Chapman ML3 BEA Baritone: Can it "Ambient Guitar"?

[@ellistheshredlord8077]

Rabbea Massad's instrumental band Toska, actually plays an interesting combination of metal and ambient. The guitar was likely made for playing both but aimed more towards metal.

[@DonPiruflo]

Anything: *exists* Chords of Orion: ambient 🖤

[@jonaseckhoff4300]

Absolutely. Rabea lays down some beautiful ambient playing in his band Toska. "Abomasum" is a particularly great example of his ambient playing, aswell as some crushing high gain riffage.

[@Agharta99]

Just listened to it and from my perspective the word ambient didn't cross my mind. But I am coming from a very ambient end of the spectrum.

[@onesandzeros]

Thanks for the review Bill. Seems like a nice guitar overall. I’m interested to hear it with different strings and a different pickup.

[@carlbaumeister3439]

I second that. Keep us posted!

[@Mordred478]

I'm assuming Rob Chapman is a millionaire by now. It's so interesting because I followed him from the beginning, and remember the video when and Anderton went to the factory to pick up the very first Chapman guitar. Now they're everywhere. Good for him. Hard work and knowing his market, he earned his success.

[@RickyCigarillo]

Doubt that, the company hasn't made huge turnover.(UK company accounts are public) Id guess he gets a decent salary by all means. The guitars are decent for the price, the guys an absolute tool tho.

[@kazmir_]

Miss the Andertons days... apparently the company was making less money or something but, like the guy said above me i`m sure hes doing fine.

[@Whiskeyklone]

@@RickyCigarillo Yeah, he has consistently proven himself to be a dishonest man at seemingly every opportunity. A shame, but even more of a shame that that seems to have blown over with few consiquences for him. I liked him as a guitar KZbinr on his own channel and with Andertons before he shat the bed...

[@mcd5778]

@@Whiskeyklone What happened?

[@arsenije_wav8620]

Not trying to be intentionally contrarian, but Chapman is all about the marketing. There's a reason every music youtuber got a guitar gifted to them when they were just taking off. When put to the test, chapman guitars are okay, but nothing more than that.

[@RobUttley]

The top of that guitar is gorgeous, absolutely lovely looking guitar. I really enjoy your thoughtful, hyperbole-free discussions. Thanks for making your videos and your art!

[@lightnintrucker]

Thatvis a really nice guitar Bill. Amazin' sounds. I only have one Baritone electric guitar in my arsenal, a Danelectro 66BT.

[@jsebsteelguitar]

A beautyfull guitar, I agree, but I don't like too much the sounds of these pickups on the BEA. I love my Danelectro 66BT. Great stabilty, versatile pickups, especialy the P90 style pickup. I play in A tuning : I love that !!!

[@Castronioni]

The Chapman really reminds me of your 10s Signature guitar, although that one might even be better looking

[@chordsoforion]

It is surprising how similar they are!

[@martindengler9356]

Great review Bill. I want to buy the Bea Baritone Pro model once they are available. I am more of a heavy player but i love doing swells once in a while and the range on the volume pot of my ML1 Norseman is Insane. You can basically clean up a 5150 on the red channel. Also, my house doesn't like single coils too. Have fun with your new giutar and stay healthy

[@BarryCatt]

Good morning Bill, I have a Schecter C8 Hellraiser which I originally bought to try out two-handed tapping (I will get around to that one day, I promise). It has a beautifully rounded clean tone on all pickup combinations, due in part to the EMGs installed as standard, so it is now my ‘go to’ guitar when noodling around at home. It also has a useful bass range making swapping mid-noodle less necessary. Still loving the diverse nature of your content. 👍🏻

[@chordsoforion]

Good to hear about the Schecter Barry!!

[@kelraith]

I have a Chapman ML 1 Pro Modern, which I use for ambient, and metal... I think you sold me on buying their Baritone

[@chordsoforion]

Nice!!

[@kentGrey]

I remember from one of your other videos you said you would never give a negative review. I also notice at the end you did not say you would recommend it and closed with a list of other guitars. I'm sorry, but shipped with inappropriate strings and needing pickups out of the box; it seems you got a very pretty paper weight with this one. The positives perceived in this review are due to your playing, expertise, and gear. You carried this guitar, it didn't carry you. I admit I'm partial to your SRC6 and your PRS SE 277. You make them sing far better than this and I doubt you had the issues out-of-the-box with them that you've had with this one that I believe costed more. All that said... I watched your follow up video after you made the modifications. It sounds so much better... even worthy of your playing. While I still believe that "friends don't let friends buy Chapman Guitars", I am glad you got this one, exposed it's flaws, and then fixed them. It makes the music you were eventually able to play on it all the more sweeter. Thank you for the music, reviews, and life lessons!

[@chordsoforion]

Thanks so much!!!!!

[@zenmonkey99]

Being a bolt-on for life guy, i was weary of Chapman, but when i played an ML-7 Pro, all worry was abated. Love the stainless steel frets. Would love to get my hands on the Bea-Tone!

[@CraigCrider]

Bill, it's not my birthday but I'll take this gift combining your playing and anything Rabea. Thanks!

[@Balesz36]

It doesn't need string tree because of the angled neck and scarf joint, right?

[@samuelj.rivard]

do not worry about the string tree beeing abscent... most modern guitar avoid breaking angle as much as possible for increase tuning stability and sustain ( also less friction there is from the nut and bridge the better) i got the ML1 PRO Hybrid pre order... i just cant wait to receive it! they also use graphtech tusq nut that iam in love with (i upgrade my Gretsch tune o matic bridge and nut with the graphtech Tsuq and nv2 bridge... and iam blown away with how much sustain i get now)

[@chordsoforion]

Yes - I will try not to worry about the long lengths of string. Once I swapped out the crappy Ernie Balls, the tuning seems to be rock solid.

[@TheOtherClips]

Rabbea does a lot of ambient - check out his channel. So I knew the answer was yes. :-)

[@PhilZeGerman]

Very cool video! Thanks for the input. I am on the verge of giving one of these to myself for my birthday haha. I do like high gain music but I also like ambient stuff, so finding this video was really a stroke of luck for me :) Btw, bit of fun trivia: the name "Pale blood" has less to do with it being designed for high gain music but rather is a hommage to the video game "Blood Born", which Rabea is a huge fan of and in the lore of which the "pale bloods" play a big role. So it's more of a "loving nerd" thing than an "evil heavy metal" thing :) All the best from Germany!

[@MobileDecay]

I play metal with guitars I customized for metal. You got me into learning ambient guitar. I use the same guitars for that.

[@ToxygenRecAll]

Same here. I bought some pedals like source audio collider and boss sy-1 but still play it on my Gibson Explorer. I don’t really think it is so much critical to have a strat with singles in order to play ambient.

[@MobileDecay]

@@ToxygenRecAll Yup! 😁

[@Strider1313]

Rabea plays a mix of ambient and heavy. He said he wanted a baritone for ambient but you can definitely play heavy. And pale blood is a video game reference 😁

[@chordsoforion]

Ah. Did not know about the video game reference, as I am an old fart who does not play video games. ;-)

[@LemonMeIon]

I’ve been playing through Bloodborne again; It’s so good. I noticed the charcoal streaked backdrop in the cutscene for Menses boss battle must be what they based that color off of.

[@benjaminfowler4513]

@@LemonMeIon that's like dark souls right? Same developer?

[@Strider1313]

@@benjaminfowler4513 ya it is dark souls

[@josiahcarlitz946]

Great review!

[@judeworth938]

I currently have LaBella .015-.060 flat wounds on my Squire FSR Custom Classic Vibe baritone Telecaster.... While I love the feel of flat wounds (no squeaks moving about the fretboard plus they feel great...softer).. but they're quieter. The guitar came strung with D'Addario .014-.068 round woods...which at some point I will put back on but for now I'm enjoying the lighter, softer sounds and touch.... .I use D'Addario flat wounds on my standard telecaster and on my bass guitar but I have decided flat wounds are probably not meant for baritones. Elixirs on my acoustics. Regarding this Chapman baritone, for my ears, the pickups sound thin...they don't seem to have a rich, tonal quality. Perhaps a heavier gauge string might do the trick ? Lastly, it's always been my understanding that when you have locking tuners, string trees shouldn't be necessary... Probably why I like the Music Man head stocks where the strings fall naturally, aimed better into the nut. Just my two cents......

[@atonegames]

Dude, the tone at 13:00 is very nice. With some layers and muting, and maybe some bitcrushing, that would sound awesome.

[@Kabayoth]

Food for thought: back the bridge pickup down into the body until the volume between it and the neck pickup is the same. Have a friend who slammed his Les Paul pickups practically into the bottom of the cavities, and it transformed it into ths best fingerstyle electric guitar I've ever come across.

[@andrewferrin6451]

I also recently bought a Chapman baritone, the red S style they offer, and also had the same tuning issue on the D string. It was driving my crazy until I figured out what gauge I ended up with on the guitar. Thanks for your thoughts.

[@stevesmith3990]

Bill, you are a G.A.S. superspreader! ;) Great vid, thanks.

[@davids9192]

I was wary before getting my 277 as had previously just not got on with a ORS Santana 6 string. The PRS scale length being in-between Fender and Gibson never felt right for me. However I think the 277 is the perfect scale length for a baritone especially for someone moving up from a 6 string.

[@Cpmnk]

Seeing as rabea is my favourite ambient guitarist, i would say yes

[@BrentAdams]

What about turning your "gain" down a bit on the "amp" or "amp simulator" ...could that help tame the "Beast"? LOL! It always seems a shame to me to have to throw more money at something to get it to sound the way you'd like it too......and yes, I understand that this is a High Gain style of guitar to begin with. I almost went with one of the Chapman ML-1 baritone guitars until I found a "deal" on a used PRS SE 277 that I love! I'm so happy that one came up on my radar. (I'm much more of a "double-cut" guy over the "single-cut" designs.... just a preference in looks to me)

[@samuelj.rivard]

PRS are really nice guitar too!

[@electricmeatpuppet]

Interesting, i made the same choice. I have the SE277 baritone. It's good guitar. How did you find the pickups? They're alright, but I find they're a bit dark for A. Considering swapping them out in the near future. I had an old ML3 and the string break angle and ring out was horrendous at gain without some foam underneath, put me off Chapman a bit. Their stock pickups can be pretty harsh too by comparison.

[@BrentAdams]

@@electricmeatpuppet It's fine for my needs... I'm using it through a Grand Canyon Delay into GarageBand. Using mostly clean amp models...I'm getting a decent recorded sound.

[@samuelj.rivard]

@@electricmeatpuppet its always good to have a EQ pedal in front of everything (either real or virtual) at flat it should sound exactly like it was bypass than you just bump up slightly some of the slider of the middle and treb (do it just by very small increment...) you can almost simulate a single coil pickup on a humbucker and vice versa that way the chapman come with ernie ball and i dont like these strings... had lots issue in stability and intonation with those strings... i alredy got some DDT string set for when i receive my guitar (ML1 Hybrid pro) i even watch on a french channel and i could tell when the guy tested the guitar 2 strings was not intonate... (yuck) (intonate for anyone who dont know is not only when the guitar is in tune when the string are played open but also along the fretboard... on the tuner it sould be exactly the same as of 12 frets... for exemple if the D string is a -3 cents open it shoud be -3 cents at the 12 frets... with a bad erniball string i was at 0 cent open D string and was 10 cent sharp at 12 frets with the saddle at max!!! that make the 5th and 7th frets 15 and 20 cents sharp... it was horrible lol))

[@samuelj.rivard]

@@BrentAdams if he is playing on a tube amp... (even virtual one) lowering the gain with loose all the warmth that tupe amp provide... and make it sound fizzy even on clean amp... one way to fix that is to put a volume pedal and EQ before the rest of the effect... you can slightly roll back the volume on the guitar itself (or doing both..) you than can creat some really lush clean sound with a very high gain that way

[@ThatBaritoneGuitarGuy]

Have you been taking lessons from Rabea Masaad?

[@hubieh3374]

An angled headstock does not need trees... Trees would add instability... ML3 signifies the tele shape..

[@PLively]

I have one of those guitars and you have just explained the tuning issue for me! Thanks! Otherwise, I absolutely love it!

[@chordsoforion]

I did do a follow-on in which I got rid of the Ernie Balls and replaced them with D'Addario baritone strings. Solved the issue, and the guitar is fabulous!

[@PLively]

@@chordsoforion Hi Bill, Hope you're well! Haven't yet go around to replacing the strings, but I will! I think I know why there are no string trees on the Bea Baritone. I recently bought a bargain B Stock ML3 Standard "tele" (tiny blemish on the neck). The Standard ML3 neck and headstock is all one piece. Although the face of the headstock is lower, its face is parallel to the fretboard. It does have the string trees to increase the break angle. The headstock on the Bea Baritone is actually very different. It's joined to the neck with a scarf joint and leans back on itself like a Gibson, meaning it already has the break angle that the Standard ML3 doesn't have - probably why Chapman elected to not use string trees.

[@Afurthyclays]

"Bro, do you even ambient?!" Bill is the best! 😃❤️

[@ryantemple3315]

Ambidjent

[@davids9192]

I have a Chapman Baritone and while it is ok it is not a patch on my PRS 277. While they are both Baritones they are very different instruments. I guess I am just a sucker for the P90’s on the PRS.

[@chordsoforion]

I get the tone of the P90s for sure. And agreed, they play and sound very differently.

[@TurbulentJuice]

I'd love to know how this stacks up to your PRS 277 semi hollow!! Comparable?

[@chordsoforion]

They are very different: 1) PRS semi-hollow, Chapman solid. 2) PRS - P90 pickups, Chapman hum buckers. 3) PRS - 27.7" scale, Chapman 28" scale. 4) PRS slightly slimmer neck profile VS the Chapman. What is similar is build quality - very good. Hope that helps!

[@Strider1313]

Did you go to the 14-68? If you did did the nut need filed? I’m ordering this guitar Friday

[@chordsoforion]

I di go with that string gauge, and they fit well into the nut.

[@Strider1313]

@@chordsoforion awesome thank you for the quick response. I was looking into the 13-62 set, the 14-68 set and then dr has a set that’s 13-65

[@Strider1313]

And that dr pack Is 13-65 unwound G but I’m curious because I’ve never played a wound G or baritone before

[@admiraladmirable420]

I have a question about the colour. It seems that in all the pictures that I see of this it's a bit darker / higher contrast looking. Could it be that Bill's lighting is a bit on the bright side? Or are there actually different versions of the paleblood model? I saw Bea with a brighter earlier version but I think that one was only a prototype... :/ I'm strongly considering buying this as the PRS 277 I ordered is getting insane delays and I'm afraid I might not get it at all.

[@chordsoforion]

Just got out the BEA and compared the colour in person to the video. I would agree that the video is just a little brighter and a little more colour saturated. So imagine the same shade, just a little more subdued in real life. As far as ordering goes, I experienced several months delay in getting the BEA. As a matter of fact, I was getting ready to cancel the order when it unexpectedly shipped. But I am in the US, so if you are not, it may be a different story.

[@admiraladmirable420]

@@chordsoforion Good to know, thank you very much! I'm in the Netherlands so Thomann should get it here pretty easy, I'm just hesitating now because I've heard some pretty questionable QC stuff about Chapman :/

[@chordsoforion]

@@admiraladmirable420 I wish I could speak more authortatively about Chapman. This is the first one I have ever had, and the build quality is very good.

[@admiraladmirable420]

@@chordsoforion Nice. Would you say this one sounds sharp/bright compared to your PRS baritones? I often get a sort of sharp, saturated high-end vibe from Chapmans in videos, especially with distortion, but maybe that's just the sort of modern metal amps people plug them into :/

[@admiraladmirable420]

@@chordsoforion Nevermind, I see you mentioned it already

[@garaughty]

This thing is a beauty despite the minor issues...

[@TogaManGuitarViols]

The reverse is not reverse at all! The Stauffer was original 200 years ago. Fender was the one reversed it (not understanding Stauffer's intended harp layout?) for easier tuner installation (low hanging frugal fruit to change the pattern to single tuners and not a convoluted multiple gear length sub assembly mess of the day). Stauffer, to his credit, invented much of what we copy today including geared tuners themselves! 200 years ago! (Including earliest neck pitch adjust key/bolt mechanisms that get patented these days). Anyway, no string trees required because of the 12-14 degree pitch (likely) with that head. (Even 10 degrees works, I have tried it on a build or two). Seriously, you do not need that extra break angle! Having longer bass side does lend to a more bell like lower string behavior. You did make a good call on the wound #3 string and perhaps set-up with a different Bari set. Fan of what you do and that guitar seems delicious! ;)

[@wemustbecomemachines2012]

awesome

[@TIMExBANDIT]

String trees are mostly unnecessary on modern compensated tuners(they are designed shorter to increase that angle), you don't even need them on fenders modern locking tuners. It's mostly a vintage thing now.

[@Kabayoth]

I'll have to build you another baritone meant for standard A.

[@austinmidwest7062]

the Rabea models are the only ones that seem good out of the line, just my opinion

[@samuelj.rivard]

oh btw i dont like tuning stability on erni ball string... i even got one bad string that would just not intonate at all... even the saddle more all the way i was still 15cents sharp,,, duh,,, changing the string fix that issue

[@chordsoforion]

Yep - just swapped out the strings for the D'Addarios today, and it makes a world of difference.

[@samuelj.rivard]

@@chordsoforion you can check Stringjoy! they make also custom gauge string set (you can decide the gauge for each string!) Made in usa and they sound really great (it make a huge difference on my electroacoustic) they are also very stable and they got a good support... that can recommend you gauge depending your tuning and guitar you have too!

[@chordsoforion]

@@samuelj.rivard Thanks for the tip. Just ordered a standard guitar set and a baritone set to try out!

[@samuelj.rivard]

@@chordsoforion cool! let me know what you think about them! (could even worth making a video about string iam sure your audience would appreciate)

[@saintluciaofficial2019]

Id personally use the DAddario 14 - 68 set, or their Baritone mediums and they are called. Way better than Ernie Ball

[@riggamortis1969]

i want one of these so bad, but sadly due to covid, works slow and no funds..lol

[@ThrashRebel]

Just control your tone with volume/tone knobs. I primarily play thrash metal and my guitars can produce a varied range of tones. The guitar doesn’t matter. I even have a Telecaster that I can make sound “metal.” It only has single coils, but they are wound hot, so they have high output. Is it ideal for metal? That is subjective. Some people might like that tone. I think most guitars can be used for various types of music as long as one knows how to manipulate the guitar and amp controls. I do like the reverse headstocks, though. Maybe I am imagining things, but it always seems like I get deeper low end tones out of guitars with reverse headstocks. My ‘76 Gibson Firebird V was my favorite. I think that tone was my favorite out of all my guitars (and it had stock pickups on it).

[@glennselwitz1377]

Nice looking but it sounds like tin...no comparison to the PRS baritone.....

[@Strider1313]

Bea uses 12-68

[@LoVeAmBiEnT]

For $2,000 I would hope that it would be a much more positive experience I feel like you're not very happy with the guitar. And yes people. I know. The guitar is $699. Look it up online and u will find this guitar.. For $1899. Which is maybe an incorrect listing not sure. Either way. I get it. Thx

[@chordsoforion]

I paid $699 for the guitar at MusiciansFriend.

[@LoVeAmBiEnT]

@@chordsoforion oh. Nice. U got a deal.

[@chordsoforion]

I think it is a very good value, however, just to be clear - that's just the regular price for this guitar. I did not get it on sale or anything.

[@LoVeAmBiEnT]

@@chordsoforion oh I hadn't mentioned that because I think there's another version of the same guitar that's almost $2,000 I saw it on Musician's Friend anyway I like the guitar personally

[@iann8733]

This is the ml3 bea standard priced at $699 USD.

[@lunoislaverde8346]

Me : Want some coffee Bill? Bill : Sure Me : There you go enjoy Bill : o my gawd this is good! wait a minute,.... what am i drinking all along? I thought its coffeeee!! Me : wuhahahaha nope, it's not coffee Bill!! It's Djenntt!!!! Now you have it inside you!! Make an ambient djent songs and album! . 😅🤣

[@juliansedor7101]

Since when does someone ever mention the strings when they review a guitar? That's just abut the dumbest thing. Strings are a consumable meant to be replaced, not part of the instrument.

[@hensleytyler24]

Man's voice is ambient

[@lorez6063]

Yeah, but can it metal?

[@TheBluesine]

String trees actually are a bad thing,,,,,,,

[@Gbhbbgvsbnjhhdchhb]

Can't believe people take these guitars seriously.... mass-produced template guitars with inflated prices and absolute pigs to play. The fact that the reviewer talks about modifying the guitar to sound better says it all. If you don't believe me, go and listen at his other Baritone guitar videos - (which are brilliant by the way) In particular, the PRS 277. The best economy option I've found are the Revelation RJT 60-B for build quality and consistency IMHO

[@chordsoforion]

After swapping the crappy stock strings out for my usual baritone string brand, I found that the bridge pickup did not need to be replaced, so mods have been performed. Also, I've come to really love the tone of the neck pickup. I certainly can't speak to build consistency between Chapman guitars, however, the one that I bought (which is the one in the video) is built very well. I would say that the build quality is as least as good as the PRS baritones that I own. Hope this "several months after the fact" feedback helps.

[@Gbhbbgvsbnjhhdchhb]

@@chordsoforion thanks for the feedback and I respect your enthusiasm for the Chapman. Having played a number of them I have found them uncomfortable to play but can appreciate that buying a guitar is deeply personal; the quality control has been mentioned as inconsistent(he’s a smart guy and may have addressed that by now as others have commented) and listening to your other videos, to my ears it still sounds inferior to your other baritones. Just my opinion.

[@Gbhbbgvsbnjhhdchhb]

@@chordsoforion just to let you know I’m picking up a PRS 277 today largely due to my love of ambient guitar and your review. I preferred a hollow body with P90’s but cannot find one anywhere… I wish he’d start making them again

[@Gbhbbgvsbnjhhdchhb]

@@chordsoforion which baritone strings do you recommend?

[@chordsoforion]

@@Gbhbbgvsbnjhhdchhb For the SE 277, I like the tone and feel of the stock strings, which are the D'Addario XL157 medium baritone.

[@billyturk8117]

Seeing as how rabea plays shit loads of ambient stuff.. Id say so?