Just finished an electric tenor ukulele for my Great Grandson, Adam. He's a Star Wars nut. Started with two pieces of 2 X 8 scrap. The bridge is a mite unusual built up from 7 pieces of wood and....
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I went down to the local Goodwill Store and found a Radio Shack AM / FM / Weather radio for $6.00. (the four C-cell batteries cost me $10.00 - go figure). I don't get too much distortion at full volume (except when I use my Gitty Psycho knob.) One trick I used to find the right lead on the volume pot was to play music on my i-phone and put the phone directly over the pick-up on my CBG so that I get a constant signal from the jack to the pot and I don't have to keep strumming the guitar. This is also a good trick to use to show friends that you can "play Hendrix" on your CBG.
It`s been an age since I built a guitar due to the amount of gear out there and the fact all my relatives and friends have been gifted!
As a result I decided to re-visit an old 3 stringer I built several years ago. It`s a guitar I was never really happy with but I was loathe to get rid.
So I stripped it back and added a radius to the neck and refitted the frets. I kept the old under saddle pickup and decided to change it from a red stained wood and black fretboard to a black body with a high gloss finish!
As I didn`t have any black dye available I decided to use an acrylic black paint but I added some silver to get a lovely grey finish. Similarly I didn`t have any high gloss cellulose spray for the body so I decided on a polymer lacquer. I had some yacht varnish and also some Danish oil. In a moment of madness I thought it would be a good idea to mix the yacht varnish and oil together so I could get a quick drying varnish that I could lay on with a cloth!
OMG! What a great finish! It`s had 2 coats and is nice and shiny. Still waiting for it to dry so I can take a photo or two to add.
I know there are a lot of you out there who have old guitars hanging around that you don`t use. Why not waste some of your lockdown time and try making improvements?
You could be very surprised ;)
Boy it's been a while since I haven't posted anything here. But I must say that that confinement and this pandemic have taken the wind out of my cigar box building. Nowadays, getting hurt when working with power tools is not an option. So I had to divert my attention to other stuff.
Now I don't know if this will be of any interest to anyone, but I found it to be really a nice thing. There is a photographer named Timothy Duffy who is working on a project where he photographs non-famous blues musicians using the wet plate collodion process. For those not familiar with old photographic techniques, wet plate was a process popular at the end of the 19th century. When you see a photographer traveling in a horse drawn wagon in old movies, that is the process that was more than likely to be used by that photographer. It consists of floating a sticky layer on top of a piece of glass or blackened tin and then soaking it in a bath of a silver solution. When the plate is ready, the photographer has to expose it while it is still wet, hence the term wet plate.
So, for those interested, here's the link Timothy Duffy Photography
Enjoy!
Hey guys. This is just a little teaser for an upcoming builders swap. I'm collaborating with 2 other Texas-based CBN members and we're going to do a 3-way CBG swap to celebrate Texas on her 185th birthday. Here is the lineup:
Builder #1: Steve's Strings, based in the San Antonio area > https://cigarboxnation.com/profile/StevenMGerardi
Builder #2: Bob Johnston, based just outside Houston > https://cigarboxnation.com/profile/RobertBobJohnston
Builder #3: Me, Poorness Studios, based in the DFW Metroplex > https://cigarboxnation.com/profile/PoornessStudios
The Project: Build a themed-CBG to commemorate Texas' Birthday (3/2/1836) and give it away to another Texas-based builder. It can be fretless/fretted, 3-string/4-string, painted/natural, acoustic/electric, etc. Basically... it's the builder's choice. Once the builds are completed, we'll each pass ours to the left (so to speak). The DFW build will go to Houston, the Houston build will go to San Antonio, and the San Antonio build will go to Dallas so the CBGs work their way around the TX Triangle.
The Irony: In 1971, a small unknown Texas-based airline commenced service to 3 cities: Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston. They dubbed it the Texas Triangle for obvious reasons (see pic above). Today, that airline carries more passengers than any other US-based airline and flies to over 100 destinations. You know them as Southwest Airlines. From a humble trio of TX cities to the biggest carrier in the nation. We're hoping this idea spreads the same way.
The Coverage: We're planning to meet up and exchange instruments in person (socially distanced of course) and we'll record the event to share with all of you. Each builder will tell the story of their instrument and each recipient will be able to play it and give any feedback. It should be a whole lot of fun.
Stay tuned to see the fun on March 3, 2021 as we celebrate Texas' birthday with a trio of CBGs!!! If it goes well, maybe we can make this an annual event and let different builders participate each year. More to come on that front but for now we're concentrating on 2021 and Texas' 185th birthday!
Made this bridge for the DeVito half of the Twins, I didn't think my normal design would look right.
Components: 2 knurled 4mm screws, 2 knurled 4mm nuts, 2 domed 4mm nuts, 1 piece of 10 x 50 stainless sheet drilled both ends and folded on the centre line.
Lyrics by my friend Rick Lindholtz. https://youtu.be/zJiWj9129UE
Yep, just helpin' my girl make poizza and whamo- sauce can lid and insides were gold. Here it goes! Video up tomorrow... -Glenn
A song I wrote, played dulcimer in and sang in my old band :) Working on a cbg dulcimer, will post when I'm done w. it. -Glenn
Thanks Brian for email instructions on how to participate in this digital format.
So am I doing this "blog" thing right ? Can people see my text AND picture of my CBG ?
This computer stuff really is a struggle for me & I would really rather travel down to Louisiana to some CBG Festival & meet some of you guys and Jam !
Guess Covid-19 put the nix on those plans, eh?
So in the meantime - this all that is available for me to work with.
Low-carb us. Been thinking of doing this for years- a Thanksgiving mini-diddley w. C.L. plastic container. Not super loud but quick and fun. .024 wound string, Co2 capsule slide, credit card pick. THANKFUL! -Glenn
I am building a two string short scale stand up ( actually, sit down) bass. I hope to use a Gitty bass pickup suspended under the strings on an L shaped bracket that will be mounted to the side. The body is long and narrow so I feel I will be able to make the bracket stiff enough for this application. My question... Would a metal bracket interfere with the pickup doing its job, or would an aluminum bracket be required, so as not to trouble the magnetic vibes. Either way, the bracket would be sandwiched in a thin wood pieces the size of the pickup. The pickup would mount above the bracket, and below the strings. I have never seen this type of arrangement, but thought that due to the narrowness of the body that this could be viable. Thank you for any thoughts on this,... Bless Up
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This Blog Post is intended to catch up on the events in my life over the last few years (I see that 2017 was my last Blog). There has been a lot of changes.
1) Contrary to Rumor, I'm still building Cigar Box Guitars. After all the 3 string is my "first Love" in the stringed instrument world.
2) My Business has grown International, with sales in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Ukraine, Sweden, Norway, Australia, and yes, even Hong Kong. I credit this success to the diverse Instrument types that I have expanded into. I now have a much broader market.
3) Recently, I have officially backed away from Social Media. It has become far too much of a distraction. I have deleted my Facebook account totally. I will instead be focusing on my Craft and Education. There are two types of people in this World. Creators and Destroyers. I'm tired of trying to get the Destroyers to be more Creative. Lesson Learned. I'm living in my own World now. (Theme Song: Fool on the Hill).
4) I'm looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.
Well, enough for now.
G.S.Monroe
Here’s the conclusion to the Dead Easy Dirt, for now...
Click on Image to enlarge Page 1
Click on Image to enlarge Page 2
Sad to hear of the death of Spencer Davis, great memories of seeing his band performing at Newcastle's Club A'gogo in the sixties (that's where I met the better half). Great music," Gimme some lovin' ", "I'm a man", "Keep on running "
Still got my 1965 'gogo membership car with the autographs of Spencer and Steve Winwood
After a long Lockdown and finally loosing my job, I have finally got around to finishing my latest Album
Bug's new Album - The Bugshack - Homemade Music for old films:
Please feel free to listen for free or donate to help me survive a little longer.
"Have Cheers and Some Beers here is some Bug music to Hurt your ears!"
I hope everyone is well and hanging in there...
Almost finished with my guitar for my first grandson Gideon. First fret job which wasn't to bad. Used Mod Podg to do the graphics on front and back which are photos I've taken at Outer Banks, NC. Applied a couple coats of satin polyurethane to protect. Just need decorative box corners and perhaps a wickedbucker pickup.
