Guitar Time

Baritone Electric Guitar History

Jun 27, 2009 baritone
Posted by freddy1955

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The baritone electric guitar was introduced by Danelectro in 1958.  It had a longer neck (30 inches, rather than the standard 25 inches) which allowed it to be tuned lower than a standard electric guitar.

In 1961, Fender introduced the Fender Bass VI.  It featured a Jaguar style body and controls, with 3 single coil pickups.  Marketed as a 6 string electric bass guitar, it also had a scale length of 30 inches and it was designed to be tuned one octave lower than a standard electric guitar.

In the 1960’s the Baritone guitar was popular for T.V. show themes, spaghetti western films, and Surf music.

In the 1990’s, electric baritone guitar experienced a resurgence as some bands started using drop tunings in their music.

Soon, several electric guitar manufacturers were making baritone guitars, with mixed success.

Here are some recent examples of electric baritone guitars:

Epiphone Baritone Les Paul (27 3/4 inch scale)

This Epiphone model is in current production.

Fender Subsonic (27 inch scale)

The Fender Subsonic was introduced in 2001 first as a Custom Shop Telecaster, and later was available with a production Telecaster or Stratocaster body. All of these models were unsuccessful in the marketplace.

Gretsch Spectrasonic (29 1/4 inch scale)

With a street price of $2,000.00, the Gretsch Spectrasonic was expensive. While a nice looking guitar, it was not well received and was soon discontinued.

Ibanez Mike Mushok (28 inch scale)

This afforable baritone is sometimes accused of being too heavy. Some players complain about the limited adjustment in bridge height.

Jerry Jones Baritone (28 inch scale)

Jerry Jones guitars follow the Danelectro designs.

PRS Baritone (27.7 inch scale)

Here is the new, afforable PRS baritone endorsed by Mike Mushok.

Baritone electrics are cool sounding, and an interesting way to get new and vintage electric guitar sounds.