Choosing a (baritone) guitar for stoner rock

Question

I would like to buy a baritone guitar, but I can't figure out a way to choose the 'best' (with a 700e budget approx),also I am not sure if its a good idea to purchase one. If I could try such guitars it would be easier, but there are so few shops with baritone guitars here. Let me first explain you what I want to do, why I planned to buy a baritone and then I will mention a few models I found.

A baritone guitar for what ?

I would like to play stoner rock, generally rock with Fuzz, Disto . I like to play Metallica, Muse and songs in drop D or lower special tunings (For example : C F B♭ E♭ G C). I found that baritone guitars are very interesting for such a genre ,they also seem quite versatile. So my mindset is 'why not'. I'm sure I'll be able to benefit from the lower register but I don't want to be trapped inside a genre, if such a thing exists. So do you think a baritone guitar is a good idea ?

Any advice as to which guitar I should buy (if you think i should) ?

So is this question a no-brainer ? Is it all the same ? I identified a few models which might interest me, but I can't tell which is good or bad :

1. A Danelectro with lipstick microphones
2. A Gretsch with Humbucker like mics.
3. A PRS SE 277 with Humbucker

Anything else ?

Maybe it's about the amp ? The effects ? The microphones ? Something I missed ? In fact I already have a very bad guitar (150€ Bullet squier strat). Otherwise I have a Boss Katana 50 amp with built-in effects, no so bad. No pedal effects. I think I am limited by my guitar, so first I think that getting a nice guitar is priority, but maybe not ? I'm okay with spending 600-700€ in a new guitar, as far as it implies a real positive change. But if with a lower budget there is a reasonable option let me know.

Answer 1

As it seems to me, you do not know yet which kinds of guitars are right for you. There are a lot of questions to answer here: Which pickups do you want? Which neck profile do you prefer? Can you comfortably play a guitar with a high weight? Plus a lot more that may become important over time.

That said, I believe it is essential for you to go and try some guitars. This may also answer your question if you really need a new guitar. Take a day off and visit a large music store. Alternatively, you may look for an online store that allows to return the guitars (I guess you live in France? You should find some shops that offer free return there). If you try different guitars, pay close attention to how it feels for you to play it. Do you feel comfortable? Is it possible for you to completely relax when playing? This is especially important given the larger scale length of a baritone guitar. The sound of the guitar is also important, but it is definitely second to the handling. The sound can always be changed by swapping pickups for example. Also, your playing will improve over time.

You want to play Stoner Rock. I'm not an expert on Stoner Rock bands (I wouldn't label the bands you named as Stoner Rock, however) but I think that guitars of the type of a Les Paul or SG are most common in that genre. So I would look for a guitar that is similar to those guitars, for example Humbucker pickups and mahogany body. That rules out the Danelectro guitar that is equipped with Single Coils. The other two have different scale lengths. With a longer scale length, the string tension increases which you usually counteract by a lower tuning. Drop D works perfectly well on guitars with common scale lengths and is probably not that comfortable to play with a baritone guitar. Hence, if your preferred tuning is Drop D, you might find yourself playing more with your old guitar instead of your baritone guitar.

As a different approach, you might look at the equipment of your favorite bands. Of course, you do not need to buy the exactly same guitars. Just look at the general properties of their guitars and try to find a guitar in your budget range that matches these specifications as closely as possible. If you find many baritone guitars there, a baritone guitar might be the guitar for you. If you do not find any, chances are that a baritone guitar won't make you happy.