Prototyping with a big ol' wine box

It all started when I listened to Steve Arvey music, I had to try to make one cigar box guitar.

I was really eager to start, didn't found easily a cigar box so I went for a wine box. The idea was to make everything from spare parts and see how it would go.

In Belgium (Europe), it's hard to find wood other than pine, so I went with a simple neck from leftover.

After hours of watching tutorials I decided to stop there and just go with it, and learn by trial and errors, and this was the perfect decision for me :-)

I scavenged screws and strings, but I bought the tuning pegs, I preferred using real ones here (will try with other ways another time).

Playing here with the slide was a ton of fun already :-)

After a while I really wanted to play more complex play styles and decided to try my hands at fretting.

That's where the things got complicated: I discovered that you can't just add frets then go: once you add frets, your guitar should sounds "right" with the proper intonation, and the action should not be too high otherwise it's hard to play.

I had then to adjust the nut size, the bridge size, play with the back angle, ...

As it's still a prototype to play with, I added a plywood fretboard from scraps

I take me a lot of time, research and adjustment here to get something nearly correct (two strings are ok, the last one intonation is half a tone sharper, I can live with that and adapt my play !)

I found this nice website from Haze guitars which explains a lot of thing to setup guitar, and the book is really nice (this is not an affiliate link, just a nice reference).

After that I added a strap, and a piezo. But I will go back and remove the piezo (I was too ambitious) and conclude my prototype here by doing some adjustment like moving the bridge down (I'll need to add new longer fretboard and increase scale lenght here) + properly tune the nut and saddle.

Conclusion: this project was a lot of fun, I'm already building a new one from a real cigar box now. I learnt a of lot of errors made on this one, but it still really fun to play with.

What is really frustrating is the cycle: play, realize something can be improved, break the guitar and improve it, then play again. That's why I'm starting another one so I can always play with the other.

Another conclusion is the difference between the initial "simple" unfretted CBG and the fretted one. Lot of approximation and DIY can be done when unfreted, but once you want it to sound "right" with frets, it's a whole new level of complexity.

Let's see where this will lead me :-)

Views: 109

Comment

You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!

Join Cigar Box Nation

The Essential Pages

New to Cigar Box Nation? How to Play Cigar Box GuitarsFree Plans & How to Build Cigar Box GuitarsCigar Box Guitar Building Basics

Site Sponsor

Recommended Links & Resources


Forum

crossover guitar.

Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 21. 11 Replies

Tune up songs

Started by Ghostbuttons in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 9. 5 Replies

Duel output jacks

Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 8. 6 Replies

How to Get Your Own Music on Spotify

Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 21. 2 Replies

CB Bass Guitar

Started by Mi Rankin in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Justin Stanchfield Jan 27. 5 Replies

Latest Activity

A.D.EKER commented on Dar Stellabotta's video
Thumbnail

A Cigar Box Guitar Six Stringer Built by Louie Lamanna

"i See Your ready to Blow away the GRAND STADIUM ! tree strings more of DAR DELIGHT !! Shine Girl !…"
6 hours ago
A.D.EKER commented on A.D.EKER's video
Thumbnail

Im Troubled (Tribute) Mc K Morganfield by BCB - A.D .Eker 2024.

"Thank you for the kind comments Doug! Glad you liked the Picture !"
6 hours ago
BrianQ. commented on Dar Stellabotta's video
10 hours ago
BrianQ. liked Dar Stellabotta's video
10 hours ago
Southern Ray commented on Southern Ray's photo
Thumbnail

Project Punch!

" Thank ya again Keith!"
13 hours ago
Southern Ray commented on Southern Ray's photo
Thumbnail

Punch Project!

" Thank Ya Keith!"
13 hours ago
Doug Thorsvik commented on AGP #'s photo
Thumbnail

AGP #527 - ''Led-Zep 2''

"This build really strung you along Alan! Reminded me of all my fishing line experiments; a lot of…"
14 hours ago
Doug Thorsvik commented on A.D.EKER's video
Thumbnail

Im Troubled (Tribute) Mc K Morganfield by BCB - A.D .Eker 2024.

"Diggin’ the slow blues. I like that last pic Andries! Look at all those cool guitars. Yeah!!!"
14 hours ago
Dar Stellabotta posted a video

A Cigar Box Guitar Six Stringer Built by Louie Lamanna

This video is the unboxing and the demonstration of a beautiful, six stringer built by Louie Lamanna. Join Louie and I June 15 at the second annual Pittsburg...
16 hours ago
Doug Thorsvik commented on Doug Thorsvik's video
Thumbnail

Hail the Resurrection Day: 2-String Violin Chugger Cigar Box Guitar

"Happy Easter to you too Andries! The passion is definitely in full swing. Turns out I’m…"
16 hours ago
A.D.EKER commented on Doug Thorsvik's video
Thumbnail

Hail the Resurrection Day: 2-String Violin Chugger Cigar Box Guitar

"Happy Easter Doug ! the Passion is in full swing !"
17 hours ago
A.D.EKER commented on Ricky D's photo
17 hours ago

Music

© 2024   Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

\uastyle>\ud/** Scrollup **/\ud.scrollup {\ud background: url("https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/963882636?profile=original") no-repeat scroll 0 0 transparent;\ud bottom: 25px;\ud display: inline !important;\ud height: 40px;\ud opacity: 0.3 !important;\ud position: fixed;\ud right: 30px;\ud text-indent: -9999px;\ud width: 40px;\ud z-index: 999;\ud}\ud.scrollup:hover {\ud opacity:0.99!important;\ud}\ud \uascript type="text/javascript">\ud x$(document).ready(function(){\ud x$(window).scroll(function(){\ud if (x$(this).scrollTop() > 100) {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeIn();\ud } else {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeOut();\ud }\ud });\ud x$('.scrollup').click(function(){\ud x$("html, body").animate({ scrollTop: 0 }, 600);\ud return false;\ud });\ud });\ud \ua!-- End Scroll Up -->