Fret placement/tuning indecision?

I'm hunting for materials for my first build now, and was wondering what I should do for tuning and such. So far I have some fretwire, tuning pegs, and an EMG Select humbucker pickup. Originally, my idea was to make a stick dulcimer/dulcitar, but now more traditional CBG tunings have piqued my interest, as my other instrument, an f-style mandolin, doesn't really satisfy my interests in rockabilly and surf. I would just build a CBG and tune it differently, but the fret placement on dulcimers is a bit different/uneven.

So I was wondering if it was possible to make some kind of removable fretboard, so I could make it into a full-on CBG if I get bored with Dulcimer playing. I'd also hate to "waste" such a nice pickup on an instrument that is usually acoustic, though I was planning to wire piezos and the EMG into a blend pot to be able to get more play in that respect. I would just make two, one piezo and one electric, but as I'll be using this for gigs, I'm not sure piezos will be worth the trouble with feedback and all.

I'd appreciate any advice y'all could give me. Thanks!

I third that bolt on neck idea. But you have to come up with a good way to interchange with the strings attached. A removable tailpiece/bridge would ... Hmmmm. Crow does a neck on top of box design. I'm not a big fan of that design but it works and most dulcimers 'necks' are on the sound board surface.

Try that build so that the neck it attached to the outside top of the box so that it screws/bolts on and can be removed. Keep in mind to losen the strings before taking the neck off or the tension might snap the neck in half.

-WT

Mark Bliss said:

I think in the end you will want to build two, or wish you just did.

But that aside, why not consider a bolt on neck construction with interchangeable necks if you just have to go the interchangeable route?

I'd rather build two than break one down and restring it more than occasionally............

An interchangeable fretboard could be done. screws, guide pins, but in the end its a lot of bother. For the same effort you could be well on the way with a second build.

Replies

Vaughan S. Nelson-Lee March 16, 2011 at 10:21pm

Thanks everybody!

I ended up deciding to make two separate instruments. As I don't start working until April or May, I decided to make an acoustic dulcimer with some piezos now, and save the normal CBG for later when I can drop more money on better electronics to go with the EMG.
jeff maurer March 15, 2011 at 10:25pm

if it was me i would just build a chromatic neck. anything played on a diatonic scale can be played on a chromatic neck, just gotta know your scales. plus with the chromatic neck you can still do things a dulcimer can do, but do it with chord shapes you cant fret on an instrument that is diatonicly fretted. but then if you really like building cbgs then i would take uncle johns advice and build any cbg that would suit your needs. and it wouldnt be nothing to thro 3 gitties into a bucket to take to a gig. and if you have feedback problems get a noise gate pedal.
Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates March 15, 2011 at 9:42pm

I third that bolt on neck idea. But you have to come up with a good way to interchange with the strings attached. A removable tailpiece/bridge would ... Hmmmm. Crow does a neck on top of box design. I'm not a big fan of that design but it works and most dulcimers 'necks' are on the sound board surface.

Try that build so that the neck it attached to the outside top of the box so that it screws/bolts on and can be removed. Keep in mind to losen the strings before taking the neck off or the tension might snap the neck in half.

-WT

Mark Bliss said:
I think in the end you will want to build two, or wish you just did.

But that aside, why not consider a bolt on neck construction with interchangeable necks if you just have to go the interchangeable route?

I'd rather build two than break one down and restring it more than occasionally............

An interchangeable fretboard could be done. screws, guide pins, but in the end its a lot of bother. For the same effort you could be well on the way with a second build.
Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates March 15, 2011 at 9:36pm

No need to shield piezo pickups. They aren't magnetic and therefore not as subject to EMF.

-WY

Vaughan S. Nelson-Lee said:
Maybe not on-the-go removable, but maybe screwed in? who knows.

My only gripe with building two would be which one to put my pickup in. I guess the dulcimer could do alright with peizos if I shielded them? Was thinking about buying a Milk Box for my mando anyways.

Thanks!

Wes "Moanin' Mule" Yates said:

Removable? That idea has been kicked around but no successful application of. I don't know if that would be worth the effort.

Here's a suggestion - build two instruments. A chromatic (12 fret) and a diatonic (Dulcimer). That way you have both.

-WY
Uncle John March 15, 2011 at 9:18pm

I think there is truth in what all these prior folks have said, but the most truth and practicality in what Mark Bliss told you.

For me, no CBG does it all. I use a 2 string for slide, a plugged in 3 string for open mike night and a 4 string for playing in my den. If you play mando, I think you would adapt rapidly to DGB tuning or DGBD tuning. Those would allow chording, picking and some slide. DGB uses the same chords as the 2,3,4 string on guitar OR banjo. DGBD uses banjo chords. Good luck, frets can be tricky.
Bluesdog March 15, 2011 at 7:58pm

You could use tied frets made from zipties or somthing else that's bendy enough to tie around your guitar neck like nylon strings. It won't last very long but definetly usable and easy to replace.

Just make the normal 12 note per octave mesurements on the neck with a pencil or something, get a pack of zipties and fret acoording to what you want.

When you want the guitar setup put zipties on evry marker, if you want dulcimer snap the zipties of that are not in the major scale. And if you want to play slide only you can snip em all off and still have the fretmarkers to orentate your slide playing.

Snipping them off between songs might be a cool "stage trick" too.
Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates March 15, 2011 at 7:19pm

Im thinking any type of fretboard not completely secured would 1) possibly warp easy and 2) not be consistently flat -- might cause horrendous string buzz.

-WY
Mark Bliss March 15, 2011 at 5:08pm

I think in the end you will want to build two, or wish you just did.

But that aside, why not consider a bolt on neck construction with interchangeable necks if you just have to go the interchangeable route?

I'd rather build two than break one down and restring it more than occasionally............

An interchangeable fretboard could be done. screws, guide pins, but in the end its a lot of bother. For the same effort you could be well on the way with a second build.
Vaughan S. Nelson-Lee March 15, 2011 at 4:51pm

Assuming the neck is three feet or so long, how many screw-in points would be good? three enough?
Roosterman March 15, 2011 at 4:22pm

This scene is all about doing things the long way, doing things that half work, doing thats that dont need to work... like the shoe man say, 'Just Do It'.

Best bet I reckon is exactly what you suggested - a totally removable fretboard. Use a screws for a couple of the fret markers to hold it down tight. When the fretboard is off you will have a good high action for slide, without having to adjsut your nut and bridge.

Of course, you could just jack the action up a wee bit so you can play both slide and fretted without doing anything, but wheres the fun in that??

If youre worried about your piezos feeding back, run them through an on-board preamp or simply encase the disc in a slim timber sandwich. Even smearing them with silicone sealer helps enormously.

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