Hey, I'm new to the forums, but I've been lurking around the place for awhile in order to garner advice for my first build.
Anyway, I've started my first CBG. It isn't quite made out of a traditional cigar box. Instead, I'm using an old pine box decorated with Chinese paintings that I picked up at the Goodwill. For the neck I'm using a plank that is exactly the same height, depth, and width as my classical guitar. I've fastened the plank inside the box by cutting a hole in the side and then screwing the end of the plank into the other side of the box. It fits perfectly and remains very secure and solid. Also, I have drilled half inch holes into the sides and cover of the box in accordance with the theme of the Chinese painting (I used the theme of the painting simply for aesthetic reasons.)
It's turning out great and I think it'll sound quite nice. However, I fear I may have a problem: my neck lies slightly lower than the cover of the box, which is about half a centimeter. I'm going to equalize it with a nut. Despite this, I'm afraid that I'll have extremely high action on my guitar. Now that would be fine if I were planning on using my slide with this guitar. Sadly, I'm hoping to use this as a substitute for my classical guitar when I'm traveling or yearning for practice on the go. So, I'm not exactly looking for a slide guitar. If the distance from the neck to my strings is around 1/2 a centimeter, will that diminish my playing?
As a side note, I'm putting six strings on this.
Thanks for any help.
Replies
Adding a fret board would work, like Brian suggested. It is more work, but you could also slot the neck so that the lid sits down lower. I would go with adding the fingerboard myself. Maybe you could post some pictures?
You could glue a fret board to face of the neck in order to raise it's height and lower your string action.
Brian Hunt