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Frett board question.

Posted by Jonathan Clark on January 21, 2013 at 11:00pm in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Hello all, I'm still kinda new to building CBG's thing. I'm working on my 7th and 8th cbg now and i need some help. My question is this, how high can or should a frett board be above the lid of any box ?

Fretted and non-fretted.

2 of my first cbg's were 3 string slides, and were flush with the lid.

My first two 4 stringers were also flush with the lid.

Now on working on a pair of 4 stringers with 4 post mag pickups. and a strat style hard tail saddle bridge.

I've really gotten in to building these since i came across this site. You are just the greatest.

Thanks in advance. And best regards.

Lonebear.

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Replies

Jonathan Clark January 23, 2013 at 8:19pm

Now i get it. Ok, thanks everyone. now this makes since.
Tom Drommond January 23, 2013 at 12:19pm

I needed room for a archtop-style pick up and I didn't want to cut a hole in the lid, so I did it by building the fretboard over the lid to gain some room for the pickup. The 5 Vegas is over the lid, too. It think it makes for a stronger guitar that's less likey to bow and break. It carries the bending moment closer to the bridge and shortens the amount of thin wood in the neck to 2/3 of the length of the box.

I've done mine like this:
- Tom Drommond > Tom Drommond January 23, 2013 at 12:21pm
  
  Here's a demo of the first one, Witchy-Poo:
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl38VV0Afzg
  - Jonathan Clark > Tom Drommond January 23, 2013 at 8:24pm
    
    Hi tom. Thanks you very much for this info, I thought i was missing something. Now i see it and get it. Also these guitar are fanstasic.
    - Tom Drommond > Jonathan Clark January 23, 2013 at 9:08pm
      
      Glad it helped.
      
      The 5 Vegas was my first. I saw a youtube video of Seasick Steve with one and then found Shane Speals' stuff. So I watched a couple of how-to's here. I had the box, and about 3 hours later I was gluing it up. I just figured it out as I went. Don't over think it. Back in the day, guys like Blind Willie Johnson made theirs and they didn't sweat the details. Blind Willie used a butter knife for a slide. This ain't precision luthiery. They are as much fun to play as build.
      
      Went back in the house with it after half a day and my son thought it was too cool. So, it's his now and he's planning on playing it at the 5th grade talent show in April.
      
      Chuck Berry's "It Wasn't Me"
      
      I'll post some practice videos as we get closer. Right now he's messing with it between Legos and Angry Birds.
Jonathan Clark January 22, 2013 at 10:47pm

This is why i love this group. Thanks for all the answers folks. This clears up alot of questions. WAIT, back angle ?

What the heck is a back angle ? Sorry, keep in mind i'm a rookie at this. lol
- David McQueen > Jonathan Clark January 23, 2013 at 9:17am
  
  If you hold your guitar up and look at it from the side, if the neck/fret board is on the same line as the top of the guitar, you have no back angle. If the neck/fret board appears to drop towards the head stock you do.
  
  Now, in your mind run a string parallel to the fretboard out over the body of the guitar to where the bridge would be for both a guitar with no back angle and one with a back angle. For the same fretboard action, the guitar with no back angle will have a lower bridge.
  
  Why does this matter? The greater the angle of the strings over the bridge, the greater the force pushing down through the bridge to the guitar body and the more string energy transmitted to the body. This means louder.
  
  Hth
  Dave
  - Jonathan Clark > David McQueen January 23, 2013 at 8:21pm
    
    Thanks David, for the info. I spent last nite looking at my guitars going ( what angle ). lol I get it now, thanks again.
- The Phrygian Kid > Jonathan Clark January 23, 2013 at 12:55am
  
  Dude if you look at the pic I linked you it'll be crystal clear. It enables you nice low fingering action plus a big tall bridge, which creates down angle, = pressure on the top = tone and volume. Look at a violin.. Or a banjo.. Most lute like instruments have the neck pitched back from square with the soundboard, making things square like a fender is unusual, although 'flat top' acoustic guitars with a tailpiece and bridge in one with pins in etc usually have a shallow neck angle, and archtops etc with a tailpiece behind a floating bridge need more neck angle..
  A neck angle is certainly not necessary to make a decent instrument, but I'd say it certainly helps.
  - Jonathan Clark > The Phrygian Kid January 23, 2013 at 8:20pm
    
    Now i see it, man, thank you vary much.