Further into the canjo..

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Got the circle cutting attachment for my dremel.. The parts are better machined and the lid is now just a bridge, the strings go through the sound hole to th...

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  • Resonance sounds better than earlier builds, good progress.

  • Thanks for the nice note Harold. I’ve never tried zither pins and I don’t know the tricks to making them work good. I have several instruments with them on board. They all work good. Bet you could ask Jim Morris for some sage advise. He knows how. Keep up the good work and pickin.

  • I'm not sure the zither pins being close is causing the loose tuning.. well, at least not the only cause..

    At the least, I think the zither pins are just a little loose in their holes, haven't done much as far as chalk/soap type stuff to correct it, but on my past few builds I found I could just yank the zither pins out pretty easily trying to get those #@$@#$@$ clearance'd zither keys off the pin ( Yes, the ones from CB Gitty. Yes, they were clearance'd for reasons. Apparently. They aren't too bad if you're really gentle, but when they bite in, you are SOL .. I got them cuz they were cheap and well, how bad could they be... )

    Speaking of past builds - the CanShinJo prototype with the blue neck, the high string has actually cut about 1/2" further into the dowel, so on that one the high string has a slighter shorter scale length... 
    So may need to douse holes / slots with CA glue or something, just to strengthen the wood and prevent wear.

  • Getting better all the time Harold. These close zither pins loose tune with your fast picking. I like your can bracing. It holds up great and adds sustain.

  • Thanks.. The sawari is purposeful here, since this is supposed to be shamisen / sanxian like. I didn't fuss too much with the grooves at the bridge and the strings go through a ~1" channel to the surface of the dowel rather than over anything nut like.

    I didn't do anything in particular to ensure the tone though, that really is just how it ended up.

    I am thinking I should sand/paint/stain this up really nice and maybe put a piezo on it. I have the parts already...

    I am planning on making fretted canjos similar to this, using picture hanging wire or similar for frets / nuts.. They would probably sound more traditionally canjo / guitar.

    I'm wondering how well a kit based on this might sell, especially if I sized it for 12oz soda cans or those ~20oz arizona tea cans ( or beer cans... ) .. Not quite sure what I would have to charge to make it worth the time, took me 3 hours to build that last night... But I never used the circle cutting attachment before and it was constant re-measuring and losing that bit I just used on the table in front of me.. 

    getting ahead of myself thinking I might be the next "Ben Gitty" ( I know its not his real name... )

  • I really like to see thin cans strengthened like you do.  I like the sound hole and kind of like that tone too.

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