Great information, thank you for that. No need to apologize for the crappy mics either, but please cut the ragtime stuff in the background and let us hear the guitarron.
Hi! I'm primarily a bassist though I play Guitar and Mandolin as well, mostly in a Rock/Metal setting. Sometimes I work in few octave/power chords into my bass playing having been exposed to quite a few bassists who do such. I've always been fascinated with the Guitarron having seen it played and performed in a few different places around town. I knew it was a bass instrument and I just struggled to wrap my mind around it when seeing it. That being said, thanks a ton for making this video! Though I haven't had the change to try and play a Guitarron myself this video has me wanting to try and give it a go some time! Thank you for your detailed explanations about the history of the instrument and how it works. Hopefully when COVID-19 eases up I'll try to look for someone in my area to sit down with the instrument! Much love from Denver, CO, USA!
I should also mention that aside from the Rock/Metal stuff I play in a Russian group that does both 1980s Soviet Rock and some traditional Russian Swing music as well.
Hi Brandon! Thank you for your kind words! The Guitarron is such a fun instrument to play! I’ll be uploading a new videos with the notes on the instrument and some recording exercises as well as sheet music for anyone that wants to learn the instrument.
Thank you for your generous sharing of your guitarron knowledge and playing! You are a patient and serious teacher. Please do more! Levanta la musica de Mexico para todo mundo!
*Thank you so much* for this! I've been telling folks how cool these things are ever since hearing one up close (in the shared entry space of a 2-room event venue, before a friend's wedding reception in the other room) a couple decades ago. All the quality info here, delivered with such obvious love for the instrument, is precisely what I most appreciate in YT music-gear videos. *¡Perfecto!*
This is by far my favorite acoustic bass (besides a full size standup). The guitarron has a punchy sound that you just can't get from the smaller acoustic basses. I think part of that comes from the technique of playing octaves which make each note much bigger sounding than single string playing.
I love this series so much, my childhood favorite local restaurant was a Mexican joint ran by this dude named Victor (me and my friends still shout "HEY VICTOR!" Whenever we see him) and when I was little they used to have live Mariachi and I just loved it as a kid. I've been getting more and more into Mariachi music, and anything south of the border tbh, and this is a really helpful guide because I've also been thinking about picking up an instrument. Right now my favorite is still the Vihuela, but the Guitarron is such a close second after I get to intermediate status on the Vihuela I'll probably pick up the big chungus that is the Guitarron.
This was the instrument Randy Meisner used for the bassline on the Eagles' "New Kid in Town." There was supposed to have been an upright bass (AKA bass fiddle, bull fiddle, contrabass, double bass or string bass) part on this, but Meisner didn't know how to play that kind of bass.
Thank you for the informative video! I'm learning guitarron and having a blast. I would, however, like to mention that the background music is very distracting for a person with autism or audio processing disorder.
Hi Jose, That happens a lot with older guitarrones. The reason for that is that the tension of the strings pulls on the bridge which ends up warping the wood overtime. It’s not necessarily bad as long as you don’t mind and it doesn’t affect the action of the Guitarron.
I love Mariachi!!! My family and I have always made it a point to go to our favorite local Mexican restaurant on Friday nights when the band is there. Growing up I was raised on all kinds of traditional Americana and roots music namely bluegrass, country, and western. These genres share many techniques with Mariachi from what I’ve always observed. So I really would like to start a Mariachi band of my own which leads me to my two main questions 1) what are the bare minimal instruments to start? Guitar, Fiddle, Trumpet, Bass, and accordion? Which I have friends who play these instruments that are interested. 2) I play the upright bass which I’ve seen used in mariachi bands before so would that be sufficient to get the low end bass tones? If anyone can answer these questions that would be spectacular!! I’ll keep checking back and once we have a demo recorded I’ll post it on you then post the exact link on this page! Should be entertaining a bunch of white hillbillly country and western players playing Mariachi hahaha LOL!! God Bless and thank you ahead of time. -sincerely- T. Everett Sullivan
Hi Mr. Sullivan! Although the instrumentation of the melodic instruments can vary and is up for discussion, one unquestionable element of mariachi is that it MUST have a vihuela and a Guitarron (not the upright bass), since those are the ones that give mariachi it’s distinct sound
I have a question. I was thinking about building a 4 string bass instrument. I have this thing for making homemade instruments. Like, cbg guitars. But I wanted this to be audible acoustically. Stand up bass is out. Too much tension. I could use acoustic bass strings but I'd rather not have that sound. Plus it's going to be fretless. And I can't use electric bass strings. I'd need to use a magnetic pickup for that. I looked into theorbo strings but those are very expensive. How are these tension wise? Because they basically have the sound I'm looking for. You said they were like steel strings and I thought they were nylon. Do they put a lot of tension on the neck? Is it nylon wrapped in metal or are they metal core? Thanks.
What would you recommend as a guitarron for a complete beginner? Not that i expect there to be a Yamaha Guitarron, but all i have been able to find on the Internet have been luthiers that make expensive custom guitarrons.
Personally I’m Not a fan of wide straps because I have huge muscle knots on my trapezius but I’m going to try and make a thin one from suede. Thank you for the recommendation!
Are you looking to purchase a Guitarron? If so, you can go to our store. We sell have multiple brands and prices. If you’re looking for something else, please let me know.
What's the usual scale length of a guitarron? I've seen them for sale but that detail is always missing and when buying a guitar it's one of the first things you'd look for.
Thats why I had to stop playing it after 2 decades. I never had a teacher teach me the correct technique and developed muscle knots. The I show in the video is actually very comfortable and doesn't hurt at all but I'm too tired from playing it for so long. Do you play the bass?
Muy interesante, peri, why on earth would you have The Sting playing In the background?! We’re you thinking Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and their escape to Mexico?
It could be many many things. The groves on the nut could be worn out, you could have a hariline crack that you haven’t noticed on the instrumento, the machinery could be loose...
This looks hard, but I cant even really play guitar, or any string instrument. But just doing reasearch for instruments and instrumentation. Still cool
But you play sax and a bunch of other instruments? Guitar, I don't want to say it's easy. Nothing worthwhile is easy. But you can get pretty far on guitar just by picking up licks from your friends or watching UA-cam videos. There comes a point at which you need to start practicing and really pushing yourself if you want to get better but if it's something you really want to do, you can do it. Plus, you can get a decent guitar for peanuts these days. Just don't spend less than around a hundred dollars for your first one. You don't want to spend too much on your first if you don't know if you'll stick with it. But you don't want to spend too little either. If the intonation isn't good or it's not comfortable to play, you won't learn because you won't sound good.
That's bad ass. I want one. Do you suggest a particular brand at an affordable price, say up to $500? There's some beauties out there but damn blood...
Unfortunately you won’t be able to find anything of good quality in that price. We offer them starting at around $800 for the Fermata brand and we also offer Sevillano on our website
@MariachiClothingCompany Oh Hey!!!! Thanks for the little lesson!!! I don't exactly play Guitaron Myself 😅 My Girlfriend does!! "We're both in a Marachi Band" But I think it's really cool you made this video!!! Really well made and instructive 😅😆
A note to animal lovers from a music historian: traditional "catgut" strings or "catlines" were not made from the intestines of cats, but of sheep. This was true throughout Europe and the Americas. I can't comment specifically on Mexican practices, though. No animals were slaughtered just to make strings.
So, I know very little about these instruments except what you told me. So take this however you want. But from what I understand, gut strings for musical instruments like violins were not actually made from real catgut. It's apocryphal. They generally used sheep. At least that's the story I heard.
Interesting presentation, but why in the world was there that ragtime piano distracting away in the background the whole time? It should be deleted. We're tuning in to hear the presenter and the guitarrón. I have yet to understand why people think that having music in the background enhances a spoken presentation.
I like ragtime 😅 and a bit part of it is that there is no music that we have the rights to that we can use. But fret not, we will be recording those songs in mariachi to use for background music and intro
@@MariachiClothingCompany it all make sense, the maker of the Acoustic Guitar just literally mashing up from Guitarron and the electric Bass mixing them together. You got the same low 4 strings (Inspired by guitarron), Four pegs (Inspired by the Electric bass), The Frets and body we're inspired by acoustic guitar and the Electric bass.
Nice video. This instrument is new to me in all but the name and I want to learn more. No problem with the sound quality, but the background music is awful. Truly awful. It sounds as though it were intended for a different video. I found it distracting to the point where I had difficulty in watching the video to the end. Please, dump it! Apart from that, I love it all. .
Thank you for your feedback! Originally it was supposed to be an original vihuela and Guitarron background track but we’re still working on finishing all those up
Played with cat and dog gut strings!!!?!!?!? OUTRAAAAAGE!!!! I hope we don’t somehow find out it still happens secretly, similar to how older people in Korea still secretly eat dog meat. Although it’s good this tradition is almost dead.
I honestly like guitar, but one time this guy came to my school with a guitarron and I fell in love with it
Great information, thank you for that. No need to apologize for the crappy mics either, but please cut the ragtime stuff in the background and let us hear the guitarron.
I’ve been taking out all the music during the playing to ensure everyone can hear the instrument better 😊
@@MariachiClothingCompany it sounds great now, thank you!! I love the instrument, and the message of culture/respect you have behind it. Great work.
Hi! I'm primarily a bassist though I play Guitar and Mandolin as well, mostly in a Rock/Metal setting. Sometimes I work in few octave/power chords into my bass playing having been exposed to quite a few bassists who do such.
I've always been fascinated with the Guitarron having seen it played and performed in a few different places around town. I knew it was a bass instrument and I just struggled to wrap my mind around it when seeing it. That being said, thanks a ton for making this video! Though I haven't had the change to try and play a Guitarron myself this video has me wanting to try and give it a go some time! Thank you for your detailed explanations about the history of the instrument and how it works. Hopefully when COVID-19 eases up I'll try to look for someone in my area to sit down with the instrument!
Much love from Denver, CO, USA!
I should also mention that aside from the Rock/Metal stuff I play in a Russian group that does both 1980s Soviet Rock and some traditional Russian Swing music as well.
Hi Brandon!
Thank you for your kind words! The Guitarron is such a fun instrument to play! I’ll be uploading a new videos with the notes on the instrument and some recording exercises as well as sheet music for anyone that wants to learn the instrument.
Someone should make an electric guitarron
Thank you for your generous sharing of your guitarron knowledge and playing! You are a patient and serious teacher. Please do more! Levanta la musica de Mexico para todo mundo!
*Thank you so much* for this!
I've been telling folks how cool these things are ever since hearing one up close (in the shared entry space of a 2-room event venue, before a friend's wedding reception in the other room) a couple decades ago. All the quality info here, delivered with such obvious love for the instrument, is precisely what I most appreciate in YT music-gear videos.
*¡Perfecto!*
Thank you so much for your kind words
I’ve been playing the guitaron for almost 5 years now and I love it so much
This is by far my favorite acoustic bass (besides a full size standup). The guitarron has a punchy sound that you just can't get from the smaller acoustic basses. I think part of that comes from the technique of playing octaves which make each note much bigger sounding than single string playing.
I love this series so much, my childhood favorite local restaurant was a Mexican joint ran by this dude named Victor (me and my friends still shout "HEY VICTOR!" Whenever we see him) and when I was little they used to have live Mariachi and I just loved it as a kid. I've been getting more and more into Mariachi music, and anything south of the border tbh, and this is a really helpful guide because I've also been thinking about picking up an instrument. Right now my favorite is still the Vihuela, but the Guitarron is such a close second after I get to intermediate status on the Vihuela I'll probably pick up the big chungus that is the Guitarron.
I’m glad to read that you find this guide helpful
daaaamn this looks sooooooo cool. And I realy realy love the sound of it. Thank you for the lovely informative video my friend.
Hey Hon!!- I was looking up to see if I tuned the guitarron correctly and was like, WAIT i know that guy!!!!--- Thanks for the education
Lol ! I’m glad to see that you’re looking up the Guitarron! Are you teaching mariachi? How is that going? Send me an email!!
Gracias por este tutorial! Excelente vi uno de 4 cuerdas también!
De nada! Me gusto que le haya gustado
This was the instrument Randy Meisner used for the bassline on the Eagles' "New Kid in Town." There was supposed to have been an upright bass (AKA bass fiddle, bull fiddle, contrabass, double bass or string bass) part on this, but Meisner didn't know how to play that kind of bass.
I enjoyed The Entertainer in the background.
You’re the first positive comment we get about our background music. I don’t know why. The Entertainer is so...entertaining.... :V
Thank you for the informative video! I'm learning guitarron and having a blast. I would, however, like to mention that the background music is very distracting for a person with autism or audio processing disorder.
I like to play the G double octave i try to play all the notes doule octave though, Eflat and Gsharp too
Hey Chris I had no idea you did that with the G and G#. I do it on the Eb but not on the other two
@@MariachiClothingCompany yeah man its how i learned in the book
This instrument is so cool!
I have a question. My guitarron has a warp, is that bad? Why is there a dip from the sound hole? Please help me
Hi Jose,
That happens a lot with older guitarrones. The reason for that is that the tension of the strings pulls on the bridge which ends up warping the wood overtime.
It’s not necessarily bad as long as you don’t mind and it doesn’t affect the action of the Guitarron.
TEacher - Pluck the strings like this *plucks string*
Captions - Sorry for poor sound Mic Issues
Piano track - PLINKY PLINKY PLINK PLIIINKY PLINK!
Yes! Holy cow! Don’t apologize for “mic issues” if you’re going to have super irritating repetitive piano music playing THE WHOLE TIME!
I love Mariachi!!! My family and I have always made it a point to go to our favorite local Mexican restaurant on Friday nights when the band is there. Growing up I was raised on all kinds of traditional Americana and roots music namely bluegrass, country, and western. These genres share many techniques with Mariachi from what I’ve always observed. So I really would like to start a Mariachi band of my own which leads me to my two main questions 1) what are the bare minimal instruments to start? Guitar, Fiddle, Trumpet, Bass, and accordion? Which I have friends who play these instruments that are interested. 2) I play the upright bass which I’ve seen used in mariachi bands before so would that be sufficient to get the low end bass tones? If anyone can answer these questions that would be spectacular!! I’ll keep checking back and once we have a demo recorded I’ll post it on you then post the exact link on this page! Should be entertaining a bunch of white hillbillly country and western players playing Mariachi hahaha LOL!! God Bless and thank you ahead of time.
-sincerely- T. Everett Sullivan
Hi Mr. Sullivan! Although the instrumentation of the melodic instruments can vary and is up for discussion, one unquestionable element of mariachi is that it MUST have a vihuela and a Guitarron (not the upright bass), since those are the ones that give mariachi it’s distinct sound
I have a question. I was thinking about building a 4 string bass instrument. I have this thing for making homemade instruments. Like, cbg guitars. But I wanted this to be audible acoustically. Stand up bass is out. Too much tension. I could use acoustic bass strings but I'd rather not have that sound. Plus it's going to be fretless. And I can't use electric bass strings. I'd need to use a magnetic pickup for that. I looked into theorbo strings but those are very expensive. How are these tension wise? Because they basically have the sound I'm looking for. You said they were like steel strings and I thought they were nylon. Do they put a lot of tension on the neck? Is it nylon wrapped in metal or are they metal core? Thanks.
Great video man! Is there a reason why the 3rd string is colored differently? Maybe just a visual reference?
I think I popped a string and replaced with with a brass String instead of the magneto red 😅
What would you recommend as a guitarron for a complete beginner?
Not that i expect there to be a Yamaha Guitarron, but all i have been able to find on the Internet have been luthiers that make expensive custom guitarrons.
As for a strap, wide suede straps are available and way more comfortable than leather thin or wide. Once on, it will not move. Its just a suggestion.
Personally I’m
Not a fan of wide straps because I have huge muscle knots on my trapezius but I’m going to try and make a thin one from suede. Thank you for the recommendation!
So right hand goes a little bit like in harp playing?
Can You put a sustain pick up or a floyd rose on that thing?
A what…?
@@MariachiClothingCompany lol como una guitarra eléctrica lol... it was joke
lol es que no los conozco pero conociendo a mis lauderos estoy seguro que si!
Where can I get a strap like that
You can get them from our store. (They’re not up on the website yet) but if you email us, I can send you information on how to order
Do you guys know where i can purchase one? I cant find a good spot online
Are you looking to purchase a Guitarron? If so, you can go to our store. We sell have multiple brands and prices. If you’re looking for something else, please let me know.
What's the usual scale length of a guitarron? I've seen them for sale but that detail is always missing and when buying a guitar it's one of the first things you'd look for.
Are they amplified sometimes? I'd like it to stand out more
You can always install a piezo pickup
The guitarlele is the same ADGCEA tuning one octave higher.
My shoulder hurts from just watching the video :)
Thats why I had to stop playing it after 2 decades. I never had a teacher teach me the correct technique and developed muscle knots. The I show in the video is actually very comfortable and doesn't hurt at all but I'm too tired from playing it for so long.
Do you play the bass?
I have a very old guitarron, perhaps 1950's; I want to replace the tuning pegs with mechanical pegs; is that possible to do?
Absolutely. Just make sure you find a luthier that is familiar cellos and has the right type of reamer
Muy interesante, peri, why on earth would you have The Sting playing In the background?! We’re you thinking Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and their escape to Mexico?
🤣 have not seen that movie but I like the music 🤷🏻♂️
U have an app so I can tune mine
so bummed that the only guitarron I can find is nearly $800 on Sweetwater and I'm not likely to find a used one in a pawn shop in rural Maine :'(
I have a question. My guitaron when I play it makes a vibrating sound when I play
It could be many many things. The groves on the nut could be worn out, you could have a hariline crack that you haven’t noticed on the instrumento, the machinery could be loose...
muy buen gracias
This looks hard, but I cant even really play guitar, or any string instrument. But just doing reasearch for instruments and instrumentation. Still cool
But you play sax and a bunch of other instruments? Guitar, I don't want to say it's easy. Nothing worthwhile is easy. But you can get pretty far on guitar just by picking up licks from your friends or watching UA-cam videos. There comes a point at which you need to start practicing and really pushing yourself if you want to get better but if it's something you really want to do, you can do it. Plus, you can get a decent guitar for peanuts these days. Just don't spend less than around a hundred dollars for your first one. You don't want to spend too much on your first if you don't know if you'll stick with it. But you don't want to spend too little either. If the intonation isn't good or it's not comfortable to play, you won't learn because you won't sound good.
That's bad ass. I want one. Do you suggest a particular brand at an affordable price, say up to $500? There's some beauties out there but damn blood...
Unfortunately you won’t be able to find anything of good quality in that price. We offer them starting at around $800 for the Fermata brand and we also offer Sevillano on our website
But can the guitarrón mexicano play rock basslines?
Absolutely
ADGCEA Guitaron tuning.
A++ answer
@MariachiClothingCompany Oh Hey!!!! Thanks for the little lesson!!! I don't exactly play Guitaron Myself 😅 My Girlfriend does!! "We're both in a Marachi Band" But I think it's really cool you made this video!!! Really well made and instructive 😅😆
Thank you!!!
A note to animal lovers from a music historian: traditional "catgut" strings or "catlines" were not made from the intestines of cats, but of sheep. This was true throughout Europe and the Americas. I can't comment specifically on Mexican practices, though. No animals were slaughtered just to make strings.
that background music does you no favours, other than that a great tutorial ta
Dope!
So, I know very little about these instruments except what you told me. So take this however you want. But from what I understand, gut strings for musical instruments like violins were not actually made from real catgut. It's apocryphal. They generally used sheep. At least that's the story I heard.
Great video but the piano playing is a bit loud
We watched in I’m my mariachi class I play guitar lol
Interesting presentation, but why in the world was there that ragtime piano distracting away in the background the whole time? It should be deleted. We're tuning in to hear the presenter and the guitarrón. I have yet to understand why people think that having music in the background enhances a spoken presentation.
I like ragtime 😅 and a bit part of it is that there is no music that we have the rights to that we can use. But fret not, we will be recording those songs in mariachi to use for background music and intro
Catgut is actually sheeps gut. Idk why it’s called cat gut.
Why the piano background ?
That's not necessary.
Is that how to teach in the classroom ?
or just in this video?
Not with piano music in the background we don’t have a sound system. I teach with the sounds of students’ brains absorbing information
so you're telling me this was the first acoustic bass guitar in the world before 4 acoustic bass guitars invented?
Correct. From what I heard the maker of the acoustic bass guitar took massive inspiration from the guitarron
@@MariachiClothingCompany it all make sense, the maker of the Acoustic Guitar just literally mashing up from Guitarron and the electric Bass mixing them together. You got the same low 4 strings (Inspired by guitarron), Four pegs (Inspired by the Electric bass), The Frets and body we're inspired by acoustic guitar and the Electric bass.
You have a wonderful mustache
Thank you!
Am I the only one who wants Davie504 play guitarrón?
Background music distracting and unnecessary. Annoying. Good information
Thanks for this. It would be helpful to NOT have the background music playing while demonstrating an instrument. 😊
Nice video. This instrument is new to me in all but the name and I want to learn more.
No problem with the sound quality, but the background music is awful. Truly awful. It sounds as though it were intended for a different video. I found it distracting to the point where I had difficulty in watching the video to the end. Please, dump it!
Apart from that, I love it all. .
Thank you for your feedback! Originally it was supposed to be an original vihuela and Guitarron background track but we’re still working on finishing all those up
Agree…. Ragtime?
Yeah. Good music is good music 😬
This guy looks like JCesarTv
Mr. Sanchez
Played with cat and dog gut strings!!!?!!?!? OUTRAAAAAGE!!!! I hope we don’t somehow find out it still happens secretly, similar to how older people in Korea still secretly eat dog meat. Although it’s good this tradition is almost dead.
That used to be the case early last century and that no longer happens
The biguitar 😂
Como así que tripa de perro o de gato, jajajaja
Piano in the background really doesn't help.
short ahh neck