Featuring Baritone Guitars

One of the great things about baritone guitars is their versatility. Not only can they appear across a wide swath of genres, how they’re used in songs can vary greatly. Here are a few well-known songs that feature baritone guitar in different roles—from ambience and rhythm to leads and solos.

Van Halen, “Spanked”

Van Halen fans will surely remember Eddie Van Halen’s double-neck baritone guitar, which can be seen in the live video for their song “Spanked.”

Fear Factory, “Linchpin”

It’s hard to pick just one Fear Factory song to feature on this list, but we think “Linchpin” is a perfect example of Dino Cazares’s trademark tight, crunchy baritone sound.

Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss, “Whiskey Lullaby”

Another country hit with an emphasis on baritone guitar is the Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss tear-jerker, “Whiskey Lullaby.” Though Brad Paisley typically plays acoustic on this classic live, the recorded version features his tasteful baritone guitar playing.

Phoebe Bridgers, “Motion Sickness”

From the first chord of her breakout 2017 single, the warm, deep, crunchy tones of Bridgers’ baritone guitar are unmistakable. It’s hard to imagine what the track from Stranger in the Alps would sound like without that signature baritone sound.

B52s, “Rock Lobster”

The lead riff from “Rock Lobster” by the B-52s is one of the most famous baritone licks of all time. In fact, it’s the first riff a lot of guitarists learn to play on their new baritones!

Ricky Martin, “Livin’ La Vida Loca”

Another famous baritone riff can be heard on this Latin crossover classic. This surfy baritone guitar part (including the solo) was provided by Rusty Anderson, who may be best known for his time touring with Paul McCartney.

Glen Campbell, “Wichita Lineman”

Though Glen Campbell got his start with the famed session music group known by some as “The Wrecking Crew,” Campbell had a remarkable, multi-decade solo career. “Wichita Lineman” and “Galveston” are two of his songs that feature baritone guitar solos.

Julee Cruise, “Falling” (Twin Peaks Theme)

Sweet tremolo and reverb drench the prominent baritone guitar in Julee Cruise’s “Falling,” which is better known by many as the theme song for the TV show Twin Peaks.

The Dave Matthews Band, “The Space Between”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvzWRzTh7jg

Though this article has largely focused on electric baritone guitar, Dave Matthews has featured acoustic baritone guitars in his music for decades.

Final Thoughts

Baritone guitars have a storied history and a bright future. Every year, more and more guitarists discover the deep, rich sound of baritone guitars. Though they may not be an everyday player for most guitarists, they’re a valuable tool to keep in your sonic toolshed. With the right pickups and setup, they can add a moody crunch, give basslines an extra pop, rip surfy or shreddy solos, and so much more.

If you loved this article, check out our piece about the best pickups for drop-tuning.