How the baritone guitar makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the baritone guitar belongs to the lutes: strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck – the family of the guitar, violin, sitar and oud.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Press play above and watch the spectrum: the evenly spaced peaks are harmonics, and their relative strength is what gives the instrument its character.
From Wikipedia
The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length than standard, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing which allows tuning to a lower pitch.
The electric baritone guitar is a niche instrument with low popularity compared to other guitars, but is sometimes found in surf music; film scores, particularly spaghetti Westerns; some styles of heavy metal; and is dubbed "tic-tac bass" when used in country music to play in unison with a string bass or bass guitar.`
Other lutes
Frequently asked questions
What does a baritone guitar sound like?
As one of the lutes, its sound comes from the way strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck.
What type of instrument is the baritone guitar?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.322).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q64038 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Baritone guitar – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Original uploader was Andrewa at en.wikipedia – CC BY-SA 3.0