Baker RF

Feb 2003 Robben Ford Baker in trans red, spruce top; mahogany body, JB bridge, '59 neck' Tone Pros, Buzz Feiten...the works !!

This guitar sounds so great its ridiculous !! I usually identify JB's with a bright brittle tone, but the spruce top on the RF sweetens these pup's so well I can't believe it....it is voiced like Robben Ford. For those who are looking for *that* tone look no further !! I own a PRS hollowbody, a Suhr chambered and another Baker, but by golly when i want versatility and a no nonsense tone this is the guitar i play; I must make mention of how cool the coil tap is on this guitar, it is truly usable and not a great drop of volume like on the Tom Anderson Cobra... if you can afford this one jump on it, you won't be dissapointed

Perfect! Gil personally set it up for me....it plays like butter!! I still can't believe how amazing this guitar is !

As solid as the best I've played, if not the most solid

Gene Baker and Gil are the coolest, will do anything to please the customer...I hope its still the same with Baker/Ernie Ball.

Would definately replace if lost or stolen..

This is a brand new 2003 Baker RF model in transparent red. The new models will be chambered mahogany body with a carved spruce top, but this guitar is the chamberer alder body with spruce top. Equiped with Duncan 59 neck PU and Duncan JB bridge pickup. Two volume, two tone, three way switch, and a coil tap toggle.

All Baker guitars come with TonePro bridge and the Buzz Feiten tuning system.

This guitar has every feature that I'm looking for. If you play anything except metal you'd probably find every feature you need on this guitar.

I've been playing over 30 years, jazz, blues, R&B, and whatever the singer wants. This guitar has the flexibility to do everything I want. The chambered body/spruce top combination gives the guitar a resonance that is absolutely incredible. Almost as loud as an acoustic guitar with none of the feedback problems I've had from archtops or semi-hollow bodied guitars.

You can get a lot of different sounds from the guitar, from smooth jazz chord comping to screaming leads. The Duncan pickups seem to be pretty powerful -- especially when compared to pickups on some of my older guitars.

Absolutely flawless finish work! The finish is perfectly applied, the fretwork is impeccable. It is the finest built guitar I've owned and one of the best I've ever seen.

What am I comparing it to? A 1952 Gibson L-7C, and 1988 PRS Custom 24, and 1967 Gibson 345. All great guitars. The workmanship on this guitar equals and excels those other guitars.

I compared the guitar side-by-side with my 1988 PRS Custom 24. The PRS is without a doubt a very fine guitar. The fretwork on the Baker was better. The binding work was beautiful, and the inlay work, though more understated than the PRS bird inlays, was absolutely beautiful.

I bring extra strings to gigs. What else do you need? Its a guitar, so there really isn't much that can go wrong with it ... unless you slam it into the drumset (maybe 25 years ago!).

All the components on the guitar are first quality. I can't imagine bringing a backup guitar to a gig unless I wanted another sound (Tele or synth guitar).

Haven't had any cause to contact Baker yet, but the fact that Gene Baker is a regular contributor to his own forum indicates to me a pretty strong commitment to customer support.

Baker guitars are not inexpensive by and stretch of the imagination. You get what you pay for with this guitar, however. When comparing this guitar to others I own that are top of the line instruments, this guitar ranks up there with the best.

I have been playing a long time - well over 30 years - and I've owned a lot of guitars over the years. The best, I've held on to. This guitar will be another "keeper". If it were lost or stolen I'd replace it again without a second thought.

One of the finest instruments I've ever owned.

Features include spruce top alder body maple neck Ebony fretboard.Two Virtual Vintage humbuckers(passive) Neck has a great taper slim to beefy(very comfy!) Stop tail . Coil split via rear tone control.See through gorgeous red top. Stunning to look at. Cannot be ignored.Came with a very nice butterscoth form fit case. (plush and top notch)Wrenches,some picks,cert of authenticity. The greatest looking understated inlays in the fretboards Ebony wood. Go check it out upclose!!!

This guitar is the end of the line for me. It's an emotional thing finally being able to aquire an instrument of this caliber. The V.V. pups sound beefy and deep. Coil tap makes for endless clean sounds. GREAT. This guitar is a big paintbrush for musical sounds and ideas.Get some canvas and start painting with it. Lovely.

O.K. now I made the mistake of buying a Hamer Monaco before this. Luckily they had a return policy and I averted a HUGE mistake. The Hamer had some finish quality defects which I had a little trouble with. A few hundred more and I got this. Best choice I've ever made equipment wise. The quality exceeds ANYTHING I've ever had. Let me tell you , I scrutiniized this thing for even the slightest variation in stain/binding. Impressive. Fretwork totally professional.
Quality comes first with Baker, and that's obvious.

Solid. An instrument of a lifetime.

Wildwest guitars in California. Can't say enough about them. They gave me a great price, shipped it quick and never dropped the ball.
Thanks Bo! Don't ever change.

If you can try one out do so. If you can afford one , do so. If you can sell a few guitars to buy one, do so.

My Baker RF was made in July of 2002. The RF is a 22 fret guitar, with chambered alder body and spruce top, maple neck, and ebony fingerboard. It has standard Gibson style controls with a switch on one of the tone pots for a coil tap mode. The pickups are Seth Lovers. The body style is a bit different from the usual Baker guitars, with more rounded cutaways. The bridge and tail piece are from Tone Pros. The tuners are Grovers, non locking. The body and neck are finished in black, and the peghead I think is faced with ebony (I could be wrong on that), the hardware is gold. A hard case is included. Oh yeah, it has the Buzz Feiten tuning system too.

Played acoustically, this guitar sounds alive. Very resonant sounding almost like a semi-hollow. You can tell without even plugging in that it will sound good. Plugged in, the Seth Lovers are very rich and full sounding with lots of harmonic complexity. The neck pickup gets a nice, fat, jazzy tone without being too bassy, and the bridge pickup is clear and bright without being edgy or harsh. These pickups remind me somewhat of the Lindy Fralin pickups which to date have been my favorites. In this guitar, the Seth Lovers really shine. From jazz tone, to light overdrive, to full-on distortion, this guitar seems to be able to do it all. And in coil tap mode, the middle position does a pretty reasonable quack, although it probably wouldn't satisfy a real Strat player. I play this guitar through a Dumble type amp that I built myself, and the combination is like a match made in heaven. No complaints so far.

Gene is well known for the quality of his guitars, and this guitar is no exception. In fact, it's probably the best Baker I have played so far. One of my pet peeves with most new guitars is lousy fret work. No problem here though. The frets are perfectly crowned and polished and are a joy to play on. The adjustment of the action, the pickup height, everything seems to be right on the money. And it tunes and stays in tune amazingly well.

I have another Baker from a couple years back when Gene was just starting out. Never had any problems. Don't expect any. The guitar is built as good or better than any other guitars I've had. The hardware is all high quality, the fit and finish are superb, I would gig with this guitar with no backup without hesitation.

I have never had the need for support, but I have talked to Gene several times, and had the pleasure of meeting Gil, and I feel pretty confident that support is there if needed. These guys take their guitars seriously!

I have been playing for 38 years and I have had a LOT of guitars over the years. I still have about 16 now. I've come close to finding the ideal guitar a few times, and have been using Robben Ford model guitars for several years now. I like the design of those guitars, but I was never quite satisfied with the quality. Now I'm satisfied. The Baker RF is it. Light in weight and fat in tone, plays like a dream, looks good, chicks love it, what else can you ask for!

2002 model made in California. Semi hollow carve top ash body, black with seth lovers. It has a rosewood neck with special design inlay.
I was on vacation in Myrtle Beach SC and went to a local bar and saw this smoking band and the guitar player was getting this incredible tone through a baker guitar. During a break I asked him about and and it turns out his name is Tony Daniell and he is a new Baker dealer. He told me he would be happy to get me one because he had several on order but I was determined to have that one. After I bought him a few margaritas he told me he would give me a call the next day and the guitar would be mine. True to his word we met at a local bank and the deal was made. I think it is one of the first RF models on the market.

Sound is fantastic. The seth lovers have just enough bite without sounding brittle. The in between tone of bridge and neck gets a great Allman Brothers bluesy sound. The guitar is very light and perfectly balanced. The only niggle is the location of the pick-up switch which is taking a bit of getting used to. I am playing through a Carr Rambler and the guitar makes the amp bark out tones I could not get from either my 59 reissue les paul or 60 reissue strat. I love this guitar.

Finish is flawless. The black with gold hardware is spectacular. This guitar plays and sounds like a dream. Action is set low with no buzzing. Stays in tune all night long.

This is a pro guitar made by a renowned luthier. Came with locking strap buttons which is just one more little touch that sets this guitar apart from any other on the market.

I was a bit nervous about buying the guitar from some one I did not know so I called the Baker number and verified that Tony was a dealer. He gave me his home number and told me that if I had any problems give him a call and he would go whatever was necesary to take care of it. His web site, stop drop and roll guitars, should be up in about a month. To tell you the truth I would rather buy from a working msician rather than someone who is working for minimum wage in a music store and trying to sell me anything just to make a buck. The guys at the baker factory were real cool about everything also.

I have been playing about ten years. I have a PRS McCarty that I am now going to sell because it sounds thin next to the Baker. I might sell the re-issue strat also and buy another baker with a set of bluesbreakers which are supposed to be humbuckers that sound like P 90s. For amps I have a reissue JTM 45 and the Carr which is my gigging amp. My favorite feature is the shape and weight. The guitar just feels great strapped on.