Wall of Mouths

For some reason, all Epi’s I’ve tried have been like some sort of toys in my opinion, maybe just bad examples. I know there are also good Epiphones, Elitist-series for example, but their price is also higher.

For Squier, for years I disliked them for having tried some of the early 90’s stratos. But then I tried a new Squier P-Bass Special (P-body, J-neck and PJ-mics), and I just had to buy it, since it was cheap, it had all the features I need for a bass, and its playability is excellent.

For both manufacturers, there are good and bad instruments, so better try what suits you best, and to make sure you get the good one. Unfortunately, both of them quite certainly need new microphones, the originals are pretty lame. But that’s the problem with most budget-priced guitars. I’d say there probably are better guitars in the same price range, the name of the ‘big brother’ in both cases does quarantee some sort of quality, but also raises the price.

I’ve always had an impression, that baritone guitars usually have a scale about 27-29 inches, so it’s between the scale of a normal electric guitar (usually under 26,5”) and a bass guitar (from 30” upwards). 30-32” scale basses are often called short scale basses, and scales over 34” are long scale. A 33” scaled baritone guitar would be very interesting indeed: where could you find strings for that? Bass strings for the for E and A perhaps, but how about the other four? There are strings for baritone guitars, but I really doubt they are that long…

The neck of a baritone guitar does not have to be thicker than normal, although ultra-thin neck (like in many superstrat- and other so called heavy guitars) would be very flexible indeed, unless it is built from some other material than wood. Normal bass neck is not that thick compared to a neck of a Strat or LP, so although it’s longer, it doesn’t have to be like a log to stay in shape. Take Jazz Bass for example: it’s not very thick, and its quite slim, but it still can handle the tension of the strings with the aid of a truss rod.

What makes the baritone guitar harder to play (or for some players it may be easier) is that the frets are naturally wider apart than in normal scale guitar. Try to take barré-chords with a slim-necked 6-string bass with a normal bass scale (i.e. 33-34”)… ;)