Hi everybody,
I'm Quentin from France. I've been playing the guitar since I was 18, and the ukulele since last summer.
It takes me one year to start (and finish!) my first ukulele made of a cigar box.
I'm here for my next building, because this one doesn't sound that good... Do you use some piece of wood like in a guitar (in the inside edges)? Or do you have any piece of advice for me?
Thank you!
Replies
Are you sure it doesn't sound good, or are you just being overly critical of the sound because you made it. It's a beautiful uke, and I'd hate to have you not playing it. We've all made guitars that sound different then what we may have imagined when building, but I know I have put a couple on the shelf and come back later and liked the sound. Sometimes you have to let what you expected it to sound like fade from your memory and come back later and enjoy it for what it is.
The Ukulele is very beautiful.
For my first Ukulele I used the thin bottom of the box as the top and it got a really good sound. It's a similar box as yours.
Try it out.
Salut Quentin! Making a cigar box ukelele to sound good is difficult - you need a really thin, lightweight top. Tuning higher or using heavier strings will help to get the top vibrating, and you may also be able to make the top thinner (from the inside) to make it more responsive. It looks very nice, and as Davey says, put a pickup in it and you might get a nice surprise when you plug it in.
Looks great. But your not gong to get a good acustic sound from a thick box. I would say put a piezo pick in or on it you will be amazed you will need some sort of amp. But also build your new one as it is so much fun ;-)