Cigarbox guitars: waiting for Boz

White Owl:

There are three towns named Red Lion in southeastern PA: York County, Berks County and Chester County. The farthest one from me is only about an hour and a half.

So how's about a little more specifics.

Oh no, this site's now being taken over by the CBG'ers....run fer yer life!!!!!

Carol :lol:

Welcome Carol!!

You know you've been wanting a CBG...

Hey panhead,
That would be York County.
That's gonna be a warm up for the "Festival of Rivers", a 2 day event, with performers from the west coast (Rollie Tussing and Jack Cook) to Europe (Bazookahosen), Israel (Paul Moore) and mind blowers like Monkey Boy from Louisville, KY.
Check out http://www.hintonwva/festrivers.html
If you can make it to this one you will see one of the largest CBG gatherings so far in the country.

In May of 2004 the first CBG Festival took place in Carrollton, Kentucky followed by the first Festival of Rivers that September.

There will be builders offering various designs from 1 string and beyond, food, a water park and play area for the kids.

Check it out, I KNOW you be "converted", "D'OH" !!!!
-
HEY CAROL !!!!! your over here snoop'n around too, eh ?

I reckon I ought to meet up with "Bazookahosen", we'd make a real partnership. :shock: :shock:

Hi guys !!!

New here,,,,thought I would "pipe in" on the "Toy" comment.

I'm a Pro Full-Time Musician and I've been playing Guitar for 21 years.

You name it,,,I've owned it.

New,Used,Vintage,High-end,Low-end,,,etc.

I've owned Guitars and amps that a lot of people woul trade their Left nut for.

I recently received a Custom made Cigar Box Guitar from Jim Farris and it is an exceptional instrument.

I will admit that there are a lot of CBG's out there that IMO sound like crap. I wouldn't slap a dog in the ass with them.

Imagine these sounds "Plinky,,Plunk-Plunk,,Plinky,,Scratch"

The CBG that Jim made for me belongs right next to my

National Delphi
1955 Guild X-175
Martin JC-16WE
Gibson SG
G&L STRAT
Epiphone Emperor

It is a great sounding & playing instrument.

Don't believe me ??

Hear & see it for yourself at

http://www.gradymusick.com

It has great Tone and more Sustain than anyone could ever need.

Trust me,

I've owned everything from

1942 Gibson L-00
'62 & '63 Strats
60's & 70's Les Pauls
'52 Harmony Archtop
Guild JF-30

I mean Hell,,,,I've had a lot of great instruments.

Don't underestimate a well-made CBG.

Glad to see you here, Grady! That new electric CBG of yours is a mighty fine sounding instrument!

Thanks for the "invite" Ric !!

It does look like a great place.
It sure is BIG !!

Glad to meet you, Grady!

That is a cool looking Cigar Box axe you have there. (That one in the pics is yours, I take it? Very cool to see the step-by-step emergence of a CBG like that!)

Sounds cool, too! Thanks! Nice work there...

So, what do you tune your's to?

What kind of strings, 'n' gauges?

What's its scale-length?

I can see that I'm going to have to build a couple of these for myself in the near future: one box-top like your Jim Farris "Padron", and another resophonic like those Schoen CBG's. (Maybe a cookie-tin banjo, too!) I'd rather make my own than buy one. I might cheat a little and buy a ready-made (or at least partially-made) neck, though!

Like all types of guitars (or any instrument) there is a wide range of quality to choose from. There are a few advantages, however:

* Making your own quality musical instrument is actually do-able with just a bit of research and care.

* Everyone expects a guitar to sound good, but when you pull out a CBG and began to play it, everyone stops and takes notice. (My guitars sit around in plain view and nobody ever asks me to play them; when they see my CBGs they always ask me to play something on them.

* That guitar-sitting-in plain-view thing is a rather raw point with my wife. She usually says she could understand it, if I could actually play the things. My two CBGs have been laying on a dresser because all the guitar stands in the house are in use, thank you. Yesterday my wife said, "you know those Cigar Box Guitars are kind of cool looking. Can you get some of those wall mounted guitar hangers so those can be like decorations when you're not playing them.

And how can a wife get made when you want to get MORE decorations for the house?

Glad to meet you, Grady!

That is a cool looking Cigar Box axe you have there. (That one in the pics is yours, I take it? Very cool to see the step-by-step emergence of a CBG like that!)

Sounds cool, too! Thanks! Nice work there...

So, what do you tune your's to?

What kind of strings, 'n' gauges?

What's its scale-length?

Thanks man,
I tune mine to Open G

D
B
G
D

I use a set of D'Addario 11's with a plain 3rd string.
I throw the two "E" Strings away and use the four middle ones.

Works great

It is a relatively long scale.
I like how the Neck joins the boy at the 15th fret so I can hit that High "G" note easily.

The intonation on this CBG is just as good as the intonation on my National Delphi.

Hey Caevan,
There's another open G tuning that you can use it's the "middle" of standard open G.

!st - (D)
2nd - B
3rd - G
4th - D
5th - G
6th - (D)

Toss out the 1st and 6th so you end up with G D G B. I sounds nutty but SOUNDS GREAT. (If ya know what I mean.)

My favorite acoustic CBG had 22 frets to the body so it's almost like have'n two guitars in your hand. I can use a capo all the way to the body cause of the design of the neck. It is AWESOME. My singing is somewhat questionable and I have a hard time finding the right key on a conventional guitar. With my "Turbo" CBG I can slide that capo to any key I want and play'r in G (tuning).
:lol: :D

Thanks, everybody!

Yeah, I LOVE Open-G and/or Open-A with a capo up high. I've got a little fretted, fingerpicked ditty that relies on G or A capoed up around the 7th or 9th fret or so, and some bent double-stops on the high-strings. Sounds all "Keef" 'n' Stonesy/rootsy.

I suspect that it may ring of heresy to to some, but... when I build my CBG stylee, I believe I'll likely go with six strings. I'm imagining finding a nice old cedar box of some kind to start with for the body, if not an actual cigar box. You find all sorts of things like that in antique/junk shops...

If I do find a suitable box made of Cedar like that, I'll probably try to keep it as "hollow-body" as possible, with just enough of a sound-post or block to support the bridge. So's to have it be nice and acoustically resonant. Undecided as to whether the tailpiece would be a string-through or anchored at the tail-end, "trapeze"-style...

Everyone always wants to stick with 6 string cause that's what we're all used to. I suggest to start with you try 4 string. Basicly, a 6 string minus 2 strings (he he). The tunings are remarkable when you actually get one in your hands.

The 6 string as a first project (unless your a Luthier) is daunting.
6 strings pull an awesome amount of pressure on the top of the instrument. Unless, your going "stick through". You also have to have some bear like wood. I don't know what kinds of woods you have available there, but they have to be very strong for 6 strings.

If you have checked out some of the building sites you will havemade a good move if you haven't, do so.

A suggestion, if you can afford to buy a completed CBG, entry level or above, you will have ALL the examples you need to build your own "Style".

Good Luck....
:D