Very tasteful playing! So refreshing to hear someone with a sense of originality. It makes it so much more pleasurable to listen to this guitar - makes me really want to buy one!
Got the new Hipshot griplock tuners - much nicer!! With the universal mounting plate, they just dropped right in. Also put a roller string tree from Guitar Fetish to eliminate any binding or friction under the tree. Holds tune much, much better now.
Still playing this on a regular basis. Tuning is now much, much more stable with the roller tree and locking tuners. I often pick it up and don't have to touch the tuning. My other guitars are getting a bit neglected!
+SuettiJimi I wouldn't think so - I think you would have to use very heavy strings which may not setup well and I also think that you'd run out of intonation adjustment. The lowest I've tuned it to was A with the D'addario baritone guitar strings (.014 to .068) and I thought it was a little too mushy at that for my taste so I tend to stick with 4 or 5 semitone drop. Mind you, I could be wrong and it's only going to cost you some time and a set of strings to try it - if you do, let us know how it goes.
It'd be too much of a gamble for me to try. I don't have the guitar, but I was thinking of investing. I've got a Bass VI and I love it. Maybe one of your next reviews could be a telecaster Bass VI? I know they sell VI scaled necks on Ebay. That's what I want to build. Thanks for your prompt reply, mate! :D
I bought one of these 7 years ago, swapped out pickups for Nashville Hots for the neck, and a Fulltone Humbucker bridge, removed the middle pickup, installed a 4 way switch with reverse pols for positions 2/3 and this thing screams. I've had to do alot of work and made it my own, but this machine is pretty good. I really found good value in the neck and body. Its an excellent guitar to make your own at least for the initial starting price.
Great review. I've had my Baritone tele (also in Copper) since it was released. Played it about 4 times since then. I just couldn't get to grips with it. Your video thinks there may be a second lease of life in the old thing. Paid £455 for mine in the UK same as my regular Blacktop tele which is utterly fantastic. One question. There seems to be some confusion as to what the baritones pickup selector actually selects. Some say it works the way you would expect an HSS strat to work but I've heard other people say that one postition puts all 3 pickups on. Any thoughts on this?
Not sure about the HSS strat - but I'm pretty sure the 5 way selects neck, neck & mid, all, mid & treb, treble. I've ended up tuning mine up to C with the d'addario baritone strings, but really, you can tune it to anything want - just a matter of finding what string combination and tuning you prefer. I particularly like the thick jazz sound out of the neck pickup which I'd never have guessed out of a tele. Thanks and I hope you find the right combo for it.
Good review!I agree,all in all it is a great guitar...after a little fine tuning.The tuners definitely seem to be its weak spot.I've found that with all the Mexican built Fender guitars it is best to assume that a good set of locking tuners is a must.As for value...I gave $449 through AMS,so I have a lot of room for upgrades.I haven't been able to set my intonation on my bottom B string yet,but I haven't tried very hard either.All in all...I enjoy the guitar and I think that with new tuners and a set of Duncan Pup's it'll be a great player!I hope you keep enjoying yours!
awesome sounds u get out of your setup. from all baritones i heard the last weeks, that tele is the best sounding wiht the most versatile sound. hard to get one of these for 750. so i thinkl about modding my 80s "strat" fender with a warmoth baritone neck.
I've had the Daddario baritone strings 14-68 down to A without any problems. Although I prefer them either at B or C. You might get them down to G maybe? After that, you'd probably need a heavier gauge and I guess you may run out of intonation room on the bridge/bottom string. Let us know how you get on. Cheers - John
Great review, very honest. I think they're about $750 Australian now so I'll have to check one out. Sounds like I'll probably have to buy some tuning pegs but that's no drama.
Greetings, mate! I'm a bit of an amateur about guitars. I just have a big question. Can this be tuned in standard tuning without getting the strings a little bit loose or floppy?
+Luis Mauricio Jiménez López it's got a bigger scale length than a normal telecaster, so strings tuned in standard tuning would actually be under higher tension than a normal guitar.
You can't tune it to E standard because the strings will be so tight they would break. But if you play it on B standard, the notes and chords and everything else is identical. The tone is just much darker.
Roy and Candles in Tulsa Oklahoma only place I've ever purchased a Fender and didn't need to do anything for proper setup. These massive guitar stores are horrible, tighten the strings and through it on the wall.
the mike mushok prs baratone is pretty sick, and has the right designed bridge so doens't have he issue most teles have that don't have the roller bridges.
Great review, I have the same issues with mine. Thanks for suggesting the Hipshot tuners, I'll check them out. It's a great guitar to play, and lately my favourite lick is the opening to Aretha Franklin's "Chain Of Fools". I put a capo on the first fret and cranked up the tremolo for that wonderful Muscle Shoals "swamp" sound. Check out the TH-cam video at th-cam.com/video/Hc3CHGk4NKE/w-d-xo.html which has Aretha singing along with the guitar, which isn't included in the commercial version.
Please help, i cant decide between this or a fender blacktop strat hsh, i want to be able to witch between single coil and humbucker but i dont know if the baritone limits what songs you can play, I like the feel of a tele and the overall look and playability of it much better but can i still play everything from blues to hard rock to metal to clasic rock songs to grunge to alternative without having to worry about not being able ti play a certain song because of how low the baritone is?
Depending on the strings you use, you can really tune it to anything between a low A-A up to a std E-E. I have mine tuned C-C at the moment with D'addario Baritone strings. The only problem I could see is if you're playing with other people then you'll have to transpose your chords to fit. There's no limits to what you can play as far as I can see. The Baritone strings I'm currently using are a bit harder to bend though - but you can use whatever gauge strings you want. If you end up not liking it tuned lower than std E-E, put some .010's on it and tune it as per normal - no problems. Cheers - John
+quedecree I am so thankful that you addressed the tuning issue. I have been wodering about this myself, and very few reviews cover the optimal tuning range on this guitar . Thanks again !
GREAT VID, THAT IS A HIGH PRICE I THINK ILL LOOK ON THE PAWNSHOP WALLS. I WOULD BET, B TO B, WOULD BE BAD ASS.IVE NEVER HAD A GUITAR I DIDNT M.O.D, SO IT WOULD BE, RITE ON TO ME.
![[Eng Sub] SCHECTER PT EX DORIAN GRAY - unusual telecaster baritone guitar](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FrggQmvE5vA/mqdefault.jpg)
Very tasteful playing! So refreshing to hear someone with a sense of originality. It makes it so much more pleasurable to listen to this guitar - makes me really want to buy one!
Thanks Charlie!
Got the new Hipshot griplock tuners - much nicer!! With the universal mounting plate, they just dropped right in. Also put a roller string tree from Guitar Fetish to eliminate any binding or friction under the tree. Holds tune much, much better now.
Still playing this on a regular basis. Tuning is now much, much more stable with the roller tree and locking tuners. I often pick it up and don't have to touch the tuning. My other guitars are getting a bit neglected!
+quedecree Hey, could you tune this E to e like and Fender Bass VI?
+SuettiJimi I wouldn't think so - I think you would have to use very heavy strings which may not setup well and I also think that you'd run out of intonation adjustment. The lowest I've tuned it to was A with the D'addario baritone guitar strings (.014 to .068) and I thought it was a little too mushy at that for my taste so I tend to stick with 4 or 5 semitone drop. Mind you, I could be wrong and it's only going to cost you some time and a set of strings to try it - if you do, let us know how it goes.
It'd be too much of a gamble for me to try. I don't have the guitar, but I was thinking of investing. I've got a Bass VI and I love it. Maybe one of your next reviews could be a telecaster Bass VI? I know they sell VI scaled necks on Ebay. That's what I want to build. Thanks for your prompt reply, mate! :D
I bought one of these 7 years ago, swapped out pickups for Nashville Hots for the neck, and a Fulltone Humbucker bridge, removed the middle pickup, installed a 4 way switch with reverse pols for positions 2/3 and this thing screams. I've had to do alot of work and made it my own, but this machine is pretty good. I really found good value in the neck and body. Its an excellent guitar to make your own at least for the initial starting price.
Great review. I've had my Baritone tele (also in Copper) since it was released. Played it about 4 times since then. I just couldn't get to grips with it. Your video thinks there may be a second lease of life in the old thing. Paid £455 for mine in the UK same as my regular Blacktop tele which is utterly fantastic. One question. There seems to be some confusion as to what the baritones pickup selector actually selects. Some say it works the way you would expect an HSS strat to work but I've heard other people say that one postition puts all 3 pickups on. Any thoughts on this?
Not sure about the HSS strat - but I'm pretty sure the 5 way selects neck, neck & mid, all, mid & treb, treble. I've ended up tuning mine up to C with the d'addario baritone strings, but really, you can tune it to anything want - just a matter of finding what string combination and tuning you prefer. I particularly like the thick jazz sound out of the neck pickup which I'd never have guessed out of a tele. Thanks and I hope you find the right combo for it.
Wish mine were copper
Good review!I agree,all in all it is a great guitar...after a little fine tuning.The tuners definitely seem to be its weak spot.I've found that with all the Mexican built Fender guitars it is best to assume that a good set of locking tuners is a must.As for value...I gave $449 through AMS,so I have a lot of room for upgrades.I haven't been able to set my intonation on my bottom B string yet,but I haven't tried very hard either.All in all...I enjoy the guitar and I think that with new tuners and a set of Duncan Pup's it'll be a great player!I hope you keep enjoying yours!
awesome sounds u get out of your setup. from all baritones i heard the last weeks, that tele is the best sounding wiht the most versatile sound. hard to get one of these for 750. so i thinkl about modding my 80s "strat" fender with a warmoth baritone neck.
Great video and review! I'm thinking about getting a tele baritone. How low do you think this thing can go without any issues?
Cheers!
I've had the Daddario baritone strings 14-68 down to A without any problems. Although I prefer them either at B or C. You might get them down to G maybe? After that, you'd probably need a heavier gauge and I guess you may run out of intonation room on the bridge/bottom string. Let us know how you get on. Cheers - John
Great review, very honest. I think they're about $750 Australian now so I'll have to check one out. Sounds like I'll probably have to buy some tuning pegs but that's no drama.
Greetings, mate!
I'm a bit of an amateur about guitars.
I just have a big question.
Can this be tuned in standard tuning without getting the strings a little bit loose or floppy?
+Luis Mauricio Jiménez López it's got a bigger scale length than a normal telecaster, so strings tuned in standard tuning would actually be under higher tension than a normal guitar.
You can't tune it to E standard because the strings will be so tight they would break. But if you play it on B standard, the notes and chords and everything else is identical. The tone is just much darker.
Roy and Candles in Tulsa Oklahoma only place I've ever purchased a Fender and didn't need to do anything for proper setup.
These massive guitar stores are horrible, tighten the strings and through it on the wall.
Do you think it might be possible to change the standard bridge to a 3 brass saddles configuration?
Honestly not sure about that - I'd have to see sizes/mounting holes etc between the two plates. If they match up, I can't see why not.....
the mike mushok prs baratone is pretty sick, and has the right designed bridge so doens't have he issue most teles have that don't have the roller bridges.
This is a great review, many many thanks.
Also is there a difference in covered and uncover pickups if so please explain
Nice review man!
Great review, I have the same issues with mine. Thanks for suggesting the Hipshot tuners, I'll check them out. It's a great guitar to play, and lately my favourite lick is the opening to Aretha Franklin's "Chain Of Fools". I put a capo on the first fret and cranked up the tremolo for that wonderful Muscle Shoals "swamp" sound. Check out the TH-cam video at th-cam.com/video/Hc3CHGk4NKE/w-d-xo.html which has Aretha singing along with the guitar, which isn't included in the commercial version.
Please help, i cant decide between this or a fender blacktop strat hsh, i want to be able to witch between single coil and humbucker but i dont know if the baritone limits what songs you can play, I like the feel of a tele and the overall look and playability of it much better but can i still play everything from blues to hard rock to metal to clasic rock songs to grunge to alternative without having to worry about not being able ti play a certain song because of how low the baritone is?
Depending on the strings you use, you can really tune it to anything between a low A-A up to a std E-E. I have mine tuned C-C at the moment with D'addario Baritone strings. The only problem I could see is if you're playing with other people then you'll have to transpose your chords to fit. There's no limits to what you can play as far as I can see. The Baritone strings I'm currently using are a bit harder to bend though - but you can use whatever gauge strings you want. If you end up not liking it tuned lower than std E-E, put some .010's on it and tune it as per normal - no problems. Cheers - John
+quedecree I am so thankful that you addressed the tuning issue. I have been wodering about this myself, and very few reviews cover the optimal tuning range on this guitar . Thanks again !
Alright, Brit, Jermaine, Beeend meeting!
GREAT VID, THAT IS A HIGH PRICE
I THINK ILL LOOK ON THE PAWNSHOP WALLS. I WOULD BET,
B TO B, WOULD BE BAD ASS.IVE NEVER HAD A GUITAR I DIDNT M.O.D, SO IT WOULD BE, RITE ON TO ME.
Just wondering.... Is there a particular reason why you were shouting when you wrote this all those years ago or did you have a keypad failure?
In America it $500
can it use on E standard tuning?
Yep. No problems.
epic