With 25 years of guitar building experience and a profound understanding of the underlying physics, Oliver Baron designed the Modell 1 hollowbody guitar.

A new approach to creating the most natural and expressive electrified guitar sound, blending old and new into something really special.

With their compact size and easy playability, Baron guitars are sophisticated and sensitive instruments as well as powerful and versatile tools. Little works of art which spark creativity and also get the job done.

„Your guitar is just incredible. I can’t get my hands off it – such an inspiring instrument.“ – Gilad Hekselman

TONE

A big, broadband sound with strong bass, smoky, wooden mids and brilliant but never harsh top end. The Baron Modell 1 merges seemingly incompatible characteristics: warmth and transparency, chordal cohesion and string separation, fast response and harmonious sustain. Dynamic, sensitive and nuanced, but also powerful and flexible. In short: a wonderfully expressive sound beyond all clichés.

BODY

The body is made of very light and resonant okumé, which has been carefully selected and thoroughly seasoned over many years.

A select piece of solid high grade wood is milled out in a very distinctive pattern to create a super light and resonant base. The combination with different top woods fine tunes the body’s tonal characteristics to the desired variation.

While the classic spruce top creates the most sensitive and broad band tone, harder woods like maple or walnut allow for a slightly thicker and more compact sound.

NECK

The Baron neck is a one-piece construction, made of lightweight okumé and premium old-stock ebony. The combination of these very distinctive woods results in a perfect blend of desirable characteristics. The traditional one-way trussrod is chosen for it’s low weight and time-tested functionality.

The neck-body joint is extremely solid to produce a clean and even decay of all notes throughout the whole fretboard. The rounded heel design makes access to the highest frets easy, without compromising the guitar’s classic silhouette.

The neck profile is a carefully sculpted medium c shape. Everybody, who likes a good ’59 profile should feel right at home on the Baron neck.

In additon to the standard scale of 625 mm (24 2/3“), there is a 600 mm (23 2/3“) short scale version available. It makes playing complex cord voicings a lot easier and, due to the reduced string tension, creates a slightly softer, silkier tone with bell-like attack. A beautiful and very musical sound.

„Unbelievable!“ – Pat Metheny

BRIDGE

The wraparound bridge is precision machined from a single piece of bell brass to couple strings and body in the best way possible. No adjustable saddles means no unwanted resonance of individual parts and therefore no loss of energy from string to body. It is the wood’s tonal characteristics and quality which dominate the sound, not the shortcomings of the hardware.

With an optional second bridge for use with a wound g-string, and the two rearward adjustment screws, good intonation across the fretboard is guaranteed.

PICKUPS & CONTROLS

The Baron CC pickups are specifically developed to complement Modell 1 and 2. Each pickup is handmade, using the finest materials like glass-fiber-reinforced polymer, ferritic stainless steel, and AlNiCo-magnets.

They are based on the legendary Charlie Christian pickup from the 1930s and translate the guitar’s complex tone unlike any other construction. The resulting sounds range from warm jazz tones to crisp country twang and gritty blues-rock.

The high-end and midrange response is set with the 4-way rotary character switch, while the overall volume is controlled with the master potentiometer. In conjunction with the 3-way pickup-selector, the pickups offers a wide variety of excellent sounds, without any active electronics or batteries.

FINISH

All Baron guitars (from S/N 30 on) are finished with a specially formulated hardwax oil. The application is an elaborate process, done entirely by hand over the course of several weeks. The result is a natural look and feel with a silky sheen, complementing the polished ebony parts used for pickups and controls.

Over the years, the surfaces will develop a nice patina for a „feel at home“ vintage look. If desired, refurbishing the guitar to a pristine look is no problem.

„What you have made is a master tool and it is inspiring!“ – Julian Lage

DETAILS

  • body: solid okumé, hollow, 35 cm (13.8″) wide
  • top: 4,5 mm solid spruce, mahagoni, maple, walnut and others
  • binding & arm rest: ebony
  • neck: okumé one-piece, ebony headstock veneer
  • fretboard: ebony with 12“-radius, routed curved fret slots
  • neck profile: c-shape
  • neck thickness: 1st fret – 12th fret approx. 21,5 mm (0.85″) – 24,0 mm (0.95″)
  • neck width: nut 42,5 mm (1.67″) – 22nd fret 55 mm (2.17″)
  • scales: 600 mm (23.6″) oder 625 mm (24.6″)
  • fretwire: nickel silver 18%, medium 2,5 mm (0.1″) wide / 1,1 mm (0.043″) tall
  • nut: bone
  • side dots: 2 mm genuine silver
  • bridge: ABM wraparound bridge brass
  • pickups: Baron CC hand wound single coils
  • controls: all ebony, master volume pot, 4-way rotating character switch, 3-way pickup-switch
  • finish: special hardwax oil formula (older guitars: nitro-cellulose)
  • weight: 2,5 – 2,9 kg
  • including: case, certificate, small tool case and cleaning cloth
  • price: from 6,900,- Euro (incl. 19% VAT)