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A Guide to Baritone Strings

6/23/2016

11 Comments

 
When it comes to tone, guitarists have a tendency to geek out on types of wood, pickups, amps, and pedals, all while ignoring the first link in the chain of tone: the strings. Check out our guide to baritone strings to go from uninformed user to discerning consumer in just a few paragraphs.
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Strings impact your baritone's tone through three major factors: material, type of winding, and gauge. However, for most makes of baritone strings, gauge options are limited. Winding options are also limited: You can pretty much only get roundwound baritone strings. Thus, we will focus on materials.
Materials:

To make things simple, we will analyze materials based on brightness versus warmth of tone, attack (or bite), and longevity (resistance to wear and grime). We've also opted to focus only on materials used in major commercially-available baritone strings.


  • Nickel Plated or Nickle Wound Steel:
    • Bright versus warm tone: Balanced
    • Attack/bite: higher than pure nickel, less than phosphorous bronze
    • Longevity: average
    • Example sets:
      • D'Addario EXL 157 Medium Electric Baritone: $7.95
      • D'Addario EXL 158 Light Electric Baritone: $8.99
      • Ernie Ball 2839 Baritone Slinky, Electric: $7.86
      • Fender B250 Medium Electric Baritone: $8.99
  • Phosphorous Bronze
    • Brighter tone
    • Attack/Bite: Strong attack/bite
    • Longevity: average
    • Note: phosphorous bronze strings will typically be denser than strings of a similar gauge but different material. As a result, the string tension will be higher.
    • Example sets:
      • Martin MSP7700 Lifespan Phosphorous Bronze Baritone: $13.85
  • Polymer-coated
    • Polymer-coated strings will exhibit some of the characteristics of the material underneath the coating, but with the following added characteristics.
    • reduced sustain/attack
    • corrosion-resistant - increases longevity
    • reduced finger noise
    • Example sets (Acoustic Phosphorous Bronze):
      • Elixir Nanoweb Baritone Electric Strings: $9.99
Our Baritone Guitar.Org Picks:

For acoustics, the
Martin MSP7700 Lifespan Phosphorous Bronze Baritone: $13.85 strings take our top honors.  The brightness typical of phosphorous bronze strings seems to be slightly subdued by the string coating. The result is a great tone and and a great feel.

For electrics, D'Addario takes top honors, with their
D'Addario EXL 158 Light Electric Baritone: $8.99 being an intriguing option for standard electric players who want an easier transition between baritone and standard instruments.
We'd love to hear from you.

We hope you have found this crash course in baritone strings interesting and informative. If you are just getting started in your exploration of all things baritone, check out our start here page. You can also jump to our complete listing of acoustic baritone reviews and our complete listing of electric baritone reviews.

As always, please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section and please feel free to share this article with a friend.

11 Comments
Jeanne link
10/7/2016 12:04:32 pm

Hi Matt, We just released the Tremonti Baritone today. How about including it in your list? Thanks buddy!

Reply
matt@baritoneguitar.org
10/9/2016 10:44:39 pm

Jeanne,

I just checked out the specs on the Tremonti Baritone. It looks beautiful. I love that you and the folks down at PRS have it set up with an unwound G string, so as to make it a more lead friendly instrument.

Reply
Clint link
4/7/2019 06:27:58 am

Hi there...I just finished building my first baritone acoustic guitar ( floating jazz bridge style)..I ordered a set of D'addario EXP23 s...my neck is 28.5" scale...I found the string tention to be so tight that its uncomfortable to play, plus it feels like the neck could snap off from the tention...any suggestions for me...lighter gauge strings?

Reply
Matt link
8/15/2020 07:12:53 am

Sorry for the late reply here. Just to check, did you build your baritone with a baritone specific neck? I am assuming so based on the scale. next, you might try using the D'Addario EXL 158 Light Electric Baritone - these strings are lighter and should have less tension.

Reply
Graham Pearse
9/15/2019 01:14:45 pm

HI

I am about to build a 28 and 5/8" scale Baritone Telecaster. I am concerned finding strings long enough to reach the tuning pegs . Is that an issue? I want to go with nothing heavier than 13-72s .

I would appreciate any input you can offer.

Thanks

Graham

Reply
Matt link
8/15/2020 07:16:51 am

Sorry for the late reply. I would go with the D'Addario EXL 158 Light Electric Baritone. The packaging on these sets indicate that they fit a 29.25 scale length guitar - so your tel shouldn't be an issue.

Reply
Dave Morrison
8/2/2020 11:34:34 am

Gretsch Jet baritone, and I love it, but I'm having a hard time finding strings long enough for the long scale of the instrument. I wrote to Gretsch to see what they put on it at the factory and they said D'Addario NPS .14 - .68. All the sets I've purchased aren't wound at the tuner end. Any thoughts? thanks!

Reply
Matt link
8/15/2020 07:21:48 am

So, the Gretsch Jet has a scale length of 29.75. Which is one of the longer baritone electrics out there. D'addario says on the back of their packages that the test strings on 29.75 scale length guitar. So, in theory, that should work. The absence of winding at the string end might be a pain, but as long as the string is wound when it crosses the nut, I don't think it would impact sound or playability. What have you found? How is it working.

Reply
Bobbi link
11/26/2020 08:43:05 pm

Great reading youur post

Reply
MAURO AGOSTO
12/18/2020 12:12:28 pm

Hi, I have a baritone electric guitar with a very long neck.
The E cantino, from the bridge to the key of the headstock must be longer than 102 cm (40,16 inches)
No brand says how long the strings are, I would like to ask if you know any strings that will fit my guitar.
Thanks
Mauro

Reply
Anastasios
1/18/2023 01:06:33 am

Hi from Greece.
Please help because no other does.
If i buy a bariton acoustic can i replace the phosphor bronze strings with nickel plated steel wrapped around a hex shaped steel core wire that Ernie Ball Slinky 6-String w/ small ball end 29 5/8 scale Bass Guitar Strings - 20-90 Gauge have ?Will it work? The guitar has a magnetic pick up not a piezo. But i am anxious about the string tension.The guitar is Ibanez AE275BT-LGS and has Scale: 685.70 mm. The strings of Ernie ball have 29 & 5/8 scale. Is that a problem? And the sound will it be ok? I wanna do this because the Ernie Ball strings have factory tuning E-A-D-G-B-E one octave below a standard guitar. So my intention is to have a bass that has standard tuning of a guitar because i need bass sound.

Reply



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    Matt is a musician, educator, and baritone guitar enthusiast living in Washington state.

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  • Baritone Guitar Buyers Guide
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  • Blog
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  • New to Baritone? Start Here