I am close to finishing my latest build, but need to do my fretboard still. I have a lovely piece of bocote (middle), a really interesting strip of zebrawood (right), and I though about using poplar to tone with the label on the box. Neck is black walnut.
I like the poplar most, from the color-theory perspective - but the zebrawood is amazing too.
(also, too: I'm seriously flirting with trying a bound fretboard on this one - trying to talk myself out of it, but I want to try one soooo baaaaadd....)
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So many questions...I'm thinking of building something that resembles a miniature lap steel guitar . Here's what I'm thinking -
* 6 string instrument tuned open D
* very short scale length (roundabouts a concert/tenor ukulele size - around 23 - 26"
* no electrics, just a deep resonator box made from very thin plywood.
It's more of an experiment than anything else but I'm really stuck with what gauge strings to use. I've always used medium-light strings on my guitars but would these still be too heavy for such a small instrument? Would I have to use ukulele or classical guitar nylon strings to get the right tension without snapping the thing in half?
My thinking is that steel strings are better at sustaining the note played on them than nylon - especially important with a small acoustic instrument.
Am I mad or is this imaginary instrument do-able? :P
If anyone could share any insight on any of this I'd be very very grateful!!
Parts assembled for next build. I'd thought about using another piece of bocote for the fretboard but I think a nice piece of poplar might make a nicer color complement.
Got a nice piece of wood from my dad this past weekend, but neither he nor I know what it is. It's definitely mostly grey-ish.
The piece on top is mahogany - trying to ID the wider piece.
Any thoughts?
I visited an antique store this past weekend in search of goodies that might make for a good CBG project, and noticed a cabinet that had seven or eight cigar boxes. In checking them out, I noticed a lovely Don Diego "Playboy" box, a bit worn, 25 "Churchill" cigars.
I considered picking it up until I noticed that the shop had the box priced at $165.95!!!!
A quick search on the internet shows similar boxes for around twenty bucks.
Is there any conceivable reason one of these might go for anywhere remotely that much?
I just wanted to apologize to everyone on this great group. I have not been able to watch everyone's outstanding videos as much as I would like due to shortage of people at my job. In the last 3 weeks I have worked almost 30 hrs of overtime. I have been working a lot of midnight to noon shifts, which take a toll on the body. I have not even had time nor felt like even playing much. I promise I will be back on enjoying the great posts. Thanks to some great friends and musicians on here for all the helpful comments and pointers.
Glastonbury had a "fallow" year in 2018 to allow the land to recover, so we had a year off (we did WOMAD instead...but we'll not talk about that...). So, we submitted our application to trade in October last year, and heard late February 2019 that we'd been accepted. That was the starting gun for our preparation. My daughter Anne Zilpha made an analysis of the previous two years sales figures and we drew up a schedule of the stuff we had to make and buy-in. The daunting prospect was that we reckoned that we needed to to take 100 guitars and 50 amps with us to be confident that we could meet the demand.
A couple of weeks to go, and here are 50 fretless guitars ready.
It was a really tough couple of months making so many guitars and amps, but we managed it it in time. We'd already lined up Hollowbelly to help out, but felt we needed to up our game in terms of presentation, so that involved making a full plywood floor for the marquee, overhauling the guitar hanging racks inside the marquee, arranging a proper electrical installation inside the marquee, with new lighting and 16 high-level power outlets, a cotton muslin lining for the marquee, new signage and making some new display racks for outside, with roofs over them to keep off the worst of the weather.
Preparation for an event like this is very serious - we have to be ready for 8 days on site, totally self contained and ready for any weather conditions, rain or shine. With one very wet and one very hot Glastonbury behind us, we were confident that we could cope and that we knew how to deal with it. Little tweaks such as a groundsheet under the timber floor of the marquee, a tarpaulin awning fixed to the side of the van for rain protection and/or shade can make all the difference. As we had so many more guitars and lots of new product lines, we needed to pack down really tight, so we made sure our guitars were neatly packed in cartons in batches of 20 rather than individual boxes in order to make the most of the available space in the van, and even then it meant that we'd be carrying 96 guitar kits and 40 amps on the roof, together with various display racks.
New display racks and the all-important travelling cocktail cabinet being prepared.
We ordered in a fair bit of new stuff, such as shakers, harmonicas, tee shirts etc so that was quite a serious financial commitment on top of the other stuff such as site fee and electrical supply. There's also a lot of documentation to get ready - public liability insurance, employers insurance, PAT electrical certificates, health and safety assessment, sustainability statement, so if you are thinking of doing this sort of thing, be warned, you need to be on top of all this sort of stuff.
We'd been watching the weather forecast for 2 or 3 weeks, and we were worried that it might be a wet one, as there was lot of rain for a couple of weeks beforehand, and Glastonbury is notorious for not coping well with rain, but as time drew on, it looked like we might have a couple of days of rain during the set-up and decent weather for the event itself.
On Monday morning before the weekend we were loading up, and en-route we dropped by our printers to pick up some new tee shirts, then we were on our way to Portishead just outside Bristol where we'd arranged to pick up Hollowbelly at a midway point. I drove very steadily, as with a full load on the roof rack and the back of the van absolutely packed to the roof I didn't want to take any risks at all.
We had an uneventful journey, although fitting in Hollowbelly's gear was bit tricky, and we ended up having to spread his sleeping bag across the seats in the van, and ride with his merch box in the footwell of the cab.
After a couple of Glastonburys, checking in and finding out pitch was fairly routine for us, so by around 7.00pm on Monday evening we were at our pitch and ready to set up our tent and our trading marquee.
During Monday night we had a bit of rain, but Tuesday was dry enough, so we managed to get completely set-up. It took us quite a bit longer than we expected, as we had a lot of new stuff to set up. We were all totally exhausted by the evening, and were looking forward to a good night's sleep before having to face the public on Wednesday morning.
After a leisurely breakfast, me and Hollowbelly took a brief walk round the neighbourhood of the Silver Hayes area and the Gulley Blues, watching thousands of visitors dragging their possessions with them to try and grab a prime camping spot.
One of the advantages of trading, is that you get a decent spot to pitch your tent, and your own toilets and water supply - hardly luxury, but much more civilised than fighting it out with 200 000 other people.
All set up and ready for business.
So, the actual business of Glastonbury itself, well, we traded from Wednesday morning to Sunday night, working about 14-15 hours a day, as we were open from around 10am until midnight most days. This year, none of us saw any acts at all, as we were just so busy, and too tired after shutting up shop to do anything other than have a beer and go to bed. This year it seemed much quieter than previous years, and none of us had any difficulty sleeping. It's all relative, as there was a continuous powerful bass from various dance venues that was more of a physical force rather than an audible sound.
Anne Zilpha looking pensive and proprietorial
My daughter kept a very accurate sales ledger, and it was apparent that on Thursday and Friday sales figures were well down on what we had hoped, so that was tough one to deal with, but we soldiered on, and had decent enough trade on Saturday. Saturday was particularly hot, so Hollowbelly and myself had to take it in shifts to do the demonstrating out front in the unrelenting heat, and Anne did her best to clean off the dust off everything that was constantly kicked up by tens of thousands of tramping feet.
Open all hours..playing music for 15 hours a day!
We'd had a few musicians who were playing at the festival drop by, DJs Acido Pantera from Colombia, and a band from Taiwan, who came back the following day and bought two of our best guitars!. We spotted a few celebs, including Fat Boy Slim and Martin Roberts from Homes Under The Hammer, who'd bought a guitar from us at the last festival. We also met a lot of previous customers, and a few old friends such as Chris, the owner of one of our favorite venues, The Chambers in Folkestone. I also gave a short interview for Radio Shepton - in my experience it's almost inevitable that I'll end up giving at least one interview at a festival like Glastonbury.
Hollowbelly...illustrating an article on Music Radar about the 13 best guitar acts at Glastonbury!
Sunday, our last day of trading was going to be a busy one, we knew that, but it exceeded all our expectations, and more than made up for a couple of relatively quietish (by Glastonbury standards) days. The people looking after security to our service area were on their last shift, so I offered them a glass of Jack Daniels and Coke, as we were also indulging and feeling a bit "demob happy" by late afternoon. After closing up I headed over to the John Peel Stage backstage crew lounge for an hour or so, but I was too tired to stay and play onstage, so I headed back to camp and slept the sleep of the just.
Monday was simply a day for breaking all the gear down in an orderly manner and getting it into the van and onto the roofrack. We were all very tired, so we didn't rush things and tried to be as methodical as we could. We offer a service where customers can leave their purchases with us and collect at the end of the event, so we had a few customers arrive to collect their purchases, but by mid-morning all that was finished, and we steadily broke the gear down and packed it away. At least we had a lot less to take back with us, so that made things a bit easier, and by 6.00pm we were off and away - nothing left on our pitch, and just a few empty cardboard boxes for the recycling. It took about 50 minutes to get off site,and then a steady drive back to Bristol to drop John off at a friends where he picked up his van and made his way home. For me and Anne we had a couple of hours steady dive, and we took a leisurely stop at Gloucester services (the best coffee I've had at any motorway services...probably because its a family run business not a chain or franchise) before arriving home at about 11.pm.
We even took our own stage - an 8 x 4 sheet of plywood!
After the event we found that images and videos had started to crop up on the internet, including the official Glastonbury website photo gallery, which is quite flattering.
Taiwanese band members making their purchase at the counter
So will we do it again? Maybe - it is profitable, but it is hugely demanding in terms of time and energy, particularly in the pre-event organisation and preparation. We are still recovering, so we'll see how it goes, but I'm sure the date for us having to apply again will soon roll round...and we'll have to make a decision.
Saturday, bringing in the customers - it was a long day, and a long week!
This one was a pain in my backside - seemed like something went wrong almost every step, compounded by my trying a bunch of new things on it.
I was prepared for the final result to be terrible, but it came out great - sounds lovely (has kind of a dulcimer-like sound) and is super comfy in the hand.
The truth be told, I’ve never been a big fan of ukuleles. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve always appreciated the sound, but I never gravitated towards this particular instrument. Needless to say, ukuleles are popular with CBG builders because they’re inexpensive and relatively easy to build/modify. After assembling a handful of homemade string instruments, I decided to try building a cigar box ukulele just for fun. I ordered the soprano kit from CB Gitty and embarked on another project. Before I go any farther, I should mention this is not a builder’s diary; it’s a series of coincidences I felt I needed to share.
I received a package from CB Gitty one warm Texas afternoon and went out to the garage to start on my first cigar box ukulele. I sorted through a pile of empty cigar boxes and settled on a white HR box that I thought had a cool aesthetic. About this time, my wife came into the garage. She said she had just gotten off the phone with her friend Sara who happened to be in the market for a ukulele. I immediately perked up and responded, “Tell her she can have this one when I finish it.” I wasn’t confident in my ability to build a ukulele, but I thought the timing was an interesting coincidence. I always liked the idea of building an instrument for someone and I knew Sara would appreciate it even if it wasn’t perfect.
Here’s a little more information about Sara. She is an interior designer who has played guitar since high school. She’s a crafty type who sometimes creates her own art for the spaces she decorates. In other words, she’s an artistic lady and she's also one of my wife’s best friends. In addition, she's a really great person.
Back to the build, I was amazed at how well my first uke went together. The kit didn’t come with instructions, but it was pretty easy to figure out since I’d already built several CBGs. I decided to paint the headstock white to match the box, something I’d never done before. I had some white spray paint on hand and it just happened to match the box perfectly. I also stained the back of the neck to match the color the wood on the underside of the cigar box. Again I just happened to have the right color of stain on hand. As the project neared completion, it looked great, but I felt like it needed something extra to decorate the headstock. After searching through my parts box and failing to find the right item, I took a trip to a local craft store. I found a small metal oval emblazoned with a 13. “This is perfect,” I thought and so it became the headstock decoration on my first cigar box uke.
Once the glue was dry, I strung up my first homemade ukulele and was surprised by how well it played. I even made a video and posted it on Cigar Box Nation. I liked the instrument so much, I actually thought about keeping it for myself. However, I think that’s a bad omen. You should never promise an instrument to someone and then keep it. This one had to go to Sara. It was made for her. Besides, I could always build another just like it… or could I?
As you can probably guess, I ordered another ukulele kit from CB Gitty and it showed up just a few days later. I settled on a natural colored Casa Turrent box for my second soprano build. I made a few small design changes, but by-and-large stuck to the same idea. Again, I used stain, varnish, screws, and other things I had on hand to complete the project. I was pretty sure it wouldn’t come out as good as the first build, but I was still going to give it a try.
When I finished uke #2, I was pleased with the aesthetic, but I decided it too was missing a headstock decoration. I went through my box of parts and found an old railroad nail. I was from… wait for it… 1913. Another number 13? What are the chances of that? I know 13 is commonly referred to as an unlucky number, but I was born on the 13th so it’s always been lucky for me. One thing was obvious, 13 is the right number for these two coincidental cigar box instruments.
Finally, I strung up uke #2 and the first chord rang out. Up until this moment, I was afraid it would never sound or play as good as uke #1. Some part of me was worried I may have given away the best ukulele I’d ever build. To my surprise, the second one plays just as good as the first. It’s a bit quieter, but it has a warm woody tone. In fact, I played one, then the other, and I really can’t decide which one I like better; they’re both great in different ways. One is a little bit modern, while the other is more rustic, but let’s face it… they both look pretty darn cool.
As I stood back and admired my handiwork, I thought about all the coincidences that had to happen for me to create 2 cigar box ukuleles in two weekends, especially since I didn't have any experience, or even any interest, in building ukuleles. My grandma used to say there are no coincidences in life, they’re all just messages from the universe, and how you interpret those messages is up to you. She was a wise woman. I miss her a lot. I guess that brings me to the moral of this story. If you build something for somebody else, make sure it gets to them. Never keep it for yourself. As the old adage goes, you'll get what you give. It rang true in this case.
P.S. Sara sent me a photo of her playing the ukulele and singing. I can't remember the last time a photo made me this happy. This is why we build.
Working on my latest build, got a nice piece of mahogany for the neck (first time using something other than box-store lumber), and a piece of bocote for the fretboard. Working on a more stylized headstock with a three-in-line tuner setup, on an angle so the strings come straight off the peg and across the nut and down the neck.
Got the headstock all set up and measured where the pegs would go at least four or five times. Drilled the holes...and damned if they're a different distance apart from each other. Like, a good half an inch difference between the first and second, and the second and third. ARGH.
Fortunately I was able to cut the headstock off and set up a new version with a reversed scarf joint. Seems to be working...but now I'm really thinking I just need to set up a template for tuning pegs.
Now, I am one of those people who has never build a cigar box guitar. Really!
That's because I'm living on a lonesome hill in central Portugal and I just didn't find any cigar box here. Call me a "purist" but I do not want to buy a box or any other part for that matter. Not only because of the choice once made to go and live in a place where modern gadgets haven't set foot on the ground yet, but also because all penny's made are needed to get food on the table. No, I (we) am not a misfortunate person, it's a well thought over decision to give up on microwaves, dishwashers and other modern life convenient equipment, to be able to get more into the joy of living without the daily stress of bosses, managers and dress codes. That said, it doesn't mean I live without the normal luxury of daily life appliances like fridge, freezer, washing machine, etc. but why should I have a microwave if there are no "microwave ready-made meals" available and all food comes fresh from the land. Next, to that, I actually do like to have an outside shower under the 70-year-old bucket. So what does all that have to do with building homemade instruments you might think, well....
When I was a teenager, and believe me, that was a long time ago, all kids were dancing at the sounds of Saturday Night Fever while I was listening to Robert Johnson and Barbecue Bob. I collected old records, lived completely in another world than my schoolmates and it turned out to be not just a childhood phase. Later on in life, I organized many blues festivals, produced a radio show for over 10 years and wrote for a blues magazine in the Netherlands. 
You could say it's the only thing in life that kept a constant interest. At first, you believe the romantic stories about the string up a post of the porch being used as a bass, the washboard rhythm and yes, also the cigar box guitar. In fact, it's not romantic at all, is it? It's all about dark and hard times, about being poor and looking for solutions to overcome the lack of money. People made instruments with the items that were available for free, cigar boxes, washboards, tin cans, buckets and so on. The lucky ones bought a proper instrument the minute they could afford it. Which brings me to the way I build my instruments, finally... No, I can't compare myself with others, not with the ones that made instruments out of poverty, not with the luthiers in history that made beautiful works of art without the modern tools we have nowadays. I am this lucky guy with a 300-year-old workshop (which I rebuild from a ruin, but that's another story), living in a time where people throw so much good stuff away that it isn't hard to find the materials to build whatever you like to, I didn't find a cigar box yet though. A box is a box though and I like to recycle them into stringed instruments, that's why I call them RBG's (recycled box guitars).
Any box will do if it's not too small or too big. It's just that people throw away so many things that are usable in the process of making an instrument. At the moment there are 2 washing dryers, 2 dishwashers, a satellite dish and an old street light underneath the carport next to the workshop. The shop is nicely filled with all kinds of wood, donated by a local builder who saves up all usable pieces when he restores houses and calls me once a year to collect. I do make furniture, lamps and other items, rebuild or restore old Portuguese furniture (for a living), but I don't do new doors, windows or other structural builds and therefore I am no competition, that's why the builder doesn't mind giving me the wood.
My goal is to buy as few things as possible. Not in a "purist" way, I will use old guitar parts (or new ones if I find them on a flea market or car boot sale) if they are available, but when not, then it's a nice challenge to make parts. I mostly make my own (Fado guitar style) tuners and frets. I guess I'm the one who started using little cigarillo boxes to hide the tuners and a few other "first time" features like a "wind ashtray" to make an "open or closed" soundhole. Most o my builds find a way to someone who actually has the talent to play. Next, to Coffee, it's an addiction that seems to be untreatable!
I finally got around to cutting up that cheap student guitar and sticking it onto that black cheesecake pan I've been planning to use for the past year. I need to go back and find a thicker piece of wood to mount inside the pan, though.
I also need to cut off the top two tuner holes and redo the nut for 4 strings. If this works out well, I may try keeping an eye out for more broken guitars (with good fretboards/necks). =)
Well... Better late than never. I recorded (in 2015) and released (in 2016) these songs without much (any) fanfare.
Enjoy.
I love me some canjos, but I had a really tiny cigar box that I thought would be a good candidate for a one-string diatonic build. Used it to try my hand at a shaped headstock - still a lot to learn there - but it came out right purty, and sounds nice!
Red oak neck, poplar fretboard.
Because I had one to hand, I stuck a bottlecap piezo pickup in, so it can be played through an amp. That was mostly for fun though.
This past weekend was the annual Dallas International Guitar Festival (DIGF). The 3-day event is the largest guitar show in the United States. It attracts attendees from all over the US as well as abroad. It spans many types of instruments, genres, and styles. In addition to dozens of booths selling guitars and gear, there are live performances on 3 different stages throughout the event. It’s somewhat of a paradise for guitar players.
Since I live in Dallas, I try to visit the DIGF every year. At previous shows, I’d seen a few vendors selling cigar box guitars. Despite the fact that I just took up the hobby in the last year, I always liked looking at the CBGs and respected the art form. This year, I walked in expecting to meet a few CBG makers and talk a little shop. Alas, there was not a single one in attendance.
Despite the fact the there were no CBG vendors; I did manage to find a 2-string cigar box bass. It was a commemorative item on display at the Lone Star Blues Festival booth. I ended up talking to those guys for a while before I sauntered on down the aisle to find a 3-string solid-body instrument that was basically an electric CBG. It was made from several parts I recognized and the workmanship was fantastic. What a cool little creation.
I didn’t find any other CBGs per se, but I certainly found some folks who would fit in with the CBN community. For instance, there was a builder who took 2 ukuleles and made them into a one-of-a-kind double-neck instrument. I’m not sure how he did it, but he managed to make them fit together perfectly. Perhaps the most fun thing I found was Mucho guitars' custom-made briefcase lap steel. It was very unique. I talked to the builder and he took the time to show me how he did it.
Now don’t get me wrong. I like to look at rare Les Pauls, pre-war jazz boxes, cowboy acoustics, and vintage Telecasters as much as the next guy. I love guitars of all shapes and sizes and I really look forward to DIGF every year. However, since I took up this hobby, I’ve found myself ignoring my traditional guitars more and more to focus on homemade instruments. I guess there’s just something magical about an guitar made in the garage from mismatched parts. It speaks to me in more than one way.
Yesterday I helped a friend put together his first CBG, a four-string. Today I spent a couple hours in the garage throwing together a quick-n-dirty canjo - definitely picked up some lessons for the next ones I make! But much fun had, and it sounds pretty good.
When I first started learning about CBGs, I discovered John Lowe, a luthier and performer in Memphis, Tennessee. He does a one-man show under the moniker Johnny Lowebow and builds string instruments known as Lowebows. I had read he owns a bookstore, which morphed into a combination book/music retailer over the past couple decades. The shop, located on Central Avenue in Memphis, is called Xanadu. It just so happened I was going to be in Memphis last week, so I decided to explore Xanadu.
I arrived at the bookstore a few minutes after 11:00 AM on Friday morning. They had just opened and hadn't even turned on the lights yet. A lone employee was setting up a rack of books outside. He told me to make myself at home and explore the shop. As I wandered inside, I was greeted by about a dozen Lowebows hanging on the walls. There were 1-string, 2-string, 3-string, 4-string, and 6-string variants. There was even a double-neck 10-string Lowebow.
After staring upward in wonderment for a minute or two, I made my way into the main room where a couple dozen instruments adorn the walls. Some are completely stock and others have been heavily customized. All of them are for sale. As you can probably guess, there are bookcases everywhere and the titles cover nearly every topic. The place has a really homey vibe. It feels more like your grandma’s spare bedroom than a music store.
As I kept wandering, I stumbled across what appeared to be a small practice space. There were some amps set up along with a drum set. A few homemade instruments (including a 5-string Lowebow with a movable nut), a vintage keyboard wrapped in red tolex, and a slew of cables were strewn around the area. A paper sign stating, “please don’t play the drums, thanks” made me realize the things in this nook were not for sale. I presume several Johnny Lowebow songs have been written in this little room.
Alas, John was not present the day I visited Xanadu, but I had a nice chat with the employee who was on duty. He knows a lot about the instruments and is a performer himself. We talked about music, building things, and the DIY community in general. It was a great discussion. Which leads me to the point of this article, next time you’re in Memphis, stop by Xanadu and have a look. You won't regret it. It’s a quaint little shop full of rare books, good vibes, fun conversations, and a plethora of homemade instruments. Oh… and be sure to pet the cat.
View the full album if pics here: https://cigarboxnation.com/photo/albums/memphis-trip-4-2019
