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Why do Music Shops dislike CBG's?

Hello all,

I have always been pretty good at crafting things since I was a little boy. I've always tore things apart just to see how they are put together. I’ve built a few CBG’s back in High School in the 80's and started building them again a few months back since it’s been a bit easier to pick up cheap cigar boxes.

When going to a few local music’s store in my area to try and pick up parts, (New Jersey) I seem to get the same reply from some of the store owners or employees when they ask me what I am using the parts for.

“Why do you want to build that for, they all sound like crap” or a get the old eye roll.

I firmly disagree with them and usually thank them for their time and walk out. It seems to me that CBG’s are look down on. I work at a school and even the music teacher here gives me a look when I mention it to him. I have bought one in and even he said the my craftsmanship is very nice and professional, he tells me I should just save my money and time and buy a nice guitar. Has anyone else run into this kind of behavior, or is it just a north-eastern thing.

I have many interest including playing the Bagpipes, Guitar, and Drums, but having a wife and 4 wee ones have been taking up a majority of my time.

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Permalink Reply by MattCrunk on June 2, 2014 at 4:15pm

Hah, This reminds me of an incident a few years ago when I had the opportunity to put my first CBG (a self-built Lowebow copy with the double dowel neck.) into the hands of none other than vintage guitar guru (and ultimate guitar snob) George Gruhn, and ask him his opinion of it. The look on his face was priceless. All he offered by way of comment was, "Well, it is very interesting."

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Permalink Reply by TN Twang on June 3, 2014 at 3:52am

I've been trying to verify my failing recollection that Gruhn has sold square cigar-box looking guitars--but they were probably built by traditional luthiers and "disguised" to look like real CBGs. Anybody got any info??

Next time you're in Nashville, try World Music Nashville out on Highway 70 in Bellevue. Nice guys, very helpful, lotsa' low-cost parts displayed on a pegboard. Most of the staff record, play, and teach.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 3, 2014 at 3:56pm

TN,

Just checked Gruhn's website, and found this:

http://www.gruhn.com/photo/UK1248.jpg

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Permalink Reply by TN Twang on June 4, 2014 at 6:44am

Many, many thanks.

How'd you find it. I can't locate much that's useful on their website. (And I haven't visited the store since they moved down to 12th Ave.)

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 4, 2014 at 6:52am

I went to www.gruhn.com, and started going through the listings, until I saw "cigar boxx." It was the only one on the entire website. I also concentrated on mandos, ukes, and misc, figuring that Fenders, Martins, Gibsons, etc., were self-explanatory. ;-)

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Permalink Reply by TN Twang on June 4, 2014 at 6:59am

Ya' got more patience than I do...

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 4, 2014 at 7:01am

I like digging for info; it's part of my day job.

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Permalink Reply by James on June 2, 2014 at 11:21am

They are all just a bunch of SNOBS !!! (-:

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Permalink Reply by Mike "Katfish" Karash on June 3, 2014 at 1:38pm

Depends on the shop... Bone Island Music/Island Guitar in Key West Florida (the only music store there to take care of the gig players at all the bars), have carried a full line of my CBGs for about 3 years. The owner and one of his employees volunteered to play live for my opening night at The Studios of Key West exhibit, ON CIGAR BOX GUITARS! They both love them! He owns another store in PA, and I've built customs for them as well. Both are patiently waiting on customs I'm going to build for each of them. Bottom line, I think it got his attention when the first evening I brought a few in to show him, a customer walked in, saw my 2 gallon oil can 3 string leaning against the counter, and immediately said "I'll take that one!". They may not be for everyone, but maybe that's a good thing!

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on June 3, 2014 at 3:40pm

Way you gotta look at it is like this: They may not be for everyone, but this one's for someone. You can use that for a marketing slogan. I'll expect a CBG in return if it leads to sales ;-).

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Permalink Reply by Thomas "Duck" Petry on June 5, 2014 at 3:10am

Well said Kaydee. It seems like folks think that if an item isn't mass manufactured it must be sub-standard. Outcast or whatever you wish to call us, the fact is it's more fun building our own and the pleasure we get from our oddball, home-built instruments far exceeds the costs involved.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Lindsay on June 5, 2014 at 3:24am

Wait - you're a piper and you have to ask about arrogance and snobbery? Heh... (Did you hear the one about the bagpiper who was so arrogant that other pipers noticed?)

For the record, I don't play the pipes, but my wife does. She plays McCallum P2s, and loves them. Some fellow pipers look at her pipes and love them as well. Others think they're over priced pieces of mass produced (?) CNC cut garbage. When they take the time to pick them up and play them, however, virtually everyone who knows how to play them likes them. I've found the same to be true with my CBGs.

Lots of folks are quick to be critical - in just about anything. The few who take the time to investigate will most often form different opinions. That's not to say that they'll suddenly like your CBG. Some will, some won't. The point is that the right people will. And those are the ones I go after. I have a local guitar shop here in town asking me to hurry up and get some builds done so they can get them up on the wall to sell. The owner, tech, and 2 of the sales staff genuinely like them, think they're cool, and want to get their hands on them to learn to play.

There is, however, still some snobbery. They all want nice, quality workmanship and materials. No paper label, pressboard boxes with hardware for a bridge or nut here. They want the nicer all wood boxes with a bone nut, bone bridge saddle (or a hardtail) and a fully fretted neck. Okay, fine - I can deal with that.

I guess my point is that there's always going to be that arrogance and snobbery in every style of music, and about every kind of instrument. (Tell your pipe major that you found a beautiful set of Pakistani pipes on e-bay, and are thinking about bidding on them. You'll see what I mean.) The challenge to us is to build and play, and understand that not everybody is going to get it. If I got the kind of treatment from a guitar shop that some people have related in this thread, I'd probably have similar reactions. I'm a little more vociferous, however - I like to let people know why I'm not coming back, why I'll be buying my parts and supplies somewhere else, and why I'll make it a point to refer my friends and family elsewhere.

The right people will get it, however, and seek us out once they know that we're out here. The others? Don't bother trying to convince them. Build, play, and have fun with them. If someone wants to join in, they're welcome.