WV Baritone finally completed

[WezV]

Wenge is a wood that maintains a bright output?  I thought it had a lot of body and deepness to it... shows how much i know.  I was always under the impression that wenge is not anything like Mahogany particularly, but it does have a lot of bite and depth.

wenge isnt the main tonal ingredient, the bubinga, maple and ebony make up most of the tone on this.  wenge can be very bright, but it does have extra depths

[badgermark]

Not my cup of tea, but a beautifully built instrument none the less. See Roo? I can respect other peoples tastes without going off on a tirade about their sexuality! Plus the top AND bottom horns look strangely penile! Who's the homo now!?

Looks great guys, the blackdog is an interesting choice, love to hear it cranked up.

[WezV]

Plus the top AND bottom horns look strangely penile! Who's the homo now!?

 the man who is seeing the penis :P

[Philly Q]

Plus the top AND bottom horns look strangely penile! Who's the homo now!?

 the man who is seeing the penis :P

Here we go again......   :roll:

[noodleplugerine]

HOW DID I MISS THIS THREAD?!

Jesus christ, Wez, I've been fanboying your work for a while now.. But this is just incredible. The design's great, very original, no tone knob is allways a plus too. Looks absolutely brilliant tbh. This would be pretty much exactly what I would go for, cept maybe just a 7 string or something.

28 to 26.5 should be quite nice to play actually, I'd love something like this.

Now Wez.... Go make an 8 string version with a 30-26.5 fan, please... I'd commision it if I wasn't a poor bar-steward....

[WezV]

an 8 string is on my to do list... maybe a similar shape, maybe more superstrat,  i havnt decided yet.

anyway, Roo just left.  I wish i had caught his first time playing it on camera, i keep saying it and mke anyone who walks through my front door try one to back me up...  fanned frets rule the world!!!  It was his first time playing one but there was no hesitation or fumbling about.  most people look at them for a minute or two before trying out a cautious little riff and realising its actually no different than switching from a strat to a les paul

[AdamB]

So, rather than starting a new thread, i thought i'd ask here about baritones....

So, what are the advantages of them?

Do they just handle low tunings better because of the increased scale length?

Why a baritone over a standard guitar?

Sorry for the questions, just doing a bit of detective work making choices for my own custom guitar

[WezV]

for me it all comes down to string tension.  if you want big fat strings and low tunings then a baritone is the way to go as the extra length ensures clarity and sustain.

the problem with standard guitar is that the low strings can feel too loose or even a bit farty

obviously the problem with nomral baritones is that you are pushing the high strings a bit tighter than optimal... thats why this style of construction makes sense.. anyone who has looked inside a piano will see the idea... short treble strings and long bass ones

[AndyR]

Bit late to this... but that's one crazy looking guitar guys 8)

There's this interesting optical illusion thing going on the first picture - it looks like the neck curves :o but of course it can't... do you get that effect when you see it in the flesh?

I started typing "not really my cup of tea, but..." like others have, but I'm not so sure it isn't my cup tea! :lol:

Looks like a fantastic job there Wez, and Roo, it's good to see the kind of shape you'd actually go for :D

[WezV]

just remember the strings are definately straight!!!

[AndyR]

just remember the strings are definately straight!!!

:lol:
exactly

[Alex]

Very nice! Welcome to the baritone club!

[Roobubba]

Okay, well I can't stop playing this beauty! OH MY LORD she's so good to play. The wood is infeasibly smooth, and the guitar is resonant beyond belief. You really can feel the wood vibrate with the strings - the key benefit of a string-through design!
I have to say I'm completely shell-shocked. I was pretty speechless when I went to pick her up (thanks again Wez!!), and I can only stop playing her for long enough to upload a quick and dirty MP3 of the clean/filthy stuff and type this message.

I've attached a clip (I hope), but if that doesn't work, try the soundclick version: which is here.
Here's the line:
Wez Venables Vociferator (14-68 D'Addario strings, Black Dog BKP) -> Cleartone Cable -> Peavey 5150-II (which has pretty poor cleans, but this guitar makes EVEN these cleans sparkle!!) -> Roobubsticks' Cab of Doom (2 x G12K-100 (one of which is mic'd up!) and 2 x EVM12L Black label) -> T-Bone Cheapo Mic -> Work's MacBook Pro -> Garageband


The dirty is fantastic in real life, I'm not sure if the cheapo mic I have has picked that up very well or not. Also, what's REALLY blowing me away is the clean. The clean sound is resonant and vibrant, and the sustain is just unreal.
I have nothing but the highest praise for your work on this Wez! I hope it wasn't too difficult to part with her, but believe me, she is and will be very well loved :)

Roo

PS I'll get some cranked recordings done on Tuesday at band - I really can't crank the amp at home, hence these clips are at pretty low volume (and this amp really comes alive when you crank it).

PPS Thanks for all the comments (yes Badger, even yours lol - gave me a chuckle anyway!)

[FernandoDuarte]

8) :twisted:

[Roobubba]

And just to pick up on a point that Wez raised earlier - playing a fanned fret is so natural! I had actually kind of forgotten that is was fanned fret when I first held the guitar, because the feel of the wood is really mesmerising - this is one tactile guitar! By the time I realised that the frets weren't exactly where I was expecting them, my fingers had already found where they should be - it really is like second nature, and I know from seeing videos of others picking up fanned frets for the first time that it's not just me :)

I now agree with Wez (or at least with my paraphrased interpretation of what he said), all guitars should have fanned frets!!

Roo


Back to playing!