What kind of builder are you, and did you get more patience as time went on?
Are you the
"Man I want this CBG done so I can rock out so I need to hurry."
Or
"I have nothing but time.....it will be great when it's done, but no hurry"
With this said, I think it shows the diffrerence of the novice to the better builder. Personally, I don't have the tools to pull off the kind of stuff I would like, but then again, I never look for anything fancy either....I just want it to function and be able to withstand a beating when I am done. I am begining to realize that this shows a lot of my persanalty. I really don't care what it looks like, I just want a smokin' guitar.
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Alright, I admit it. Often times, I'm that guy rushin' to the finish line.
But one of the things I really love the most about CBG's is the whole 'cobbled together" aspect . . . making stuff work based on what you happen to have on hand.
There IS nothing better than the sound of that very first 'twang', is there?
It's like holding a newborn up by it's ankles and giving it a smack on the butt . . .
Beautiful, Man . . . new life!
I`m a bit of a radical builder, using both the awareness as to the instrument and materials available, and the requirements of the customer. Sometimes i get the feeling that I am the only one here who is not basing his or her art as an addition to the monetary values system we all live in. I am very fortunate in having the flexibility to adapt to requirements from specific players, and have a dayjob, ( which takes some of my valuble time and energy), but am otherwise free to deliver the product I am working on for whoever.
Anti monetary, anti status, just the art and the love of music.
I think I'm a bit of a combination of the two. I build them pretty quickly but never "finish" them (both literally and figuratively). I'm usually too anxious to get them strung up and hear how they sound. Then, I can't bring myself to deconstruct them to put on the finishing touches. I'm fine with the raw look but sometimes wish they had a nice gloss on the neck or something.
I tend to try to not spend any money at all. I try to add the cost up as, "The box was this, the neck was that, the strings were this." I have a few boxes in the garage waiting for a day to play, but they will have to wait. I am geared more towards, blues/rock, and I want a box that you can pick up, and not worry about tone or sound, just make it rock out and once you do that, you get peoples atention. As soon as they see this person holding a box that has been glued together and plug it into a amp, the whole mix of back yard wood working and home brew hack electronics kicks in and they are kinda dumbfounded by what they are seeing. I guess you can say I go for the schock factor. This build (the glue is still drying right now) is the first buld I have tried with some sort of a fret board, andI have to say it's looking good. My next chalange is the sound. I have a home made pickup I made from a old dc converter coil, it sounds good on a test diddley bow, but now it's going into something a little more bigger. So with that said, I know it will work thorugh the wood of the box, but that really hurts the sound, so I will have to make some sort of a sound hole for the pickup. The list goes on and on. I am myself drawn to the "rat rod" type of beat up style, so looks really don't bother me. I like the idea of something that looks very inocent, but can really growl with some deep, home grown blues.
i find myself somewhere inbetween the two. having limited free time to do the builds, i try and get as much out of the building time as i can. but the evolution from first ideas to finished cbg takes as long as it takes - it`s not an exact science it`s all about having fun
I'm the second kind of builder but more out of poverty than choice, some builds take very long due to lack of money for tool's and materials. Upside to this problem is that i get to hone my woodworking skill's with the few tool's i have quite well.
I do wish i had a more steady cashflow though, i have builds laying around waiting to be finished for 2 month's now and they'r bugging the hell out of me!!!
I find that now after about 20 builds, I am trying to 'stretch out' my creativity and go for more stylistic builds. I am inspired by looking at the awesome builds that are shown here on the NATION. ...Amazing talent and creativity!! I do a lot of pondering and thinking as I try to match a neck with a box. Since I do the majority of saw and sanding work out in the driveway(want to keep dust levels down in the garage) I find it best to get 3-5 projects underway. That lets me do various things to each build and think about creative embellishments for different projects.
I get edgy about screwing things up the closer I get to finishing one and am always anxious to string up and play. I do a lot of woodburning design and have a hard time deciding when 'enuff is enuff' ! I am drawn to the antique and distress look that so many on this site have perfected and hope to get into that with future builds.
My wife would agree that I am addicted to this stuff and is always catching me looking at CBG PORN.... ;-)
I like to look at a box & identify the character of it. Then build a cbg in the character of the box. I dont really try to make a new box look old & grungy. If it's an immaculate box then I make the cbg immaculate, if it's beaten up & has a few stories to tell then that determines the look of the guitar. I figure having a variety means everyone will find one that appeals to them.
The only thing I dont compromise over is the sound & playability of the instrument.
A cigar box is a very small piece of real estate. So i work hard at gettting the most volume , appealing tone & resonance out of it. Fretboards are very important to me in a build. Whilst it's 7 kinds of cool to have tool markings, artistic balance & a sense of auhentic blues heritage about an instrument, a stunning fretboard reminds the player that the build is high quality. It turns the humble cbg into the proverbial "rat with a gold tooth". The kind of instrument that makes people want to pick it up for a 2nd closer look.
When I'm building i get this burning sense of anticipation about what it is going to sound like. I know it's going to be good, but will it will it have the warmth fo a banjo, or the sustion & clarity of a high end acoustic, or the round bell like tones of a pedal steel ??
I tend to look at a box for some time and although I don't have a 'vision' of how I want it to look ultimately, I gradually collect bits and pieces and my ideas slowly come together. When I start building, I take it very slowly as boxes are hard to come by and neck materials expensive, so I just can't afford to make mistakes and ruin any of the bits. After a while, things seem to fall together and progress is quick, almost to the point where I'm convinced I've forgotten to do something and I have to sit back and stare at it for a time! I also have a bit of a problem where I don't know when to stop, and maybe add something unnecessary, so I have to remind myself to 'keep it simple stupid!' (K.I.S.S.)
I get a bit frustrated and impatient whilst stringing em up and adjusting the nut/bridge height, so I have to calm myself down, as it has such a bearing on the sound and feel of the finished guitar.
I just wish I could play well, so I could see just how good they could sound!
When I'm "prototyping" it's the faster the better. When I'm building to keep it's easy does it. When I'm building for somelese it's slow because I'm scared of screwing somethin up.
Replies
But one of the things I really love the most about CBG's is the whole 'cobbled together" aspect . . . making stuff work based on what you happen to have on hand.
There IS nothing better than the sound of that very first 'twang', is there?
It's like holding a newborn up by it's ankles and giving it a smack on the butt . . .
Beautiful, Man . . . new life!
Anti monetary, anti status, just the art and the love of music.
I do wish i had a more steady cashflow though, i have builds laying around waiting to be finished for 2 month's now and they'r bugging the hell out of me!!!
I get edgy about screwing things up the closer I get to finishing one and am always anxious to string up and play. I do a lot of woodburning design and have a hard time deciding when 'enuff is enuff' ! I am drawn to the antique and distress look that so many on this site have perfected and hope to get into that with future builds.
My wife would agree that I am addicted to this stuff and is always catching me looking at CBG PORN.... ;-)
The only thing I dont compromise over is the sound & playability of the instrument.
A cigar box is a very small piece of real estate. So i work hard at gettting the most volume , appealing tone & resonance out of it. Fretboards are very important to me in a build. Whilst it's 7 kinds of cool to have tool markings, artistic balance & a sense of auhentic blues heritage about an instrument, a stunning fretboard reminds the player that the build is high quality. It turns the humble cbg into the proverbial "rat with a gold tooth". The kind of instrument that makes people want to pick it up for a 2nd closer look.
When I'm building i get this burning sense of anticipation about what it is going to sound like. I know it's going to be good, but will it will it have the warmth fo a banjo, or the sustion & clarity of a high end acoustic, or the round bell like tones of a pedal steel ??
I get a bit frustrated and impatient whilst stringing em up and adjusting the nut/bridge height, so I have to calm myself down, as it has such a bearing on the sound and feel of the finished guitar.
I just wish I could play well, so I could see just how good they could sound!
So it goes....
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