Bajo Sexto is an authentic Mexican taqueria offering fresh handmade tortillas, home-made salsa and tacos as well as flautas with beer on tap for guests up to 75. The restaurant provides seating for 75.
If the bench could speak, it would tell stories of musicians like Max Baca from Los Texmaniacs and Doug Sahm from Texas Tornadoes who came searching for the ideal instrument from George Macias’ shop to purchase their ideal bajo quintos.
Origin
The bajo quinto (pronounced ba-hoon-to) is a bass instrument often employed in Tex-Mex (“Tejano”) and Norteno (folk) music styles. Often paired with accordion as part of chordophone family of musical instruments. Its name refers to fifth bass; typically tuned an octave below guitar although there may be versions tuned just one step lower.
The roots of the bajo quinto remain unclear, though its development could have stemmed from a baroque-era guitar called chitarra battente brought over from Europe during colonial Mexico. Although similar to an acoustic guitar, its construction differs with regard to several characteristics: body depth; neck joining at 12th fret rather than modern 12-string guitars joining at 14th; thicker strings.
Like its fellow chordophones, the bajo quinto has enjoyed an extensive and complex cultural history. Once used primarily as an accompaniment instrument for accordion bass chords, recently its use has expanded beyond this role to encompass melodies and solo lines as well.
Oscar Schmidt has designed the perfect instrument for conjunto players – the OH32SE bajo quinto is available both acoustically and electric models and comes in various finishes to make any performance possible. Featuring beautiful burled maple top, rosewood back and sides and deluxe tuning machines – it makes an ideal accompaniment for accordions or stringed instruments, featuring built in Fishman preamp/tuners for enhanced sound quality in live settings. Available acoustically or electric models for any need – whether live performance situations! Available both acoustically or electric models; buy it today to start conjunto!
Strings
Bajo quintos are tuned an octave below the traditional bass guitar tuning. Their thick gauge low E string provides a punchy bass line to accompany accordions and fiddles in Tex-Mex (Tejano) music as well as northern Mexican folk music known as conjunto.
Literally translated to “fifth bass” or “low five,” a bajo quinto is an instrument similar to a large guitar in appearance and features either six doubled strings or ten tuned into fourths (A, D, G and C). It likely originated from Italian chitarra battente string instruments of baroque period Italy.
Bajo quinto music is played using either a pick or plectrum, with left hands holding strings against frets on a fingerboard and right hands plucking or strumming them with plucked or strumming fingers on either hand. Some musicians also utilize foot pedals as an additional form of percussion which adds additional funkiness and groove.
The D’Luca Paracho bajo quinto is an ideal instrument for anyone aspiring to become bajo musicians or those simply interested in its beauty and tradition. Crafted by hand and equipped with soundhole pickup for full sounding Norteno experience; equipped with 1/4 inch jack for connecting an instrument cable.
Sweetwater offers an exceptional selection of GHS Bajo Quinto strings to help your instrument produce the rustic sound associated with this musical genre. These roundwound strings boast heavy core wire for strength and volume as well as stainless steel wrap wire to add brightness. In addition, these strings come equipped with lock twist loop ends to ensure consistent tuning for peak performance.
Tuning
Bajo quinto is similar to a twelve string bass guitar in terms of structure but without its low-octave strings. Instead, its ten steel strings are organized in five double courses or pairs: two of these pair-tune octaves apart while two others tune unison; similarly with bass guitar tuning it is tuned using fourths.
A bajo quinto is typically played using a pick, and its sound resembles that of an oversized acoustic bass guitar. This instrument is often found in Tex-Mex and Tejano music as well as conjunto bands. It may have originated from an Italian baroque-era stringed instrument known as the chitarra battente which came over during colonial rule in Mexico.
This stringed instrument is slightly longer than an average acoustic bass guitar and features a narrower neck. Additionally, its body is smaller, enabling one-hand operation. Furthermore, its fingerboard contains 22 frets while its wood nut completes this unique look.
A chromatic tuner is ideal for tuning a bajo quinto. A tuning peg must be adjusted counterclockwise for any flat notes and clockwise for sharp ones; light-colored strings may help protect against damage to your instrument.
First step to tuning a bajo quinto is picking and adjusting each string to its desired pitch, starting with course three and four where strings should be tuned as G and A respectively, then courses five and six with F and E strings plucked and adjusted until final two strings in courses nine and 10 reach an A and an E tone, though modern bajo quintos may no longer require such bass accompaniment for chording purposes.
Techniques
Bajo quinto resembles an oversized acoustic guitar and can be played using a pick. Tuning one octave lower than traditional guitar, its bass strings take center stage; typically used alongside accordions in Mexican folk music styles like norteno (Tex-Mex) music.
Ruben Luengas first encountered the bajo quinto while researching its history for a school project at National University of Mexico. While in Coicoyan de Las Flores, Oaxaca, he met a luthier who taught him how to make one and later led its revival with him as one of its principal proponents.
The bajo quinto resembles a standard bass with resaque, yet features only 10 strings instead of 12. Older styles of playing involve finger plucking while more modern chordal and melodic techniques utilize picks instead.
It is believed that the bajo quinto originated from an Italian baroque guitar called chitarra battente brought over from Italy during colonial Mexico, or possibly inspired by Oaxaca’s own baroque violin known as the guaje.
The bajo quinto has become an essential instrument in Tex-Mex and Mexican folk music, as well as popular in mariachi bands and family gatherings across America. Learn to master this gorgeous bassy instrument with help from acclaimed musician and educator Jason Randall’s beginner’s guide; this will equip you with all of the skills needed to master its bassy sound!
Music
Bajo quinto is a Mexican folk instrument resembling an oversized acoustic guitar in shape, featuring ten steel strings wound together five times in five doubled courses, played with a pick. It’s frequently combined with accordions in Tex-Mex and Norteno music styles; its name translates to “fifth bass” or “low five,” likely deriving from Italian chitarra battente brought over during colonial times as part of this style of playing style.
Though its roots in folk music remain somewhat mysterious, the bajo quinto has long been considered one of the cornerstones of conjunto music. Traditionally used to provide bass chords alongside an accordion, with more instruments joining its ranks becoming available allowing it to perform melodies as well.
Our bajo quinto is handcrafted in Paracho, Michoacan, Mexico and features a high-quality pickup with an output jack for connecting to an amplifier. Designed with stacked coils to reduce noise and deliver warm and full humbucking tones with exceptional accuracy and musicality. A volume control wheel allows users to tailor output while its pre-wired output jack can even be endpin mounted for use in smaller diameter soundholes. Plus it comes complete with a quality, padded case!