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first CBG "neck to lid build" questions

Working on my first CBG ,but most if not all my boxes are heavy made with 1/2 inch or thicker lids & was wondering since its going to be a "almost thru/Neck to Lid build how much reinforcement do I need to had? I was just going to glue the top of the neck to the body of the lid! Should that be enough for a 3 stringer. Again these lids are heavy duty & thick & I'm using poplar for my neck. " first time CBG builder ,so any info would be appreciated!!

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Permalink Reply by J.D. on April 3, 2016 at 8:57pm

Thanks ,I appreciate the advice!

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Permalink Reply by Grandpa on March 28, 2016 at 12:37am

Welcome to CBG madness, JD. Good luck on your first build. One of my first builds was a stick-on-top, which was a pretty quick project. Fun, too. 3 ferrules, 3 strings, 3 tuners, 2 bolts (1 nut, 1 bridge), and music came forth. Sound, at least. Now, when this one is completed, you will likely roll into neck-in-box, fretted necks, bitchin' sound holes, piezo pickups. Then magnetic pickups, license plate resonators, adjustable bridges for intonation, cigar box amps....and then some more. The CBG world unfolds before you. You will find answers, advice, excellent helpful hints and can learn from other builders lesser successes right here in the Nation. One last thought...my neck-on-box guitar was not a loud player, but it was a player. I haven't made a cbg with a 1/2' thick soundboard, and it sounds pretty stout, especially for an acoustic. I might think about popping a couple of screws from under the lid into the bottom of the neck in addition to the glue. Let us know how you do.

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Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on March 28, 2016 at 2:59am

With a slight modification you can even optimize this type of build for best sound playing without an amplifier:

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Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on March 28, 2016 at 9:47am

There is a sound hole on the opposite side of the box, to let the soundboard uncut. From the viewpoint of full sound I think this design is the optimum you can get out of a simple acoustic box.

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Permalink Reply by J.D. on April 5, 2016 at 9:03am

Oh yeah ,I'm adding the sound holes using a drill and hole saw bits. Trying to find something that I can fit down in the hole for a nice looking rim."preferably gold ,only thing I have found that comes close to making the pretty is those sink screens w the lip around it. Other than that "which are mostly silver" I can'tthink of anything else that suits the job. Do you buy yours off line or have a different way of prettying up your sound holes

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Permalink Reply by Matt Quinney on March 28, 2016 at 1:18pm

Great idea, Moritz. Love it!

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Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on March 28, 2016 at 1:45pm

P.S. to my picture: the black piece of wood at the end of the neck serves for me only to have the same angle of the strings over the bridge with five different other builds, to allow realistic comparison between them. Without it, the angle would be steeper, the pressure on bridge and soundboard harder and the resulting sound somewhat louder.

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Permalink Reply by J.D. on April 5, 2016 at 9:53am

Here is a pic of what I have done as of a couple days ago. When this pic was taken I had just got my box notched for the neck. P.S. those sound holes on the side of the box are different. I'm sure you get a pretty good amount of sound like that.

Attachments:

IMG_20160329_124604.jpg, 1.1 MB

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Permalink Reply by John Magnifico on March 29, 2016 at 2:51pm

Moritz I like this CBG. I wish there was more views. Being new to CBGs I have never seen your' bridge style anywhere else. I really like the bridge. I'm sure it works great! Have you ever tried it on an electric?

I think it is great how every body in here tries so hard to help us newbies. Thanks!

John M

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Permalink Reply by Moritz Voegeli on March 30, 2016 at 10:32am

Nothing spectacular, but I love simple builds that sound good without going for an amp, for playing and not for showing dandy pics. Build two three of them to play with different tunings, even uncommon ones like base note - flat third - fifth which for fingerpicking in major and minor is superior to base note - sharp third - fifth, or even base note sharp third - flat seventh for slow blues, and the like. There is a world beyond sliding on the same chords...

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Permalink Reply by John Magnifico on March 30, 2016 at 12:12pm

Nothing wrong with simple. That's what CBGs are all about. Thanks for more views. Nice job! The originators of CBGs didn't have all the fancy distributers we have now or the bucks to buy them.. They found supplies in the shed out back :O)