hi, my name is mark and from from uk and got my first cbg yesterday. The short question is, it tends to sound very light and tinnie so i would like to base it out to give a heavy blues sound. obviously i need to change the strings but if i can desribe it to the best of my limited ability maybe that will help.
it currenty has accoustic strings probs light medium. two melody strings grouped together but i might take one of these off later i'm not sure
lenth of neck is 12 frets
solid cookie tin body with one large sound hole in the back ( this creates its own problems because any movement causes a blowing effect from the amp)
I tend to fingerpick rather than strum as i already play banjo (don't switch off) and find this more natural. With my naked fingers un-amped is very quiet but if i use my finger picks for more volume as expected this adds to the bright tinnie sound i don't want.
dont get me wrong i love the thing and enjoy playing but it needs a tweek here and there.
any help will be much appreciated, thanks Mark
PS If needed i'm willing to forego the accoustic side completly to get the sound i want
Replies
ie cloth over sound hole, specific type of amp, strings anything and everything really.
thanks YeahDolt i guess it's the nature of the beast
Are they new strings? New strings sound weird, sort of peak about 200 Hz and have a brassy sound. You might try bigger strings at lower pitch. I am still experimenting with strings and tunings. I can't seem to find something that I really like.
I think the reason it sounds tinny..is because it's made from a tin! You must remember we are talking about instruments made form "found objects", and they are what they are. Even after 350 builds, I still don't know with absolute certainty what they are going to sound like until I string them up...it the nature of the thing. Tins can make great guitars, but often they will be very banjo-ey with little sustain and a lot of treble.
There's probably not much you can do with it acoustically, other than put on heavier strings and tune it lower. If it's got a piezo pickup, that will make the tinniness even more apparent - they can be notoriously trebly. One way to get round this would be to install a magnetic pickup, as they are easier to manipulate the tone thru a decent amp, but the basic tone will still come through.
Is this a guitar you've made or one you've bought - if it's an established builder they should be be able to help you.