I'm sure this has been discussed here but it seems to me that if there are no rules to making CBG, which means "for me as soon as I pick it up and strum it's called music even if it sucks" where does the heritage go.... OK Any Box... I get it, But why the store bought Necks and fret boards. Why even a pickup other then a peazo pick up... Isn't the point of the box to Resonate... If so why do we place Humbuckers and others to not even use the resonation of the box. Seems pointless to me.. Do we stop there? Tuners... all I can say is it's a must have... I love these things but some times the question to me is if it's gonna look and sound like a produced Gibson except for the box...Then why not just buy a Gibson...
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You certainly pose some interesting and thought provoking questions. I think that's good.
To me "No rules" means:
First and foremost have fun!!!
Permission to experiment, try new approaches, work within my skill set, or attempt to expand it.
I don't have to do it the way real "luthiers" do; even though at some point I may choose to.
I don't have to limit myself to classic "tone woods" and other traditional materials, but I can use them if I choose to.
I can spend as much or as little as I want to on tools or materials. I lean towards cheap, but I reserve the right to splurge should I choose to.
The exercise of my creativity will not suspend the laws of nature; I have to learn to work within them if I want to improve the tone, intonation, and structural stability of my instruments.
There is no one right way to build an instrument. We have lots of pictures here that prove that!
This is one of those discussions that is about "taste and preference"... Some will go oh/wow... some will shrug their shoulders and politely say nothing. I think that it is an amazing first build. It is not my gig to use salvaged necks (only done one and it was a custom request), but I can understand the attraction. Probably since I have now desire to play six string, that pretty much rules out it for me...
Good job, keep'em coming...
the best,
Wichita Sam
Robert Wickham said:
I'm no expert on the subject, i'm only on my second build, but the important thing to me is the act of building a CBG not what parts are used. My first CBG's design was pretty much dictated by what parts/tools I had on hand, and my limited word working skills. Check it out, and let me know what you guys think.
I'm no expert on the subject, i'm only on my second build, but the important thing to me is the act of building a CBG not what parts are used. My first CBG's design was pretty much dictated by what parts/tools I had on hand, and my limited word working skills.
Check it out, and let me know what you guys think.
I like the no rules idea the freedom to create something that actually sounds decent and looks good to the eye. But when I started building I found out real quick that this hobby could get out of hand money wise so I set myself 3 rules of building for myself. Tuners, strings, and fret wire I would buy, the rest I would salvage and scrounge.By doing this I have found a whole new creative outlet . Every where I go I'm looking for something that I could use on a build and when other people see my stuff they usually give me parts or ideas to use.So actually by setting 3 rules for my self actually opened up a whole new world of creativity for me.
in my preference, the (real) home made ones are coolest.
the ones that may not look the nicest, but have a real bluesy sound
when building, i try to spend as least money as possible (partly cuz i don't have much money) but i think one of the best parts about building cbg's is using parts that you find (whether it's in your house, or on the street). as much as i like a good-looking guitar. i like home-made things to look home-made. and even when a neck/headstock is home-made, it shouldn't look like you just bought it at the store. it should look like a 2x3.
a CBG is not a rich mans instrument.
and if it looks "home-made" it's got more character
My attraction to the cigar box guitar is that it completes an artistic loop within itself. Imagine a couple hundred years ago, artist were mixing berries (and things) with egg yolks to create their paint, they made the frames and stretched the canvass. The painting is only the performance on the 'stage' the artist created.
I haven't made my CBG yet. (Trying to get some fretwire together, and waiting for my ebay tuners). If somebody has an old guitar neck laying around and wants to throw it on the guitar that's not a 'fancy CBG', in my opinion it's recycling. I'd say that a cbg could be built for about 25 dollars. That's 15 for the tuners, 8 for the box, 2 for the piezo. . . . I would think a humbucker model CBG could be built for less than 50?
This is fairly closely related to the questions of "why would someone want to make and play a home made instrument," "what makes a CBG or other home made instrument different from a store-bought instrument," "what can you learn from teaching yourself to build and/or play a home made instrument," "what meaning does making or playing a CBG have for you?"
It would be a good idea to each of us to spend a little time thinking about these things. There will be a point where someone will ask you one of these questions. It may be a friend, an acquaintance, or a reporter from the local paper looking for a feature article. These in fact are exactly the kinds of questions reporters ask, and if they don't ask them, you can pose them as rhetorical questions. If you have thought about it beforehand, you will have a well articulated answer to provide.
Shane used to have a series of CBG propaganda lessons, and the series convinced me I needed to think about these things. We need to have him post this somewhere again (it probably is posted somewhere--I just don't know where).
Thanks also to the folks who have provided some extremely varied, but thoughtful, responses!
Replies
You certainly pose some interesting and thought provoking questions. I think that's good.
To me "No rules" means:
First and foremost have fun!!!
Permission to experiment, try new approaches, work within my skill set, or attempt to expand it.
I don't have to do it the way real "luthiers" do; even though at some point I may choose to.
I don't have to limit myself to classic "tone woods" and other traditional materials, but I can use them if I choose to.
I can spend as much or as little as I want to on tools or materials. I lean towards cheap, but I reserve the right to splurge should I choose to.
The exercise of my creativity will not suspend the laws of nature; I have to learn to work within them if I want to improve the tone, intonation, and structural stability of my instruments.
There is no one right way to build an instrument. We have lots of pictures here that prove that!
Lastly, don't forget. Have fun!!!
Doug
This is one of those discussions that is about "taste and preference"... Some will go oh/wow... some will shrug their shoulders and politely say nothing. I think that it is an amazing first build. It is not my gig to use salvaged necks (only done one and it was a custom request), but I can understand the attraction. Probably since I have now desire to play six string, that pretty much rules out it for me...
Good job, keep'em coming...
the best,
Wichita Sam
Robert Wickham said:
Check it out, and let me know what you guys think.
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/cbg1full-1?context=user
the ones that may not look the nicest, but have a real bluesy sound
when building, i try to spend as least money as possible (partly cuz i don't have much money) but i think one of the best parts about building cbg's is using parts that you find (whether it's in your house, or on the street). as much as i like a good-looking guitar. i like home-made things to look home-made. and even when a neck/headstock is home-made, it shouldn't look like you just bought it at the store. it should look like a 2x3.
a CBG is not a rich mans instrument.
and if it looks "home-made" it's got more character
-Wes
< just pokin' Toast >
toasterburn said:
I haven't made my CBG yet. (Trying to get some fretwire together, and waiting for my ebay tuners). If somebody has an old guitar neck laying around and wants to throw it on the guitar that's not a 'fancy CBG', in my opinion it's recycling. I'd say that a cbg could be built for about 25 dollars. That's 15 for the tuners, 8 for the box, 2 for the piezo. . . . I would think a humbucker model CBG could be built for less than 50?
This is fairly closely related to the questions of "why would someone want to make and play a home made instrument," "what makes a CBG or other home made instrument different from a store-bought instrument," "what can you learn from teaching yourself to build and/or play a home made instrument," "what meaning does making or playing a CBG have for you?"
It would be a good idea to each of us to spend a little time thinking about these things. There will be a point where someone will ask you one of these questions. It may be a friend, an acquaintance, or a reporter from the local paper looking for a feature article. These in fact are exactly the kinds of questions reporters ask, and if they don't ask them, you can pose them as rhetorical questions. If you have thought about it beforehand, you will have a well articulated answer to provide.
Shane used to have a series of CBG propaganda lessons, and the series convinced me I needed to think about these things. We need to have him post this somewhere again (it probably is posted somewhere--I just don't know where).
Thanks also to the folks who have provided some extremely varied, but thoughtful, responses!
Best regards, Willie
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