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Post subject: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2012 11:56 pm
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NGD! Just came home with a copper-coloured Baritone Tele and only had a chance to play it a short time before coming to work. Interesting to play around with, but in my first 45 minutes with it, I find the intonation way out to lunch. Anyone else noticed this?

The higher strings are slightly sharp at the 12th fret when it is in tune on open strings, but by the time I get to the low B it is quite badly out. I adjusted it so that the E on the 5th fret is in tune with the 5th string open, but then the open B is flat and the 12th fret B is sharp. the saddle is backed all the way up to the lip on the bridge, so nowhere to go, can't lengthen the string. Where should I go from here? Would a different set of strings change it enough to improve the sound? Is this a result of the range of the instrument? Is the spacing of the frets in the 12-tone musical system just not capable of being right on for high and low pitches at the same time? What do people with 7- or 8-string guitars do, crank up the distortion so the problem is not so obvious?

Any good suggestions from you folks who work on guitars more than I do?


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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2012 5:38 am
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cnsky54 wrote:
NGD! Just came home with a copper-coloured Baritone Tele and only had a chance to play it a short time before coming to work. Interesting to play around with, but in my first 45 minutes with it, I find the intonation way out to lunch. Anyone else noticed this? Is the spacing of the frets in the 12-tone musical system just not capable of being right on for high and low pitches at the same time? What do people with 7- or 8-string guitars do, crank up the distortion so the problem is not so obvious?
Any good suggestions from you folks who work on guitars more than I do?


Hi, CNsky! I have interest in the Baritone as well.
Congrats on a new guitar in your family.
I have begun to study "different" guitar intonation and concepts.
Try a general check of this website: http://ninestring.org/
They specialize in unusual 7-8-9(+) stringed guitars and the various intonations.

May not be up your alley, but, there may be instrument experts
who can help you. I purchased a 40 fret Microtonal guitar with
24 notes to the octave. I have received quite a bit of help from this site.

Mine is a 12-Tone Microtonal, which is easily played along with normal
12 note octave guitars. Have fun. Toppscore 8)
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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2012 7:17 am
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cnsky54 wrote:
Any good suggestions from you folks who work on guitars more than I do?


Like any other guitar, a baritone requires a proper setup. Take it to a COMPETENT guitar tech or luthier for a complete setup.

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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2012 8:57 pm
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Well, back to the shop it went, I'll pick it up next week. Don't know enough yet to fiddle with it on my own. Fun guitar, tho! The range is interesting to play with and it stimulates creativity to have a new guitar like that. Better upload some photos to Photobucket soon.


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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2012 9:34 pm
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Good move. :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2012 11:47 pm
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cnsky54 wrote:
Well, back to the shop it went, I'll pick it up next week. Don't know enough yet to fiddle with it on my own. Fun guitar, tho! The range is interesting to play with and it stimulates creativity to have a new guitar like that. Better upload some photos to Photobucket soon.

Why did it leave the shop messed up in the first place?
Toppscore :)

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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 1:33 am
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Who knows? Maybe someone did a rough intonation and hung it on the rack. I would like to believe that Fender has not issued a guitar that cannot be tuned properly. It certainly has a good sound plugged into my 4x10 Bassman amp!


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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 1:37 am
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cnsky54 wrote:
Who knows? Maybe someone did a rough intonation and hung it on the rack. I would like to believe that Fender has not issued a guitar that cannot be tuned properly. It certainly has a good sound plugged into my 4x10 Bassman amp!



Hi! What kind of music will you use the Baritone for?

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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 1:43 am
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Jazz/ fusion mostly. I collect guitars that give me interesting sounds to experiment with - double necks, electric sitar, fretless, guitar synthesizers. I also have basses in the 4, 5, 8, 12-string varieties. Contemplating a drum kit. The baritone seemed like an interesting addition. I think my music store intentionally orders gear that they know I will buy as soon as I see it.


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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 1:55 am
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:?:
cnsky54 wrote:
Jazz/ fusion mostly. I collect guitars that give me interesting sounds to experiment with - double necks, electric sitar, fretless, guitar synthesizers. I also have basses in the 4, 5, 8, 12-string varieties. Contemplating a drum kit. The baritone seemed like an interesting addition. I think my music store intentionally orders gear that they know I will buy as soon as I see it.



Interesting sounds to experiment with :!: :!: :!:
That comment is what I am all about. Toppscore :)

Following is my STARcaster with varitone switching. It is strung with DR 11's. Locking Tuners. Large mass steel, Tone/Resonater trem block. Mod 6 point Fulcrum trem, much better than pivot trem. Steel Bridge Plate for that Fender EDGE. Light alloy string saddles for Fine Tone. Fender OEM CTS 250 pots. Fender Grease Bucket treble roll off tone circuit based, using vintage Sprague Z5U Dielectric 1960's OEM Fender Caps, with varitones 1960's PIO hermetically sealed Caps addition (5 xxxxx varitone instructions and tips included). Premium Gold tracings 5-way switch. Pure 99.99% copper wiring, 0.09ohms per foot. Vintage wound (5.9-6.0-6.1 kohms loaded) pickups which are triple wax potted. Full EMI RFI electronics shielding, including the pickup covers.

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Last edited by Toppscore on Sun Sep 09, 2012 5:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:33 am
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Looks like fun, but pretty complex for my aging brain...


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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:36 am
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An odd feature of the Baritone Tele - the numbers on the knob skirts are upside down when you look at them while playing. For the benefit of front-row people at gigs?


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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 5:14 am
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cnsky54 wrote:
An odd feature of the Baritone Tele - the numbers on the knob skirts are upside down when you look at them while playing. For the benefit of front-row people at gigs?



I am seriously looking at the Gretsch Baritone guitar at 29.5" scale
and a Fender Baritone 27(+)" scale.
Will get more involved and will let you know.
Am debating between a Fender HM, Fender Showmaster and a baritone.
Toppscore :)

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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 10:30 pm
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bluesky636 wrote:
cnsky54 wrote:
Any good suggestions from you folks who work on guitars more than I do?


Like any other guitar, a baritone requires a proper setup. Take it to a COMPETENT guitar tech or luthier for a complete setup.



Back from the competent tech, and the guitar is not able to be tuned. He did all the adjustments, and there is no way to get the B string to stay intonated up and down the neck. Called to Fender, they are shipping another one to the shop this week. Again, excellent service from our favourite company. I do hope this one is just the lemon in the pile and the new one will be dead on. Stay tuned (ha ha ha)... :lol:


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Post subject: Re: Baritone Intonation
Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 10:44 am
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Yeah!!!
Well, I bought a used B-B Baritone guitar,
27" scale lenght, 24 frets one,
from an EBay sale. So, I will have some protection.
Will get it setup ASAP. Toppscore :)

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Last edited by Toppscore on Sun Sep 09, 2012 6:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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