Posted by Kirk Whitham on March 27, 2022 at 2:02pm
It's been a while, but I've been keeping busy. This is a new style I call the Bishop. 3 strings with a nice twangy sound. low action for easy playability. I'm going to make some more of these.
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You are correct about the movement up and down the fretboard. It can be ambitious at times! First position guitar players probably find that intimidating. I have always enjoyed bar chord heavy songs on my 6-string, but they require strength that isn’t necessary with 3-strings. I also like being able to do multiple key changes in a song. One of my favorites does 4 of them which makes it more fun that the one key 6-string version I created the song with.
I have found the big moves get easier the more I play them plus there are many opportunities to incorporate slides into them which are fun to play. It’s an approach to playing a guitar that focuses on different areas of mastery.
Actually once I got over traditional multiple chord shape guitar playing and made the transition to 1-finger chording, I have found just the opposite. On a 3-string (or 2-string) I can play songs in pretty much any key I want and that provides a lot of flexibility in making songs accessible (playable and singable). It’s an unconventional approach to an unconventional instrument and for me that is one of the things that makes CBGs so much fun.
I think having a signature element on our guitars is a great practice and you have come up with an eye catching distinctive one. Thanks for sharing your work with us Kirk!
Comments
You are correct about the movement up and down the fretboard. It can be ambitious at times! First position guitar players probably find that intimidating. I have always enjoyed bar chord heavy songs on my 6-string, but they require strength that isn’t necessary with 3-strings. I also like being able to do multiple key changes in a song. One of my favorites does 4 of them which makes it more fun that the one key 6-string version I created the song with.
I have found the big moves get easier the more I play them plus there are many opportunities to incorporate slides into them which are fun to play. It’s an approach to playing a guitar that focuses on different areas of mastery.
I definitely prefer playing 3-strings, but you sometimes have to do a bit more gymnastics up and down the fretboard compared to a 4-string.
Actually once I got over traditional multiple chord shape guitar playing and made the transition to 1-finger chording, I have found just the opposite. On a 3-string (or 2-string) I can play songs in pretty much any key I want and that provides a lot of flexibility in making songs accessible (playable and singable). It’s an unconventional approach to an unconventional instrument and for me that is one of the things that makes CBGs so much fun.
Thanks, Uncle John. 4 stringers are definitely more versatile, but I still prefer the simplicity of the 3-string.
I think having a signature element on our guitars is a great practice and you have come up with an eye catching distinctive one. Thanks for sharing your work with us Kirk!
Thanks, Doug. I've sort of made the fret markers my style. They just seem to fit the kind of guitars I buiild.
Clean stylish build! Excellent craftsmanship Kirk. I especially like the position markers.