Because of their longer scale, the best baritone guitars can easily reach those low tunings you’ve always wanted to try. While you can occasionally get away with tuning a regular-scale guitar down to the pitch, you will run into any setup issues. On the other hand, Baritone guitars beg to be played in a lower register and will do so effortlessly.

If you try this on a regular guitar, your intonation may be off, and string gauge and playability may be a problem. This is not the case with the best baritone guitars. They’ll typically ship tuned to B-E-A-D-F#-B, a fourth lower than standard tuning, but you can adjust them lower or higher.

Many of the best electric guitar brands and some familiar acoustic guitar names can be found hiding behind these down-tuned beauties. We’re talking about six-string masters like Gretsch, PRS, Squier, and ESP, making arguably the best baritone guitar for metal. Let’s take a closer look at lowriders.

OUR SELECTION OF BEST BARITONE GUITARS

Nothing beats the stunning PRS SE 277 as the best baritone guitar overall, in our opinion, a guitar that amply covers all the bases as a standout baritone electric. The PRS 85/15 “S” humbuckers can handle the heaviest tones while still cleaning up nicely, and they have a coil-tap for single-coil twang if you get tired of splitting the atom with high-gain madness. A good value for money guitar.

The Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone, a retro-cool ax with bags of attitude, comes in a close second. The G5260 will reward you with vintage class and contemporary playability, whether you choose the hard-tail or the licensed Bigsby-equipped model, making it an easy addition to our best baritone guitars bonanza. Gretsch’s Electromatic series offers exceptional value, and this one is no exception. The G5260 has your low end covered for everything except modern metal.

PRODUCT GUIDE FOR THE BEST BARITONE GUITARS

PRS SE 277 Electric Baritone Guitar

The PRS SE 277 is an excellent example of a baritone electric that can be used for metal, following in the footsteps of the Mike Mushok SE model. However, it’s equally at home in more relaxed settings, with your slippers on and the gain turned down, picking through jazz chords, or simply giving your compositions a new range.

This electric baritone guitar is entirely up to you. WHEN TUNED TO B, the PRS SE 277 will lean its slab mahogany and maple veneer shoulder into bruising riff-work and has a 27.7″ scale (hence the name).

That push/pull coil split also allows you to expand the musical potential of the excellent PRS 85/15 S humbuckers. You can add spaghetti western or old-school rock ‘n’ roll twang to your down-tuned chug.

With its impeccable build and finish, perfect balance, classy aesthetic, and reasonable price, the PRS SE 277 makes a strong case for being the best baritone guitar.

Features

• Top wood: Maple; back wood: mahogany
• Neck wood: Maple
• Fretboard wood: rosewood
• Bridge: prs-designed Plate-Style Bridge, string through
• Pickups: 85/15 “S”

Specifications

Brand	PRS Guitars
Color	Fire Red Burst
Top Material Type	Maple
Body Material	Mahogany
Back Material Type	Mahogany
Neck Material Type	Maple
Fretboard Material Type	Rosewood
Guitar Pickup Configuration	H
String Material Type	Nickel Steel
Guitar Bridge System	Adjustable

Also check Best Electric Guitar Cases in 2022.

Reverend Descent HC90 Electric Baritone Guitar

The Reverend Descent HC90 is a very cool modern take on a vintage Fender design that never existed, to begin with. It has a rock ‘n’ roll kitsch vibe with its Jetsons-Esque offset body shape. Still, the hardware – Wilkinson vibrato, pin-locking tuners – the Railhammer Humcutter pickup pairing and clever electronics make it a severe deadly option.

The pickups on the Reverend Descent HC90 Electric Baritone Guitar are wired with standard volume and tone controls and a bass contour control for fine-tuning the low end. You’ll be able to coax all kinds of tones from the Descent, and it’s very approachable for a baritone.

The scale is over an inch longer than a standard Fender, and the roasted maple neck is carved into a comfortable oval C-profile neck that is neither too fat nor too thin. The tone has a classic bolt-on snap but plenty of meat on the bones.

Features

• Double cutaway semi-hollow Korina body, flame maple top
• Rosewood fingerboard, 22 medium Jumbo frets. 12 radius
• Reverend-designed , master volume, tone, bass contour
• Chrome hardware includes Reverend pin-lock tuners, Wilkinson Tremolo Bridge
• Case not included

Specifications

Brand	Reverend
Top Material Type	Maple
Body Material	Rosewood
Back Material Type	Rosewood, Maple Wood
Neck Material Type	Maple
Fretboard Material Type	Rosewood
Guitar Bridge System	Tremolo

Gretsch G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone Guitar

Playing a Gretsch is always a welcome distraction from modern life, and the G5260 Electromatic Jet Baritone Guitar is no exception. It features the classic Jet silhouette, G-Arrow chrome controls, and the option of a V stop-tail or licensed Bigsby vibrato. And yet, this is Gretsch for uncanny valley gigs because there is just so much guitar.

For some, the Gretsch G5260’s nearly 30″ scale length and slab mahogany construction make it a substantial lump of wood to wrap your arms around, but that neck profile is very comfortable. The G5260 is a fun ride once you get used to that extra fretboard runway (it’s like a short-scale bass).

Play it through a small Fender tube combo with plenty of spring reverb, and you’ll be riding the waves of deep surf tone in no time. Dial slapback for a sonorous rock ‘n’ roll voice means that your only fear is that an authority figure will step in and confiscate it—the best baritone guitar for surf rockers, without a doubt.

Features

• Solid body Electric Baritone Guitar with Mahogany Body
• 2 Humbucking Pickups – Imperial Stain
• Laurel Fretboard
• Maple Neck

Specifications

Color Name	Imperial Stain
Top Material Type	Maple Wood, Mahogany Wood
Body Material	Mahogany
Back Material Type	Mahogany Wood
Neck Material Type	Maple
Fretboard Material Type	Laurel
Guitar Pickup Configuration	Humbucker



Squier Paranormal Series Cabronita Baritone Telecaster

The Telecaster has long been a popular choice for the six-string rebel. Still, this low-cost Squier Paranormal Series Cabronita, with its 27″ baritone scale, black finish, and oversized soap bar single-coil pickups, takes it to the next level.

Its appeal stems from the fact that it takes the simplicity and enduring appeal of the Telecaster design – rarely matched, never beaten – and offers a clever variation on a theme. And while the Cabronita baritone guitar is unmistakably cool, everything here is designed with functionality in mind.

Check out the string-through-body bridge design, which features individually adjustable saddles for fine-tuning intonation. Fender pickups do an excellent job articulating the low end without losing detail or mushing out.

You could use this for down-tuned punk and grunge, but through a clean amp with some spring reverb and slapback echo, this is the best baritone guitar if you want a rock ‘n’ roll machine with an almost oceanic depth to its voice.

Features

• Baritone tuning
• Dual Fender-Designed alnico single-coil soapbar pickups
• String-through-body bridge
• 27” scale length
• Chrome hardware

Specifications

Brand	Fender
Color	3-Color Sunburst
Top Material Type	Wood
Body Material	Poplar
Back Material Type	Poplar
Neck Material Type	Maple
Fretboard Material Type	Laurel
Guitar Pickup Configuration	S-S
String Material Type	Nickel
Hand Orientation	Right

ESP LTD Stef Carpenter SC-607

Choose this Stef Carpenter 7-string if your riffs are metal – or metal-adjacent – and you want to encamp them right in the register of the bass guitar for maximum devastation. That is undeniably possible with the ESP LTD Stef Carpenter SC-607.

The Deftones guitarist’s long-running collaboration with ESP has resulted in some of the finest state-of-the-art guitars for low-end riffing, but the SC-607 may take the cake. It has an old-school 1980s look, a seven-in-line headstock, a heavily contoured double-cutaway body, and a thin U-profile neck that balances blazing speed and all-night comfort.

The electronics are of the twenty-first century, with push/pull active-passive modes. These allow you to switch between Modern Active for when you want to leave a crater in the ground while playing and Modern Passive for a more traditional humbucker response, ideal for cleaning things up.

The build quality of the ESP LTD Stef Carpenter SC-607 is excellent, as is the specification. And, even though this is a signature guitar, there are no flashy graphics or flourishes to deter those looking to make this one their own. This is the best baritone guitar for melting faces with massive-sounding riffs.

Features

• Designed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of innovative guitarist Stephen Carpenter’s first ESP Signature guitar
• Handles extremely low tunings, while still maintaining string tension expressive playing and excellent tones
• Offers a comfortable alder body and a three-piece maple neck, with an unadorned ebony fingerboard
• Includes a TonePros locking TOM bridge with string-thru-body design for excellent sustain
• Driven by a pair of versatile Fishman Fluence SRC Signature active pickups, each with multiple voicings
• On the middle alnico pickup, push down for “Modern Active” tone or pull up for “Modern Passive Attack”
• On the bridge ceramic pickup, push down for “Modern Passive Attack” tone or pull up for “Modern Active” voicing
• Hand orientation: Right

Specifications

Brand	ESP
Color	Green Sparkle
Top Material Type	Maple
Body Material	Mahogany
Back Material Type	Alder Wood
Neck Material Type	Maple
Fretboard Material Type	Ebony
Guitar Pickup Configuration	H
String Material Type	Nickel Steel
Hand Orientation	Right

ADVICE ON BUYING THE BEST BARITONE GUITARS

While it remains a niche instrument, the best baritone guitars market provides plenty of options regardless of the style you want to play – they’ve even found favor among metalheads looking to add some cargo to their riffs.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, rock ‘n’ roll and surf rock players used electric baritone guitars to add a more rounded thump to their twang. In contrast, baritone acoustics have been around for a long time.

Consider what you intend to use your baritone for and how much of your budget you want to devote to it when selecting among the best baritone guitars. There are options for every budget, so there is something for everyone. While we resisted the urge to fill our list with electric baritone guitars voiced for high-gain playing, it’s worth noting that this is where the action is in terms of baritone development. ESP/LTD is leading the charge in this area. Indeed, one of its Stef Carpenter Signature Series sluggers had to make our list of the best baritone guitars.