A Great Time to be a Baritone Player

pdxuke

pdxuke

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I love my sopranos. I LOVE MY SOPRANOS.

My Martin tenor is nifty. fun fun fun.

But, I have discovered the Baritone, and it's like putting on some old, comfortable jeans.

It's a really wonderful time to be a Barry player. There are some nice, inexpensive modern instruments.

And for guys like me, a vintage collector, it's a superb time to collect. In the last month I've purchased two vintage solid wood ukes for the price of laminate modern ukes. Incredible.

I've heard it said that the Barry is the least popular uke out there. Good news for we Baritone lovers.

I'm having a blast.
 
But how do you really feel about it, Thom? :biglaugh:
 
Last edited:
coolkayaker1 said:
What type of music you playing on the baris?

I find that, because of the looong sustain, a slow burning blues number is best. Malted Milk by Robert Johnson I'm working on now, that sort of dealio. You?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYw1IWFilq4
Click to expand...

I'm jazzing up some standards, playing up the fretboard on numbers like PAPER MOON. But I want to work thru the GLEN ROSE method. Looks really fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE6dmFSTDSc
http://www.jazzyukulele.com
 
I larned Girl From Ipanema from Glen's video. I must have stopped and started that thing a million times. lol. I'd buy Jazzy Uke, but it's no longer in print--just digital. I like printed tab books.

Cool, Jazzy Baritone with Thom. I can see it now.
 
Recently I've started thinking about getting a bari.... just because I've like the sound for some sorts of songs on other peoples videos. Been checking them out on the net. As you say, jazzy stuff - and folky finger-picking.....
 
Check out this tasty vintage barry.
http://www.stellaguitars.com/Stella_baritone_uke.htm
You don't hear much about Stella ukes. They don't seem to have the same nostalgia as their guitars and there may not be too many out there. No denying that is one cool fret board!
FYI - Neil is always willing to deal so there is likely a bit of room in his price. I have no association with the shop, but used to drool over his guitars and know a lot of people who have picked up old Stellas from him. The were always happy with the work that had been done in them.
 
Wow, that's sweet looking, j. Thanks or posting it.

The seller really ought to take more photos, like Gryphon Strings does. I can't even see the crack they speak of.


jwieties said:
Check out this tasty vintage barry.
http://www.stellaguitars.com/Stella_baritone_uke.htm
You don't hear much about Stella ukes. They don't seem to have the same nostalgia as their guitars and there may not be too many out there. No denying that is one cool fret board!
FYI - Neil is always willing to deal so there is likely a bit of room in his price. I have no association with the shop, but used to drool over his guitars and know a lot of people who have picked up old Stellas from him. The were always happy with the work that had been done in them.
Click to expand...
 
jwieties said:
Check out this tasty vintage barry.
http://www.stellaguitars.com/Stella_baritone_uke.htm
You don't hear much about Stella ukes. They don't seem to have the same nostalgia as their guitars and there may not be too many out there. No denying that is one cool fret board!
FYI - Neil is always willing to deal so there is likely a bit of room in his price. I have no association with the shop, but used to drool over his guitars and know a lot of people who have picked up old Stellas from him. The were always happy with the work that had been done in them.
Click to expand...

If this is a barry, it upsets the traditional timeline as to the invention of these instruments, which is usually attributed to a much later date.
Could this be a tenor guitar?
 
Hmmmm. Certainly could be a tenor guitar. However Neil Harpe has literally wrote the book on vintage Stella instruments. I've also seen him list tenor guitars, so I doubt it is a mistake, but I personally have no idea. Neil is always open to a call and would be happy to answer any questions.
 
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If you want to really hear killer baritone, tune it dGBe Put a d string on 1 and 4 and pull 1 up to to e an octave below what it is as E. If you like the blues, this is the way to string it. It is a natural for ska/raggae also
 
TheCraftedCow said:
If you want to really hear killer baritone, tune it dGBe Put a d string on 1 and 4 and pull 1 up to to e an octave below what it is as E. If you like the blues, this is the way to string it. It is a natural for ska/raggae also
Click to expand...

hmmmm, I might have to give that a shot one day... :)
 
I received my wife's grandfather's baritone ukulele from her grandmother after he passed away. I cleaned it up and put some new strings on it and I really enjoy it. It is a Hikare model CU-58, designed in Hawaii, made in Japan. I would guess it is from the 1950's. If you would like a sample...
http://youtu.be/WBMBGlRtmA0

It is tuned DGBE. I started out playing guitar a looooooooong time ago, so I get that comfortable jeans analogy, but since I play ukulele pretty much exclusively, it is more comfortable to me than my guitars, guitars seem too cramped now!
 
Hi D all the way. I got a Harmony baritone for sale if anyone is interested by the way - I'll be listing it here soon. Mike
 
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