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Junk Music

Posted by Doc Oakroot on March 20, 2009 at 10:05am

OK, so I've been using a lot of found object - or junk - musical instruments to support my cigar box guitars recently. (You can hear examples of this on my page at Cigarbox Nation.)

So, I went looking for other junk music out there... found stuff like this - a lesson plan for K-3rd graders on making music with found objects. Now, it's very cool that someone might be teaching youngsters to express their creativity (but too bad it's for an after school rather than during school program). It seems that folks think found object music is just for kids... and very little kids at that.

But I also found Donald Knaack - a percussionist who's been doing serious music on junk longer than I've been alive, lol.

Definitely catch Knaack's podcast. A real gem is a sound made by hitting a piece of metal and then dipping it in water. He talks about it in the lengthy intro in his podcast and then you can hear it in the piece he plays.

Speaking of cool sounds... Rebekah (my wife) recently reminded me of a cool sound she learned from our late friend Peggy O'Neal. I don't know where Peggy learned this and can't ask her now.

To make this sound, you take the oven rack out of the oven; tie a shoe lace to each of the back corners; wrap the laces around your left and right index fingers; stick the fingers in your ears so that it blocks out external sound; lean over so the oven rack hangs freely; and have a friend tap the rack lightly with a hard object - I think we used a wooden spoon, but a drumstick works well too.

The sound is an amazing chime sound... it's also really hard to record. Can't do it with a mic. So I had an assistant, Dylan Seals, with the rack set up, hold a cigar box guitar between his fingers and recorded the sound from the guitar's pickup.

Check it out: Oven Rack Sounds

The recording isn't bad, but the live experience is better... try it!

Still, that recording has come in handy in my recent music recordings... I've sampled it and used both as a chime and as a piano sound.

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DB's the final frontier?

Posted by Denys Lord on March 9, 2009 at 2:01pm
All my life I've never been mainstream and always looked to do things differently. I play 11 instruments, some well and others not so well. With all of my instruments, I wanted to do something out of the norm, with guitars that's pretty hard because people have taken that instruments way beyond what I could imagine. With the DB we all have a chance to break the barriers, all you need to do is have a little imagination and let it guide you in the right direction. Next I would like to try 2 - 3 DB's playingat the same time and maybe a symphony string section all playing DB's, can you imagine hearing 30 DB's in harmony. The possibilities are endless, we just have to think outside box.Denys
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adventures in latitude

Posted by bairfoot cajun on February 27, 2009 at 3:17pm
today i took a ride to the post office in morrison tennesse,lived here over two years and never been to morrison tennessee,but that is where my mailing adress is. people tell me morrison is there so i gots to believe them.it took me a little over a hour and over 40 miles to find morrison tenneesee.beautiful mountain scenery on the way. it took me 15 minutes to get home ha ha.i went to the post office cause i had guitar parts i ordered waitin fer me there and we gots to have our guitar parts when we know they are in.so there was this little ole black lady dat was there and she says, you play guitar? and i say yes mamm,she say you give lessons?i say no mamm. she say i gots to get me sum lessons. i say you play guitar? she say i gots me one but i need lessons,she say all her family folks play somethin, lots of em play guitar.every body that come over there while we were having this conversation waved and said hi there, and she waved at every body that come over there whilst we were talking.she was holding my package hostage untill she was thru talking wit me. she be a great soul of a person.i say it sho took me a while to get here, she say where you live at? so i tell her. she drew me a map to get back home, she was a great soul. i say you wanna see my i d fer me to get my package? she say anny body gonna drive almost 50 mile to get dey package bound to be da one dat its fer. i say yes mamm.on my way home i seen more things i never knew was there cause that little ole lady opened my eyes to how country folks dont need no big world to be happy in.she was a great soul. i told her i made little cigarbox guitars and i been waitin fer some parts to get some more of them built. she say dats what is says rite here on dis package[guitar parts] i said yes mamm, and she handed it over to me and smiled.now when i order more guitar parts that go to the morrison post office i am gonna look forward to goin back there to see my new friend the little ole black lady with a great soul.my only regret is i didnt ask her her name but i bet it was a good one.
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Randy Roosters (or not)

Posted by Roosterman on February 25, 2009 at 6:30am
Hey guys, this group is addictive... so many good people around :o)Anyways, I guess I should point out my real name is Ben Moor.... not Randy Rooster!I was just trying to think up a cool name that had that CBG 'sound' to it... y'know like 'Red dog guitars', or 'Chicken Bone John' or Hollowbelly'... something bluesy....I was really struggling until my rooster came past the window, jumped on 4 of his hens in quick succession, gave a nonchalant nod, and strolled on by.... so Randy Rooster Guitars it is!! hahaThanks for all the comments too.... its really inspiring having positive feedback and seeing what everyone else is building.Anyone browsing feel free to add me... the more the merrier right?Peace
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Just discovered CBGs!

Posted by Roosterman on February 24, 2009 at 11:28am
Wow!Well Iv just discovered this whole CBG scene, got me a 3 string, and am now concentrating on building more CBGs and less solids!!Great to see so many people building and sharing tips and advice... much less elitist than the 'electric' world... I feel right at home!!
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New Paint Can Lid Reso build...

Posted by Wichita Sam on February 17, 2009 at 1:40am

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http://s275.photobucket.com/albums/jj317/WichitaSam/?action=view&current=WS95008.jpg Hey Ya'll, All the talk about reso's got me stirred up. I decided to go low tech and do a paint can lid (quart size) reso... It's a test build for a future custom I am doing for a dobro player. Your basic Don Tomas box, oak neck thru (blinded off inside the box), mahogany fretboard, fretless, a quart paint can lid, corian nut and cherry bridge. Those are little air vents from the local Ace Hardware store serving as reso screens. The lid is sporting a yellow and red pinwheel paint job. A single piezo is CA'd under the lid at the bridge position and encased in silicone caulk to reduce feedback. Headstock detail shows "zero fret", with a corian nut/spacer and a scarf head stock. She sounds so good that I regret making her fretless... I may go back and install frets later on. If you would like to see a slide show with more shots, click here: http://s275.photobucket.com/albums/jj317/WichitaSam/?action=view&current=9d91ca4a.pbw Acoustically she plays true and is plenty mild... amped she's kinda harsh. I'm taking her to work tomorrow, where my glass slide is... I hope that calms her down.... the best, Wichita Sam
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CBG #3

Posted by Scott on February 15, 2009 at 10:54pm
Alright folks. I haven't blogged in awhile. I was waiting for the moment I start on my 3rd CBG. This one is going to be cool. I'm alternating Poplar and red oak strips for the neck. I have a Partagas box eagerly waiting to metamorphisize into a CBG. Kinda like that ugly old caterpillar cocooning into a butterfly. I broke down and bought a Dremel kit so I can do some cool stuff. My dog generously supplied me once again with a nice, aged bone for the nut. The bridge and saddle I'm not sure of yet. Ted Crocker's Flatbed worked great on the last one so I'm leaning that way.This bad boy is going to take awhile. I'll add pictures as I go...Time to glue the strips together for the neck.
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Lapeer Music/Cup of Joe's Soundstage, Lapeer, MI 2-6-2009

Posted by Captain Burlap on February 7, 2009 at 6:10pm
Captain Burlap & the 40-Watt Spark were at it again opening a CBG show at Lapeer Music/Cup of Joe's Soundstage. Cap'n opened the show on CBG Jar-Tar #11 followed by Sparky and his originals.Sparky played Eddie the Wonder Lizard's "Space Man".Gerry Thompson played 2 of his CBGs and all originals. He was accompanied by Charmin Diggs on his homemade CBG banjo and later by the Cap'n on Ray #9.Charmin Diggs played an original.
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On the Role of Mistakes in the Process of Creativity

Posted by Ben "Gitty" Baker on February 6, 2009 at 10:47am
As I progress in this strange and fulfilling hobby, I find that my experience fluctuates between two extremes. On the one hand there is the joy of creating simple, honest instruments that make good music. There is the excitement of free-flowing creativity, of overcoming design challenges, of starting with a plan, however loose, and bringing it together into a functioning instrument... and there is the quiet pride of hearing those instruments make good music. On the other hand... the darker side of the equation... is the feeling of never doing quite good enough, of always falling more or less short of my own standards. Part of this is the number of mistakes I seem to make on most every instrument. I tell myself it's part of the learning process, and I'm sure it is. I try to be more patient, more attentive to detail... to measure twice, three times, before cutting. But still they happen. Stupid stuff. Cutting your headstock scarf joint the wrong way, and then having to flip your neck over. Taking a chunk out of your neck when drilling soundholes on a neck-through design - or even hitting your pickup wire and wrapping it around the bit, ripping the wires off of the pickup mount jack. Or how about filing a big gouge into your nice laminated headstock when trying to slightly enlarge a nut slot. slipping with a screwdriver and putting a nice big gouge in your beautiful paper-covered Partagas lid. Drilling by eye and gut, instead of measurement, and blasting the drill bit out the side of your neck heel, or through the front of your headstock. The list goes on. And after ever screw-up, the exclamation (be it muttered or shouted): What the #!@$ is wrong with me? Why can't I pay more attention? But then, in all but the most extreme mess-ups, something neat happens. The dark and dirty side of the joy that is CBG making opens up and the question is asked: Ok, how can I fix this and make it look good. Make it look like this was all part of the design. And that is where, I have found, some of the best magic happens. In almost every case (except a couple where I really REALLY messed up), the end result has been better than it would have been if I had not made the mistake. And I come out of it with a new technique or two, a new idea for decoration or design, that I wouldn't have had. The old adage is "learn from your mistakes", and I think that is at the heart of my CBG technique. Maybe some day I will get to the point where I start with a clear, set plan, follow it to the T, and end up with exactly what I intended to. But I doubt it. I think that if I do reach that point, I will have lost something very special, something at the very heart of why I got into this in the first place. For me, making CBGs and other homemade instruments should never devolve into an assembly line. Every one should be unique, with its own special add-ons, embellishments and personal touches -- be they intended, or made in response to mistakes made along the way. So in the end, as much as it annoys me when I screw up and make a mistake, I have to remember that each mistake (aside from the real whoppers), is really an opportunity to end up with something better than a "perfect" build would have created. I know that sounds cliche, but I think it's true. I won't go so far as to welcome mistakes... but at least maybe I can keep from cussing at myself quite so much when they happen.
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Origin of Delta Blues Classics

Posted by Delta Blues Classics - JStoltz on February 3, 2009 at 5:50pm
My "Southern Classic" cigar box guitars resulted from a trip I made to the heart of the Delta Blues country - New Orleans. Throughout the French Quarter of New Orleans and all along the gulf coast, the trials, tribulations, and community bonds are woven deeply into the resonating sound of their music. From stories of the Depression, to long lost loves, mystery, and all the emotions that ebb and flow from a lifetime of Southern living, I'd found a style of music that fed into my passion for art and music.I wasn't raised in the deep south, but the feelings I experienced during my time there, are no less real. I immediately felt at home and quickly developed an appreciation for the cultural diversity and wonderful music I experienced there. It was with a great deal of remorse, that I had to finally leave the Mississippi delta and return to my home. At the end of this long and winding road, I created my first classic cigar box guitars and named them aptly, "Delta Blues."The name of my company is meant to be a tribute to all those who inspired me so much in my travels. I will always do my best to honor the wonderful people of the Mississippi delta region without whom, I may never have discovered my passion for the blues. I'm sure I will continue to make trips to the gulf coast in the years ahead and will no doubt return from each of them, far better for the experience.Sincerely,Jeff Stoltz
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1st post- a little about me

Posted by Scott on January 31, 2009 at 2:01pm
I'm in my mid 40's with a wife and 5 kids (I'm livin' the blues in this economy). My guitar playing stinks but I love to play. I discovered CBG's while looking for an acoustic to purchase. Decided I could make one of these things. Made the first one (3 string) from a metal cookie tin. I made some mistakes but it worked! Sounds really cool in overdrive.Decided to make one from a cigar box. This one turned out waaay better (4 string) although still a few mistakes. I bought a wiring harness and bridge/pickup from Ted Crocker. This has volume and tone controls. I carved my own bone nut from one of the bones my dog had buried in the yard years ago. I had an old chrome slide that I cut down to 3/4 of its original size. I love this thing! It sounds good unpluggged but plugged in, it's really nasty. I run it through a Line 6 Spider and sometimes through a Digitec effects system. Not real primal but cool nonetheless.My next one will be a little different. I'm thinking of a resonator...If anyone actually reads this, let me know if you have any cool ideas.I also want to build a cba (cigar box amp) so anyone who has some easy plans, let me know.
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recording short videos

Posted by bairfoot cajun on January 22, 2009 at 2:20am
it is good short fun to record videos, so if any one has not done it yet that wants to do it ,i recomend it. i was very nervous before my first, but now i am enjoying it because it is fun. so show us yours if you haven,t tried it yet. stay tuned for more new music on the cigarbox guitar nation, from the bairfoot cajun. thank you for your time.
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Strings for CBG

Posted by Ara on January 18, 2009 at 1:54pm
I've been building several guitars with necks made out of popular and some random hardwoods. The question of what strings to use comes up. I haven't noticed much bending in the any of the necks using the following strings from top to bottom: 22w (wound), 16, 11. I've used metal strings with no problems.
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How Tight are Those Strings? What Scale Length Should You Use? - USTC Can Help You Figure it Out!

Posted by Doug Thorsvik on January 10, 2009 at 10:55pm
ustcv202.zip I discovered the Universal String Tension Calculator program (see link above) for Windows by Doug Dieter on the web and have found it very useful. He makes some pretty impressive instruments; you can check them out at www.kennaquhair.com Using the scale length, tuning, and string weight, USTC will calculate the tension for each string on your guitar. You can save the settings for future reference. When string tension is too high, strings break to easily; when string tension is too low, intonation becomes a problem and heavier weight strings are needed. USTC is invaluable in matching scale length, tunings, and string weights. Did you realize that 4 (or 3) strings you take from the 6 in a standard guitar set may not be giving you the best intonation and sound possible for your instrument? I discoved this first hand on my first instrument, a DGAD tuned 22" scale length instrument. The first four strings of a standard acoustic set sounded terrible because the string tension was not high enough. As the result of setup problems, mistakes, and broken strings, I ended up using strings 1,2,4,5 and finally got acceptable intonation, I improved the intonation further by stretching the scale length to 24" on the next instrument to increase the string tension. I will be using custom weights on the next instrument I finish and expect to further improve the intonation. A good source for individual strings is www.juststrings.com Have fun Doug
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