Unusual Instruments #1: The Guitarron

Note: This post is the first in a series of special posts where I discuss some of the more unique and unusual musical instruments I've come across over the years. I hope you have as much fun discovering them as I did!


I'll bet you wouldn't know what a guitarron was if I mentioned the name to you. But if I showed you one in its traditional context you'd know right away. The guitarron is the enormous, short-necked, fretless bass guitar used in Mexican mariachi music ensembles. It's very rarely found outside of that context, but for those in the know it can be a very useful and usable acoustic alternative to an electric bass guitar.

My own experience with the instrument began when I was in high school. I had a growing musical interest in all things exotic: African drums and percussion, Latin American guitars, and various other odd instruments. I don't know exactly where I happened upon the guitarron; it may have been online or it may have been in Spanish class, I don't remember. I knew when I saw it, however, that it could be the ultimate solution for a truly acoustic bass guitar. It was either that or dedicate an unrealistic amount of time and money to learning to play double bass!

I was itching to get one, and scoured the internet for more information: tuning, playing technique, set-up issues, you name it. Ready to buy, I came across a group of cheaply made and cheaply priced Venezuelan made guitarrons on eBay. After contacting the seller for more photos, I was sold. I hit the buy it now button, paid, and waited patiently over the next few weeks for the instrument to arrive.

Then, one night in March, I came home from my after-school job and there it was. Covered in foam, a black garbage bag, and bits of wood suggesting a makeshift crate, it was the strangest packaging job I think I have ever seen! Ever so slightly concerned at the condition of the contents within, I started to unpack it. Bit by bit the instrument emerged; sweet smelling Venezuelan woods came into view. All unpacked it was a sight to behold: A cello sized, bowl-backed, short necked instrument that had a wonderfully rough handmade quality to it. I couldn't be happier.

I slid the carved wooden tuning pegs into their slots, strung it up with the Mexican made strings it came with, plucked some notes, and listened to the loud, deep,resonant tones that emanated from within. It really was amazing. I found it hard to believe that this instrument had not caught on as a real answer to the acoustic bass guitar need. No matter, I had one and I was going to use it! I just had to learn more about it!

A store photo of the Lucida Guitarron I own now

Initially, I had the guitarron tuned down to E like a bass guitar for a while, but soon enough found out why it is tuned the way it is traditionally, which is A D G C E A. The short scale length (something like 23-24") requires a higher pitched tuning to keep the string tension high. Higher string tension means more volume, which is necessary for an instrument that is purely acoustic to be heard in an ensemble. I finally tuned it the way it is supposed to be tuned, and was even more blown away with the volume and tone it produced. The last thing I had to do was come to terms with the bizarre fingering system.

The fingering system is probably the strangest thing about the instrument and maybe it is what scares most people away, but the its incredibly simple once you understand the concept behind it. Remember that thing about volume? Well, two strings sounded at once is going to be louder than one string, right? This is the whole basis behind the odd tuning and fingering of the guitarron. Guitarron players DON'T play single notes, just octaves. So, for example, if you see an "A" written in the music, you pluck both of the open A strings. They are tuned only one octave apart to accommodate this.

If this sounds confusing, just think of it this way- there are only 12 possible notes or fingerings that are played on the instrument due to that whole octave thing. So that A note I mentioned would not be played any other way other than on the open "A" strings. "C", "Eb," "B," and every other note is the same way. There is only one place to play each note of the chromatic scale on the instrument, unlike on a bass guitar or double bass. This is doubtless borne out of need for volume and the lack of frets, as you can of course play single notes on the instrument. However, single notes lack the power and tone of octave playing.

Learning the tuning and fingering system took me a couple of months, so it really isn't too bad. Its infinitely easier than learning guitar, where you have several places on the instrument where you can play the same note or even chord in some cases. Most of the hard work on the guitarron is in plucking, left hand strength and intonation on the fretless fingerboard. Other than that it's a pretty simple instrument, but very powerful and very usable in the right hands.

If you are tired of the joke that is acoustic bass guitars, try a guitarron. They take some work coming from a bass guitar background, but a few months should have you at a proficient level of playing. They work really well for acoustic groups of any type. I've been using one for years in a folk group I now infrequently play with, and the tone, volume, and power of a guitarron cannot be approached by anything other than a double bass. A guitarron is a lot simpler and more portable, though. If you've ever thought about them, go get one! There is plenty of English language instructional material both online and in book form these days to get you going!