I played a Guitarron today!

[Carlo Tanori]

Here's a place in East Los Angeles, California that makes them:

http://www.candelas.com/mariachi-guitarron.php

Carlo

 

[Haunter112]

What can you play on a guitarron?

Root-five stuff... two-beats, waltzes, shuffles, etc.

Guitarrons work quite well in bluegrass, country, and folk.

Check this group out:



The guitarron player is off-camera but you can hear him.

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Still waiting on that review of the $350 Lucida Guitarron... anyone?





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[Dogbertday]

What can you play on a guitarron?

Root-five stuff... two-beats, waltzes, shuffles, etc.

Guitarrons work quite well in bluegrass, country, and folk.

That just sounds like you're daring me to play one in a metal band.. or a jazz trio...

If I got one i'd probably use it for busking with a guitar friend or two and play jazz, folk, blues, simple acoustic funk stuff, etc.

 

[Haunter112]

A guitarron in a metal band?

Dude. that would be epic!

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Guitarrons are louder than most DBs and more portable too.

Perfect for busking or strolling gigs!

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Still waiting on that review of the $350 Lucida Guitarron... anyone?








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[Eilif]

How many note positions (ghost fretlines) per string does a guitarron has?

Although playing fretless is the must favourite thing for me, I'm actually GASsing for a traditional classic guitar.

What do you you guys (longing for a guitarron) actually want to play on that instrument?
It is a cool concept of an instrument though, I admit.

I don't recall how many frets a Guitarron has. It's a very short 28" scale, but it still can't have more than 11 or 12 "fretts". It's really more geared for cross string playing rather than hight register playing.

I want one for:
-playing acoustic gigs (folk, country, rock),
-Playing "electric" with my country band with a pickup or microphone, to get an upright sound on old-school stuff without having to lug my DB around
-For playing with friends in the living room or by the campfire, where all but the loudest AGB's get lost when you have two guitars strumming.

 

[Dave R]

Holy thread resurrection!

I just had to bring this back because I'm gassing for a guitarron, and this video really pushed me over the top. (Thanks, Haunter 112) "Devil Went Down to Georgia" featuring guitarron. The guitarron player is off camera except for the corner of his axe. But the licks he pays at 1:30 and the sound of his axe have me totally stoked!

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=6068614

 

[Hoover]

My college roommate owned a Bajo Sexto, which, as far as I can tell is the only instrument more ridiculous than a Guitarron. What is it with mariachi bass players, they all want to have the biggest, ugliest, hardest-to-play instrument?

 

[Uncle Ernie]

Bajo Sextos are not used in Mariachi Bands, they are for Norteño Music.

Mariachis typically have a Guitarron, a Guitar (nylon strings) and a Vihuela, a small, 5 string guitar tuned like the top 5 strings in the regular guitar and strummed very quickly, yielding an almost percusive sound. Violins and trumpets complete the band. They are originally from Jalisco (around Guadalajara) in the western part of Mexico.

Norteño bands typically have a Bajo Sexto, which has 12 strings, an accordion and a snare drum, with some variations. Their music is similar to polkas and texan music, and is frequently in the form of "corridos", tales of folk heroes. "Narco-corridos" are the latest incarnation, telling the story of a drug trafficker, frequently under a favorable light.

 

[Hoover]

Bajo Sextos are not used in Mariachi Bands, they are for Norteño Music.

Cool, I did not know that! Mea culpa. Thanks for the excellent musicology mini-lesson.

 

[Jack Clark]

Guitarróns are fretless, of course, and the very short fingerboard stops at the body, and you get only 7 fret positions. The action is PAINFULLY high.

I have a "jazz guitarron," by which I mean it has been altered. A new nut to hold entirely different strings: A custom made low E1 String, so it is tuned EADGCF--i.e., in fourths all the way across. The fingerboard now extends over the body almost to the sound hole, so that I have a full octave on each string. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, the new fingerboard sits on top of the original and its thickness is tapered so that the action is about half as high as originally. I can actually play the thing painlessly now. The modifications were done by luthier Alex Watson (www.watsonguitars.net) and the custom strings came from Guadalupe Custom Strings (Link Removed).

I also added an endpin, so I play from a chair, very much like a cellist, except with no arco, of course. It's pretty strange, but its a gas!

 

[2453_m]

I will be in Cancun on vacation in a few weeks. I will definately be looking for a guittaron.

Can't wait to see the wife's face when I try to bring one home on the plane!

im a guitarron player ive been playing for a year and something and let me just tell you the best one ive played was a Morales

 

[Jack Clark]

I will be in Cancun on vacation in a few weeks. I will definately be looking for a guittaron.

Can't wait to see the wife's face when I try to bring one home on the plane!

I'm betting you didn't! Either that or (1) you bought a third seat ticket just for the guitarrón, or (2) you bought a hard shell case for it so it could survive the cargo compartment and luggage handling, or (3) it arrived home in pieces.

I'm hoping for (1) or (2), of course.

 

[tim bucknall]

Still waiting on that review of the $350 Lucida Guitarron... anyone?
...

they're amazing, one of the few times i get complemented on my tone.
wish i'd heard of them years ago i'd never have bought an abg

 

[TolerancEJ]

Guitarrons look like a lot of fun and they really aren't very expensive. This item has been in my MF wishlist for awhile.

I've actually begun a new thread about other basses that look fun to play. http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9248576

 

[LowB-ing]

Guitarróns are fretless, of course, and the very short fingerboard stops at the body, and you get only 7 fret positions. The action is PAINFULLY high.

I have a "jazz guitarron," by which I mean it has been altered. A new nut to hold entirely different strings: A custom made low E1 String, so it is tuned EADGCF--i.e., in fourths all the way across. The fingerboard now extends over the body almost to the sound hole, so that I have a full octave on each string. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, the new fingerboard sits on top of the original and its thickness is tapered so that the action is about half as high as originally. I can actually play the thing painlessly now. The modifications were done by luthier Alex Watson (www.watsonguitars.net) and the custom strings came from Guadalupe Custom Strings (Link Removed).

I also added an endpin, so I play from a chair, very much like a cellist, except with no arco, of course. It's pretty strange, but its a gas!

Another Guitarrón modder!

I got a Guitarrón back in '97 for the purpose of modding it into a ABG, since I was very unimpressed by the acoustic volume and tone of commercially available ABGs. I had Michael Dolan put on a custom made 36' scale 5-string neck and a custom 5 string bridge. It's a wonderful instrument. Tone and volume beyond any other ABG that I've tried. Even the low B sounds good.

 

[bassgod76]

Why doesn’t any company make a bass, with Guitarron dimensions? I’d love to have an ABG, with a giant body