Baritone vs. 7 String Guitar: Battle of the B Strings!

We explore the advantages and disadvantages of Baritone guitars and 7 string guitars - which will win?

ABOUT STRINGJOY
Stringjoy is a boutique guitar string company located in Music City—Nashville, TN. We’re dedicated to making the highest quality guitar and bass strings, providing the best customer service in the industry and giving our players more gauge and customization options than anyone else out there.

FIND US AT

#Baritone #7String #Djent

[musrmusc]

I have no preference. I don’t play lead, so you could literally hand me a guitar with 4 strings and I would be fine. I have two 8-strings 🙄

[sccrash]

One thing that may help with a 7-string, is tune your G a half-step down to an F#. I've heard it helps. I play a 7, but my tuning is Modal D with a LOW G: GDADGAD. To each their own. Experimenting is right up there with practicing. Great video!

[EveyoneCallsMeTheDude]

I’ve got everything from 7.5’s to 12’s, and I love them all!!

[ryanohlson]

As a 7 string metal player, that 3rd relationship between the G and B is still super important for how I play. I build a lot of riffs from chord shapes. A lot of 7 string players are also shred guys, and you really want that for playing things like sweep arpeggios.

Personally, my favorite thing about playing a 7 string is that it gives me access to that lower register without sacrificing anything, I play 6 string material the same exact way. It's also really convenient to have that on demand, for example if you're writing a song in E minor, changing to B phrygian is a really natural and logical move. And that's how I use it most of the time. Probably 80% of what I write could be played on 6 strings, but the 7th gives me options that I wouldn't otherwise have on one instrument.

[RobertFisher]

If I ever get a 7-string, I’ll tune it in major 3rds E-to-E. (Though I’ll have to find one of those rare non-pointy ones.) For lower range, I’d go baritone instead. Although my hex-pickup equipped Strat gives me the ability to virtually play around with major 3rds tuning or shifting down to baritone range so I keep putting off getting either.

[carlbaumeister]

Another advantage of a baritone is that it can act as a sort of “reverse capo.”

[SpaceOddity]

Overall, I'm definitely more team baritone, but I do own a Schecter 7-string and find it useful for some songs. It really just depends on what you're trying to do. 7-strings are great if you're really just trying to extend the range of the guitar, but not everything that I do on a 6-string translates well to having an extra string, and that's where my baritone guitars are really great. A 6-string baritone might sacrifice the high E, but you can just pick it up and play it like you would any other guitar. You can still play a lot of open and barre chords on a 7-string, but unless you're using an extended voicing, the extra string can get in the way, especially if you are using a wide strumming pattern. No such issues with a baritone. I think both are worth having around, and I use both in my band, depending on the song.

[Koldunya]

*laughs in baritone 7-string tuned to drop A* I have an ESP Ltd SC-607 (27" scale) tuned like a baritone with an extra upper string (BEADF#BE) and then dropped the low string to A. It has a custom Stringjoy set on it: .064 .048 0.36 .026w .018p .0135 .010 - It's so much fun to treat it this way vs a 6-string with a lower string for me.

As primarily a bass player, I am also considering tuning it in 4ths across the strings >_>

I've seen a few 30" baritones that are rousing my curiosity, too...

[JunkheadAlice]

Team 7 string here. I made the permanent switch after years of juggling between 6 and 7. In my cover and days i used it for my standard E songs and would sometimes use it as a baritone to fatten up the mix since thr other guitar player was playing standard 6 string. Overtime i began transcribing 6 string songs to utilize the whole range. I love it!

[AndrewJayGuitar]

For my music, I would be team 7 string. I like using a 7 to orchestrate parts for other instruments while retaining my guitar sensibilities. Having said that, I have yet to find a 7 string that I feel as comfortable as a 6. That is where a baritone would be more physically comfortable. But if I had to have only one, it would have to be a 7 because I am not giving up anything, only adding.

[sons.moon.leather]

I have that $150 Jackson only because I couldn’t find an affordable baritone at the time. With that being said, playing it in C standard with the low G has an ambient elegance that deceives its metal appearance.

[SamBrockmann]

I use a 7 string, and I actually tune BEADGBE.

I'm a pretty metal guy, and I've recently written a "Jazz inspired Metal" song. A lot of maj7, dom7, half-dim. Etc., etc. One thing I'm seeing a lot of, especially in progressive metal where the guitar player has a 7 or 8 string, is more use of the third interval in an interesting way. Because of those extended ranges, you can now play full chords like a dominant 13. Sure, you can technically play those on a 6 string. Yes, but . . . keep in mind, a full 13th chord is 7 notes. (E.g.: C - E - G - Bb - D - F - A makes up C Dominant 13.) So, if you're interested in chords with more voicings and arpeggios and so on; a 7 string (or even 8 string) offers that opportunity.

[brnexus]

It depends on what you are trying to do. Obviously with a 7 string you have more versatility by retaining that high E string. Baritones have their pros and cons as well. You can intonate better at lower tunings and you don't have to use as thick of gauge of strings to achieve the same tension, but you'll have to get use to the wider spaced frets.

[deanathan]

Just get both. You most likely won’t regret it 🤷🏽‍♂️ 😂

[theiranxican]

One idea I have about 7 or 8 stringers and determining whether or not you'll be utilizing the whole fretboard: "better to have it than not need it, then to need it and not have it."

6 string baritones won't have that but instead gives you a more familiar yet focused extended range as the man says it doesn't take much to pick up and play.

But I digress. I would love to choose which one is better but there's just no way in my opinion.

[sepherus]

Like most things the extra string becomes a non issue if you practice around it. I've been playing predominantly 7 strings for over 15 years now, and only have 6 strings for D standard, C# standard and C standard tuning. There are plenty of aftermarket pickups, and even small winders who will/do make non metal oriented pickups for 7 string. Bareknuckle even offers HB sized p90s for 7 string ina range of outputs.

Another thing to mention is the 3rd relationship is still very important. While many don't play big extended barre chords, there are a lot of chords and arpeggios people DO play on the on upper 4 strings that rely on that G to b relationship. Not to mention scale shapes that people already know. Being a guitarist first, any time I've played 6 or 7 string bass, I've tuned the high string(s) with that same relationship. I try and stick to 4s and 5s though.

There are some people I know who play 7 strings in Baritone with a high string tuning. So B E A D F# B E. It helps a lot of self taught people who learned from the low end up to wrap their heads around it more.

Really though, the moral of the story is actually practice more. Regardless of which you choose, there are some things that need to be learned. Depending on how you learn, how you think, and what you play will influence that the most.

[musrmusc]

One reason I’m thinking about a baritone currently, is to use a MIDI pickup. No one makes one for ERGs

[Just-Michael]

If you want something that covers both and then some, try an 8 string. Hear me out. Yes, the neck is wider, so that takes a bit of getting used to, but my small hands figured it out just fine. If you don't want to play all 8 strings, remove or tape off the lowest string to get a 7 string, and remove the high E to get a baritone. I have a Schecter C-8 Deluxe that I upgraded with locking tuners, DiMarzio Ionizer pickups, and 2 volumes that can split the coils of their respective pickups. Makes for a very versatile instrument. It's a bit of a janky solution to play without 1 or 2 strings, but it is an option. 😅

[x.eternal.x]

7 string for years now. Going to get an 8 string soon

[BluntInnit]

INTERESTING, I CURRENTLY HAVE MY 7 STRING TUNED IN A TUNING I CAME UP WITH BASED ON DADGAD BUT ADDED A LOW A, SO I HAVE A 4TH AND THEN A 5TH. I DID CONSIDER DOUBLE DROP, BUT DECIDED NOT AS WOULD LIMIT ME TO 2 NOTE POWER CHORDS AND ALSO MEAN THAT THE REST OF THE STRINGS WEREN'T OPEN TO THE ROOT NOTE. SO MY ACTUAL TUNING IS G#C#G#C#F#G#C# ALTHOUGH STILL DEBATING DROPPING TO LOW F#