June 2003 Folk Legend Doc Folk Legend . - Berkowitz Guitars

000.126 cover1/25/054:34 PMPage 1WIN A TAKAMINE GUITARFresh Guitars and GearJune 2003Folk LegendDocWatsonWith a Transcription of“Rolling in My Sweet Baby’s Arms”Pop SongwriterDavid GrayPatty Larkin’sHome-StudioGemPages ofMusic to Play11Swing SoloingRock Rhythm FillsFlatpicking FavePatty Larkin’s“The Cranes”Tommy Emmanuel’s“Mombasa”The Lowdown onBaritone Guitarswww.acousticguitar.com

094-099.126 shoptalk1/26/0510:16 AMPage 94SHOPTALKAcoustic LongnecksThe lowdown on baritone guitarsBy Teja GerkenA bevy of baritones (from left): MusicYo!’s Avante AV-2, David Berkowitz baritone,Ovation LongNeck DS778, Joe Veillette MK-IV nylon-string, and Alvarez-Yairi YB1.ropping a guitar’s tuning belowstandard is becoming increasingly common in many musicalstyles. Scores of electric players lowertheir pitch by a half step to facilitatestring bending or playing in the flat keysfavored by horn players, and manysinger-songwriters and solo fingerstyleguitarists use alternate tunings that dropstrings by a step or more. However, lowering a string more than a step or twooften results in poor intonation, buzzing,and a floppy feel. The scale length onmost guitars (usually between 24¾ and25½ inches) is designed for standard tuning, and according to luthier Rick Turner,once a string is tuned below its intendedpitch, it becomes inharmonic, resulting inthe effects described above by compromising the flexibility of the string in relation to pitch.D94The logical solution is to increasethe instrument’s scale length.European classical guitar makers have long offered longnecked versions of their nylonstring instruments. With scalelengths of 70–75 cm. (27½–29½ inches), these guitarsare designed to hold downthe low end in classicalensembles. Aria (www.ariausa.com), Spain’s EsteveGuitars (www.fernandezmusic.com), and Germany’s HopfGuitars (www.hopfguitars.com)are among the makers who offer this typeof instrument.In the steel-string world, certain Stella12-strings built in the 1920s (such asthe one played by Leadbelly) featureda longer-than-standard scale length of26.4-inches, but no one seems to havemade any early six-string counterparts.The first modern six-string basseswere offered by Danelectro and Fender inthe late ’50s and early ’60s. With a scalelength of 30 inches, these instrumentswere intended to be tuned E to E, an octave below standard guitar tuning. Designed so that guitarists could play basswithout relearning the fingerboard, the instruments’ twangy bass sound eventuallybecame known as “tic-tac” bass, and it isfound on many recordings of the time.It is unclear when guitarists began torestring six-string basses with lighterstrings to bring them closer to the guitar’srange. But this was the reason luthier JoeVeillette built his first long-scale six-stringduring the period of his partnership withHarvey Citron in the late ’70s. “The firstpiece was a custom instrument for JohnSebastian,” Veillette says. “He was touringand doing solo gigs, but he didn’t want toplay an acoustic. He was using a FenderBass VI. He and a few other people at thetime were using them as baritone guitarsby stringing them with lighter strings.”Veillette’s initial baritones were solid-bodyelectrics. Rick Turner experimented withbaritone acoustics during the mid-’80sby converting Martin and Gibson dreadnoughts and jumbos to baritones. Using anew rebraced top with the bridge movedback and a fingerboard with a longer scale,Turner’s instruments quickly became popular with Los Angeles session players.Many acoustic players were introducedto this kind of instrument during the ’90swhen Martin Simpson began playing aRalph Bown baritone. Preston Reed andAni DiFranco also began using acousticswith longer necks, awakening an increasedinterest in the low-toned breed.Baritone BuildersAlthough they’re not hanging in everyguitar shop, a surprising number of baritone guitars are available. The most widely distributed baritones are made byAlvarez-Yairi (www.alvarezgtr.com) andOvation (www.ovationguitars.com). TheAC OUSTIC G U ITARJ U N E2003

094-099.126 shoptalk1/26/0510:16 AMAlvarez YB1 ( 1,999) is based on a jumbo body but features a 27½-inch scale.Ovation began making its LongNeckmodel with a 28⅓-inch scale in 1994.Featuring Ovation’s usual synthetic bowlback, the LongNeck is currently availableas the DS778 ( 1,899) in the company’sU.S.-made Elite line, and for a while, thecompany also made a less expensive imported version, the DCS247S. The company found that it didn’t need to alter its multisoundhole bracing pattern for the longerscale, and Ovation’s Rick Hall points outthat “the bridge ends up where it would beon a [regular] 12-fret guitar, in the middleof the lower bout,” which is often calledthe “sweet spot” of a guitar’s top.Gibson’s MusicYo! online division(www.musicyo.com) offers an affordableKorean-made instrument, the AvanteBaritone, which was originally designedby Joe Veillette and Michael Tobias andimported by Alvarez during the ’90s. In itslatest incarnation, the Avante features asolid spruce top and a 27¾-inch scale andis available in acoustic (AV-2, 449.99) andacoustic-electric (AV-2E, 519.99) versions.Froggy Bottom (www.froggybottomguitars.com), Goodall (www.goodallguitars.com),and Santa Cruz (www.santacruzguitar.com)are among the small to medium-sized manufacturers offering baritone guitars as partof their standard lines. Froggy Bottom’sModel B Baritone ( 4,300) and Santa Cruz’Bob Brozman signature model ( 4,310)both feature 27-inch scales and are basedon 12-fret body designs. Goodall’s Baritone(starting at 4,195) has a 28-inch scale andcomes in either a slope-shouldered dreadnought or jumbo body size. If you’d like totry a baritone guitar made from space-agematerials, Composite Acoustic’s AT-6( 1,699, www.caguitars.com) is worthchecking out. The carbon-fiber guitar features a 28-inch scale as well as a radical design with two soundholes in the upperbout and a trapeze tailpiece.Baritone pioneers Rick Turner (www.renaissanceguitars.com) and Joe Veillette(www.veilletteguitars.com) are both focusing their attention on acoustic-electricbaritones. Featuring a semi-hollow designand a proprietary pickup system, Turner’sRenaissance line includes six- (starting at 1,880) and 12-string (starting at 2,235)baritone versions (see Gearbox, April2002, for a review of the 12-string). Turnerfeels that players who are switching froma standard guitar will feel right at homewith his baritones’ 27-inch scale.Veillette also uses a semi-hollow bodyfor his acoustic-electric baritones, which include Alvarez’ System 500 preamps andsaddle pickups and are available in six-, 12-,J U N E2003AC OUSTIC G U ITARPage 95and nylon-string versions. Veillette’s models (starting at 2,000) are designed forplayers in a loud rock band, and the baritone’s 27⅔-inch scale keeps the stringsfrom becoming floppy.Many individual luthiers are able tobuild custom baritones for those whoaren’t satisfied with off-the-shelf offerings. Californians Roy McAlister(www.mcalisterguitars.com) and LanceMcCollum (www.mccollumguitars.com);Canadians Linda Manzer (www.manzer.com), William “Grit” Laskin (www.williamlaskin.com), and Marc Beneteau(members.rogers.com/beneteauguitars);and Washington D.C.–based luthier DavidBerkowitz (www.berkowitzguitars.com)are among those who often venture intothe lower register. Manzer has built bothsteel- and nylon-string baritones, and jazzguitarist Pat Metheny uses one of her creations onstage and in the studio.Berkowitz has done more research onthe acoustic baritone than most otherluthiers. “I decided early on in the designprocess that a baritone is a different animal,” he says. “It’s not a bass, and it’s not aguitar.” Accordingly, Berkowitz has invested considerable efforts in the R&D of hisinstruments. Impressed with the bass response of Breedlove guitars, he decided touse the JLD bridge truss system, whichtransfers tension from the top to the instrument’s sides. “What’s nice about thebridge truss is that it takes away some ofthe attack transient, making it more basslike,” he explains. His first baritone wascommissioned by John Jennings, and because Jennings was used to an electricJerry Jones baritone (which is based onthe Danelectro design), Berkowitz chose along 30-inch scale. He has also built baritones with a 28.59-inch scale.Berkowitz has used both spruce andcedar for the tops, and he has strong opinions about the wood used for the baritone’s back and sides. “A lot of people userosewood, but what a good bass needs isgood treble for separation,” he says.“Rosewood has a tendency to reinforce thelow end, and I already get plenty of low endfrom the strings.” His first baritone wasmade with koa back and sides, and he hasalso used walnut, both of which he feelsoffer the clarity necessary for the instruments’ extended range. Manzer feels thata combination of koa and spruce workwell. “This is a great combo to bring outthe warmth of the bass notes and the clarity of the top end of each note,” she says.For a truly different experience,National Reso-Phonic’s baritone version ofthe metal-bodied tricone ( 3,360, www.nationalguitars.com) is certain to make an95

094-099.126 shoptalk1/26/0510:16 AMPage 96impact. In a similarly outlandish vein,French luthier Maurice DuPont (www.acoustic-guitars.com) has made baritoneversions of his Selmer-style instruments.Bari PickersAlthough many players are drawn to thebaritone’s sound once they get a chanceto try one, few have made it their primary instrument. Fingerstylist Preston Reedis a rare exception; he has been touringand recording with his custom OvationLongNeck for years. “The tonal richnessand added sustain encourage the creation of compositions that would nothappen on a normal guitar,” he explains.“For example, when I play ‘First Summerwithout You,’ everyone swears they heara stand-up bass behind it. I would nothave written a tune like that without thelush, long-resonating bass strings.”Celtic guitarist Tony McManus hasused a baritone made by British luthier BillKelday (pages.zoom.co.uk/kelday) on hisown recordings and for occasional sessionwork, such as on Kate Rusby’s Hourglass.Fingerstyle pioneer Alex de Grassi playsa baritone made by Lance McCollum.Although he hasn’t used the guitar a lot inpublic (so far, it’s been reserved for showsclose to his northern California home anda few overdubs on his 2000 releaseTatamonk), he says that he enjoys playingthe instrument immensely. “I like to playslower stuff on it,” he says, which hedemonstrated with a version of the jazzclassic “Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat” at a recentconcert. De Grassi says the guitar’s incredible sustain sometimes requires changes tohis arrangements. “Pieces that I’d play on astandard guitar can be trimmed to usesmaller chords,” he explains.Baritone fever goes beyond the fingerstyle crowd. Singer-songwriter AniDiFranco is perhaps the strongest proponent of acoustic baritones. She owns instruments by Alvarez, Berkowitz, andVeillette. Turner’s baritones have shownup in the capable hands of LindseyBuckingham and Colin Hay (Men atWork), and Veillette counts Steve Millerand Eddie Van Halen among his clients.As McManus and de Grassi havehinted, the studio is an ideal place touse a baritone acoustic. Alvarez’ PaulMeisenzahl says that Alvarez “sells aconsistent number of YB1s each year inrecording centers such as Nashville, LosAngeles, New York, and Chicago. Thebaritone is very useful for creating multiple layers of guitars on recordings.”Rick Hall concurs and says that he’sheard of players who have been hiredspecifically because they provide an96AC OUSTIC G U ITARJ U N E2003