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Topic: Fender Jaguar Baritone Guitar |
Tom Olson
From:
Spokane, WA
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Pookie Anselmi
From:
Galliano, Louisiana, USA
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 9:14 am |
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Tom, I've never seen a Fender baritone guitar , but a few years ago at NAMM in Nashville I played one made by some other manufacturer.
If I remember correctly, if you play an A bar chord at the 5th fret, its the same as the E chord at the first fret on a regular guitar.
If you ever listen to a jazz player from New Orleans named Steve Masakowski, he plays a 7 string baritone guitar, with the 7th string tuned to low "A".
I believe STeve has his own website, but also plays with a band called Astral Project.
Pookie Anselmi |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 9:29 am
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IMHO, absolutely necessary for a band playing 1960's country music. Not only for solos like "Race Is On," but also for doubling the bass line.
Tic-tac a go go, baby. 
Danelectro has... or had, I'm not sure... a very reasonably priced model in the last 5-6 years or so. Around $400 as I recall.
Fender had a Bass VI reissue a few years ago, now in the $650 range. An original Bass VI is on the multi-k level.
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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association
[This message was edited by Herb Steiner on 23 August 2004 at 10:34 AM.] |
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Tom Olson
From:
Spokane, WA
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 10:24 am
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Herb -- yeah, I remember that Danelectro reissue from a few years ago. I wish I had bought one then, because they're no longer offered. The price was right, too!
Is the current Fender bass VI/Jaguar model (seen in the link in my above post) based on an actual vintage model? [This message was edited by Tom Olson on 23 August 2004 at 11:25 AM.] |
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Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 1:48 pm
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| A fairly recent issue of Fender's Frontline magazine shows a Custom Shop version of a Tele type baritone guitar called the Sub-Sonic. It is a 27" in. scale and tunes to B. [This message was edited by Jerry Overstreet on 23 August 2004 at 02:52 PM.] |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 2:13 pm
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I have one of those Dano baritones. It sounds great, but is very hard to play as a guitar because the frets are so far apart ( it has a 30 inch scale)
I intend to change the tuning pegs and bridge and make it a 6 string bass, and buy another baritone guitar with a 27 inch scale. I will probably buy another Variax and put a baritone neck on it. |
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Tom Campbell
From:
Houston, Texas, USA
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 3:53 pm
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Tom
I have a Danelectro double neck. One of the necks is a baritone. Also have a single neck baritone. Use it for gospel, country and praise music. Fits very nicely between a standard 6 string and the bass guitar...very mellow-deep sound. It's like playing a B6 tuning as far as fret positions go. I play a E9/B6 steel tuning, so playability is no problem. Get one...you'll grow to love it! |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 4:18 pm
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As I recall, these came out in the mid '60s, originally. Essentially a Jaguar (Fender's "beast") tuned an octave lower, it's good for Ventures, Duane Eddy, and those old "retro" sounds, but I think it's kind of lost in today's rock/pop music world.
I played one back in the '60s when I was playing rock and soul music, but like the Jag, they were really nothing to write home about. Like Gretsch's penultimate "White Falcon", the Jaguar (Fender's top-of-the-line guitar) never was very popular. |
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Ken Lang
From:
Simi Valley, Ca
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 6:49 pm
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I always thought the Jazzmaster was Fenders top of the line guitar. It was for me anyway. I played one for several years.
When the Jag came out it seemed like a lost second cousin to the whole Fender line. I did play a couple that some friends had but never bought one. My impression then was Yuck! Still is I guess. |
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Ron Randall
From:
Dallas, Texas, USA
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 9:32 pm
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FWIW. The Fender VI is a bass guitar on a shorter scale. Not a baritone. Great for tic tac (aka 'click' bass) sound. In the 60's I would double the Precision Bass with the Fender VI set to that surfer sound.
Ron |
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Jerry Gleason
From:
Eugene, Oregon, USA
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 10:23 pm
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Right, the Bass VI was not intended to be tuned as a baritone, although it's 30" scale would make very suitable for that application. Somewhere around here I have a recording of Wes Montgomery playing jazz lines on a Bass VI. It's a little strange.
Here's a scan from a 1967 Fender catalog showing their top of the line basses, including the Bass VI. Also pictured is their early (short-lived) five string bass, which had a high C string instead of the modern low B.
 [This message was edited by Jerry Gleason on 23 August 2004 at 11:39 PM.] |
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Tom Olson
From:
Spokane, WA
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 10:39 pm
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What's the difference, technically, between a bass VI and a baritone? How is each tuned?
If I remember correctly, the current Fender Jaguar Baritone has a 28.5" scale. I have no idea how it's tuned.
What about a short scale bass, like the Mustang bass? Is it tuned the same way as a standard bass, or is it tuned up? |
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Jerry Gleason
From:
Eugene, Oregon, USA
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 10:44 pm
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Although the original Bass VI shares some cosmetic features with the Jaguar, it was not a "baritone Jaguar". It is tuned an octave lower than a guitar, just like a 4 string bass. The shorter scale basses like the Mustang are also tuned that way. A baritone guitar would be tuned B to B, I believe.
{edit} I just checked out the Fender Jaguar Baritone from the link. It's not the Bass VI, it's a new instrument based on the Jaguar, but with a longer scale and minus the whammy bar (which the Bass VI had, oddly). Pretty cool.[This message was edited by Jerry Gleason on 24 August 2004 at 12:04 AM.] |
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Tom Olson
From:
Spokane, WA
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 11:05 pm
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Hey Jerry -- thanks for the info. Fender's description of the new guitar I'm referring to seems to be self-contradictory. They call it a "baritone" but they also refer to is as a "bass VI" and in the spec's they say it uses "bass VI strings." So, is it a bass VI or a baritone? Beats me, 'cause I don't know the difference anyhow. Here's what Fender says about it (from the Fender website):
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Jaguar Baritone Custom
In response to overwhelming requests for a contemporary Bass VI guitar, we introduce the new Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom. The Jaguar Baritone Custom is the instrument for players who want the “down and dirty” sound of a Bass VI guitar. The fixed bridge offers great tuning stability and the traditional Jaguar control layout makes tone shaping easy.
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And, here's the spec's on it(also from the Fender website):
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Jaguar Baritone Custom
MODEL NAME Jaguar Baritone Custom
MODEL NUMBER 025-9400-(Color#)
SERIES Classic series
COLORS
New!
[Fender Color Chart]
(500) 3-Color Sunburst,
(Polyurethane Finish)
New! [Fender Color Chart]
BODY Alder
NECK Maple
MACHINE HEADS Fender/Gotoh® Vintage Style Tuning Machines
FINGERBOARD Rosewood (9.5” Radius/241 mm)
NO. OF FRETS 21 Medium Jumbo Frets
PICKUPS 2 Special Design MIJ Single-Coil Jaguar Pickups (Neck & Bridge)
CONTROLS “Lead” Circuit:
2-Position Tone Switch,
Volume,
Tone,
“Rhythm” Circuit:
Volume,
Tone,
Circuit Selector Switch
BRIDGE Adjusto-Matic™ Bridge with Anchored-Tailpiece
PICKUP SWITCHING 2-On/Off Slide Switches, One for Each Pickup
HARDWARE Chrome
STRINGS Bass VI 5350/6 P/N 073-5350-000 Stainless Steel, (.025, .035, .045, .055, .075, .095.)
CASE None
PICKGUARD 3-Ply White
SCALE LENGTH 28.5” (723.90mm)
WIDTH AT NUT 1.6875” (42.86 mm)
UNIQUE FEATURES 60’s Styling
ACCESSORIES None
INTRODUCED 7/2004
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Tom Olson
From:
Spokane, WA
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Posted 23 Aug 2004 11:10 pm
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Jerry -- looks like you posted your edit when I was writing my last post. I think that would have been really cool to have a whammy bar on this current guitar. Anyhow, thanks for the info.
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Doug Earnest
From:
Branson, MO USA
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Posted 24 Aug 2004 6:17 pm
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| I played a SubSonic Strat a couple of years ago. It was about $1200 as I recall and sounded way too cool for words. As usual, I had no money to spend on that kind of toy at the time. |
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Sam Marshall
From:
Chandler, AZ USA
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Posted 25 Aug 2004 6:45 am
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I love my Subsonic Strat. I am looking forward to trying out the Jag, too! I also love Jags, especially with flatwounds and a buzz stop mod.
I play chord melodies on the Subsonic with moving bass lines. It sounds similar to some low end stuff that you hear on the C6. I think that a baritone guitar may be a superior instrument for solo accompaniment when compared to a regular guitar - especially with a female singer.
I also like to use a small tube amp and play slide with it. It can also fill the mix nicely on multitrack recording.
When I bought it, I was playing with a piano player with no left hand to speak of. He was always playing in the "guitar spectrum." The bari allowed me to strengthen a spot in the band's sound that was weak and make us sound tighter since we weren't competing for the same bandwidth. I was then encroaching on bass player territory, though.
Regards,
Sam [This message was edited by Sam Marshall on 26 August 2004 at 07:04 AM.] |
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