Baritone for Modern Jazz

The short answer

Baritone for modern jazz. Phrasing in the lower register.

In modern jazz the baritone is a voicing machine. Extended chords, drop-2 shapes and walking movement all sit in a warmer, fuller register, and because a Bacci keeps the low end defined, complex harmony stays legible instead of blurring together.

It changes how you phrase. Single-note lines gain weight and vocal quality low down, chord-melody carries its own foundation, and a solo guitar performance sounds complete on its own.

As Matteo Mancuso put it about the Bacci baritone: “When I play it, I don’t really miss the bass player.” With the dual output you can literally make that true, guitar and bass from a single instrument.

In the register

Harmony

Extended chords with body
Drop-2 and quartal voicings sit warm
Low end stays clear, not muddy
Chord-melody with its own bass

Phrasing

Single lines gain vocal weight
Solo performance sounds complete
Space to breathe below the guitar
Dual output for guitar and bass

The maker

It all begins with one man, and his hands.

Bruno Bacci, master luthier, in his Tuscan workshop

Bruno Bacci is a Tuscan luthier with a background in metallurgy, woodworking and design. A guitarist first, he became a builder after a hand injury and trained at the violin-making school of Cremona, where Stradivari had worked three centuries earlier.

He does not begin with a shape. He begins with the sound he wants to hear and builds the instrument around it, testing each piece of wood by hand as though in conversation with it. Every Bacci is made individually and is backed for life by Bruno himself.

Played by the musicians that players love

They chose Bacci.

Matteo Mancuso / Tim Lefebvre / Munky / Cory Wong / Mark Lettieri / Michael League / Marcus Miller / Vincen Garcia / Ron Artis / Emma Nolde /

In their words

What players say.

When I play it, I don’t really miss the bass player.

Matteo Mancuso

This is a funk machine. It nails the baritone funk rhythm sound.

Mark Lettieri

Bruno Bacci’s baritone guitars have been inspiring a whole generation of top players, a whole new musical canon.

Jamie Gale, Boutique Guitar Showcase

Good to know

Questions.

Does a baritone work for jazz chord-melody?

Very well. The lower register gives chord-melody its own bass foundation, so a solo arrangement sounds full without accompaniment.

Do extended jazz chords get muddy on a baritone?

Not on a Bacci. The longer scale and careful build keep even dense voicings clear and defined.

Which jazz players use the Bacci baritone?

Matteo Mancuso, widely called one of the best guitarists in the world, plays and praises the Bacci baritone.

Can a baritone replace having a bassist?

In many settings, yes. Mancuso said he doesn't miss the bass player, and the Bacci dual output makes guitar-plus-bass from one instrument literal.

Commissions

Crafted for one

Nothing here is in stock, and nothing ever will be.
Every instrument is claimed by one player before the first cut.

01
Reserve

A €1,000 deposit holds your place at the bench and sets the work in motion. It comes off the price in full.
02
Define the sound you need

Woods, pickups, finish, decided one by one, together. The instrument is drawn around you.
03
Play

The balance falls due once the specification is closed. Eight months later, it is in your hands.

Begin your commission Talk to Bruno

Not sure which instrument is yours?
Ask before you commit.

Baritone for modern jazz.
Phrasing in the lower register.