Hello
I am going to built my own boxes.
And some empirical values, hints and tipps would be helpfull.
What kind of boxes do you built? With wich lumber?
Thickness, bracing, etc?
My plan ist to built
- one box with thin plywood but braces
- and one with thicker massive wood without bracing
and check the difference of soundquality
But i am sure many of you do already know wich way brings wich effect?
So how do you built your own boxes?
Replies
Agree.
When I'm at a guitar shop or pawn shop looking at guitars, I'll pluck the strings with my fingers to hear what they sound like before anything else as they sit on the wall, acoustic or electric. If it doesn't have strings, I'll knock on it with a knuckle. Same with wood to be used on a build, if it doesn't respond well with a knock acoustically, it won't sound good as an instrument. It'll sound dull.
People think that a pickup will will nullify that, but a pickup only magnifies what's already there. Pickups don't magically make a bad guitar sound great, but they can cover up some of the bad.
I used a cedar fence plank to make a box. I used a router to thin out the top and back areas inside the box area. Had to use a good bit of bracing due to soft wood and 4 strings and the stress they cause.
Plywood is strong, but solid wood can give better tone. IMO Use a hard wood to make your box.
Like a spruce top and rosewood sides and back.
You should be able to get fine results from a decent soft wood top and thin, quality ply sides and back.
Generally lighter builds have better resonance but they need some strength.
Everything is a compromise.
I do tend to like the tone from Mahogany and other similar tonewoods for acoustics.
Most CBG builders are having to use lighter woods and ply for their boxes because that's what's available or what they can afford and they all contribute to the tone for good or bad.
As Roger points out that the strong and stable woods should be used for the back, sides, neck and some bracing. Most of your git's tone will come from the neck, neck joint, nut, bridge and top. Scale and strings used will also play a big part too.
It is definitely a comprimise when choosing material and construction techniques.
It makes sense to look at typical acoustic guitar materials and construction that has been used since the middle ages for some, to get the tried and true recipes for success. There's always the exception to the rule and CBG's were never considered great acoustic guitars by the masses, but they have their own unique sound due to how they're made and what they're made of. So a look at both styles will help make the best choices with some compromises. ;)
Hi, I base my CBG building on the same methods and consideration that is used for full acoustic guitar building. Although it's not neaded (you will still get a playable CBG guitar) but I get a far better sounding instrument by doing this.
I have found, and can show my customers the results of good materials build methods by playing them a range of cbg's in a range of sizes and timber qualities. The better the build the far better the sound and higher the price.
Talking about tops as soft wood could be a bit misleading to some. Although the timber may come from a "softwood" species of tree, I don't select it for its softness but look at it's stiffness. This is were the grain and thickness of the timber is taken into consideration, as well as the species of softwood, spruce has many.
Bracing may not be needed in some CBG tops, but in others it is, in my view.
What I look for is a top that responds to string action in a way that you not only hear the string that is plucked but it also excites all the other harmonics available from other strings, giving a much fuller, richer sound.
But I also build to try to get get that dry, earthy sound of an old Delta blues guitar, probably the true sound of a CBG.
Cheers Taff
Agree.
When I'm at a guitar shop or pawn shop looking at guitars, I'll pluck the strings with my fingers to hear what they sound like before anything else as they sit on the wall, acoustic or electric. If it doesn't have strings, I'll knock on it with a knuckle. Same with wood to be used on a build, if it doesn't respond well with a knock acoustically, it won't sound good as an instrument. It'll sound dull.
People think that a pickup will will nullify that, but a pickup only magnifies what's already there. Pickups don't magically make a bad guitar sound great, but they can cover up some of the bad.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hardboard-Tempered-Common-1-8-in-x-2-ft...
I've used this underlayment board for the tops on all my self made box builds except the last two for which I used cedar roof shakes run through my thickness planner to .125" (but not everyone has the space for a thickness planner). I've used the underlayment material for the backs on a few builds as well and they seem to sound a teensie bit better than the hardboard - at least to me.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Underlayment-Common-5-0-mm-x-2-ft-x-4-f...
For the sides, my first builds were .25" plywood, Then, I had to replace some pickets on my cypress privacy fence so I took the old "seasoned" pickets and thickness planned them from .5" to .375" and all those sides were 2" in depth. I used some radiata pine appearance boards for the sides on one build and that made construction a snap because I only had to cut the lengths using a miterbox and a hand saw since they are .375" x 2" x 3'. The only problem with it is that the pine is soft and dents easily.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Common-3-8-in-x-2-in-x-3-ft-Actual-0-31-in...
As for size, when I was first trying to cipher that out I just took a stab at using the Golden Ratio:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio
At first glance this may seem overly complicated but all it really boils down to is just taking the short side measurement and then multiplying that by 1.618 and, Bob's your uncle, you have your long side measurement (within the closest quarter inch or so). I make two box sizes, a "small" one with 7" for the short side and a "large" one with 8" for the short side. The small boxes easily accommodate 24" scale neck tuna tin resonators and the large boxes easily accommodate 25.5" scale neck paint can lid resonators with the bridge placed about one third the distance from the heal.
Why the golden ratio? Well, I want my instruments to be aligned with the cosmos of coarse :-/ :)
I haven't done much building lately as I met a lovely woman a while back and being 68 and an INFJ type personality, those don't come easy or often for me so... But, I will need some alone time eventually to "recharge". Priorities first though.
I use 1/2" poplar for the sides on License Plate guitars... I have also used 3mm (1/8") plywood for tops and bottoms... With a neck-through design, I don't bother bracing the top...
Cool, so i will also try without bracing for the plate (future built - first i gonna make one with a wooden top)
If your looking to copy a cigar box then make a simple cigar box.
All out of 1/4 ply.
The back of the box is the total size of the box
The two short sides are the thickness of the ply shorter than the two longs sides.
The top of the box sits on the two shorter sides and between the two long sides.
A real cigar box is held together with it's paper and very small brad nails. Gluing yours together would make it stronger. As long as your neck runs through the box and your bridge is supported by this same wood your box can be any size without much thought on supports. You could add stability to the box by making all the sides the same hight. And the back and front of the box the actual size of the box. Instead of having the opening top of a real cigar box.
this is way easier than waiting to find, or paying for those large flat boxes.
To echo Harold, The thicker the wood the less the vibrations coming from it. The energy of the string is absorbed by the wood. The energy that's left is what escapes. The wood includes everything the guitar is made of. Top back and sides.
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