As someone who tinkers with homemade amps and effects I often come across circuits that need JFETs - typically 2N5457s or J201s. I went looking to re-stock my parts box recently and found that a number of suppliers (eg. Farnell, Maplin, RS, Rapid) w
Read more…Can anyone recommend a decent soldering station that's reasonably priced?
I've come to the conclusion that I need something a bit better than my trusty simple soldering iron. A simple iron has been fine for guitar circuits but I'm struggling to do a
Read more…I'm working on building a simple battery powered mini-amp to play my CBG's through. Inspired by the creations of nation member smojo, which he displayed at the recent UK fest in Birmingham, I'm experimenting with designs based on an LM386 integrated
Read more…In no way is this intended as an endorsement for the products these things are promoting, they're just items that I thought might be of interest to members who dabble in building their own mini amps.
First up is current promo from Pringles - send off
Read more…I'm looking for suggestions about how to stain the wood of a cigar box to a dark colour. I'm aiming for a sunburst-like effect but I don't want to use spray paints or laquers. I'm aiming for a worn look rather than the sort of immaculate graduated bu
Read more…I recently saw the Jamaican mento band The Jolly Boys and noticed they feature a sort of giant kalimba-type instrument as a bass. I thought people here might be interested. Apparently these things are known as Marimbulas or Rhumba boxes and were a co
Read more…Can anyone offer me some advice about wire for pickup winding. This is one area of construction that I've not tried yet and I have in mind a few experiments. I've found a fair amount of info in forums and other online sources but I'm wary of making m
Read more…I was curious about various recipes I've heard mentioned around here for making staining solutions by putting iron nails in vinegar. So I decided to do some research. On a woodworking forum I came across some explanations from people who clearly had
Read more…I'm curious to know what adhesives people here use when they need to bond wood for their CBGs. I've tended to use various epoxy glues which have been fine, but I'm beginning to wonder if other adhesives have any advantages. I've used cascamite for ot
Read more…Sources of boxes for UK builders and the difficulties of finding them is a topic that's cropped up quite a bit in different places, so I thought it might be useful to start a discussion strand on it. I've managed to scrounge cigar boxes free from a c
Read more…Can anyone offer helpful thoughts on how to get a proper sunburst finish using products available in the UK - most of the info I've read has been written by or for Americans. I'm looking for something that will also give a good hard finish. Any thoug
Read more…I hope this will be a way of kicking off some discussion about how our instruments relate to our musical tastes and ideas. One of the things I've been thinking about a lot since the Birmingham festival is how the cigar box guitar movement might relat
Read more…A neighbour of mine has an old upright piano which she's planning to break up and dump at a rubbish tip (because it has deteriorated to a condition where it's no longer playable and it's not worth restoring). I'm wondering which parts might be worth
Read more…Can anyone make suggestions about the gauges of strings that I should use on a cigar box uke? I've read posts in other parts of CBG Nation to the effect that nylon strings aren't great on cigar boxes so I'm thinking about using strings from a guitar
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