The 6 Best Baritone Guitars of 2027 for Every Budget: Surf, Sludge, and Stoner!
The longer the neck, the hard they hit!
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The Five Best Baritone Guitars for Every Budget: Surf, Sludge and Stoner! · Source: PRS
Baritone guitars are becoming increasingly popular for their extreme down tunings without additional strings or a wobbly feel. In this buying guide, we explain why the long scale is popular not just in modern metal but also in many other genres. We’ll also look at the key features you need to pay attention to when researching the best baritone guitars for you. Get ready to battle your bass player!
Our Picks:
How did we get here?
The baritones are as old as the modern electric guitar. In the 1950s, Danelectro developed a baritone model for rock ‘n’ roll guitarist Duane Eddy, and many other manufacturers followed suit.
Later on, the baritone guitar gained wider recognition with the success of the Beach Boys and surf rock. By the late 1980s, competition for lower tuning began with the rise of heavy metal, and a new group of musicians embraced longer scale lengths.
Bariton Guitars vs. 7- and 8-Strings
A baritone guitar has the advantage of being easy to play, even when tuned very low, because of its extended scale length. While 7- and 8-string guitars add extra low strings, baritone guitars have longer necks to ensure stable playability.
Unlike 7- or 8-string guitars, most of the best baritone guitars are tuned differently compared to standard guitar intervals. Their six strings are often tuned a fourth (B-E-A-D-F♯-B) or a fifth (A-D-G-C-E-A) lower than the standard guitar tuning.
The Best Baritone Guitars for Surfrock and Jazz
With classic, more tame pickups, conservative electronics, and proven wood combinations, these candidates in our baritone guitar selection offer tried-and-true technology alongside a long scale.
Harley Benton JA-Baritone: One of the Best Baritone Guitars for Beginners
The JA Baritone from Harley Benton is perfect for anyone dipping their toe into baritone guitars.
Its offset body, finished in an elegant opaque black, is reminiscent of Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars. And the solid poplar wood adds an extra warm, deep tone to the mix. Harley Benton opted for a maple neck with a C profile, while the purpleheart fretboard features classic block inlays.
With a scale length of 27″, the JA Baritone is exactly 114 mm longer than typical Jazzmaster models (648 mm).
The Harley Benton JA-Baritone is one of the best baritone guitars for beginners, and it’s available from Thomann*.
Gretsch EMTC JET Baritone
The EMTC JET Baritone embodies everything we love about Gretsch: pure rock ‘n’ roll, timeless design. It comes with a single-cut mahogany body, a maple top and bolt-on neck, and a rosewood fretboard. This axe can sing!
With a massive scale length of 29.75″, this guitar invites you to experiment with low tunings and surf rock shenanigans. The two PureVolt Twin Six humbuckers deliver a beautifully fat, warm sound without being too ‘hot’ and work flawlessly from jazz to stoner rock.
The Gretsch Electromatic Jet Baritone is another very affordable contender for the best baritone guitars for beginners, and it’s available from Thomann* and Sweetwater*.
Squier Tele Custom Baritone
A Telecaster as a baritone guitar? Why, yes! The Squier Tele Custom Baritone proves the flexibility of the late Leo Fender’s legendary design.
This Tele’s nyatoh body boasts the classic Fender Custom look. The Tele’s neck has a comfortable C profile and is made of maple, and the 22 narrow-tall frets sit on a beautifully grained laurel fingerboard.
The Squier Tele Custom Baritone’s fat sound comes from two Fender-designed Alnico single coils routed through the guitar’s bridge. Nickel hardware, a bone saddle, and chrome barrel string retainers give this Tele a nice visual appeal!
The Squier Tele Custom Baritone is available from Thomann* and Sweetwater*.
The Best Baritone Guitars for Metal and Doom
Baritone guitars have become an indispensable part of modern metal. Ultra-deep tunings make these riffs sound extremely brutal and aggressive. However, to achieve this, these models need high-output pickups and maximum tuning stability.
Harley Benton Amarok-BT
Harley Benton’s Amarok series targets more demanding guitar players, and they have packed a range of impressive features into this package, including EMG pickups, stainless steel frets (jumbo, of course), an ebony fretboard, and a reversed headstock.
The mahogany body with maple top has a pleasant curve and surrounds the five-strip maple-mahogany neck. You’re not misreading; this is indeed a genuine neck-through construction!
And with a scale length of 27″, the Amarok Baritone is easy to handle; plus, the two EMG pickups deliver plenty of output.
The Harley Benton Amarok-BT is available from Thomann*.
Sterling by Music Man StingRay Baritone
It’s astonishing just how far we’ve come with Sterling by Music Man releases. Ernie Ball has been churning out one great release after another on their budget line of guitars. So, when a baritone model comes up, it has to go on this list.
Here, Sterling pairs a StingRay body with a massive 27.5″ inch neck made of roasted maple. And, of course, it ships with EB strings, Slinky Baritone that is, tuned to B standard.
Overall, this is a prime example of “tradition meets modern”. Not only does it combine the StingRay body with the baritone neck. This model also combines two modern-sounding ceramic humbuckers with a vintage tremolo. So, you get to play metal AND surf rock with it!
The Sterling by Music Man StingRay Baritone is available from Thomann* and Sweetwater*.
ESP LTD EC-1000 Baritone
Even your neighbor’s grandmother knows by now that ESP can build metal guitars. However, not as many people are aware that baritone guitars are also part of the Japanese luxury manufacturer’s portfolio.
The LTD EC-1000 Baritone is a no-nonsense guitar with many of the features that make ESP so revered in metal: Fishman Fluence humbuckers, a mahogany body, a mahogany neck with a Macassar ebony fretboard, and LTD locking tuners.
With a 27″ scale length and 24 stainless-steel extra jumbo frets, the LTD EC-1000 Baritone is a joy to play.
The ESP LTD EC-1000 Baritone is one of the best baritone guitars on the market. It is available from Thomann* and Sweetwater*.
The Best Baritone Guitars — Conclusion
A baritone guitar is a must-have for any decent guitar collection, whether you play fusion, surf rock, or doom metal.
Its ability to play extreme tunings without the need for additional strings is extremely practical. Because who wants to relearn all the scales and chord shapes?
This guide is based on Jan Rotring’s purchase advisor, first published on Gearnews.de, translated and rewritten by Julian Schmauch.
*Disclaimer: This purchase advisor on the best baritone guitars contains affiliate links and/or widgets. When you buy a product via our affiliate partner, we receive a small commission that helps support what we do. Don’t worry, you pay the same price. Thanks for your support!
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2 responses to “The 6 Best Baritone Guitars of 2027 for Every Budget: Surf, Sludge, and Stoner!”
and where’s the Reverend Descent W?
Jesus…
Yeah, my thought bubble all the way through the article. Descent W should be on this list.