Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Tech => Topic started by: Ratrod on June 09, 2008, 11:09:30 AM

Title: Regular guitar in baritone tuning?
Post by: Ratrod on June 09, 2008, 11:09:30 AM
My Warpig equipped Mockingbird (bolt-on) is in need of a new nut.

Now I was thinking about having it tuned to baritone tuning; B E A D F# B.

Is it possible when you use some telephone wires for strings?

I don't want something that's totally off intonation. The neck is Fender scale, bridge is a TOM.
Title: Regular guitar in baritone tuning?
Post by: blue on June 09, 2008, 11:58:54 AM
i'm about to try exactly the same thing on a Gibson MIII. it has a floyd rose, which is why i picked it to try as there's no need for a new nut.  setting up the bridge will probably be a pain though!  while i'm sure i'll chunk out a few crushing riffs once i get it set up, that's not the point.  i want a deep cleanish sound with plenty of power and oomph. good luck with yours, and i'll wish myself luck with mine too  :wink:
Title: Regular guitar in baritone tuning?
Post by: HairyChris on June 09, 2008, 12:06:42 PM
You should be able to tune to B standard with something like 13s on a Fender scale neck.

The intonation may need changing and the grooves in the nut may need widening. You may not need to change the neck relief because the string tension may not have changed much over all.

I did this with a Schecter, TOM, 25.5 scale and didn't need to change anything (well, minus a couple of intonation tweaks).
Title: Regular guitar in baritone tuning?
Post by: Ratrod on June 09, 2008, 05:20:41 PM
The nut on the guitar is a modded, plasic POS from the original neck wich I replaced by a Jackson neck. So it doesn't quite fit and is too low at some places and string spread isn't optimal either. I've been delaying the new nut for a couple of years but the damn thing is becoming anoying so it's really time for a proper nut.

It's a basswood guitar with a maple neck and a single Warpig in the bridge. Imagine that in baritone tuning. It should become quite a monster.
Title: Regular guitar in baritone tuning?
Post by: sgmypod on June 09, 2008, 09:36:27 PM
dropped from 9's to heavy bottom 11's....for c tuning on a LP..am now going to 13's the 11's too flappy
Title: Regular guitar in baritone tuning?
Post by: indysmith on June 09, 2008, 10:54:17 PM
Quote from: sgmypod
dropped from 9's to heavy bottom 11's....for c tuning on a LP..am now going to 13's the 11's too flappy

I'd imagine so :? I use heavy bottom 11s in standard tuning!
Title: Regular guitar in baritone tuning?
Post by: Antag on June 10, 2008, 08:57:58 AM
I use D'Addario baritone 13-62 strings on my 24¾" scale Gibson Gothic V, tuned to drop-Bb tuning.  There's just about enough tension to keep in tune (although the guitar badly needs the nut slots recutting & a decent setup as the action is painfully high).  Have a listen to my Warpig (http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11728) clip in Players which was recorded with this guitar.

As well as 13-62s, D'Addario also make a 14-68 baritone set so one of these sets ought to work...
Title: Regular guitar in baritone tuning?
Post by: Roobubba on June 10, 2008, 09:18:28 AM
I used to use a set of 9s on my Ibanez Rg470 in standard tuning. I now use D'addario Medium Jazz strings EJ22 (13 set) in A-E-A-D-F#-B. I calculated the string tensions before doing so, and there was little to do to get the same overall tension on the floyd rose bridge.

Hope this helps,

Roo
Title: Regular guitar in baritone tuning?
Post by: WezV on June 10, 2008, 03:53:44 PM
i dont think the low notes are ever satisfying on a normal scale guitar in barry's tuning... you can make it just about work with the right strings but its never quite as good as it should be
Title: Regular guitar in baritone tuning?
Post by: Ratrod on June 11, 2008, 10:33:49 AM
Thanks for the replies everyone.

Wez, I think you're right. Unfortunately I'm not willing to spend another load of cash on a real Baritone. So if I can 'get away with it' on a normal scale guitar, it will have to do.
Title: Regular guitar in baritone tuning?
Post by: adamj on June 21, 2008, 03:16:18 PM
i play in drop b which is pretty close, on a hard tail ibanez sz and all i use is 11's (dadario's)

the high strings are pretty loose but easy enough to play n and u can still hit all them high bends no probs but sitll have a mean as hell low end
Title: Regular guitar in baritone tuning?
Post by: Ratrod on June 26, 2008, 06:08:24 PM
It's back from the luthier. New nut, 13 gauge strings (wound G) and a setup.

It holds the B-tuning pretty decent but the strings felt too flabby for my taste.

I tuned it back to Drop-C. Sounds big, tight and mean.

For a guitar with a fire breathing dragon graphic and a Warpig pickup it's pretty happy now. :D