Orangewood has been building a solid reputation in the acoustic guitar world, but now it’s switched its attention to electric guitars – and its maiden model is a drop-dead gorgeous offset baritone made in collaboration with TreeTone Guitars.
From dinky-but-dangerous short-scale acoustics designed in collaboration with genre-melding guitarist Ruben Wan to bringing rubber bridges to the masses (minus some minor controversy), Orangewood has produced a steady stream of impressive builds, and has very much made itself a company to watch.
Its first-ever electric, the 27.5” scale semi-hollow Del Sol Baritone, has been crafted with the help of TreeTone Guitars founder Josh Forest to ensure it’s as good on the ears as it is on the eye. Forest's builds combine his love of luthiery with his passion for nature – two passions that are carried through here.
The collaboration has been in the works for around four to five years. Orangewood reached out to TreeTone and ultimately took its slick offset design – the regular Del Sol – as this guitar’s foundation.
The result, as Orangewood elegantly puts it, is “a chambered, baritone-scale guitar that fuses East Coast sensibility with West Coast attitude”, and there’s plenty to enjoy here.
Unlike TreeTone’s $2,499+ Del Sol, the baritone guitar is not made-to-order and comes in two finishes – Pitch Black and Sandstone. It costs $695 because Orangewood was hellbent on keeping their joint creation affordable.
Its chambered body is made from mahogany and has an f-hole for “an ideal balance between weight and resonance.” Cast your eye upwards and you'll find a C-profile roasted maple neck, 21-fret rosewood fingerboard with acrylic white pearl block inlays, and a natural-finish headstock bearing the logos of both firms.
Hardware specs are thoughtful, too: see vintage-styled Grover Roto-Grip locking tuners, a Tune-O-Matic bridge with a stop tailpiece, and a truss rod spoke wheel on the body end.
Passive P-90 pickups promise a “broad tonal palette” that can be as beautiful as it is brash, and there’s also a mini phase switch to give the middle position a vintage-style out-of-phase scoop when required. That’s a handy bonus feature.
It arrives tuned to B-standard, with finishing touches coming via a brushed aluminum front control plate and a back neck plate with the TreeTone logo.
“We’ve been fans of Josh’s work for years,” says Orangewood co-founder Eddie Park. “His unique vision and attention to detail made him the ideal partner as we entered the world of electrics. After years of conversations, prototypes, and a shared obsession with character and tone, the Del Sol Baritone marks a turning point in Orangewood’s evolution. It’s a fresh, distinctive kind of guitar that feels like the perfect introduction for those that only know us for our acoustics.”
"After working on the first prototype together, it was immediately obvious that we were onto something really cool. Not only did the guitar look like a Del Sol I’d built, but it felt and sounded great, too,” adds Forest. “What excites me most is getting my designs into more players’ hands, which is something I couldn’t make happen all on my own.”
The Orangewood Del Sol Baritone is available now for $695.
Head to Orangewood for more.
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