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The authentic one stringed instruments called "canjoes".

Posted by CanJoe*John on November 22, 2009 at 9:07pm
Hello CBG makers, I joined this site after viewing comments that I discovered from a forum discussion on this site about the one-stringed musical instruments called "canjoes". Though I saw several comments regarding Herschel R. Brown's canjoe instruments in the discussion, I also noticed that the actual history of these cool little instruments (that Herschel did originate) needed to be included. Herschel Brown was a very close and long time friend of mine. He introduced me to his canjoe instrument concept just a few days after he created his first completed canjoe instrument. He gave to me, and I still have one of those original instruments from the first 5 he ever made. There is detailed information about canjoes on my web site at www.canjoe.com. When Herschel first started making his canjoes (and he coined the name too), he was not interested in making them for commercial sales. His finger boards, always made from pine, were, at first, simply 1X1 sticks with no strum cut hollow and no angles cut, just straight, flat sticks, fretted to a diatonic scale and a tuner key with the one string pulled through a 12 oz beverage can as the resonator. The design changes including the angle cut on the tail part allowing drop on the can for better, more even action the length of the string and the cut for the strum hollow were later added. Herschel and I regularly collaborated for over the past 20 years on design changes and hardware adaptations to make improvements. Though Herschel is genuinely the originator of the instrument and deserves the credit for that, the more pertinent changes that have made the contemporary design what they have thus become, so far, came from my own constant effort to improve on and provide better, more functionally correct musical instruments. This is no attempt to steal any of his thunder but if Herschel were alive today he would not hesitate to verify this info. Herschel made his living as a contractor and died at age 87 just last year working in his contracting business up to within 6 months of his passing. I attended his funeral and played "Wayfaring Stranger" on my own canjoe at his service in his memory. I have made my living for the past 17 years totally and completely as the sole proprietor of the CanJoe Company. Herschel helped me get this venture started. I have personally hand made well over 10,000 canjoe instruments and every one of them by hand, no mass production. Herschel and I together have provided the world with over 30K canjoe instruments combined. His had always been made as the nearly original design, made only of pine, no edging, no stain, no finish, just simple, but he went to mass production levels by having special jigs built to produce large quantities in order to supply a wood working magazine/web site with kits. I took a different approach on making and marketing these instruments, hand crafting every one I've made and supplying the consumer demand for the high quality, accurately built finished works of art that my instruments have become recognized for, establishing their own reputation. Anyway, this blog is being introduced as an opener for those who may be interested in knowing more or for contributing to the info on these cool, one-stringed canjoe instruments.
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The Donkey's Dilemma

Posted by Tres Seaver on November 18, 2009 at 8:00pm
I have a nascent blues song in my notebook with lyrics that start:
   I've got an ocean of gin to the right of me,   I've got a river of whiskey to my left,   And just like a donkey, for the life of me,   I can't figure which one is best.   I feel just like a stubborn donkey,   Stuck between two bales of hay,   No matter which way I turn my head,   I have to let something sweet slip away.
and go on from there.I share this with y'all because it describes my current state as a CBG builder: I have not two, but four projects in various states of incompletion:
  • a tack-head banjo, built on half of a straight-sided salad bowl I found at a thrift store
  • a round-bodied reso, using the other half, along with a cool tin bowl I found at the same thrift store;
  • A baritone ukilele (with my son), with a salvaged neck and a small but beautiful box he found while we were on vacation;
  • a nearly-finiished fretless four-stringer, which is pretty, but not quite sounding right yet.
I really need to pick a project, and work on it till I'm happy with it, before moving on to another. Meanwhile, Old Lowe has a bunch of gorgeous cones for sale, and I'd like to try a one- or two-string bowed instrument, etc., etc., etc . I'm gonna starve if I can't just pick one and stick with it!
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Captain Beefheart's Ten Commandments For Guitarists

Posted by Nathan King on November 18, 2009 at 10:16am
1. LISTEN TO THE BIRDS...That's where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren't going anywhere.2. YOUR GUITAR IS NOT REALLY A GUITAR...Your guitar is a divining rod. Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar is also a fishing rod. If you're good, you'll land a big one.3. PRACTICE IN FRONT OF A BUSH...Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush doesn't shake, eat another piece of bread.4. WALK WITH THE DEVIL...Old delta blues players referred to amplifiers as the "devil box." And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employer in terms of who you're bringing over from the other side. Electricity attracts demons and devils. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.5. IF YOU'RE GUILTY OF THINKING, YOU'RE OUT...If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.6. NEVER POINT YOUR GUITAR AT ANYONE...Your instrument has more power than lightning. Just hit a big chord, then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an open field.7. ALWAYS CARRY YOUR CHURCH KEY...You must carry your key and use it when called upon. That's your part of the bargain. Like One String Sam. He was a Detroit street musician in the fifties who played a homemade instrument. His song "I Need A Hundred Dollars" is warm pie. Another church key holder is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf's guitar player. He just stands there like the Statue of Liberty making you want to look up her dress to see how he's doing it.8. DON'T WIPE THE SWEAT OFF YOUR INSTRUMENT...You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music.9. KEEP YOUR GUITAR IN A DARK PLACE...When you're not playing your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark place. If you don't play your guitar for more than a day, be sure to put a saucer of water in with it.10. YOU GOTTA HAVE A HOOD FOR YOUR ENGINE...Wear a hat when you play and keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on your house the hot air can't escape. Even a lima bean has to have a wet paper towel around it to make it grow.
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Banjo mock up

Posted by Andrew Hughes on November 17, 2009 at 4:56pm
My box has eventually arrived - a montecristo No. 2 It's a decent size - about 27cm x 17cm x 5cm. Here's a picture of a mock up of something like what I'm aiming for with a stencil of my potential sound hole design (although it's got a uke bridge on it and fishing line strings and I haven't put the 5th string peg in yet and....etc. etc.)

On my to do list I've got to: Reinforce the box Build up the neck under the last 6 ish frets and somehow attach it Make a new nut (and 5th string nut) Make a bridge Sort out some sort of tailpiece Probably some other things - Right now I've got two dilemmas 1st - As I've got to extend my neck, do I extend right through the box so I can attach my tailpiece to the other end of it? 2nd (and most importantly) Which side of the box do I have on top? It's not the most exciting of boxes as far as they go... Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated (especially if I've forgotten some essential like strings or something) Cheers Andrew
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Canjo Plans

Posted by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on November 15, 2009 at 10:30pm
All, Here is the plans for the Canjo based on Herschel Brown, et al. They are freely available and the intent is for us CBGers to make them for schools, hospitals, as a Boy/Girl Scout project, Church project, or any other act of community good will.

You must download the free Google SketchUp to open and work with this file (.skb).

Use them for fun. Use them in peace ;-)

9353717281?profile=original


The file to download: canjo.skb

 

NEW PLANS!!! 070311

 

canjo3.skb

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Cigar Box Banjo underway

Posted by Andrew Hughes on November 15, 2009 at 12:32pm
Hello. First post , and I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing, so sorry for any mistakes. So I've actually started on my banjo. I bought an old egmont acoustic 6 string guitar in pieces for a couple of quid. I've taken the neck and cut it down to 5 string banjo proportions. I took most of the varnish off to find some quite nice beech. I've also, very badly, modified the headstock - taking my design inspiration from a roll of masking tape. I like the look though. To cut the neck down, first of all I marked out where I wanted to make my cuts, then I cut through the frets with a cutting disk on a dremel. Then I cut off the excess with a nice Japanese pull saw. I'm going to have to build up the neck under the last 6 frets to make it long enough for my box though, so I need to find a lump of wood that fits.... Box should arrive this week.

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In the beginning

Posted by John C Predmore on November 12, 2009 at 4:21am
I thought I would write about how I came to be a CBG builder and player. It started when I was about ten years old. I decided I wanted to play the guitar, that christmas I got one. It was more of a toy, but it had strings and frets and it looked cool, so I was happy.Then I started trying to learn to play, boy it wasn't all that easy. I practiced and struggled, but didn't get much better.There were no books or video lessons like there is today to lead you along the path of what ever style you want to play. I didn't know any guitar players that could help me learn, and my parents were poor so there were no lessons.By the time I finished Highschool I was tired of trying and basically gave up. I sold my guitar and amp at a flea market and was done; for about ten years.
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ukular

Posted by michael greene on November 10, 2009 at 5:35am
have built a great steel string uke tuned to the top 4 strings of guitar dgbe cedar cgb sounds bright and vibrantbone bridge pine neck and toothpick frets will post pics soonmick
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gday

Posted by michael greene on November 10, 2009 at 4:38am
ive built 6 cbgs ,1 aluminium roasting pan rezo 5 string lap/stand slide and 1 twin neck wine box slide both accoustic/electric there getting better they sound awesone and this is what i want to do for the rest of my lifealso have a serious collection of strange guitars regards mick
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to the cbg community

Posted by timothy lee allen on November 8, 2009 at 6:40pm
I was invited by a friend of mine form the Netherlands to take a look at the cbg nation. I wasn't prepared for what i saw. Though i am not a player of string insturments i am intriged by the ventage culture the three string . I may build one for a couple of my grandchildren.I have had response to my joining and to those who sent their welcome to my site i say thanks. Gonna scoot . Looking forward to seeing what all you can do with just a cigar box. :)))))
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TikiMan- a new washtub

Posted by Brian Hilbers on November 5, 2009 at 10:23pm
Here's my latest washtub standup. I'm still using a #2 oval (a Dover, this time- I've been using Cubasa; they're narrower and shallower. I'm liking the sound out of the Dover better). I'm working on tweaking the rim shape- this dude is more egg than oval. Still a 43+" 4/4 scale. I've got a lot to learn on this, and I think I'll go to a 41-ish" scale next time. The neck is running a 9.5" top radius.Still, it plays, and at least I think it looks cool.
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