To baritone, or not to baritone?

[Efekkt]

I'm ready to order my Agile! I just can't decide if I should get the Agile Interceptor Pro 25 Tribal Green or 27.

I was thinking I would get 25.5" scale length because that's what my six is, so no adjustment is needed between the two guitars. Also because I still feel like I'm stretching sometimes, I don't wanna make those stretches even farther.

But I just want to know what your experiences are with baritone and non-baritone scale length 7s are?

 

[ohio_eric]

Both my sevens are 26.5" scales and it doesn't bother me that much. The only time you really notice it is on the first few frets. But I got used to it. Personally I prefer longer scale lengths for sevens. But there is nothing wrong with a 25.5" scale sevens either.

 

[MF_Kitten]

i would go 27" scale myself, but it depends on how your fingers deal with scale lengths.

do you do alot of stretching and long fret distances when you play? if som then 25.5" scale might be better.

27" scale sounds better in my opinion, and feels better to play. i have a 28" scale agile 6 string, and i don´t find it hard to play at all, but then again the material i play on it was composed on the same guitar.

the difference between 25.5" and 27" scale isn´t as large though...

 

[Bobo]

Also because I still feel like I'm stretching sometimes, I don't wanna make those stretches even farther.

The stretches took me some time to get used to on the first few frets. Otoh, I like the spacing for soloing on the lower frets 12-24.

The stretches aren't that drastic going from 25.5 to 27, so I think most people would get used to it. But having a little more finger room to work with while soloing seems to be a plus that doesn't get talked about (if you'd cosider it a plus).

 

[caughtinamosh]

Baritone, definitely

While you can maintain string tension on 25.5" seven string guitars by using thicker strings, it tends to muddy up the tone. Baritone scales allow (or sometimes even require) that you use thinner strings, which makes your tone clearer (a MAJOR plus when it comes to low register notes/chords).

 

[Triple-J]

My vote is for Baritone and quite frankly I don't believe there is any other choice.
I love extended scale and I've been playing it for so long I doubt I could go back to Fender/Gibson scale now, I have never really noticed the length difference in terms of feel but I do notice the difference in sound/tone.

I began playing Baritone 6's tuned to B several years ago then made the leap to Baritone 7's at first I played a lot with heavy gauge strings but recently I found the combination of long scale and lighter strings is very punchy articulate and incredibly tight.
Although when I made the leap to 7's I realised I didn't really need to use my Baritone 6's anymore so I tuned them up to E and they are the best sounding standard tuning guitars I have ever played!

 

[HammerAndSickle]

for what it's worth I'll advocate the other side of this argument. I played on 25.5 scale guitars since I started and never played anything else. When I got my first scale it was a 25.5 scale ibanez. I loved it (still do) because it was really easy transitioning. It didn't feel like a different beast from my other guitars at all.

Then I bought an Agile interceptor 27 from a member on here. I was excited by the longer scale because common wisdom here seems to be that it's better overall. But in the five or so months I owned it, I could never get used to it. The neck was thicker, wider, and because of the scale length longer than my Ibanez (insert penis joke here). If I played any other guitar and then went to the Agile it was like learning to play all over again. It really just was a more difficult to play instrument.

Maybe you'll feel differently, just my 2c

 

[djpharoah]

I think if you tune lower than A then a baritone will probably suit your needs better than a 25.5" scale 7. However there are a few of us, myself included, who used the baritone scale for lighter strings & tuning to B.

Best thing is to try a 27" scale guitar before because the main thing is comfort - are you comfy stretching? For some its a big difference, some don't even notice it.

 

[Pollywog]

I myself prefer the baritone. It just sounds clearer to me. I myself don't have any personal experience with it, but from what I understand Rondo has a good return policy so if you order one and don't like it you should be return it and get the other. Like I said though, just what I've heard from other people.

do you have any shops nearby where you could try a 25.5 seven string and a baritone seven string though? That should give you the basic idea which one you prefer.

 

[Bygde]

27" is perfect. Doesn't take much effort to get used to, and the B-string is nice and tight. As Pollywog said, baritones have a nice tone, especially clean. The strings have a much deeper tone. Sounds kickass!

 

[ghoti]

I like 27" more than 25.5". My fingers are thick though. If you've got really skinny fingers and smallish hands you might like shorter better.

 

[gatesofcarnage]

I prefer baritone myself but like everyone else said try them out.

 

[Harry]

Last time I played a Schecter 7 with a 26.5 inch scale, I barely noticed the increased scale length at all while I was soloing. I only really noticed the difference when playing lower register riffs really. I reckon the ever so slightly wider fret spacing over the 12th fret can help with accurate soloing perhaps.

 

[errnestoo]

I got an agile 27 and there are really only a few riffs...usually involving drop turnings and fingerings that were already stretched...where i actually felt a difference. The tension on the low B is more than enough to make up for the extra stretching...i mean, i dont know how I could pick up my 4321 at 25.5 now...the strings would feel like rubber bands...even a heavy set.

 

[Dyingsea]

The whole guitar sounds more "grand piano" like at 27". If you ever want to do anything more than just chug away on the low strings the scale length is needed. I for one play a bunch of clean chords using the lower strings and especially jazz inversions. It's absolutely necessary to maintain the articulation of complex chords.

 

[Variant]

Seems to be very much a persoanl preference thing, from what I've observed. Some are not comfortable with even small changes in scale length, others adapt and ever prefer longer scales. Personally, I can't wait to have a 30.35".

Definitely a try-before-you-buy kind of scenario.

 

[Max Dread]

I definitely agree that the extra space in the upper registers (12 - 24) is very helpful.

I've only had a 27" 7 string for a couple of months....but I must say that I'm in love with it! Playing 25.5"s - especially 6 stringers - almost feels like your holding a toy in comparison!

To try and balance things with another negative - I do find myself having to look at the fretboard more. After 18 years of playing 25.5" SLs, it becomes second nature for your hands to know where to go when going up and down the fretboard. The baritone throws this off just a little. But I am talking big jumps here. Say you are playing a riff based around the second fret. You then need to play it an octave higher around the 14th fret. Without looking, I have got jumps like this wrong, and as such, the brain needs a bit of retraining to get used to the new distances. This might prove more difficult if you are constantly changing betwennn 25.5"s and 27"s.

Don'[t get me wrong though.....as I said, I love my 27"! Just trying to give you another angle to consider.

 

[Apophis]

baritone few more inches won\t change anything to much looking at playability amd will change A LOT looking at TONE

 

[Efekkt]

Seems like I should just try the 27". If I can't live with it I'll just return it.

Thanks! I'll let you know how I like it when I get it.

 

[Isan]

play the light that blinds on a 27 it = a bitch