If you're going to have 2 baris and already have 1 mahogany, I'd recommend getting a spruce top for the second. You can always alternate which one is high-d and which one is linear.
As far as I can tell (they're the only kinds I've played), a hog bari sounds more like a mini classical guitar, while a spruce bari sounds a tiny bit more like a mini steel-string guitar.
If you do look into a spruce bari, I'd go for either the Kala one with mahogany sides (or the maple, if you can even find that one anymore... I'm pretty sure Kala stopped making it) or the Oscar Schmidt one with rosewood sides.
Depends on how much you're looking to spend I guess.
I love my Kamaka baritone, best uke I ever bought.
I like it so much that I might actually get the same model as a second baritone, but tune it GCEA with a low G.
I'm in discussions with a luthier, looking at a spruce top/ mahogany (ish) back and sides but also interested in a spruce top/cherry back and sides. These are two very different sounding instruments and I'm now really unsure where to go, (other than I don't just want another mahogany top back and sides or I'd buy another Pono.)
Part of me is worried that the spruce/hog will sound too much like a guitar, though that's subjective. The spruce/cherry would be a bit of a leap of faith as I have not heard anything bigger than a tenor in these woods but what I have sounds wonderful, with clear, well balanced tone.
My first baritone was a solid mahogany Ohana BK-35 (now available in this thread in the UU Marketplace). My second baritone was a Pono solid mahogany, which I intended to be an upgrade. My third was a Kamaka baritone, again meant as an upgrade. My fourth was a Mya-Moe myrtle, which I bought with the intention of getting a somewhat brighter sound (myrtle soundboard) without going all the way to spruce. I have a Mya-Moe six-string mahogany baritone on order, but I like 13down's suggestion of going all the way to bright with a spruce top to contrast with the baritone you already have. Unless you're completely in love with the mahogany sound and want both baritones to sound similar except for the octave of the D string.
I do like mds' approach . Like him, I'm in line for a mya moe.
I think it's important to 'pair' the instrument with the music you intend to play. I really like the woody tone of my Martin baritone for old swing standards. It's also super easy to play.
I ordered the Mya Moe because of the somewhat brighter tonal balance mya moe usually have. It will definitely be different than the Martin.
When I play with our small group, I want a baritone with a pickup.
Just my random thoughts on the question. I'm glad to see another baritone enthusiast.
Giannini only made 'em one way...all solid wood mahogany. One is DGBE. The other is linear GCEA.
Is it just known by everyone, so it doesn't seem to ever be listed as a variable in how an instrument sounds, that WHERE any ukulele is strummed or plucked changes the sound quality noticeably?
Is it just known by everyone, so it doesn't seem to ever be listed as a variable in how an instrument sounds, that WHERE any ukulele is strummed or plucked changes the sound quality noticeably?
My ukes sound different in my living room than they do in my bedroom.
If you mean where along the strings an ukulele is strummed or plucked, I've read that the sweet spot of an ukulele is above the soundhole, at the fretboard just below where it hits the body. That's supposed to be the halfway point between the nut and the saddle.
I do like mds' approach . Like him, I'm in line for a mya moe.
I think it's important to 'pair' the instrument with the music you intend to play. I really like the woody tone of my Martin baritone for old swing standards. It's also super easy to play.
I ordered the Mya Moe because of the somewhat brighter tonal balance mya moe usually have. It will definitely be different than the Martin.
When I play with our small group, I want a baritone with a pickup.
Just my random thoughts on the question. I'm glad to see another baritone enthusiast.
Yep, have certain types of music in mind for each instrument, keep the hog for now for the local uke group - jazz standards, hawaiian stuff and just strumming alon. The second bari is going to be aimed more at finger picking, blues, folk (all varieties) and other stuff that comes up. This of course may well be subject to change as I fin out what suits them both best, including linear or re-entrant strings and different tunings.
I thought I had settled on spruce/mahogany then listened to a few and felt hat those in particular sounded very guitar like and I might as well have ordered a parlour guitar instead. I want a uke though which is why I started to look at alternatives and the spruce top/ cherry body was suggested by a few people - bright but with koa sweetness was the term used by one person. As I said earlier though, I have only listened to this in tenor scale but what a sound!
My ukes sound different in my living room than they do in my bedroom.
If you mean where along the strings an ukulele is strummed or plucked, I've read that the sweet spot of an ukulele is above the soundhole, at the fretboard just below where it hits the body. That's supposed to be the halfway point between the nut and the saddle.
I think the sweetspot differs for each individual instrument slightly and certainly for different scales. When I first picked up the baritone I was surprised to discover it was suggested to strum at the 12th fret (Lil Rev book). I do find that this produces the fullest, sweetest note on mine but I can get a whole different range of ones by moving back further down the fretboard.
It's also a bit of a nuisance when playing fingerstyle as you want to strum chords at the 12th fret but then I find I need to finger pick over the soundhole for "nail space". Makes for a lot of unnecessary movement with my beginners fingers.
. Like him, I'm in line for a mya moe. 
