Hi,
By now I have played and adjusted and readjusted and modified my first CBG. And it needs more of the same to finish .
First to go was 3 strings. Right now I cannot relate . 4 strings is what I know, and can play, as in 5-string banjo.
So i added another tuner and string. When the bug to build hit, i could not find a cigar box anywhere close by, so I built a box.
That works OK, but rough. Next, to save time and extra work, I trimed down a tossed out ele guitar neck. That might be good to use but
it is now a bit narrow for 4 strings.
And I used soft wood that was laying around for the through box part that might not be quite strong enough.
The dog bowl was cheap and really does give good response for the price.
The wood "cover plate" hides the sound and interfears with finger picks. That is now cut down to a pickguard shape.
Overall, this project has been a hoot. More fun for the buck than most other expensive instrument projects.
So I come to the question. How much "fixing", rebuilding and adjusting to this first build should I continue with?
Where is the line between fixing and it's time to start over?
kentr
Replies
Pete Seeger was an insperiation for a lots of folks. He was for all the longnecks i've built.
"This Instrument Surrounds Hate and Forces it to Surrender"
And after all these years that instrument is still one of my favorites, one of the most comfortable to play. Most often with a capo on the 3rd fret.
Another open back longneck i built has purple hart wood, a huber tonering, vertical grain in the rim, the hoop, hooks, brackets and nuts I made 35 years ago
for another banjo, and is tuned to an open D, With thicker strings,That way with the capo on the third it's in F. Very big sound with picks.
Seeing all the different instruments built and shown here on the "pics' pages has rekindled another building spree.
CBG 2, with a genuine Romeo y Julieta CB, is around 75% done, I rebuilt the bucketjo with a dog bowl res and a piece of pine board up under the plastic
to keep it flat, and added good tuners. It's much improved, just not loud,
Those led to looking around to see what melse was on hand to start.
Now there are three more to start on, Ant that's without any shopping.
I really like the hubcap reso guitar you pictured. looks like i'll be searching for a hubcap sometime soon.
kentr
Hey Taff, I read a book back when I was a teen about Pete Seeger, and you just described exactly how his longneck was built? John D'Angelico cut the head off at the nut and pieced in an extension with 2 more frets, voila, Seeger longneck banjo. Pete said he could play in E tuning, then turn around and retune the 5 th to get back to G tuning, which is pretty genius for back then?
Hi Kent, Looks like you are coming along fine. Thanks for the updates. You mentioned the Pete Seeger long-neck banjo. Believe it or not, I did the same thing over sixty years ago. The picture shows a long-neck 5-string banjo, my first proper instrument project. I converted a fretless old Dixieland banjo. I cut off the peg head and replaced it on the extension. The inside of the head had a beautiful lion painted on the inside, so I left that as is.
I got the idea from Pete Seeger also.
Hi Kent. been there ,done that.
Before I built my first CBG I built three prototypes, thats what you have done, built a prototype. From the learning curve of that exercise I did what you have done here, I made a list of what works best and what I would leave out of the next build. I did keep the prototype to remind me of the early chellenges.
If I may offer afew tips and suggestions. This is what I would do.
If the neck is wder thatn a banjo neck at the nut you should be ok for 4 strings. And if, like the original neck it is wider at the body that is even better.
I find that there is more song info and stuff relating to 3 stringers out there than 4 stringers.
I have found that the cheaper dog bowls work better due to their thinner composition.
The cover plate will defently stifle the sound that comes off the top of the "cone" dog bowl
I would play with the soundholes size. Their diameter may be ok but the menal inserts may be a bit restrictive too.
I would aim for a box 50mm deep using that size "resonator" dogbowl
The pine neck support can be easily reinforced or supported by the back of the CBG
Aim for the bridge position to land on the center of the cone for best responce
With a magnetic pickup you will get more electric string sound than resonator cone sound. I always consider a piezo transducer for that. or both.
Don't feel bad abought leaving and job that fights you. Start again with fresh ideas and understanding more than you did before you started your protoyype.
Cheers Taff
PS, I think I am playing one of these on my page videos.
Hi Taffy,
Thank you for your reply and suggestions. I was hoping to hear some. I'll try to answer in order, sorta.
i used a tossed out solid body ele neck, with good frets and truss rod, and trimmed it down for three strings to 1 1/8" wide at the nut. Right at to narrow for 4.
But I added a 4th anyway. I will try out 3 strings again sometime, and this neck might be the one for that after a couple more builds.
However I've been playing 4 or 5 strings for a long time, as in DGBDg, and am comfortable with just 4. Finding songs to play is not a problem.
Just yesterday i removed the 5th string from an extra banjo to tryout 4 strings only, and while i missed that 5th string, it was ok to play that way'
and offers a challenge to make it work.
I used the "dog bowls' that were available around here. After this i will be on the lookout for anything that might work, and keep an eye out for cigar boxes.
The wooden cover plate is off, and a new pickguard installed. And I do consider this build #1 to be a prototype, but it needs to be playable for testing.
Here are 4 strings and a pickguard.
The neck is maple, and the 1x2s used for the box sides and brace are doug fir. The brace should have been a hardwood, i see that now. and that part
can be cut out and replaced. That's one of the best features I see with CBG builds, if you made it the first time, you can also fix or change things too.
The bridge is as close to the center as possible.
I am planning for a piezo also.
It really is a surprise how much sound there is from this $ 25 guitar, even with all the mistakes and needed adjustments.
My wife even volunteered a complement on how good it sounded. And that is just acoustic, no help from reverb.
Thanks again foryour reply, I played build 0 today, what started out as a bucket-jo, another prototype for a $5 banjo. It's a dud, it was a dud as a
bucketjo, but inproved with better tuners and dog bow; reso. If I never built it, i would have always wondered if it would work.
Hi,
The idea of treating build one and now build two as prototypes has helped a lot.
That way they are open to be changed amd or added to. The goal for them will be to be playable, sound as good as possible, and either
try out or confirm things that work.
By taking measurements and neck profiles from the Pete Seeger style longneck I built 25 years ago, any new CBG necks will be built patterened
after that. It turns out that 1 1/8th to 1 1/4 " at the nut works well for me, and that's with 4 strings.
And a straight neck with no bump for a 5th string willmake the job easier.
For build two I finally found a cigar box to use , but thet ripped off and tossed the lid. no worries, I made a top, and the box was
free with no top.
This will have 4 strings and a 23" scale length. I found a length of 2x2 fir in the wood scrap pile that has clear vertical grain.
Good enough for a prototype. i found a piece of 1/4" x 2" maple i was using for a sanding block that will work for a fingerboard,
and help strenthen the neck. Cut the fret slots and profiled the board today.
Here is number two, about 1/2 done. Bad light for a good pic, but took it anyway.
kentr