Seven years ago today Pa died, I haven't picked up any of the instruments he taught me, or those he made since. I think the original version of this and the electric version are something I need to build now. Remembering how to play will be another challenge all together. Thank you so much.
A lot of people hating on the sound, but I think it sounds quite vintage, and would be pretty sweet tone for the background music of some western short here on RU-vid, good work :D
You will need to bring the neck closer to the strings. This means digging a deeper groove at the top of the neck for the nut to sit in. It also means gluing the base of the neck right to the soundboard instead of the back of the box, or, shimming the fret board up higher. To actually install the frets you will need to buy some fret wire online which is to be pressed into cuts made along the neck. To measure the proper positions I recommend googling "how to measure frets".
I got the speaker used as the mic out of an old set of headphones. I have also since discovered that it will pick up the sound of the guitar much better and not be as prone to feedback if you superglue a dime to the center of the speaker. This gives the cone more inertia to stay stationary while the rest of the guitar and speaker housing vibrates around it. It works much better.
Yeah that would work fine. Most people don't make their own necks like I do, but I just wanted to start from the ground up. Lots of cigar box guitars are made with regular guitar necks.
Yes, you can probably use one, but it might change the guitars tone. If you still have the old nut, you could try to copy the shape out of PVC. You would need to buy a cheap fitting that has a wall about the same length as your nut, then cut a strip out of it roughly the same size. If you want to be a perfectionist you could use sand paper to shape it exactly the same as the old one. Then just measure where the strings go using the old nut as the template and make shallow cuts with the hack saw.
Speaking about missing the point I watched another RU-vid DIY CBG video the other day, the guy used a CNC router! It was cool that he had the expertise to setup and run the job. It just made me wonder how appropriate was it to use such expensive and complex machine for such a inexpensive and primitive musical instrument. The juxtaposition blew my mind.
@@ralphmills7322 if you have the tools it seems stupid not to use them.... Just because you are making a cheap instrument, you still want to make it as good as possible...... It's not 1847....
@Dooogles It actually doesn't matter how long the neck is. The longer you make it the stronger your construction will have to be though because there will be more tension on the strings. Make it to whatever size you prefer.
@Dooogles Correct. There are no frets on this guitar as it is meant to be played strictly with a slide, but the mid point is where the 12th fret harmonics are located.
I wanted the lid to have freedom resonate. The lid did not warp, but the bottom panel of the cigar box wanted to bend in where the strings curve over it so I was forced to add a block to the base of the neck that contacted the lid and supported the bottom wall.
@thatguyplayinguitar The metal pipe is called a slide. Look up slide guitar. I was playing through an amp for the video, an old style Peavy Bandit 65 with a Scorpion speaker if i remember correctly.
@Wired2X Yes. You would probably do better to use a hardwood board from a hardware store for the neck though. The bigger you make the guitar the more tension will be on the strings, and the stronger everything will need to be.
How cool it is to make your own cigar box guitar! My grandfather used to make spanish classical guitars, but this is probably the only one I could ever make! Yeah, make another guitar with frets like you mentioned. Can't wait! Thanks!
@FerrilEwok Yes you can. The problem I have with this particular mic is that it wants to feed back easier than anything i've used before. It could simply be how I have it positioned in the guitar body. You can always try both a mic and a piezo and see which works best, neither are very expensive.
Nice video. I especially liked that you started with an actually tree limb. Definitely gives it that old time country made feeling. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy.
I just finished mine. Used different materials: pre cut lumber instead of a log, a lunchbox instead of a cigar box, and I used a speaker from a talking greeting card for the pickup. Interestingly, the speaker was slightly magnetic and adheres directly to the inside of the lunchbox.
@girc52 Yep, they work the exact same way. Of course they are designed to be better at projecting sound rather than picking it up so the quality is not quite so good as a real mic, but it works just fine. They also tend to be a little more sensitive to feedback in some cases.
@xhimiz14 Yes, it can be an acoustic. I recommend you use a longer neck and a bigger cigar box in that case. Just drill a few holes in the box to make it louder.
Most of the money was spent on the tuning heads, i got my tuning heads for only $5 and they work just fine, they don't look pretty but they hold tune just fine. So in reality you can build one for much cheaper if you know where to look. Also i think you should have used a Piezo pickup as they are dirt cheap and work really well, the speaker sounds pretty unique though i must say. I bet if you add a piezo as well as the speaker it would sound really good.
Man, I had to go check if my CBG was stolen. I actually thought this was MY CBG! I made one using the same box and the headstock looks exactly the same too!. The only difference is I have only 3 strings and I added a gold covered humbucker pickup (to match the coins). Yours sounds very similar to mine. I used a piece of maple for the neck. I should post vid to show you how similar it is. Nice sounding and well made thanks for posting.
Little unorthodox build but interesting ideas here but what's more important is that it really has that 'delta' sound and cool looks, that's all what matters.
its played with a slide. you want a nice tall action to get pressure on the strings -without- touching the fretboard. if this instrument were meant to be played like a fretless guitar with fingers then yes, the action would be waay high for that :)
Hey man, nice build. My uncle makes cigar box guitars, I play six string but his are fun to play. He hasn't posted any videos on youtube, except of his chainsaw carvings. Nice job on the neck.
Probably a long shot you'll actually still read this after all this time, but worth a shot. How thick of log did you use? How thick did you cut it to and how thick was the final neck? Thanks
+Mitch Nielsen I read all my comments. I don't remember the dimensions of this log. My newer tutorials for building cigar box guitars go into more detail and use precise measurements.
I do know several ways to measure frets, but searching google can explain it much better than I can in a comment. Unless you're ready to put in many many hours of work into an instrument your best bet is to just buy a cheap guitar neck with the frets already installed.
And for anyone interested, and if you're particularly crafty, you can save more money by using eye bolts instead of tuners. I'd love to see an updated version of this but with other materials, it would make for an interesting video I think.
I just cut it off a tree. There are some people out there that sell cigar box guitars, I would google it and see what they are selling and if you could compete.
No, it's not meant to have the strings ever touch the fingerboard. It is strictly for slide. I am currently working on a new model that will have frets and be made for traditional playing. I have not decided whether or not I will make a video of its construction, but I plan to at least make a video when it is completed.
Dude that was awesome. I take my hat off to you & your amazing work. But please, if you're going to make a traditional guitar with frets include a video of it's construction!
I've made one CBG before but you've inspired me to use a tree beach for a neck instead of per cut lumber Ghea!! Nice work with the speaker pick up... Can it be any speaker / jack hook up? It would be nice to work in a tone nob too
This is awesome man! I've been looking at these for some time now. I thought about buying a Red Dog because I hardly have the time to build one. I find it hard to find the time to play too.
Yes, except you will need to use a real bass guitar pickup rather than a microphone. You will also need to make a neck that can be fretted or is close enough to the strings that it can be played fretless unless you intend to play bass strictly with a slide.
@tristanwatson1 The diameter is up to you. Whatever feels comfortable in your hand. The length should be at the least 2 feet. That's about how long mine was and it probably should have been a bit longer. You could easily go as long as 3.
The number of strings is not what decides if something is a bass or not. There are 6 string basses, there are 1 string guitars, and everything in between.
Very nice. I've been reading and watching videos all day on building these. Pretty much all other builds had the 1x2 neck recessed only as far as the thickness of the neck and the box lid would fit flat on top of that. Yours has the neck glued to the bottom of the box and thus has a gap between neck and lid - does the lid not warp at all like that? Yours seems the easier way to build, I was just wondering if there was a particular reason it was done that way?
This is cool. But i think with much more time spent you could really turn out a much nicer insturment. Im going to try just that. Im guessing i can find a box on Ebay or perhaps a thrift store. My bigest problem is finding hard wood to make the neck out of. Guess i will have to research hard woods. Im in north alabama so im sure theirs some good wood up in these here hills. What sort of wood did you use for your neck? thanks for the post
@xman66675 Any smoke shop usually sells the boxes once they are empty. Some charge more than others. One in my area charges depending how nice the box is up to $20, another just sells them all for $1.99. Check a few places.
hey i normally use piezos as pickups in my guitars. using these little speakers sounds like a neat idea, as i could make use of all kinds of old junk with speakers in it... how well does it work as a pickup? volume? sound quality?
Cool build but if you want it to play in tune you'll need to pick a scale length necxt time and it will sound much better. I really like how you used a branch for the neck though and your bridge and nut ideas are really cool too.
I have a similar Cigar box to this one, but I'm planning on just buying a premade neck and bridge. Do you think a cigar box with this kind of wood, how thin it is and everything could handle the tension of 6 strings?
