Mathias shows us his minimalist Fender Bass VI to baritone conversion and minimalist Jazzmaster

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Mathias writes:

Longtime (years) reader here. I've put together a minimalist baritone take on the Fender VI, with good results. Tuned A E A D F# B, huge sound, like the bottom of a piano. I use it a lot solo for melodies and chords with a bass drone, it really extends the harmonic range of the guitar. That's a Seymour Duncan '59 straight to output. Custom pickguard by Pickguardian. Including a shot of my similarly minimalist Jazzmaster. I use these with my group Sportsman's Paradise in New York City.

Thanks for sharing, Mathias. As you probably know, I'm a big fan of the Bass VI (although I do like to keep it tuned one octave below regular guitar tuning - I can always use a capo for those "baritone" tunings - but, hey, each to their own). I do like your minimalistic approach though. I never did like guitars with too many control knobs on them (and I see your baritone has none); it's so much better to let your fingers and way in which you play dictate the tone rather than farting around with pickup selector switches, separate tone controls for each pickup, etc. I remember the time I tried one of those Line 6 Variax guitars. There's just TOO MUCH choice and you end auditioning different sounds for ages rather than getting on with the creative stuff. But again, that's just me, I'm sure other people will swear by them.

G L Wilson

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