Three brand new lessons for playing the Blues, tasteful slide guitar & getting the best tones from your cigar box guitars.

NEW TODAY:  Quick Blues Lick of the Week:  The T-Shape Riff   A seriously badass slide-blues riff that uses shapes to explain it...not chords or music theory!  Another great way to kickstart your collection of blues riffs.

Tasteful Hammer-On Techniques:  This is a simple playing style that will develop your rhythmic playing. I use this all the time in concert in various ways. Here's the foundations of the style, broken down in one easy video.

THE BEST ACOUSTIC PICKUP for cigar box guitar...and the simple method of installing it:    I've played every sort of piezo-equipped cigar box guitar over the last two decades and this setup beats them all.  It's what I use in my new line of guitars...and I'll never go back! 

After designing a few CBGs and lap diddley bows that my husband brought to life with power tools, I made my first solo creation this week, and I'm smitten with my guitar style diddley bow. 

While I've made 2 lap diddley bows and 4 CBGs with 3 strings with my husband on the power tools and me on design, this is the first one I've made on my own and first one with a round neck. The pickup is a piezo disc pickup pre-wired to a jack from cbgitty.com. I used 1/8" pop rivets for string ferrules, a Ping tuner, 1" pine dowel, a craft box (I know some purists may be annoyed by that), a slotted screw for the nut, a lamp nipple for the bridge, and tarp grommets for the sound hole covers. I sawed the dowel with a hand saw for creating flats for the tuner, then I used a drill with regular bits and Forstner bits for all the rest. 

I've been a hobby guitarist for 16 years, but I'm totally new to slide guitar. This is so fun! I love the simplicity, and there is something amazing about playing music on an instrument you made yourself.

This video is a demo of a diddley bow (1 string cigar box guitar or CBG) I made on 12/30/15. https://youtu.be/vNHkUX8UAJI ;

I had to turn off the Christmas tree lights while using the Mustang amp because they were causing some electromagnetic interference and creating an annoying hum on the amp. Most of the music I played I learned from Juston Johnson tutorials. The long song I played was based on a tune by Elmore James.

We recently posted this Instructable describing how to install a Cortado balanced-out pickup in a banjolele. This pickup runs into a little circuit that balances the signal and matches the impedance to a mixing console -- similar to a preamp or active DI. The instrument plugs straight into a mic line. (The console has to provide phantom power to the circuit.) This provides much wider bandwidth and higher signal-to-noise than you usually get from a piezo pickup.

In short, we simply removed the sound board, stuck the piezo to the head below the bridge, stuck the shielded circuit to the inside of the instrument with Velcro, stuck the mic jack to the outside, and replaced the sound board.

Hi there people!

I am in a new proyect in doing a 6 string 3/4 scale CBG, and I am almost done.

One single coil and a piezo for that electric and acouctic sound, but I am in a dilema.  HOW TO USE THIS SWITCH IN THIS DIAGRAM FROM TED CROCKER?

https://www.cbgitty.com/cubecart/guitar-electronics/switches/basic-3-way-guitar-pickup-toggle-switch.html

I know there is a switch in cbgitty that is the same as the one in the picture,but is golden hahahaha and all my hardware is chrome :P

Another question is: In what position while be good to put the singlecoil? https://www.cbgitty.com/cubecart/pre-wired-6-string-single-coil-pickup-harness-with-volume-and-tone-pots.html I know is prewired ;) I will just put the switch and all the other patrts :D

Ok, we can become obligated to much to quickly.

That friend I way underpriced that build for is waiting his guitar. He told me today he knew he was getting a real bargan. He ain't no fool. So tonight I started cutting sound holes and the drill bit snagged, tore out a hole. Have to find all the little pieces and glue then back in, and tomorrow when all is dry cut it out by hand. However, I soldered in the Double Piezo pickups, one under the bass strings and one under the high string, with volume control for each pickup. Never did a double before and never a wired in volumn control. Halleleau it worked after a lot of frustration with the soldering iron.

I an putting in a lot more time in the build than I should be for the return - but sating myself with pride, learning experience, advertisement, all that stuff we bolster our selves with when we bit off more than we aim to chew.

I go up stair to eat between frustrations and the dear wife who has fixed a marvelous dinner looks at me and says, "Christmas is comming up". She pauses, "You could build a guitar for your daughter". We have a daughter Glenwood Springs Colorado who runs Sunshine Mtn. Inn with her husband. I can hook you up, it is on a ski resort. Also they have a lot of hunters and in the summer weddings and rafters, bikers, and groups. Anyway, the daughter sings and plays anything she sets her mind to.

"And Clayton", daughter's husband, "a banjo". He wants to learn, Daughter bought him a banjo he has not worked with, he is a busy busy man - never slows down. But if he had a CBG type banjo, maybe?

Then there is our son, he is learning to play guitar. He sings, is in a band and all that, has set in with some of the big boys and gals. He throws names around all the time. Could make him a guitar for Christmas also.

See how it snow balls? We have not mentioned my brother-in-law, etc, etc, etc, Wonder if she'll get around to them?

You do not want to get to a point the better half can brag on you! That is the danger zone! Ever let them think they have bragging rights and it is over, your goose is cooked, you are officially a commodity they can use for leverage within the family, among friends, and co-workers- even chirch groups.

You replace that streight "A" child, the Athelete Child, the Child with the College Degree, that child with the job that lets them drive around in a Mercades. They need a new angle, a new handle, a new advantage, a new one upper, and you have laid that weapon squarely in their lap.

Now it ain;t all bad. This allows you to spend whatever you need within reason on your "hobby", so long as you produce results once in a while. It means you get your man cave [interpeted shop]. You get to make all kind of noise - yes noise, real noise, mechanical and musical! You can track sawdust all over the house - again within reason. You can buy new tools !!!!!!!

I just cannot list all the perks, and should not, the ladies of the house may read this and get wise to us.

All I can say is make those gifts in between making your toys and one or two to sale to make it seem like you are actually making money with your hobby.  

Do not be afraid to seen marvelously talented to the Better Half. Brag, Wax eloquent, earn those perks - just be aware of the danger zone involved.