“For me, seven-strings are uncomfortable to play and I don’t find them aesthetically pleasing. They just don’t look sexy to me!” Fusion virtuoso Matteo Mancuso on why he prefers baritones to seven-string guitars

Matteo Mancuso has quickly emerged as one of the brightest rising stars of the jazz fusion world. His latest track, Paul Position, is a tasty menagerie of genres, ranging from country swing to prog rock, and everything in between.

Aside from his obvious talent, this track's centerpiece is the six-string Bacci baritone that Mancuso employs for tonal beefiness, because he actively wanted to avoid playing a seven-string.

“Back when I was making my album, I was looking for a guitar that could cover the lower range for rhythms and riffs, like a seven-string,” he says in an upcoming Guitar World interview. “But seven-strings feel really strange, for me they are uncomfortable to play and I don’t find them to be aesthetically pleasing. They just don’t look sexy to me!”

Despite being a Yamaha endorsee, he quickly realised that the brand isn't currently in the business of making baritone guitars. Therefore, the Sicilian guitarist had to look elsewhere, and Tuscany-based luthier Bruno Bacci turned out to be the perfect fit.

Bacci specializes in high-end baritones, making him exactly what Mancuso was looking for – especially given he thinks baris sound better than seven-strings, too.

Matteo Mancuso - Paul Position (Original) - YouTube

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“To my ears, a sixth string tuned down to B sounds better than the low B of a seven-string,” he adds. “The chords sounded more even and I just prefer what I hear. They’re also easier to play, basically, baritones are regular guitars tuned one-fourth down. For chordal work, it’s much easier than having to deal with an extra string. That was the start for me.

“As for Bacci, it worked out well because Yamaha doesn’t make baritones, so it wouldn’t clash with that relationship. Some people have been asking if I’ve left Yamaha, but that’s not true. Bacci will be just for baritones. My regular guitars will always be Yamaha.”

Guitar World's full interview with Matteo Mancuso will be published next month.