How to Layer a Baritone with Your Standard Guitar

The short answer

How to layer a baritone with your standard guitar.

A baritone is not a second guitar to swap to. It is a second register to write in, and there are three ways to use it.

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.
In the studio, double an octave down
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, split the dual output
A single Bacci Leonardo carries both jobs at once: 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.

The maker

It all begins with one man, and his hands.

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.

His first guitar, a Telecaster he built as a young man, carried no name. He could not write Fender because it was not their instrument. He could not write Bacci because it was not his design either. That is why he began creating instruments that could only be his.

luthier, by hand

∞

lifetime warranty

Live Workshop journal Week of 21 August 2026

On the bench this week: the hollow top of Tosca №06, and a Marlita in Ceruleo being voiced for a player in Tokyo.

Tosca №06 · carving the hollow top
Marlita, Ceruleo · final setup
Officina baritone · Tuscan Red, Velvet

"Today the walnut told me where to stop."Bruno, from the bench

Played by the musicians that players love

They chose Bacci.

Matteo Mancuso / Tim Lefebvre / Munky / Cory Wong / Mark Lettieri / Michael League / Vincen Garcia / Paul Davids / Derek Frank / Matteo Mancuso / Tim Lefebvre / Munky / Cory Wong / Mark Lettieri / Michael League / Vincen Garcia / Paul Davids / Derek Frank /

In their words

What players say.

Put flats on it and it sounds like an old P bass. Put round-wounds on it and there’s a lot of bite.

Michael LeagueSnarky Puppy1.8M views · on the Amrita

The amount of low end and even saturation coming from this bass is insane.

Grigor FrissBass The World18K views · Marlita demo

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

Matteo MancusoGuitaristBest Guitar Solo 2024

This is a funk machine, it nails the baritone funk rhythm sound.

Mark LettieriSnarky Puppy861K views · ‘Naptime’

The precision bass for the modern era. Everything I love about vintage basses, with all the innovation of a modern one.

Marlita ownerVerified reviewCustom build

I’ve never found anything like this. The shape, the sound, the playability, everything is really in the right place.

Nathaniel MurphyGuitaristPlays Orange Circles & Slalom

Bruno’s baritone guitars are inspiring a whole generation of top players, he’s developing a whole new musical canon.

Jamie GaleStrings expertGlobal strings authority

Put flats on it and it sounds like an old P bass. Put round-wounds on it and there’s a lot of bite.

Michael LeagueSnarky Puppy1.8M views · on the Amrita

The amount of low end and even saturation coming from this bass is insane.

Grigor FrissBass The World18K views · Marlita demo

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

Matteo MancusoGuitaristBest Guitar Solo 2024

This is a funk machine, it nails the baritone funk rhythm sound.

Mark LettieriSnarky Puppy861K views · ‘Naptime’

The precision bass for the modern era. Everything I love about vintage basses, with all the innovation of a modern one.

Marlita ownerVerified reviewCustom build

I’ve never found anything like this. The shape, the sound, the playability, everything is really in the right place.

Nathaniel MurphyGuitaristPlays Orange Circles & Slalom

Bruno’s baritone guitars are inspiring a whole generation of top players, he’s developing a whole new musical canon.

Jamie GaleStrings expertGlobal strings authority

Where to play one

Authorised
dealers.

A short, hand picked network of shops keeps Bacci on the wall.
Go and play one in person, or start a custom build directly with Bruno in Tuscany.

Austin Guitar House

Chicago Music Exchange

Eddie’s Guitars

Empire Music

Guitars Etc

Heartbreaker Guitars

Lead Music

Music Store Live

Musikhaus André Louis

Pitbull Audio

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.

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.