Baritone and beautiful

[sartorious]

Hey, folks.

Could anyone recommend some music that utilizes the baritone range* for melody, or sounds "beautiful"?

Of all things, I was struck by the sound of this Guitar World review of a PRS SE Mushok baritone 6-string (1:25-2:08, specifically).



That's the general idea of what I'm looking for. A clean sound. Some chords would be nice. I usually love distortion, but I'm not sure if or how it could be used so that it still sounds pretty. I imagine it may require a slow tempo, but I'm definitely open to surprises.

No want djent. No want chug-chug.

* I hope my terminology is correct. By "baritone range", I mean music for which additional strings and/or an extended scale is frequently sought. Going below E standard, but not a full-on bass guitar.

 

[MetalMike04]

have you ever tried open tunings?

 

[JoshuaVonFlash]

OP try some Sevendust, Staind, The Cure used the Fender VI guitar on the Fiction album and everything afterwards. Deftones use baritone guitars(they're the most obvious choice , but more specifically OP what music are you looking for the Guitar World video isn't really a great example. Btw glad to see someone likes Paul's playing he always gets crap from people on Youtube.

 

[Runner]

Maybe Alter Bridge and Breaking Benjamin?

 

[HaloHat]

I so wish Fender would do the Black Top Tele Baritone in a seven string, then I would not have any excuse not to buy one lol

 

[celticelk]

I so wish Fender would do seven strings, then I would not have any excuse not to buy one lol

FTFY

 

[no_dice]

Try Javier Reyes' solo stuff.

 

[Esp Griffyn]

 

[ArtDecade]

Pat Metheny has recorded a few solo albums with his acoustic baritone guitar. This is from his album, What's It All About.

 

[TheHandOfStone]

I second Pat Metheny. Check the album "One Quiet Night." He uses a baritone tuned A1-A3, but the middle two strings are raised an octave (from G2/C3 to G3/C4). It allows him to get some really piano-like chord voicings that would be difficult to play on a standard-tuned guitar.

 

[sartorious]

have you ever tried open tunings?

No, never tried that but I checked out a video or two. If there are some songs where it's used for lower tunings, please let me know.

For example, I found this: but it's not low enough for what I'm looking for.

 

[Big_taco]

holy shit

 

[sartorious]

OP try some Sevendust, Staind, The Cure used the Fender VI guitar on the Fiction album and everything afterwards. Deftones use baritone guitars(they're the most obvious choice , but more specifically OP what music are you looking for the Guitar World video isn't really a great example. Btw glad to see someone likes Paul's playing he always gets crap from people on Youtube.

Thanks for asking for clarification. Hopefully I can clear some things up here.

My original post may seem vague because I really don't know exactly what I'm looking for. It's like there's another type of music I may be able to find but haven't noticed/recognized/explored yet. Ordinarily, I'm narrowly focused on metal (ex: Behemoth, Emperor, Arcturus, Solefald, Slayer), after which it simply becomes a matter of what type of metal. And ultimately I can identify *all* music I like by being aggressive and/or dark. If it isn't metal ("aggressive"), it's classical in a minor key. Or maybe goth. Melodic, but sounding sinister, depressing, disturbing.

Not sure if this is relevant, but I've always loved two sounds. One is a distorted six string guitar. The other is really deep sounds, which may seem like I'd enjoy a bass. It's just that bass (especially clean) frequently sounds "dopey" to my ears...heaven help it if it's upbeat.

Here's one unholy exception (bass riff at 2:30-2:38)


Also, "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth" . There are likely other examples, but maybe I tend to like music where the bass is hidden away somewhere in the mix.

The funny thing is when I look at seven and eight string stuff. I think a guitar should be able to hit those lower notes. It's just that I get turned off when low, distorted notes turn to indistinct mud.

I'm not necessarily looking for aggressive (and distorted) music at all, although I'm open to the idea. Perhaps it doesn't even have to be dark, although dark is a safer bet. I'm trying to cast a really wide net. Heck, I'm open to country at this point. Here's another example of something I liked:



And a slightly different version (that I like much more) at the beginning of this video:




Sorry to end with another instrument demonstration, but I hope this helps. Thanks for your suggestions. I'm looking into them and will have a better sense of them later today (after sleep). Same goes for other replies. Spoiler alert: I like something from Javier Reyes.

I know what you mean about Paul from Guitar World. Personally, I think he's perfectly fine as an everyman type to demonstrate gear. No need to hate on the guy.

 

[sartorious]

Maybe Alter Bridge and Breaking Benjamin?

That's certainly far from djent, so I'm trying some of their stuff on youtube. Curse my narrow tastes, though. I suspect there may be something enjoyable about Breaking Benjamin, but the sight and sound of the vocalist make me irrationally violent.

I bet it's something I've taken for granted, but my clarification to joshuavsoapkid seems relevant. It may well be that I'm really looking for dark/sad/"evil" stuff after all, just in a lower tone and with less distortion.

I'll look for instrumental only tracks and try some tab to explore AB and BB further. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[sartorious]

Try Javier Reyes' solo stuff.

Thank you! This is something I like!



Part of what I like is that (sorry, my musical composition/theory is lacking) it isn't just: low note, bunch of high notes, low note, bunch of high notes, low note, low note, bunch of high notes.

The lower notes are worked into the melody instead of being nothing more than a background for a bunch of higher pitched stuff.

 

[sartorious]

Every time I watch that video, I think of this guy from Happy Gilmore:

 

[HaloHat]

FTFY

I mean of the baritone Baja Tele, I shudda been specific on that one ha. Has a great clean sound and is $500. Oh wait, I see lol. Well they do, there called Jackson's ha. But I do wish those seven string Strat Custom Shop's posted by crik were not one off mega dollar customs. Can't beat a Strat single coil neck p-u for a killer clean sound. Except maybe with a Tele single coil neck p-u ha.

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/se...8-fender-7-string-prototype-stratocaster.html

 

[sartorious]

Pat Metheny has recorded a few solo albums with his acoustic baritone guitar. This is from his album, What's It All About.

I second Pat Metheny. Check the album "One Quiet Night." He uses a baritone tuned A1-A3, but the middle two strings are raised an octave (from G2/C3 to G3/C4). It allows him to get some really piano-like chord voicings that would be difficult to play on a standard-tuned guitar.

Pat Metheny is certainly not what something I would've come up with on my own. Interesting stuff, and it may take a little time to wrap my head around (not my usual cup of tea). Thanks for the suggestion.

Both videos fit my initial description of including a deeper range of notes in a pretty song. Where I seem to be looking for something different is how those notes are incorporated. Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but it sounds like much of his music is using the lighter strings to play the notes or strum the chords of a main melody while using the heavier strings to play a bass line. To me, it sounds like he's using the extended range to play the part of an additional instrument instead of bringing the "guitar" part lower. Is that right, or are my ears playing tricks on me?

 

[Given To Fly]

Pat Metheny is certainly not what something I would've come up with on my own. Interesting stuff, and it may take a little time to wrap my head around (not my usual cup of tea). Thanks for the suggestion.

Both videos fit my initial description of including a deeper range of notes in a pretty song. Where I seem to be looking for something different is how those notes are incorporated. Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but it sounds like much of his music is using the lighter strings to play the notes or strum the chords of a main melody while using the heavier strings to play a bass line. To me, it sounds like he's using the extended range to play the part of an additional instrument instead of bringing the "guitar" part lower. Is that right, or are my ears playing tricks on me?

According to Wikipedia, Pat Methany recorded "The Sound of Silence" with this: Manzer Guitars - Manzer Guitars
Your ears aren't playing tricks on you, nor are you hearing a normal guitar....by any sense of the imagination.

I understand what you want to hear but there are a couple of reasons you aren't hearing it. First, there isn't very much added to a 7 string guitar or even an 8 string guitar. At least, not enough to survive as an instrument. Thats why you hear a lot of low notes, a bunch of high notes, low note, a bunch of high notes, etc. Second, the other reason you hear a low note and a bunch of high notes has to do with the bass range traditionally supports the higher registers because that is where its major strength lies. (Listen to any Bach organ piece.) Lastly, some instruments thrive in the baritone range because they produce a strong fundemental pitch, such as the cello. The guitar isn't as strong in that regard.

Having said all of that, "The Riddle" by Steve Vai was what convinced me to buy a 7 string. More specifically, the B, C#, and D# on the 7th string that are played only a handful of times convinced me to buy a 7 string. I guess my point is there is some beautiful music in that range, but it rarely lives exclusively in that range.

 

[sartorious]

Yeah, I saw that guitar in one of his videos. Looked like something I'd expect from an HP Lovecraft story, but sounded much more normal.

Thank you for explaining things. That makes sense how each string only gives a small increase in range. And I guess I can see how the bass range supports the higher registers. That's how things generally seem to work out, at least. It's hard to imagine the opposite. For what I'm asking, maybe the bass range would have to be even lower to support a not-so-high higher register.

I read a little about fundamental pitch online, and I can understand this basic concept:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Harmonic_partials_on_strings.svg

I'm just not quite getting how a guitar's fundamental pitch isn't as strong. Could you explain a little more about it? Is the lowest octave the group of fundamental pitches for the other octaves of the guitar, or am I misunderstanding the relation between fundamental pitch and each note?