no good so and so's! There I was just beginning to truly investigate a near lifelong dream. As a newly minted empty nester I figured it was time to really get down to business of building my own guitar. From high school I have many times sat and daydreamed of building my own instrument. The graceful curves the satin smooth finish, the caressable six string mistress... And what do I stumble into? A down and dirty nitty gritty blues basher with three strings and the attitude of a Rottweiler! I fell hopelessly madly and passionately in lust. I began reading, watching YouTube videos and finally stagger into the black hole gravitational pull of CBN. I began drafting a three string Tele style headstock laid out in half inch spacing.. I aquired a box of old cigar boxes I bought and cut a beautiful piece of oak into 1.5" strips. I read on how to build a peizo, getting ready to order parts and laying out cuts and joints and...... And..... And...... And I BLAME ALL OF YOU!
It's awesome guys and thanks! Can't wait to get my first build done and start learning these primitive beauties. Helpful info, good humor, and creative artists. I can see a number of these in my future and lots of time hopelessly wasted scouring these pages for the nuggets (and boulders) of wisdom. You can bet I'll be around nagging you for info and hopefully contributing a bit over time.
Mom I'm home!
Keith
You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!
Me too!
I fell into the gravity well of the CBG just recently.
I'm not a musician, but I like to build. I teach art, so this fits into the sculpture realm for me.
I will soon be teaching my students how to build instruments. Plus, it's so cool that one can make something and use it!
Every guitar I build is different. I make lots of mistakes but find answers as I go. I enjoy the challenge.
It keeps my mind chewing on something productive. I'm hoping that my interest and process rubs off on some of my students. I get to exercise my brain, creativity and share something unique with others.
Thanks guys, and I will use the best I have as it is all new..
and I am taking to heart the "concrete" principle (all mixed up and well set) I am not set on any single design, just the box I have, the neck I have and a headstock I designed as a tribute to the fact that I was looking for Telecaster plans when I stumbled into this swamp. I have this total DIY disorder that even when it's cheaper to buy it I'd still rather build it and pay 3 times the price. I just love building things. From the '65 Chevelle in my profile that my dad and I built, to instead of buying I built my ar-15, model cars, balsa and tissue rubber powered airplanes, remote control airplanes (still can't fly the stupid things but I love building 'em) So my desire to build my own guitar has been long in coming and I believe I can develop those skills on a platform that is a bit looser and more forgiving than a hand crafted acoustic six string. I am truly looking forward to the fun and frustration of this new hobby. Who knows it may become my new obsession
I've been at it for about a year, and the only advice I would dare to offer is to keep an open mind, i.e., be willing to change up your design as you go.
Also, don't save the "good" parts for a future build. Use the best parts and your best strings on your current build and make it as good as can be. I put some cheap tuners on a cookie tin uke last year, thinking "It can't possibly sound that good, so why put expensive parts on it?" Well, it sounded much better than I anticipated and now I wish I had used the "good" tuners.
Just my$0.02 and welcome to the party. Resistance is futile!
I've said it before. I highly recommend playing around and trying out new things on the average looking ones for awhile. That way, when you get a really pretty one, you know what you're doing. Same applies to cigar box guitars.
...maybe not world domination but making your own guitar is certainly unique in today's made-in-china-sold-in-US/Europe-throw-It-away- society, yes - we're unique! ;-)
Replies
I fell into the gravity well of the CBG just recently.
I'm not a musician, but I like to build. I teach art, so this fits into the sculpture realm for me.
I will soon be teaching my students how to build instruments. Plus, it's so cool that one can make something and use it!
Every guitar I build is different. I make lots of mistakes but find answers as I go. I enjoy the challenge.
It keeps my mind chewing on something productive. I'm hoping that my interest and process rubs off on some of my students. I get to exercise my brain, creativity and share something unique with others.
Thanks guys, and I will use the best I have as it is all new..
and I am taking to heart the "concrete" principle (all mixed up and well set) I am not set on any single design, just the box I have, the neck I have and a headstock I designed as a tribute to the fact that I was looking for Telecaster plans when I stumbled into this swamp. I have this total DIY disorder that even when it's cheaper to buy it I'd still rather build it and pay 3 times the price. I just love building things. From the '65 Chevelle in my profile that my dad and I built, to instead of buying I built my ar-15, model cars, balsa and tissue rubber powered airplanes, remote control airplanes (still can't fly the stupid things but I love building 'em) So my desire to build my own guitar has been long in coming and I believe I can develop those skills on a platform that is a bit looser and more forgiving than a hand crafted acoustic six string. I am truly looking forward to the fun and frustration of this new hobby. Who knows it may become my new obsession
IMG_0571.JPG
I've been at it for about a year, and the only advice I would dare to offer is to keep an open mind, i.e., be willing to change up your design as you go.
Also, don't save the "good" parts for a future build. Use the best parts and your best strings on your current build and make it as good as can be. I put some cheap tuners on a cookie tin uke last year, thinking "It can't possibly sound that good, so why put expensive parts on it?" Well, it sounded much better than I anticipated and now I wish I had used the "good" tuners.
Just my$0.02 and welcome to the party. Resistance is futile!
:)
I've said it before. I highly recommend playing around and trying out new things on the average looking ones for awhile. That way, when you get a really pretty one, you know what you're doing. Same applies to cigar box guitars.
:)
It's a gateway.
...maybe not world domination but making your own guitar is certainly unique in today's made-in-china-sold-in-US/Europe-throw-It-away- society, yes - we're unique! ;-)
The best years of my life were just "imitation" of pops!
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next