How to Layer a Baritone with Your Standard Guitar

The short answer

How to layer a baritone with your standard guitar.

The rule is separation, not competition. Let the baritone hold the low foundation, the riff or the root movement, and keep the standard guitar in its own register on top. When the two parts occupy different octaves they reinforce each other instead of clashing.

In the studio, double a part an octave or a fifth down on the baritone to add weight and depth without muddying the mix, exactly the trick session players use to make a chorus feel three feet wider. Pan them apart and the arrangement opens up.

Live, a single Bacci Leonardo can carry both jobs at once: split its dual output, guitar to one amp and bass to another, and one player becomes the low end and the top end at the same time, from one neck. No switching instruments mid-song.

Two ways to layer

In the studio

Double the riff an octave down
Pan baritone and guitar apart
Use the baritone for the chorus lift
Keep one clean, one saturated

On stage

Split the dual output to two amps
Baritone holds the low, guitar sings on top
Blend both voices for signature width
One player, a whole band's range

Which Bacci

Built for it, in Tuscany.

Leonardo

The dual-output baritone. Guitar and bass, two independent outputs from one neck.

The Dual Output Story →

Officina

The signature solid-body baritone, played by Cory Wong, Mark Lettieri and Munky.

Explore Officina →

Art of Nature

Tonal-chamber and semi-hollow baritones in solid Italian tonewoods.

Explore Art of Nature →

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

The sound

Watch it. Hear it played.

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Good to know

Questions.

Should the baritone and guitar play the same part?

Often yes, an octave apart. Doubling a line across registers is the fastest way to make it sound bigger without clutter.

Will a baritone clash with my bass player?

Not if you separate registers. With a Bacci dual output you can even cover guitar and bass yourself, which is why some players say they don't miss the bassist.

How do I keep the low end from getting muddy?

Give each instrument its own octave, tune with a longer scale for clarity, and pan parts apart in a mix.

Can one instrument do both jobs?

Yes. The Bacci Leonardo's two independent outputs let one player deliver guitar and bass simultaneously, live and in the studio.

Keep reading

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.

How to layer a baritone
with your standard guitar.