Baritone, for the groove.
Bacci GuitarsPescia, Tuscany
Search for the best baritone guitars and almost every list points the same way: down-tuned, high-gain, built for metal. It is a real use, but it has quietly hidden the baritone's other life, the one lived in funk and fusion, where the instrument is about feel and register rather than brutality.
The players who have made the baritone exciting lately come from exactly that world. Mark Lettieri of Snarky Puppy built an entire project, The Baritone Sessions, around it. Cory Wong and the Fearless Flyers put a baritone at the centre of their funk. This article is the buying guide that crowd actually needs.
We will cover why a baritone suits groove playing, what to look for, and the instruments, including Bacci's own, built for it.
Funk is built from the bottom up. The magic is in the pocket, the tight, syncopated conversation between a guitar's chank and the bass underneath. A baritone moves the guitar closer to that bottom, so the same rhythmic playing lands with more weight and sits nearer the groove.
Fusion wants range and clarity. A baritone gives chords a fuller, darker body and single-note lines a vocal, cello-like weight, while a longer scale keeps everything defined so complex harmony does not turn to mud. You get a new colour without losing articulation.
For groove, not every baritone is equal. Four things make the difference.
A longer scale keeps the low strings tight, so funk rhythm playing stays punchy instead of loose.
You want body without mud, so chords and single notes stay articulate in a mix.
Groove is about repetition and feel, so the neck and setup have to be effortless for syncopated parts.
A dual output lets one player hold a bass line and a chordal part at once, the ultimate groove machine.
The Bacci Leonardo is a handmade baritone built for groove, with an optional dedicated bass voice. Handbuilt to order in Tuscany.
You do not have to take the theory on faith. Mark Lettieri's baritone work has been seen millions of times and reframed what the instrument is for. Cory Wong bought one of the first Bacci baritones and built Fearless Flyers tracks around it. Matteo Mancuso reaches for a baritone over a seven string for the feel.
The common thread is that none of them is playing metal. They are playing groove, melody and harmony in a deeper register, which is exactly the case this guide is about.
The Bacci Leonardo is a handmade baritone designed around exactly this music. A long scale keeps the low strings tight and funky, the voicing is warm without being woolly, and the optional dual output lets a single player hold down a bass line and a chordal part at once, the ultimate groove tool.
It is also built to order, so the scale, strings and finish are chosen for the way you play. For a funk or fusion player, that is the difference between a baritone that is a novelty and one that becomes your main voice.
Yes. A baritone moves a guitar's rhythmic playing into a deeper register that sits closer to the groove, which is why funk players like Cory Wong and Mark Lettieri use them. The longer scale keeps the chank tight rather than loose.
Mark Lettieri built The Baritone Sessions on a baritone, and Cory Wong plays a Bacci Leonardo baritone with the Fearless Flyers. These are instruments chosen for feel and clarity rather than metal-style down-tuning.
A scale long enough to keep the low strings tight, a warm but defined voice, comfortable playability for rhythmic parts, and build quality that holds its setup. For funk, articulation matters more than maximum output.
B standard is the common starting point, keeping standard guitar shapes a fourth lower. Many players also explore A standard for an even deeper pocket. The right choice depends on the keys you play in.
With a dual-output baritone like the Bacci Leonardo, yes. The guitar voice holds the chank while the dedicated bass voice carries the bottom, so a single player can lock a whole groove, live or on two tracks.
Bacci baritones are handmade to order in the high-boutique tier. The exact price depends on model and specification and is confirmed when you begin a commission.
Handmade to order in Tuscany, with a long scale for the pocket and an optional dedicated bass voice. The baritone Cory Wong and the funk crowd reach for.
Every Bacci is designed, built, voiced and set up by Bruno, one at a time, in Pescia.