Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tom Drommond on March 6, 2015 at 5:37pm

Wayfinder I agree.  Building the ideal guitar should take time, effort, dedication and craftsmanship. It should be a labor of love in the creation of a great musical instrument. Tools should be bought, workshops attended, etc.

In the mean time, put a stick through a cigar box, wire it for sound, grab a slide, and turn it to 11. Let's play.

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on March 7, 2015 at 2:06am

I remember losing sleep being excited about early builds, what I was going to do and how I could do it,    But some of the most fun has been walking into the shop, looking through the boxes and parts on hand and just building.   Great fun that way with some great and not so great results.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas "Duck" Petry on March 7, 2015 at 4:52am

Pretty well sums the whole thing up. I think all builders with passion would agree.

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Permalink Reply by bill bye on March 6, 2015 at 7:10pm

i think a lot of time is spent trying to figure out what questions to ask so as not to be totally ignorant. in appearance that is; else we are all somewhat dumber than the average mule in our honest desire to build a wonderful cigar box guitar. Our marvelous tin ears; and our ability to be bamboozled by cbg's that sound as tho Chet had returned! we do find VERY helpful folks that have sucessfully built wonderfully sounding:and tonal quality unsurpassed a cigar box guitar. Then as we all begin to get confortable in our inadequadicies along come a marvelous player on a cbg in his own right- and now he plays a neck with strings a amp and NO CB! i guess i  am a little perplexed!!!!! i will suceed and build my own box! AMEN!

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Permalink Reply by Tom Drommond on March 7, 2015 at 3:22am

Bill - What I like about CBGs is that there's not much need for a lot of thought and study.  It takes me about 3 hours to get to the point where the riskiest and hardest parts are done.  All that's left are the details and finishing, frankly my favorite part of the build.

I've spent nearly a year build a guitar. Fussing over every detail.  Asking a million questions.  It was mainly because I was working with a special piece of wood, or design, that I was so cautious. With CBGs, I've let experience be my teacher.  I've made a few goofy looking CBGs, but all of them have sounded cool in one way or another when plugged in and cranked up.  I really don't think you can screw up building a cool CBG if you follow a few simple ideas and keep building them until you get it. I've given away almost as many as I've sold, just so I could build another one. The few I've sold were more to justify all the time and expense to my wife. I'd build them for free, but don't tell anybody.  I've built 2 that I wouldn't sell, because they turned out exceptionally well.  The rest are just the next attempt to build another exceptional "keeper" for myself.

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Permalink Reply by TN Twang on March 7, 2015 at 2:46am

Last week there was an article on Yahoo about a lady crying that she stopped selling on ETSY because there were Chinese-made knockoffs copying her idea. I wanted to tell her that the point of crafting is that each product is unique--unlike anything else in the universe. Ya' gotta' keep the creativity coming. Her one little pattern was easy to copy. She should have just sold (or given away) the pattern if that's the only idea she had.

There is the temptation to set up an assembly line to cut setup time, but what would be the point? I can't even mass produce necks because, so far, I've never done two headstocks the same way.

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Permalink Reply by George Mesheau on March 7, 2015 at 1:19pm

Not really sure how long I spend on a CBG as never kept notice.. Way longer than would be needed if you are selling.. I am in this for the fun and pleasure, retired and so don't really care how long it takes me.. Often I might spend a couple of hours just looking at the wood or the box I have and visualizing what I may or may do with it.. that's part of the fun... Often will work couple of hours on a part then do other things while its drying or glue set up etc etc.. I have two on the go at the moment and both are almost done, but have deceided to make a change or two in the end as didn't like the sound.. this ll takes time...

My next build will be a CBG made from an old jewellery box that looks like two books the are  together.. spent couple of hours last nite just dreaming of how I might do it.. got the material ( oak ) and some of the other little parts, but have not set a blade to it yet.. Maybe next week.....

Bottom line for me is the fun and enjoyment not for money or other gain. I either keep them or give them to friends ..

Have also made 3 small amps as well and this too take lots of time and patience and FUN..

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Permalink Reply by grondon oconnor on March 8, 2015 at 3:55pm

Your mention of amps caught me. Have not tried making yet but collected a few old radios. I saw a hack on You Tube a while back and wonder if you have a link to a helpful site or would post something here. Seems to me that it would fit somewhere in the CBN format. What with stacks of boxes and now radios in my garage, I feel I have to do something before my wife calls Hoarders TV. 

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on March 8, 2015 at 4:54pm

htthttp://www.cigarboxnation.com/group/ampsp://

www.cigarboxnation.com/group/home-made-guitar-amps

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/group/vintage-radios-converted-into-g...

try these Grondon

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Permalink Reply by grondon oconnor on March 12, 2015 at 5:02pm

Thanks Darryl

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Permalink Reply by Greg Thompson on March 8, 2015 at 4:05am

I think confidence has a big part to play here. Those with strong skills and experience building can quickly make decisions and follow through. Sometimes I buzz along, then I hit a snag or a design consideration and I might sit back and contemplate my next move. I've been working with different materials and learning how is the best way to build a particular part. A canjo can be created in a few hours, but my gourd guitars are slower builds, plus drying time slows me the most.
I don't think number of hours makes a guitar better, anyway. Quality is quality.

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Permalink Reply by Tom T on March 8, 2015 at 9:17am

Ooooooooh so true..................

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