Posted by Mal Chilvers on February 5, 2011 at 12:06pm
Hi guys I am about to start building cbg with a resonator, although I am 69 years young I have never played a guitar of any sort. Would I be better making a three or four string and would I be better to build it fretted or fret less. Wich would be the eastest for me to learn on Mal (UK)
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One possible compromise on the fretted/fretless debate would be to build your first using flat wooden toothpicks for frets. The strings will wear through them eventually, but by then you won't need them any more. Also think about just marking the locations, or using a woodburner.
What style playing do you have in mind? If it's ol' Mississippi Delta Slide Blues, definately you'll be going fretless eventually.
3 string with frets tuned GDg. Tough decision, everyone has their own opinion. I do agree with the others that the fretless would be easier to build but I also think that the one with frets is easier to learn on. I'm recently retired and have built diddly bo's, fretless and with frets, I really love banging on the 3 string with frets. By the way I never played before and I am really enjoying learning how to play.
David's right I think... I've made 9 so far all fretless, even though I can play guitar. There are enough things to get wrong on your first guitar as it is, frets just make it even harder to get right.
Just get something up and running, then build your dream machine.
Neither is better, but for starters I'd go with three strings and no frets. Keep it simple. As you will soon discover, this will not be the only CBG you'll ever build, so you can stretch out and try new things with subsequent builds. IMHO just getting one together and making noise with it would be the best way to start, so keep it as simple as possible.
Replies
One possible compromise on the fretted/fretless debate would be to build your first using flat wooden toothpicks for frets. The strings will wear through them eventually, but by then you won't need them any more. Also think about just marking the locations, or using a woodburner.
What style playing do you have in mind? If it's ol' Mississippi Delta Slide Blues, definately you'll be going fretless eventually.
David's right I think... I've made 9 so far all fretless, even though I can play guitar. There are enough things to get wrong on your first guitar as it is, frets just make it even harder to get right.
Just get something up and running, then build your dream machine.
Hi, Mal and welcome to your new addiction.
Neither is better, but for starters I'd go with three strings and no frets. Keep it simple. As you will soon discover, this will not be the only CBG you'll ever build, so you can stretch out and try new things with subsequent builds. IMHO just getting one together and making noise with it would be the best way to start, so keep it as simple as possible.