Schecter Ultra VI - Baritone "conversion"

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 8:04 pm

Restrung and retuned my Ultra VI, changing it from a shortscale bass to a longscale baritone guitar.
I think it sounds pretty good, and it's fun to have something in baritone tuning!

[youtube][/youtube]

Dogma Hollow · Post by **Dogma Hollow** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 8:15 pm

Nicely done. Sounds like a fun project!

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 8:49 pm

Was pretty much just a string change, but, yeah, the results are pretty good, I think.

Dogma Hollow · Post by **Dogma Hollow** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 8:55 pm

Ankhanu wrote:Was pretty much just a string change, but, yeah, the results are pretty good, I think.

Guess I'm used to referring to virtually anything guitar-wise as a project to justify spending more time on them to the wife.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:41 pm

Good call; I may have to start this too

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:46 pm

I've long held that B-B tuning is much better that low E-E, vastly prefer it. Also, Dano baritones are all 30" scale, I don't reckon the extra length is a negative at all.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 3:32 pm

When I commented on scale it was a chord shape efficiency and comfort/speed context (rather than a setup issue), and it's based on experience with this and my Hellcat VI over the past three years. It takes me a moment to get my fingers into, say a Bm chord (shape) from an A (shape) due to fret spacing; which is a transition I make in the chorus of one of my band's songs all the time, and I can transition quickly on a shorter scale length.

As for B-b baritone vs. E-e bass, I don't know that it's necessarily superior; they're different. My perspective on approaching VI and baritones (and guitars in general) comes from being a bassist first, rather than a guitarist, and I quite like the E-e VI tuning. E-e gives me all the room I need for standard bass playing, plus the extra high register to add in ornamental chords, phrasings or just different fingerings, along with being able to play baritone-like lead work. E-e is exceptionally handy, and the Ultra VI in baritone tuning will almost certainly NOT be replacing my Hellcat VI in standard tuning as my stage bass.
That said, I do agree that B-b is a much more melodic tuning than E-e (bass), and I've been approaching playing B-b differently than I tend to approach E-e. From a guitar perspective, yeah, baritone tuning is much more interesting than the E-e bass, and it offers a different sort of clarity and punch. It's a much more song-y sort of tuning, if you get my meaning.