Jaguar Baritone Custom Strings

[iodine74]

Looking to replacing my strings on my Jaguar Baritone Custom.  What guages are you guys using?  Just the Bass VI set? 

I bought mine used.  It's currently tuned A-A.  I'd love to go down to E-E to get that full bass range, and give me reason to let go my Squier P-Bass Deluxe.... but I've heard the complaints of the buzz.

[artie]

i bought the fender set when i tried out E-E because i think that most other ones i found were lighter gauges and i didn't want to go lighter. i wasn't too impressed with the way it sounded, however i do LOVE the tone tunes A-A and to my ears it sounds best at this tuning. i use .015 - .080 La Bellas for the A-A which seem to die pretty quick but i love the gauge and haven't found another brand that makes the same size. though they do sound great when they're new and i usually change me strings every two weeks or so anyway.

[PJPJ]

Looking to replacing my strings on my Jaguar Baritone Custom.  What guages are you guys using?  Just the Bass VI set? 

I bought mine used.  It's currently tuned A-A.  I'd love to go down to E-E to get that full bass range, and give me reason to let go my Squier P-Bass Deluxe.... but I've heard the complaints of the buzz.

My case is special as I fitted mine with a Les Trem tailpiece (drop in replacement) which required some enlargement of the low E and A strings.  I wanted the strings to fit more snugly in the slots so I first tried the D'Addario set for Bass VI which did that job (the ball ends are smaller than the Fender Bass VI set) but then found a supplier for the official Jag Baritone Custom strings.  These are the same gauge as the Bass VI set but they have smaller ball ends and windings that thin out at the right place to fit into the tuner wells on the headstock.  These are the best fit and sound as good as the Fender Bass VI set.  The D'Addarios are on the dull side tonewise.

The E-E setup of the Jag Baritone takes some work and patience.  Pleasantly, the neck adjustment is  by allen key at the headstock so you don't have to take the neck off every time you adjust it. With string height just keep in mind that the higher you go the more you slacken the strings so it's a balance between height and tension which is up to you and your playing style.

I use mine as a light bass (though the tone on the bass circuit is pretty convincingly bassy) and a big twangy baritone (think the Twin Peaks theme) so my touch is light and bends are almost always left to the trem.  With strings of the E-E gauge you are going to have to allow a string height comparable to a bass even if you use it more like a guitar. It might look too high but it will work.

I should point out here that I also play a P-Bass strung with 105 Chromes on a vintage radius fretboard and am used to some string clearance, anyway.

PJPJ

[kalipigeon]

Ernie ball strings have a bass VI set that I've not tried, but are the same as the fender ones.  I'll probably try them when it comes time to replace my set again, as I prefer their purple slinkies to fender strings of the same gauge.  If I recall they're under a weird name, not guitar or bass, but some other category on their website.

Here's a link to the page of the manufacturer... They look like a passable option to me.

http://www.ernieball.com/products/categ ... ound# 
They're the second to last "bass guitar" strings, and the baritone ones are right next to them.

[PJPJ]

Thank you kalipigeon,

I didn't know these existed.  I'll have to give them a go.

While I'm at it I'll add one note about the D'Addario Bass VI set.  The low E is very flubby and usually takes a bit more string height.  The Fender Jag baritone set's low E is a lot tighter.

I *am* interested in the EBs, though.

PJ

[Johnophean]

So does anyone know where we can get Jaguar Baritone Bass VI Custom strings now? ...the ones with the small ball ends.
I'm in need of a new set and haven't been able to find them. I used to have a hookup at Fender to get them but not anymore since 2007ish.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanx!

[boss302bass]

D'Addario make a Bass VI set with small balls...and at 24-84 gauge they are great on a Bass VI with all the bass you need for E to E bass range tuning - and being a touch lighter than the other 25-95 gauges they actually give you a little more playing room on the fretboard. They would work better than a 25-95 gauge on your Jag Bari. These are XL 156's. They also make a great baritone set (XL 157's) which are 14-68 and would be perfect for your A to A baritone tuning on a Jag bari Custom. I use them on one of my Bass VI's and also on my Jag conversion baritone and they are brilliant.
The Jag bari Custom has a 28 5/8" scale and I found when I bought mine in LA in 05 that it just didn't cope with E to E bass tuning, no matter what I did to set it up...in the end I had it playing nicely in G to G but that makes it hard for anyone else trying to read your fretboard in a jam session! Eventually sold it and moved onto Bass VI's...

[dc]

They also make a great baritone set (XL 157's) which are 14-68 and would be perfect for your A to A baritone tuning on a Jag bari Custom. I use them on one of my Bass VI's and also on my Jag conversion baritone and they are brilliant.

i use this very set, but tune my Jag Bari B-B. i should try A-A at some point, but am enjoying the sound and feel of this arrangement -

[Johnophean]

Yeah I would love to have a Bass VI for the E-e and then make the Jag Baritone G-g or G#-g# for the same tension reasons.
I actually used the Jag Bass VI Custom alot on my album (in E-e) Mostly for leads, so I can't switch tuning just yet.

Here's a link to my new album if your intrigued to hear some Jaguar Baritone Bass VI Custom on record and how I use it.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-ki ... d433733290" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One of the sites you can listen to the songs for free here -
http://music.napster.com/johnny-ronci-m ... ist_header" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It's everywhere
The songs I used it in are -
Sweet Bitter, Blackholes, Cool As You, Venom and The Kiss of Life and Death.
(pm for details, but if you know the Bass VI sound then I'm sure you'll know)

Thanks alot for the advice, please do check it out and lemme know what ya think. =)

[MrShake]

I'd like to grave dig this eight year old thread to see if anybody could offer some 2019 advice on the matter.

I have a lovely Jaguar Baritone Custom. I play it all the time. The strings are originals. They suck. And they're roundwounds. I adore this instrument, but the string noise and slight floppiness of the beat-to-hell low E string keep me from being able to really utilize it onstage and on recording in the way I want. And I recently joined a band it would be perfect for.

For a long time, I put off buying the special La Bella set made for this particular model (28.5" hardtail six-string bass, a shorter Bass VI, despite the name. Not the later-released black/chrome model of actual baritone).

Some heavier strings (I've tried) are too fat to get through either the tailpiece and the current Bass VI-specific strings are a bit too heavy to fit into the tuner peghole.

Are there any current manufacturers that do (or could) offer a set of suitable flatwound strings for this weirdly-shaped beast? I'd be happy to slap a set on for another 15 years, buy one other as a backup, and play with abandon - if I could just find ONE six-pack that works.

[windmill]

Mine came with a couple of sets of

D'Addario XL 156

.024 -.084

as mentioned in one of the above posts.

Like you I haven't had to change strings yet.

HTH

[Drewbertca]

I'd like to grave dig this eight year old thread to see if anybody could offer some 2019 advice on the matter.

I have a lovely Jaguar Baritone Custom. I play it all the time. The strings are originals. They suck. And they're roundwounds. I adore this instrument, but the string noise and slight floppiness of the beat-to-hell low E string keep me from being able to really utilize it onstage and on recording in the way I want. And I recently joined a band it would be perfect for.

For a long time, I put off buying the special La Bella set made for this particular model (28.5" hardtail six-string bass, a shorter Bass VI, despite the name. Not the later-released black/chrome model of actual baritone).

Some heavier strings (I've tried) are too fat to get through either the tailpiece and the current Bass VI-specific strings are a bit too heavy to fit into the tuner peghole.

Are there any current manufacturers that do (or could) offer a set of suitable flatwound strings for this weirdly-shaped beast? I'd be happy to slap a set on for another 15 years, buy one other as a backup, and play with abandon - if I could just find ONE six-pack that works.

Labella Custom Sets. Just tell them it's for the Baritone Custom when ordering.

Nickel - http://www.labella.com/strings/category ... ickel-set/
Stainless - http://www.labella.com/strings/category ... steel-set/

They changed their site since the last time I checked, but they used to have options for the 30" Vi the Schecter Hellcat Vi And The Jag Baritone Custom since all 3 have subtle differences in scale length.