Repurposed CBG using weedwacker and fishing line strings!
Tags:
Comment
Thanks RTZ! I was pleased by their unique tone and they are easy on the fingers; that’s a plus too!
Thats good sound for those stringÂ
Thanks Derek for the encouraging feedback. I Saw the Light has become a favorite in the last year. Fishing line works well for the high notes of a ukulele. I have a 22” scale length CBU tuned GCEA (low G) and it sounds just fine. Getting the lower notes for our CBGs is another story; enter the weedwacker string for that low G. Once you have the fishing line on hand (120 yd rolls), you are set for a while! 50 yards for the weedwacker rolls. Lots of room to get creative.
The guitar sounds really good with those strings, Doug. I remember a few of the guys and ladies from the pacific rim talking about using fishing line for their ukes back when I used to frequent the uke forums in the early days. Great Hank gospel performance.
I appreciate the feedback Kale, AGP, Uncle John, and Rope!
I thought a gospel song would be a good choice for a Sunday recording and this is a Slingers fave!
Years ago I tried a weedwacker bass (lots of others were doing it too at the time) which has long since been dismantled. I still have the 4 weights of weedwacker line. As strings they had interesting characteristics: pretty quiet, low sustain, and an interesting thump when plucked.
Surprisingly, the weedwacker strings settle down faster than the fishing line strings. I have no idea why.
I’m about ease of play for new CBGslingers. Steel strings are harder to play and will last a long time. Classical strings are easier to play, but discolor rapidly and are fragile, especially thinner wound strings, and will break on guitars unattended (apparently they do it on 6-string guitars too!) I have been experimenting with fishing line strings, but a low G needs 200 lb test and a 31 5/8” scale length. That’s a long neck. I tried one classical string with two fishing line strings and they did not blend well. Classical low G was too dominant. So I decided to try trimmer line to get that low G and am pleased with the result.
Unfortunately, the test guitar has has metal frets, so I won’t be able to determine the wear characteristics on my 3D printing frets. So, I need to make a new CBG to test it out, now that I know the string combo works. There is always a next project!
Probably too much info. If you want to try out this string combo yourself, let me know and I’ll send you some strings to play around with.
 Nicely done. To my ear, the strings have a more woody sound, less twang. I like it. Do they go out of tune constantly or do they hold on?
Sure sounds good. Good old Hank Williams Gospel. One of the best.  Nicely done. Â
The Weedwacker's sounding great Doug, and a great choice of a Hank Song, have been playing around with it a bit myself lately :-)
Cool idea to use the weedwacker line. I guess we use those on washtub basses all the time but never thought to use one a git.
Started by Southern Ray in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by A.D.EKER 6 hours ago. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Rich Butters in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Crazed Fandango yesterday. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Started by J. D. Woods in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by J. D. Woods on Saturday. 7 Replies 1 Like
Started by Nomad Jack in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by J. D. Woods Apr 17. 7 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Moritz Voegeli in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 14. 6 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Apr 10. 14 Replies 3 Likes
Started by Tom T in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 9. 9 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Southern Ray in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Apr 4. 7 Replies 1 Like
Started by Timothy Hunter in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 27. 1 Reply 2 Likes
Started by Taffy Evans in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 10. 1 Reply 3 Likes
Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by BrianQ. Mar 9. 4 Replies 3 Likes
Started by Ghostbuttons in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 9. 5 Replies 1 Like
Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 8. 6 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Ken I in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Brian partington Mar 8. 8 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Southern Ray in Cool gear discussion - that's not cigar box related. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 6. 5 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Taffy Evans in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 5. 4 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Carl Floyd Mar 1. 15 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Joe in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Carl Floyd Feb 29. 13 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Chance in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 22. 12 Replies 1 Like
Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 21. 2 Replies 4 Likes
Posted by Vlad on March 31, 2024 at 11:48pm 0 Comments 1 Like
Posted by Vlad on March 6, 2024 at 2:32am 5 Comments 2 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 28, 2024 at 2:09pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 17, 2024 at 11:00pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by Vlad on February 11, 2024 at 1:06am 1 Comment 1 Like
May 11, 2024 from 11am to 8pm – Speakeasy Grill
0 Comments 0 LikesMay 30, 2024 from 6:30pm to 10pm – The Casual Pint of Huntsville
0 Comments 0 Likes© 2024 Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker. Powered by
Cigar Box Nation is presented by C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply, your one-stop-shop for Cigar Box Guitar parts and accessories!
You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!
Join Cigar Box Nation