Baritone Telecaster

I saw Pat Metheny not too long ago, who is well known for using various baritone scale guitars, especially in his solo work. Between songs, he said that every guitarist, at one point in their life, wants a baritone guitar, but if you were to show up to practice with one, your bass player would probably kill you, and the keyboardist might go on strike.

It struck me as very ironic, considering I had recently decided to try to build a baritone guitar.

For those of you who are not familiar with baritone guitars, they are sort of the stepchild between your regular six-string and your low-end bass guitar. They sort of occupy a niche that doesn't quite fit within most popular music, and are typically made on longer scales than your standard guitar.

On the other hand, I always wanted a Telecaster. Something about the T-shaped guitars always spoke to my inner child. And I thought, why not have both?

So I built this thing, whatever it is.

-Neck: Warmoth Baritone Conversion Telecaster neck. Stainless steel frets, maple shaft, and Goncalo Alves fretboard.

-Body: Ambrosia maple (maple that has been bored by the ambrosia beetle, causing discolorations in the sapwood.

-Pickups: Seymour Duncan P-Rails + triple shot switches. Basically, three pickups in one: 1) humbucker (series or parallel), 2) single coil rail, or 3) P90 single coil.

-Bridge: Hipshot hardtail

-Electronics: Tele Deluxe set up with two tones and two volumes (one for each pickup), with three way switch.

-Tuners: Gotoh magnum locking tuners.

-Finish: Tru-oil