My current work in progress - Romeo - Advanced Cigar Box Guitar Building

I skipped the beginner's forum and went straight for the Super Advanced because I am a pretty advanced mad scientist/tinkerer type.

Romeo is made from a Cedar Romeo & Juliet Medallas de Oro box.

I used the bottom as the sound board so I could have easy access to the electronics.

The bolt-on neck is made from an oak stake that I have used to hold up tomato plants for 10 years. (well dried!) The markings on the neck are just pencil marks for reference. I am still tweaking the bridge and nut positioning. In the end, Romeo will be fretless, with reference marks on the upper edge of the neck. It is intended to be played almost exclusively with slide. I use a glass bottle neck and a Joe Perry ceramic stubby slide.

The bridge is a piece of hardened steel rod sitting on a piece of hand carved oak.

Under the bridge is a Radio Shack piezo pickup sandwiched in electrical tape which takes the bite off of the microphonics without muddying the sound.

The obvious addition is the humbucker pickup. What isn't obvious, is that the potentiometer at the bottom right is actually a continuous blending pot enabling mixing the pickup blend. Since there is an impedence mis-match (not nearly as much as I had thought,) I have to adjust the master volume knob on the butt of the guitar control to keep the output level when changing the blend.

The sound holes were cut to mirror the shape of the hinge i used for the tail-piece and the ornament at the base of the neck.

I am still working out a ground loop the recently showed up and figuring out how I will finish the neck and top.

I didn't assume that my first effort would be much more than a proof of concept, but It sounds amazing. It really helped that I made a couple of Diddley bows with various pickups and positions prior to building this.

James Haney

Wow,

Thanks for the overflowing praise.

I do have a lot of experience building artwork projects which helped, but in a lot of ways I got lucky. Not so much in the looks, but in the sound.

The tone on this guitar is really nice. Everyone who plays it is amazed.

I did a bunch of research in retrospect to prepare for making my next build and here is what I have determined that make this guitar really sing.

1. The box is made of really nice cedar and closes very solidly, making for a nice sound chamber.

2. I used the bottom of the box (the thinnest part) for the top, which, according to a lot of sources, makes for a better sounding CBG. Originally, I did this to make it easier to get at the electronics.

3. The piece of wood I had for the neck was too short to do a traditional, thru-the-box neck. So, I added a "heel" or "neck brace" to support the neck. This also has an interesting side effect. The box is flexible enough that I can flex the guitar against my body to get pitch bends!

4. The box is 3 inches deep. I have listened to a lot of CBGs since making mine and I invariably prefer the sound of the larger, deeper boxes. From this, I have determined that I will only use boxes of at least 2 .5 inches deep for my next guitars.

So, what do I have planned next?

I attached a picture of a cigar box I just bought on eBay this week. (11 3/4" W X 8 1/4" L X 2 3/4" D). I'm going to make a 4 string CBG, using a bass string and a bass pickup for the top string so I can play really thundering bass.

The drawing is an idea for a solid-body 4 string. The unusual shape is designed for playing while sitting down. Thus the big re-curve on the bottom fits over my right thigh and allows the neck to be held higher than a normal electric would.

So many ideas, so little time...

James

Michael Glenn said:

Wow, for a first build I have to say that looks pretty darn amazing! (Actually it would look just as amazing if it was your 100th, 1,000th, whatever - it just flat out looks amazing.)

I really like the bridge and the hardware you put on the box. I've used grommets in my soundholes, partly for decoration but also to cover up "ugly" uneven holes, but I haven't considered adding any other hardware anywhere. Seeing your pictures makes me want to start adding more though.

Fantastic, sweet looking build! Very one-of-a-kind.

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IMG_1286.JPG

Replies

Michael Glenn December 8, 2011 at 8:48pm

Sounds like you're hooked. :)

I haven't tried a 4-string yet, but I've done about 6 or 7 3-string CBGs. I still need to put pics up on my profile though; I keep forgetting about that. I just finished one with a HUGE box and strung it GDG, and I'm really happy with the sound.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work down the road,

Michael
James Haney December 7, 2011 at 5:14pm

Wow,

Thanks for the overflowing praise.

I do have a lot of experience building artwork projects which helped, but in a lot of ways I got lucky. Not so much in the looks, but in the sound.

The tone on this guitar is really nice. Everyone who plays it is amazed.

I did a bunch of research in retrospect to prepare for making my next build and here is what I have determined that make this guitar really sing.

1. The box is made of really nice cedar and closes very solidly, making for a nice sound chamber.

2. I used the bottom of the box (the thinnest part) for the top, which, according to a lot of sources, makes for a better sounding CBG. Originally, I did this to make it easier to get at the electronics.

3. The piece of wood I had for the neck was too short to do a traditional, thru-the-box neck. So, I added a "heel" or "neck brace" to support the neck. This also has an interesting side effect. The box is flexible enough that I can flex the guitar against my body to get pitch bends!

4. The box is 3 inches deep. I have listened to a lot of CBGs since making mine and I invariably prefer the sound of the larger, deeper boxes. From this, I have determined that I will only use boxes of at least 2 .5 inches deep for my next guitars.

So, what do I have planned next?

I attached a picture of a cigar box I just bought on eBay this week. (11 3/4" W X 8 1/4" L X 2 3/4" D). I'm going to make a 4 string CBG, using a bass string and a bass pickup for the top string so I can play really thundering bass.

The drawing is an idea for a solid-body 4 string. The unusual shape is designed for playing while sitting down. Thus the big re-curve on the bottom fits over my right thigh and allows the neck to be held higher than a normal electric would.

So many ideas, so little time...

James

Michael Glenn said:

Wow, for a first build I have to say that looks pretty darn amazing! (Actually it would look just as amazing if it was your 100th, 1,000th, whatever - it just flat out looks amazing.)

I really like the bridge and the hardware you put on the box. I've used grommets in my soundholes, partly for decoration but also to cover up "ugly" uneven holes, but I haven't considered adding any other hardware anywhere. Seeing your pictures makes me want to start adding more though.

Fantastic, sweet looking build! Very one-of-a-kind.

Screen Shot 2011-12-07 at 3.26.28 PM.png

IMG_1286.JPG
Michael Glenn December 7, 2011 at 3:07pm

Wow, for a first build I have to say that looks pretty darn amazing! (Actually it would look just as amazing if it was your 100th, 1,000th, whatever - it just flat out looks amazing.)

I really like the bridge and the hardware you put on the box. I've used grommets in my soundholes, partly for decoration but also to cover up "ugly" uneven holes, but I haven't considered adding any other hardware anywhere. Seeing your pictures makes me want to start adding more though.

Fantastic, sweet looking build! Very one-of-a-kind.
J.Ed July 8, 2011 at 5:36pm

Very Nice!
Jess July 8, 2011 at 5:05pm

Nice job, James.

This reply was deleted.