When I actually finish wiring my baritone I’ll do a clip and report about the firebird pickup sound with low register. FWIW I’ve seen a lot of comments stating the regular tele bridge pickup is perfect for baritone and any videos I e watched on YouTube have always sounded killer. As others have said, the neck is where you can experiment a little.
Baritone Brothers....got (a new) question....
- Thread starter MichaelW
- Start date
Paradox916
Well-known member
Fixed bridge and some Bare Knuckle Juggernauts … you got fuzz on your peaches or what?
Mentaltossflycoon
Well-known member
My 27" scale is pretty happy sporting these. I could go heavier if there was an available set but my hands like instruments that fight you so I wouldn't suggest that for normal sized people.
finebyfine
Well-known member
If you want to go _insanely_ heavier, LaBella also makes Bass VI flats with a 95 bottom E lol. I use this Pyramid Flat set most of the time on 30"s because they're a little brighter than LaBella's and a little lighter with an 85 bottom E. $15 cheaper is pretty nice, too.
Thanks for the rec @DGWVI I prefer lighter roundwounds than I like in flatwounds (The D'Addario Bass VI set's bottom 84 "feels" much heavier than Pyramid's flat 85 to my hands, for example) and while 60 for the bottom E might be lighter than I like for tuning E1-E3 I'll still probably snag a set in my next strings order to try. Might also try the bottom 6 strings of their 09-65 eight string set.
Edit: also just saw D'Addario's heavier bari sets (13-62 and 14-68). Looks like I'm making a big string order.
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Mentaltossflycoon
Well-known member
Man that would be a big jump in gauge but at that price I might try it anyway. Thanks!
Feral Feline
Well-known member
I'm late to the Bari-party, like really late —I don't own one.
I've always wanted a 28.5" Fender (Japan) Bottom Master tuned standard down an octave.
Yes! Tainted Love! Poke it through your perineum !
Then poke a Prince Albert.
String 'em up!
There was an album I found at a record store when I was 13–15 or so, and the back or inner cover showed the band playing a live gig and the singer has exposed himself and lifting his John-Thomas to show off a couple pounds of piercings up/down/all-over. Might have been Alien Sex Fiend or Nitzer Ebb or ? (definitely not the Genitorturers), I can't remember for sure — but that damned image is burned in forever.
I've always wanted a 28.5" Fender (Japan) Bottom Master tuned standard down an octave.
Yes! Tainted Love! Poke it through your perineum !
Then poke a Prince Albert.
String 'em up!
There was an album I found at a record store when I was 13–15 or so, and the back or inner cover showed the band playing a live gig and the singer has exposed himself and lifting his John-Thomas to show off a couple pounds of piercings up/down/all-over. Might have been Alien Sex Fiend or Nitzer Ebb or ? (definitely not the Genitorturers), I can't remember for sure — but that damned image is burned in forever.
Again. Highly recommend Stringjoy.
Since they're direct, the prices are solid.
Bass VI are $19 and Baris are $14. Custom sets are the same price.
Bari string go up to .95xl.
No flatwounds unfortunately, only nickel wound in this range.
No affiliation, just a happy customer.
Edit: their string tension calculator is a great tool as well, regardless if you buy there or elsewhere. Especially good if you're going up in scale but *know* what you like in shorter scale.
Stringjoy Guitar String Tension Calculator
The Stringjoy Guitar String Tension Calculator is the easiest and best tool to build the perfect balanced tension set of strings for your guitar or bass.
Alan W
Well-known member
I know Stringjoy, along with most of the rest of the industry, calls nickel plated steel strings “nickel wound”—but its a pet peeve of mine. Besides being confusing, I think it’s a bit dishonest. I’ve wasted a lot of time, looking at new strings, trying to devine whether they’re plated or solid.
I feel they're pretty upfront about it. And the do offer pure nickel strings as well, just not in bari sizes.
Pure Nickel Guitar Strings vs. Nickel Wound Strings: What's the Difference? | Stringjoy
Shootout time: Pure Nickel Guitar Strings vs Nickel Wound Strings or Nickel-Plated Steel guitar strings. What's the difference? Which is right for you? Let's dive in.
stringjoy.com
The price and convenience are at a sweet spot for me. Especially when I got my first bari since it allowed me to get 3 custom sets and "find" what gauges worked for me for $40(first order discount). I guess that's the largest part of my advocation... One could spend way more buying off the shelf sets and still not be happy across the (fret)board.
finebyfine
Well-known member
Funny that you posted stringjoys tension calculator @jwin615 because I had been calculating the tension of one of my more favorite setups: C# standard on a 25.5” tele with chrome flats 10-48.
How should I compare a regular scale tension measurement to a bari setup? I figure going for the relative tension ratio is more useful here than duplicating the exact tension on a bari. I can’t find measurements for the pyramid flatwound baritone set that I like for comparison. Btw this is (high E string to low) my calculated tension on that tele:
How should I compare a regular scale tension measurement to a bari setup? I figure going for the relative tension ratio is more useful here than duplicating the exact tension on a bari. I can’t find measurements for the pyramid flatwound baritone set that I like for comparison. Btw this is (high E string to low) my calculated tension on that tele:
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MichaelW
Well-known member
Well my Bari neck is due to arrive today. Still not sure what I'm going to do. I may punt back to Plan A and put it on my P90-Caster for now.
Actually, it may take a while to do the headstock logo. I'm having a devil of a time with nitro and humidity. I can't even do a headstock right now.
I just tried using my airbrush and lacquer thinned 1:1 and it still blushed on me. Might have to do this one with Tru-oil and just brush it on.
Has anyone ever tried wet sanding TruOil? How long does it need to cure?
Actually, it may take a while to do the headstock logo. I'm having a devil of a time with nitro and humidity. I can't even do a headstock right now.
I just tried using my airbrush and lacquer thinned 1:1 and it still blushed on me. Might have to do this one with Tru-oil and just brush it on.
Has anyone ever tried wet sanding TruOil? How long does it need to cure?
The best advice I can give is based on nonscientific personal experience from when I transitioned.
I loosely matched my favorite setup, leaning toward more tension over less when deciding on which string to use. I figured that the extra scale length would at least add a modicum more bendability even at the same tension. Also, want to be able to go down another half step if I decided. In addition, checked tension if I were to go to dropA vs the Open A(AEADEA) I was planning. I didn't meet in the middle on this, but moved the string size 30% ish toward the alternate tuning, if that makes sense(so if ideal was .40 and alternate ideal was .48, I'd go to .42, just pulling random numbers here).
From there, I built a set of ideal and +1 and -1 of each string size. 3 sets total.
After setup and breaking with the ideal set, iirc, I ended up changing the 2nd and 5th string to one of the alternate sizes.
I'm not sure if this answers your question or not, but that's the journey I took and it worked well for me. I may still toy with going a size higher on AEAD as I feel they are a still a tad bit to slinky for my heavy hand...
Alan W
Well-known member
I've wet sanded Tru-oil every time I've used it. Use mineral spirits, not water. EDIT TO ADD: Cure time is going to depend on if you thinned it when applying it, and how thick the coat was. (not to mention temperature) But if you start to get clumps collecting on the paper, it's not dry enough. (although with the wet/mineral spirits approach, you shouldn't get clumping). I think I was generally able to light sand (~600 and up) after 12 hours, for the final, thinner coats I was applying.
I'm not sure what to suggest regarding clear nitro and Florida (summer) humidity. You can get various reducers that are temperature dependent, with "slow" being used for higher temperatures, and "fast" for colder than typical. It's possible that using a slow (or you can also by "retarder" that slows the drying time down) may do the trick for you, since it could possible allow the trapped moisture to escape before the surface starts to film over. Since most auto paint suppliers aren't involved with nitro anymore (although they may be able to get sundries for you) I'm not sure how easily available the retarder, or a slower reducer would be for you. But this would be where I would start. (Frankly, if dust isn't a problem, I'd always opt for using a slightly slower reducer for gloss, as this allows the lacquer to even out better, and you get less overspray, since the drops flow into the wet coat easier.)
derevaun
Well-known member
I like to use this string tension calculator:
rodrigocfd.github.io
It uses the string data from D'Addario and probably extrapolates it to the other brands. My LGS uses EB for singles and I consider them close enough to D'Addario for it to not matter. I get the sense that Stringjoy strings are pretty different from those at a given size?
String Tension Calculator
It uses the string data from D'Addario and probably extrapolates it to the other brands. My LGS uses EB for singles and I consider them close enough to D'Addario for it to not matter. I get the sense that Stringjoy strings are pretty different from those at a given size?
finebyfine
Well-known member
This helps a lot, thank you so so much!!
It doesn't seem vastly different, but definitely pulling from a different data pool.I like to use this string tension calculator:
String Tension Calculator
It uses the string data from D'Addario and probably extrapolates it to the other brands. My LGS uses EB for singles and I consider them close enough to D'Addario for it to not matter. I get the sense that Stringjoy strings are pretty different from those at a given size?
But any variation in manufacturing, especially core material, size and shape should cause some variation.
It's all an approximation anyway I suppose.
Headstocks, nuts, terms all must come into play in each guitar as well. A 5% difference is well I think a margin of error.
MichaelW
Well-known member
Ok, we're inching our way closer....mostly because I made some decisions...... 
I decided to order a new Tele body. Got a cheaper one from Stratosphere in roasted ash. 3 Tone burst.
And I ordered some pickups. Decided to stick with Tele pickups but I wound up getting a "Staple" style bridge and a "Wicked Tele" neck both from TrueTone Custom Shop on Reverb. I've used their Filtertron pickups in the past and have been very pleased with the quality and sound of their pickups. They're all "value priced". The "Wicked Tele" neck is their version of the Fender "Twisted Tele" which is a Tele pickup that sounds more like a Strat. The Staple Bridge is supposed to a cross between a Tele and P90 Staple in tone. I think it should work well in a Bari but it's all speculation on my part at this point.
I'll start a proper build thread once all the parts get in.
In the meantime, here's the WD neck. I chose the WD version because it's got some "meat" to it. It's .87 under the first fret. Nice and hand filling.
Thanks to all who chimed in! Really looking forward to this!!!
I decided to order a new Tele body. Got a cheaper one from Stratosphere in roasted ash. 3 Tone burst.
And I ordered some pickups. Decided to stick with Tele pickups but I wound up getting a "Staple" style bridge and a "Wicked Tele" neck both from TrueTone Custom Shop on Reverb. I've used their Filtertron pickups in the past and have been very pleased with the quality and sound of their pickups. They're all "value priced". The "Wicked Tele" neck is their version of the Fender "Twisted Tele" which is a Tele pickup that sounds more like a Strat. The Staple Bridge is supposed to a cross between a Tele and P90 Staple in tone. I think it should work well in a Bari but it's all speculation on my part at this point.
I'll start a proper build thread once all the parts get in.
In the meantime, here's the WD neck. I chose the WD version because it's got some "meat" to it. It's .87 under the first fret. Nice and hand filling.
Thanks to all who chimed in! Really looking forward to this!!!