RoUnD-UP RETRo BARITonE Round-up 78 february 2016 TGR276.gear_round.
GEAR Round-up Words: Jonathan Horsley Photography: Olly Curtis Retro baritone round-up Take control of your low-end with three baritone electrics that harken back to a bygone era, when the electric guitar was redefining counry and giving rock ’n’ roll some growl and twang! february 2016 TGR276.gear_round.
RoUnD-UP RETRo BARITonE Round-up FIRST popularised in the mid-1950s, the baritone muscles in on the bassist’s tonal fiefdom, and as a result has a reputation as a specialist’s instrument. In truth, it’s as versatile as any of its six-stringed kin. In country, the ‘tic-tac’ baritone bassline fast became a means of exorcising post-divorce angst.
GEAR Round-up HAGSTROM VIKING DELUXE BARITONE £699 The rumble for your jungle FIRST impressions of Hagstrom’s demure semi-hollow Viking are that it’s a straight jazz and rock ’n’ roller, and that’s certainly half-true. The P-90-esque P-Urified single coil in the neck has enough teeth to bite through those low frequencies and articulate jazzy chords with a fair degree of separation, while with a breaking-up amp, the Viking can handle bluesy rock ’n’ roll as easily as warm, sonorous jazz tones.
RoUnD-UP RETRo BARITonE Round-up VeRDiCt THE DANELECTRO ’56 is a character that resists mass market appeal, and is sure to appeal to those raised on Dick Dale, Duane Eddy or Mudhoney alike. The Hagstrom Viking Deluxe, meanwhile, really surprised us with its raucous and animalistic appetite for lashings and lashings of gain.
