# Baritone guitar for tuning to D standard?



## blackrobedone (Jul 30, 2019)

Hello again,
I've been kicking around the idea of getting a 6 string baritone guitar for playing in D standard. It seems most baritones even if they are 27" scale lengths are shipped tuned down to B or so. I am looking for a tighter low "E" string but don't really want to increase the string gauge past a 52. Is it a bad idea to get a baritone guitar for tuning down one step? Thanks.


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## diagrammatiks (Jul 30, 2019)

A 27 is great as drop d guitar. 

I don’t think 27 even qualifies as a baritone. They are often called that though. 

But they work great tuned to drop d.


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## blackrobedone (Jul 30, 2019)

Thanks for the reply. I am looking at the E II Viper Baritone, possibly a Schecter Apocalypse EX 6 string, or the Ibanez RGIB6 (though that one has a 28" scale that makes me really nervous, but maybe for the price it's the safest bet). If someone could put my mind at ease and tuck me down to sleep regarding that Ibanez's 28" scale tuned down one step from standard tuning and not snapping the neck in half or shredding my fingertips, I'd order one 5 minutes from now.


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## op1e (Jul 30, 2019)

Jeez i play D standard and drop C all day on 25.5 with anything from 10-52 to 11-56. D standard should run great on that scale and be fine on 10-52. I wish there were more 26.5 scale 6 strings. Only one I know of is the green Schecter one.


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## diagrammatiks (Jul 30, 2019)

blackrobedone said:


> Thanks for the reply. I am looking at the E II Viper Baritone, possibly a Schecter Apocalypse EX 6 string, or the Ibanez RGIB6 (though that one has a 28" scale that makes me really nervous, but maybe for the price it's the safest bet). If someone could put my mind at ease and tuck me down to sleep regarding that Ibanez's 28" scale tuned down one step from standard tuning and not snapping the neck in half or shredding my fingertips, I'd order one 5 minutes from now.



28 might be a bit iffy. A scale that long plays pretty different. 26.5 and 27 still feel like pretty normal guitars. 28 starts feeling a bit different past the fifth fret. 

That being said a 10 set will work.


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## blackrobedone (Jul 30, 2019)

I do lots of ludicrous speed trem picking on the low strings and the higher gauges work against me there. There is also a warbling sound that's hard to control when trem picking on 25.5" scale guitars that I'd like to rectify, so I was looking for at least a 26.5" 6 string - preferably one that doesn't look too gaudy (neon green or fake flame stickers).


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## Mathemagician (Jul 30, 2019)

This thread read my mind. I’ve literally been mulling this over the last week or so. Would love to see more 26.5 6 strings but not opposed to 27. And I only intend to go down to about C# standard. D should be really nice with like a 10-48/50.


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## diagrammatiks (Jul 30, 2019)

We live in a golden age. 

Just a few years ago there weren’t even any long scale production guitars. 

Sooo Ibanez has been pretty good this year. Nothing on the prestige level. But the rgdals and rdix6 are both 26.5 inch six strings.


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## Mathemagician (Jul 30, 2019)

Also solar! I remember some folks pointed out some models to me when I mentioned this scale length before. I think they have a few actually.


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## Bearitone (Jul 30, 2019)

blackrobedone said:


> Hello again,
> I've been kicking around the idea of getting a 6 string baritone guitar for playing in D standard. It seems most baritones even if they are 27" scale lengths are shipped tuned down to B or so. I am looking for a tighter low "E" string but don't really want to increase the string gauge past a 52. Is it a bad idea to get a baritone guitar for tuning down one step? Thanks.



I think 26.5” or 27” would be fine for D standard. The great thing about longer scale length is being able to use thinner strings while still achieving a desired tension.


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## Metropolis (Jul 30, 2019)

Definetly Ibanez or Solar for 26,5", I had my Solar A2.6 tuned to D-standard/drop-C with 10-52 D'addario XL's, and it was nice and light but tight enough without wobbly tuning in every possible situation. Even 9.5 set with 48 or 50 could have been enough for D-standard.


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## Winspear (Jul 30, 2019)

Baritone is great for that. For 27 you can use the same strings you'd use for Eb standard on 25.5. 
28" is fine too (use the same strings you'd use for E standard on 25.5) but unnecessary size


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## op1e (Jul 30, 2019)

Hey if you wanna try it out for cheap, just pick up a used Squier and buy a WD or Allparts baritone conversion neck for $150 or less. Another reason partscasters rule.


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## budda (Jul 30, 2019)

Or just buy a d'addario 11-54 set and see how that goes. It's a much less expensive experiment.


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## Mathemagician (Jul 30, 2019)

The whole point is seeing how lower tunings “feel” with thinner strings. So using a 54 on the low end won’t feel or sound the same?


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## LordCashew (Jul 31, 2019)

I have a 27" Fender Blacktop Baritone Tele in D standard with D'addario XL 10s. Works great, and does drop C pretty well too if needed.

The 10s seem to have significantly less tension than the factory strings for B standard. I like the 10s in D but 11s would be fine. I also wouldn't hesitate to use 10s at 28" in D either.


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## blackrobedone (Jul 31, 2019)

And there you have it . . . Seems like something I will try when a used VIPER E II Baritone or Solar pops up. I think the 28" Ibby is too long and the looks of the available 6 string RGDs and Schecters don't engorge the old phallus. Thanks breaus.


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## ixlramp (Jul 31, 2019)

28" is absolutely not too long, in fact it's slightly too short for what you want ...

A 25.5" scale plus 2 frets added beyond the nut end results in a 28.623" scale (which explains why some baritones have a 28.625" scale).
So, keeping string tension unchanged, a 28.623" scale guitar tuned to D standard will use the same gauges as a 25.5" scale guitar in E standard.
So no danger at all of excessively high tension even at 28". Tension depends on the gauges you choose anyway.

Because you want to avoid large gauge strings, a significant increase in scale length is actually what you want, i would say 27" is possibly too small an increase. Compared to a 25.5" scale in E standard, any scale less than 28.623" will force you to increase the gauges to maintan tension in D standard. So i would advise getting close to 28.623", 28" seems ideal.

Baritones up to 28.625" are absolutely ideal for detuning by 2 semitones.
They may be marketed tuned to B standard, but an extra 1"-3" is really a small increase in scale length for the tuning. The scale length is only limited to avoid scaring off buyers with extreme scale lengths.
In fact, for tuning down a fourth, if you intended to keep using the same gauges, the scale would have to be 34", which is bass length.


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## skmanga (Jul 31, 2019)

26.5" 
don't go 28"


that is what i got on my KM7 mk2, ignore the thickest string, everything else is tuned to D standard.
works great.


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## Chris Bowsman (Aug 1, 2019)

On my 27” 8 string, I have a .044” for the 6th string. There’s plenty of tension, even if it’s tuned down to D, but it has this weird twangy quality to it. 

If you’re into that, cool. Plenty of people are. For my ears, getting the tension for that frequency range sounds better with a heavier string than longer scale.


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## ixlramp (Aug 1, 2019)

blackrobedone,
You can work this out using tension calculator like D'Addario's String Tension Pro website.

Firstly, you need to work out how much tension you want for this "tighter low "E" string" (by which i assume you mean D). You can do this by retuning the lowest string on a guitar you own until the tension feels right, then using that pitch, known gauge and known scale length to get the desired tension.
Then enter a few different baritone scales and see what gauge is necessary to get the desired tension, then you can see what scale is necessary to avoid going above a .052.

Depending on your desired tension, a 26.5" scale (which is a tiny change) may not be long enough and may require a gauge > .052.

Or alternatively, just tell us what gauge at what pitch on what scale feels the right tension to you, and someone here could work this out.


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## Chris Bowsman (Aug 1, 2019)

Been thinking about this a lot since I posted earlier. As much as it used to piss me off whenever some jackass salesman would say it when I asked for a string heavier than .056, this phrase comes to mind:

Why don’t you just play bass?





Kidding


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## Un1corn (Aug 1, 2019)

Actually i don't know what D you are going to tune-is low D below 8 string's Drop E or normal guitar's drop D?
If an octave lower D I'd recommend 0.80
If normal D I'd recommend 0.46
27 is pretty enough for normal D,0.52 could be enough tight to normal D


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## blackrobedone (Aug 2, 2019)

Well I tried a Gretch Gretsch -whatever baritone today with a close to 30" scale and that was too long for me, especially for leads around the 12th fret. I don't do huge stretches but at least 12th to 17th fret. I freely admit I'm a hu-whimp so save the reply: "I do stretches from the 1st to 24th frets easily with small hands on my 30" ERG 9 string, all day and all night long."

I think the 28" Ibanez might not be so bad after all.


BTW, D as in one whole step down from standard tuning on all strings.


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## Adieu (Aug 2, 2019)

24.75" makes for tight Drop D with 11-54

25.5" in Dstandard would be as tight or tighter on 10-52 or 11-52... or even 10-46

No need for 27" unless you wanna play 8's or 9's


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## Winspear (Aug 3, 2019)

Adieu said:


> 24.75" makes for tight Drop D with 11-54
> 
> 25.5" in Dstandard would be as tight or tighter on 10-52 or 11-52... or even 10-46
> 
> No need for 27" unless you wanna play 8's or 9's



To be as tight as 11-54 on 24.75 would require a theoretical 10.6-52.4 on 25.5 - so yes 10.5-52 is about the same but still slightly looser. 10-46 is more than a whole semitone looser


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## Winspear (Aug 3, 2019)

You said you didn't want to go higher than 52 - on 28" this will be as tight as a 57 D string, or as tight as a 50/51 E string


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## JP_METAL_HEAD (Aug 6, 2019)

op1e said:


> Jeez i play D standard and drop C all day on 25.5 with anything from 10-52 to 11-56. D standard should run great on that scale and be fine on 10-52. I wish there were more 26.5 scale 6 strings. Only one I know of is the green Schecter one.



Yeah they are hard to come by. I just traded my 7 string for a 26.5" scale Kiesel Solo 6 that is setup for D standard and I absolutely love it.


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