Buy (4)

Cigar Box Guitars Have Soul - The look and sound of every CBG is unique and as different as the people playing them. So what may work great for me may not be the best fit for you. 
Here are some basics that may be helpful in finding your perfect CBG. 

Scale Size Matters - I have seen 5 year old children playing huge classical guitars like pros. So it is possible to adjust to the size and fret spacing of any guitar, but why should you? As a person with smaller hands I have always struggled with standard 6 string guitars. The frets are far apart and I have a hard time reaching. The scale of a guitar is the distance between the nut up by the head or tuners and the bridge usually located on top of the box that the strings go over or attach to. The longer the scale the further apart the frets are from each other. Many people have tried to play guitars in the past only to get frustrated because of the difficulty in reaching the right spots on the fret board.  
On a typical store bought guitar this scale length is usually between 24 3/4 to 25 1/2 or somewhere in-between. This is kind of a standard developed by Gibson, Martin and Fender and is ok for most folks with normal to large hands. But what about a youth player, lady or someone with smaller hands. Or those who play mandolin or ukulele? 
A shorter scale is one of the advantages that can be realized when purchasing a custom built instrument and can be the difference between struggling and easy to play. Even those big giant dudes that ride big motorcycles or big mud trucks will notice how easy a shorter scale can be to play. 
A shorter scale may be for you, so consider the scale when buying a CBG. I have found a 20" to 22" scale to be just perfect for most small hands players. 

 

Frets or No Frets? - CBG's can be purchased with or without frets. Frets are the narrow metal pieces on the neck that your fingers push your strings down on. 
Most common store bought guitars have frets but you don't have to have them to be able to get the individual notes you want out of the strings. Take the violin and chello for instance, these are examples of fret-less stringed instruments. 
There are advantages and disadvantages to both that can be considered and this topic alone can bring up much debate depending on who you ask. However there has always been something of a general rule regarding fretted or fretless. If you want to play primarily individual notes as in the lead of a song go with frets. If you want to use a slide go fretless. In my humble opinion, if the neck of a CBG is built well you can do both with either. So there is no right or wrong answer here. If you are used to frets buy a CBG with frets. If you have no preference, fretless may be a good option for your first CBG because they are usually less expensive. Typically the luthier has less time in the assembly of a fretless instrument. A good fret job takes some time and must be done right.

 

Action or String Height - The action of a guitar refers to the distance between the bottom of the strings and the frets or neck. A stringed instruments action or string height determines how much downward pressure must be applied to the strings in order to make solid contact with the fret or fret board. Like the decision for frets or fretless there are players that like both. Here are a couple of considerations regarding whether a low or high action may be best for you. 
If you have strong calloused fingers the action will not be as critical for you. If you are a new player, you can look forward to developing those much needed finger muscles and callouses and, you would want the action to be as low as possible starting out. Typically a guitar set up for slide play tends to be just a bit higher and this is normally what you see with fretless instruments. I have always been one to try and get the action as low as possible. The straightness of the neck and the fret job determines how low you can get the action on any guitar. If the action gets to low the strings can rattle on the frets. This is called fret buzz and its not a good thing. Fret buzz can also happen if the neck has a bend or twist, or if the frets are not correct. If you desire a low action you may want to look closely at the construction of the guitars neck. Hardwoods or necks made of 2 pieces (neck & fretboard) glued together are usually stronger and straighter possibly allowing for a lower action setting.

 

How Many Strings ? - Cigar box guitars are available with any number of strings from only one to six or even more. 
Certainly there are no rules, however the most common are the 3 and 4 string CBG's.
If you currently play a 6 string you may consider the 4 string. It may also be a good choice for the mandolin or ukulele player as well because it can be tuned and played the same. Both 3 and 4 string CBG's are well represented on YouTube with help-full teaching videos and this is a great resource. 
With exception to the above folks, I would recommend the 3 string to everyone because of the great sound you can achieve and the way it can be tuned making it easy to learn. There are many different ways to tune a guitar. The most common tuning for CBG's is open chord tuning.  Strumming all 3 strings makes a chord without pushing any down or in the open position. Depending on the size of the strings you can tune it to any chord you like, allowing you to play in different keys. 
3 strings will allow you to combine 3 separate notes to make a chord. The more notes you include in a chord the better it will sound. While many chords really need more than 3 notes, you can learn tricks to cheat just enough with 3 strings to make it work. So a 3 string is an all-around great choice.

 

Well there you have it! It’s all just my opinion and what I try to convey to the folks who have chosen to play one of the CBG’s I built. Hope it helps. 

Read more…

UNCLE ROB'S PICKUPS

hey, my first blog post, and i actually have something to say.

my dedicated CBG pickup website is up!

i have a few different models on offer, all of which i am very happy with, and all of which i use myself.

there's schematics and mounting details and spec's and a bit of general silliness.

all my electro-magnetic pickups (i don't do piezos), are designed and hand wound by me in Adelaide, Australia.

check it out if you can...

unclerobspickups.com

i am currently in the throes of putting together sound samples - which just makes me aware of my playing limitations!

nevermind,

e

9353751281?profile=original

Read more…

About Cuban Cigars

Cuban Cigars originate from Cuba. There are lots of things you'll find fascinating Cuba and what it is famous for. It is a small island that is located just few hundred miles away from the Florida coast. It is mostly famous for its rum, dancing and women.Cuba is very famous for its world-wide famous cigars. They are considered to be the best as well as expensive ones. They have become a style icon as well and these have also been labelled as the forbidden fruit; it is because of their unique flavor which you won't get anywhere else. All the production is carefully controlled by the government. These are made up from tobacco, wrappers grown and fillers; being manufactured in Cuba only. One unique fact about is that they are hand-rolled. These hand-rolling is done by the masters in this field; also known as the torcedores and they are highly respected. It is, to an extent, illegal to use in the United States of America.CUBAN CIGARS are so famous that even many non-cigar smokers know it or at least have heard of it. It is always been regarded as the finest and the most tasting brands available world wide. Another reason why they are so famous is that it is really hard to get them. Solo offer an extremely good market for the purpose of importing and exporting it to hardcore cigar lovers worldwide. Today, there are various brands of available like Montecristos and Coronas Especiales. As mentioned earlier, its distribution in the US is illegal to some extent; however, there is currently no outright law that forbids their presence in the United States. Recently, the embargo on the Cuban products were altered by the Department of Justice; making it allowable to bring some amount of it from Cuba visit; which is approximately two boxes and that's for personal use only. There are various private hotels and casinos or bars where they are sold and they have been working in this way with almost no or very little problems over the recent years.If you are a Cigar lover then be aware that in the recent few years, there have been many growing cases of the black marketing of bogus or fake materials. If you know much about cigars, you'll be able to identify those fake Cuban cigars because of their poor quality and above all their poor appearance. However, black marketers are trying to make fake quality that may be cause difficulties in being recognized as fake. If you don't want to be tricked by these then make sure that you buy these Cuban cigars from reliable and authorized dealers only.If you are a real lover and really interested in trying, regarded as the finest cigars available in the market but if you more concerned about its legal consequences then don't worry; it is not a matter of too much concern. It is allowed to have non-commercial and private use of it and it's been going on for years; moreover, it has also been used by various politicians and showbiz stars as a style statement.Summary :-Sami Alien has done years of research about CUBAN CIGARS. He has great knowledge and tries to help lovers to keep safe from fraud peoples who trying to sell fake cigars. He studied in detail all about CUBAN CIGARS from different resources so that the stuff he write is useful for those who read.
Read more…
Big Daddy, is at it again more parts in the StoreBack porch mojo is now offering Volume and Tone pots for all you builders250k pots500k potsand we have in the store single strings so if you planning a diddley bow or maybe you broke a string, just maybe want some spares around... we got you covered!!visit the parts store today and see how Big Daddy can help get you'r mojo workin!!
Read more…