[Swardi19]

Hey guys, I realize this question would probably be better off in the beginners discussion but I thought since it's a bass related question I would take my chances here.

I have been playing bass for about a year now and I'm finding myself getting interested in playing guitar as well. I was wondering, is it possible to play bass and guitar using one of these 7 string baritone guitars? I've done a little research over the past few days and I seem to be getting mixed answers. I have a bass amp and a guitar amp so I would be able to switch between the two, but I still don't know if its really possible.

Anyone able to help me out?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[Apophis]

If you can play bass lines with spacing used in guitars it can be done. But at least 30" baritone is needed for this with "top loaded" strings (bridge), cause using strings from bass, those will be much too big to fit.

I aslo think none of existing baritones isn't ready without modyfication to be a good bass, no way. You have to have special bridge - string bigger than 120 isn't possible to use with strings thru body bridges, also you have to modify nut to fit those bigger strings.

Bass strings uses bigger tension, so there will be also some problems with string's height.

But if you are interested, Galveston makes 7-string and 8-string basses for a really low price, do a search for them on ebay.

[distressed_romeo]

It's possible to drop baritone guitars down to the bass range, but it won't sound much like a real bass, due to the scale length and string gauges. It's perfectly possible to use bass techniques like slapping and fingerpicking on guitar, although they may require a little adaptation to take into account the narrower string spacing. Think of Meshuggah; they sometimes tune their 8 strings down to a low Eb below a bass' bottom E, but it never sounds like a bass; it just sounds like a super-low guitar.

Exactly what sort of stuff are you thinking about playing with this setup?

[Swardi19]

Well ideally what I was hoping was that I could use the 7 string as a bass when I play with my buddies on the weekend (mostly rock with a little bit of metal, usually in standard tuning) and use it as a guitar when I'm just messing around on my own.

From what I've gathered so far, it doesn't look like its possible to achieve what I was aiming for.

I hope that answers what you were asking.

[ibznorange]

it wont sound just like a bass, but it can be used to replace the bass, and you will sound different from alot of people out there. Im doing exactly that, but im getting a baritone 7 tuned to a low f
nobody else around here has that. WAY different tone