for those of you who own and play baritones...
i have one guitar now, which i keep in standard E. so if i am interesting in getting a second to play around with bottom-heavy shit like grind, should i get a baritone? i read that they have a longer scale. will practicing between a standard and a baritone fuck up my playing ability on either or both guitars? obviously i would be playing different stuff on each. doesn't it seem like most artists favor drop-tuned standards instead of baritones?

Doubt it will fuck up your playing ability,id say it would increase it?Consider a 70-string if you only want a low b,and you can keep the rest in Standard.

A baritone's main function is to facilitate lower tunings by making lower voiced chords more articulate.

In other words, it makes low tunings NOT sound like sludge....which is a good thing. Don't know if you listen to Meshuggah...but just as an example...they tune to F, and they play on 30" scale 8 string guitars. I'm pretty sure you could achieve the same thing on a 30" scale 6 string....but I guess they feel they have to be cooler than that.

Aside from all that, your playing ability should be fine....I go from 7 string to 6 string all the time with no problem...a baritone is just a longer neck...

I think the average baritone scale is 27" or 27.5" ....just don't quote me on that.
My homie has a schecter 7 string with a 26" scale...so its about a "half" baritone....if you will. IT sounds and plays great though.

Also, if you have a baritone, it kinda removes the need for really heavy strings. A .70 for B tuning on a baritone will play pretty tight I think....unless thats what you are into....its all up to you in the end. Just make sure you play one before you make the plunge.

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The neck on a 70-string would be kinda wide i think

a 70-string? i would call that a piano

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thanks for the info. if anyone else has input, keep it coming. i thought about a 7-string, but i would also like to be able to play stuff like Carcass or At The Gates. so i'm looking more into a guitar that can be entirely tuned down, not just one low string.

That doesnt make any sense to me at all, do you know what a 7-string can do? No disrespect

none taken, dude. if i don't, help me out. here is how i see it: if a 7-string is in regular E on the 6 normal strings plus a low B string up top, then the G has to be pushed back to F# to play B-tuned stuff from the 7th down to the 2nd string. so if i want to ignore that low B and play some normal shit in E, then my G is down to F# and i have to remember to fret one place up on that string every time, or keep on tuning it accordingly. (i hope this makes sense..)

A 7-string is tuned to B standard, so theres no need to tune anything to play something in B. And your G isnt in F# it is a normal G on a 7-string. A 7-string in standard tuning is B E A D G B E

yes, but most B-tuned grind bands or gothenburg type bands tune BEADF#B on 6-strings. so, on a 7-string, having the low B would be great, but i would have to constantly tweak that G string down half a step to play the lower stuff and back up to play standard tuned stuff. then again, i guess that's only half a step on one string.. that definitely beats tuning them all.

Take off the first string. :P

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Now, this is all personal opinion but:

If you buy a standard scale 7 string you are not solving the point of your initial worries.
I used to use 2 Jacksons (now sold but thats another story), one with a 24.75 scale neck and the other with 25.5 scale neck. One tuned to AEADF#B the other BEADGB. And even with .014 guage string sets there was a certain amount lacking. Same when I became interested in purchasing a 7 string.

People seem to forget that the majority of 7 strings are not extended scale guitars. Infact, there are only 2 guitars to my knowledge that are 7 string extended scale length in production for the western world (LTD SC607B, LGM Leviathan 7 w/custom option). And really, without the neck, you still lack the "power" on the low B.
An exception to the point would be Schecter, the BlackJack C7 and Damien 7EX both have an extended scale, but, .5' really isn't enough to suffice in my opinion and can hardly be classed as "baritone" considering a select few stock Fenders are issued with 25.8, i.e, its merely a design point that doesn't do much.

Now, to the original paragraph.
When I compared my Jacksons to a baritone (I can't remember the model) necked guitar the difference was shocking. There is a much tighter feel, e.g feel of playing in E standard on a standard 6 string but sounding like low A.
I'm a dunce at theory so excuse terminology.

It adds to the comfort of the instrument when tuned low from my perspective yet retains the "normal" feeling.
Very much so an investment if you intend to stay down low.

As for alot of guitarists not using them, well, it lies in preference.

^ thanks for the insight. yeah i was interested in the Blackjack C7, so at some point i'm gonna go out to a store and try to compare it to a baritone. i've only been playing a few years, so i feel like having an extra string might mess me up. if i keep my current guitar in E, and get a baritone to play in B, that would probably be easier for me. i'll just have to go try some shit out. thanks.

Bah, an extra string doesn't screw up your playing at all, I've had my 7 for about a year now and it has never affected my 6 string playing, it's almost exactly the same, just a wider neck (which I find a lot more comfortable dispite having small hands) and slightly bigger scales which are easy to work out anyway, the extra string will not screw up your playing at all. I love 7's because you can get the low chugging and high soloing abilities but especially if you're a rythm player or don't solo then the baritone is good, tighter strings give a tighter sound. If going for a 7 string i'd definately try to get a baritone style one, for the reason previously mentioned, you can get them from ESP (for a pretty big price), i'm not sure if any other companies make them.

I didnt really see that big of a difference on a baritone compared to a 7-string. But if your into downtuning you just cant beat that 7-string sound.