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Getting the Best Acoustic Sound

Posted by N.A. Wendte on April 20, 2010 at 1:12pm in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion
Hi all,

I've been following the info on this site for about a year now, but I finally signed up not too long ago.  I'll get some pictures of my first two builds up in the next few weeks I hope!

I'm looking into making a cigar-box banjo of the 5-string variety.  Now if it all possible, I'd like it to play good and loud even if it's unplugged.  So I'm thinking about what kind of box to use for this, and I'm a bit clueless.

I'd guess big, deep, and wooden would be good places to start.  Anybody got any tips for getting the most acoustic sound out of one of these badboys?

Peace,
-Nathan

P.S. Anybody ever tried putting Nylgut strings on one of these?

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Tags: acoustic, nylgut
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Replies

  • Wade April 20, 2010 at 11:03pm
    The top needs to be thin and properly braced if you really want to get it loud.
  • Keni Lee Burgess April 20, 2010 at 6:49pm
    Although not a builder myself. I encourage your research and experimentation into acoustic building. Being strickly an acoustic player myself, I will be interested in seeing and hearing your creations. You can certainly use gut, but consider they have a very low tension compared to steel, the CBG must be built very light and delicate like a classical guitar so the strings have enough strength to vibrate the box. I would suggest you talk to www.tinyguitars.tk, Darren from www.backporchmojo.com and Jim from www.cigarcitycbgs.com All excellent acoustic builders. Enjoy.
  • Diane in Chicago April 20, 2010 at 1:20pm
    Old Lowe makes lots of banjos, and swears by those really big Padron boxes. Look at his photos for more ideas.
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