Seeking a new baritone guitar - with a happy ending!

Lestratcaster

Tried out 2 more baritones earlier, first visit to Guitar Guitar in Epsom today as well, nice shop, big store and the staff are actually really helpful. 

They ordered in a PRS SE 277, which is the same as my mate's semi-hollow body one just without the P90's and the f-hole. Felt really nice to play, big thick neck, and good tension in drop a#. This time I got a demo booth so I could chug away for a while without competing with another blues solo'er nearby! Only thing is the 27" scale might be a bit too much of a jump from shorter scale. Plus I don't feel right about putting actives in a PRS.

I also tried out a Balaguer Dark Horse. 26.5" made it easier to do the stretchy riffs, again, nice to play, but heavier than the PRS in weight. Nice sound from the stock pickups (although if I was to get one I'd still swap it out for actives). Only thing is the Evertune bridge that's on it. I want that option to quickly tune between drop a# and a.

They are ordering in an Ibanez RGD Black Label Axion which is also 26.5" scale. This might be the one I'm looking for as I'm looking for that metally type guitar that can take active pickups well just without resorting to 7-strings or stupidly long scale lengths. Didn't bother with Reverend as its not really a metalcore chunker guitar.

So yeah that's where I'm at with the hunt. The whole thing is starting to give me a headache. If I don't like the Ibanez however I'm left with the PRS, though they're going to try and get a Schecter C-1 baritone in.

If all else fails should I just get a Tele baritone and whack some actives in that?

Lestratcaster

After trying so many guitars (6 I think) I've finally landed on 'the one'. The Ibanez RGD61ALA Black Label Axion. The 26.5" scale is just right for the low tunings, its not too much of a stretch and the neck is very fast and smooth. The Fishman's sound pretty chunky so will go with those for a bit. May not need to switch them out after all.

Set it up for drop a# with 12-56's and the tension is pretty good, may go up to a 60 gauge on the low string though as I hit quite hard. But happy I've finally found a baritone (does 26.5" count though?) and its the first electric addition to the family in a decade. Also its my first Ibby I've owned. Should make a great metal machine.