Description
Where the Tempest Baritone began
Before a new Munson design becomes an established model, there has to be a first instrument.
This is that guitar.
The Tempest Baritone Prototype was built during the original development of our extended-scale Tempest, allowing us to explore the proportions, balance, feel and tonal character of the design before it became part of the Munson range.
It is not a later recreation or production example. It is the original pre-production instrument used to develop the model.
Extended scale. Different character.
At the centre of the design is its 28⅝-inch baritone scale.
The longer scale increases string tension and extends the guitar naturally into lower tunings while retaining definition and attack.
Rather than simply enlarging a conventional guitar, the Tempest platform was adapted around that longer scale so the finished instrument still feels balanced and responsive.
The result has the authority expected from a baritone without losing the immediacy of an electric guitar.
Humbucker and P90
The pickup arrangement combines a bridge humbucker with a neck P90, giving the instrument two distinctly different starting points.
The bridge pickup provides weight, focus and output, while the P90 offers a more open and immediate neck voice.
A push-pull tone control splits the bridge humbucker, extending the available palette without adding unnecessary controls.
The intention was versatility without complexity: a small number of controls, but clearly different and useful sounds.
Black Gold
The ash body is finished in Black Gold, a technique developed to emphasise rather than hide the natural grain of the timber, whereby a gold pigment is inlayed into the wood grain.
A natural oil finish gives the body a low-sheen, tactile feel while allowing the structure of the ash to remain part of the instrument’s appearance.
The maple neck is protected with a satin nitrocellulose finish and incorporates a contrasting dark walnut skunk strip.
It is a finish combination that lets the materials remain visible and gives this prototype an identity of its own.
Prototype provenance
This instrument occupies a particular place in the Munson archive.
It was created as the pre-production development prototype for the Tempest Baritone, rather than as a customer commission or production instrument.
Its Certificate of Authenticity will record that prototype status.
Because it was used during development and has been played, it should not be considered a factory-fresh instrument. Its history is part of what it is.
There will only ever be one original Tempest Baritone prototype.
Specification
Model
Tempest Baritone Prototype
Status
Original pre-production prototype
One-off instrument
Body
Ash
Black Gold natural-oil finish
Ash backplate
Neck
North American maple
28⅝” scale
9.5″ radius
Dual-action truss rod
Dark walnut skunk stripe
Satin nitrocellulose finish
Fingerboard
Black Diamond Richlite
Frets
24 medium
2.4 mm × 1.2 mm
6 mm paua shell inlays
GraphTech XL nut
Electronics
Bridge humbucker
Neck P90
Master volume
Master tone with push-pull humbucker split
Switchcraft 3-way selector
0.022 µF capacitor
Hardware
Gotoh SG381-MG-T locking tuners
Gotoh GTC102 hardtail bridge
Gold knurled knobs
Included
Padded gig bag
Certificate of Authenticity recording its prototype status
The first one
This is the instrument on which the Tempest Baritone was developed.
Once it has found its owner, there cannot be another.
