WTB Nice baritone (preferably cedar or redwood)

Hi everyone,

I really want to get back into baritone; however, this time I want to go big or go home. I've tried a handful of baritones in the past and never been 100% happy with the sound, so I think I have a pretty good idea of what I'm looking for this time. I'm looking for a dark, rich tone, so I want to avoid spruce. I'd like to find either a cedar or redwood top (even though I've never seen one!). If I had more cash I'd probably get a Koolau, but... I don't have the money to go THAT big. Please let me know if you are looking to sell! Thanks...

I'm not looking to sell, but I absolutely love my Mainland baritone, which is red cedar top and rosewood back and sides. It has sustain for days, and a lovely loud warm voice. Lots of sound samples on my youtubes (see my sig below.)

I got a second from Mike for under $300.

wondering what your upper limit budget is Nat...sent you a PM anyway

Of the instruments I have , koa,spruce,cedar, mahog, I would rate the mahog as the tone you are looking for. I am not selling, just giving my input so you will a happy buyer. there is a reason that Martin and Gibson [I have their bari] made mostly solid mahog ukes. it works. lovely.loud.warm voices.I love cedar and spruce, but I would say they're brighter, and cedar tends to loud. Recently got a Pono MB, and am very happy with it.good looker too

Hi all, thanks for the ideas and recommendations. I feel like an idiot-- I think that I honestly just need to suck it up and learn guitar. I've been watching baritone videos all day and am not finding the sound I want. Guitar, on the other hand, has exactly the range I want for some of the song styles I want to try. Sigh... I'm going to the dark side.

No No Nat...Get a vintage martin baritone....no dark side girl....

Any ideas where I can find one Stan? (I'm seeing the light)

Natalie, not to nudge you to the dark side or anything, but have you considered getting a tenor guitar, which has four strings and can be tuned DGBE? Your current situation sounds a lot like something I went through a while ago. I wanted something less plinky and more guitar-like than even a baritone ukulele, and I came across the Blueridge BR-40T (solid top, laminate back and sides; you can also get the all solid Blueridge BR-60T). Tenor guitars are typically tuned like tenor banjos (CGDA), the instrument from which they evolved, but it can be tuned in what tenor guitarists call guitar or Chicago (DGBE) tuning, like a baritone ukulele. (I personally think it has a richer voice in DGBE tuning than it does in traditional tenor guitar tuning, but other people have disagreed.) My tenor guitar has a typical guitar body, but the scale is only a bit bigger than that of a baritone ukulele, and it's very playable. It has steel strings and a thinner neck than a baritone ukulele, and both of those took some getting used to, but I love playing it. Here's Jamie Boss, the guy I bought mine from at Hot Strings Guitar in Connecticut, talking about tenor guitars and demonstrating the Blueridge BR-40T in traditional tenor guitar tuning.




Here's a thread about tenor guitars from the Guitar board.
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?60703-tenor-guitar

I've been looking into getting a baritone that would give a contrast to my Pono mahogany which I love and was considering spruce top/hog back and sides for a bit more punch to the sound.

I was beginning to find that stuff was sounding more and more guitar-like to my ears (and people said well, spruce hog is a common guitar combination) eg the top of the range Pono spruce/mahogany baritone, so I have gone the other way in search of greater plink as I felt that if I wanted the guitar sound I may as well get a four string tenor guitar.

That said other people discussing spruce/hog combos feel that they can still give a distinct ukulele sound, you just got to play them and see what they do to your ears. Maybe you could see if you could get a factory second or reconditioned Pono MHBSSC. They do a Cerda top rosewood body but I have no idea what that retails at.

Good luck with your shopping!

Hi again folks, well I ended up ultimately buying a guitar and, so far, it's been a very happy journey. I found one that fits my hands better than ones I've tried in the past, and I'm playing so much that my fingers are close to bleeding every night.

So I'm going to close this thread, because my search is over. Thanks to all who provided recommendations!